jeff feehan wrote:

i agree with the a.c. boats, but open 60's and similar boats
aren't designed for upwind work. neither was mari cha - the boat
that beat the transatlantic record recently.

The problem with IACC boats is that they are designed strictly for windward
& leeward VMG, and furthermore are highly optimized for winds between approx
5 to 15 knots. They don't plane and could not be made to plane, but they do
have long waterlines & tricky hull designs so they can get up & downwind
pretty fast. But they aren't drag racers, their top speed is low by even
planing dinghy standards.

The Open 60s are the opposite, designed to scoot downwind (or at least on
fairly deep reaches). Around a closed course or upwind, they are not slow
but not in the running for fastest IMHO.

Mari-Cha 4 (the 140'+ new record breaking monohull, a ketch no less) has the
same design issues, but is enough bigger (LWL approaching twice the IACC
boats) & more extreme that she would have to be a contender any place she
could fit on the course. Supposedly this boat can go 2X true wind speed
under a wide variety of conditions.... a chop isn't going to slow her down
much!

Besides if a windsurfer was on the same race course with any of these boats,
all the other skipper would have to do is blanket him

Fresh Breezes- Doug King