Scotty wrote:
"katy" wrote in message
...
why don't we all just go back to discussing sailing.
OK. This week a friend pointed out some things that
helped
my boat to sail better. I had the jib leads too far
forward
, and by heading up farther than I normally do, the boat
leveled off better. Don't know if my VMG was better or
not,
but the ride was a lot smoother, with a lot less weather
helm.

Scotty




Makes for a flatter sail...in more ways than one...I leave
all the VMG
discussion to the guys stewing in their mathematical
hazes...it's not
necessary for just sailing around...


yes but, I 'm usually sailing to a destination, not just
daysailing, going nowhere for an hour .




We go places, too, and use dead reckoning, our charts, GPS, etc. Using
simple trig is good enough for me. We're never in that much of a hurry
that we go to those lengths...if we are trying to make a destination and
have a timeline, we use a simple rule...if our speed sailing goes below
4 knots, we turn on the Iron Jenny and either motor sail or run on
engie=ne alone depending on direction and seas...
I hear the gasps already...the reason is, though, taht when you have
limited time, you make use of whatever you have to ,ake that time
worthwhile. This summer we will be able to sail all summer without any
hindrances. Mr Sails doesn't have to take any classes and doesn't think
he's signing up to teach summer school...we'll get to explore a lot of
territory and have the time to do it.