Sailing question
Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:57:15 -0400, "Reginald P. Smithers III"
wrote:
it
is common for racing boats to sail 30 degrees into the wind.
That is the so called apparent wind angle (AWA) as viewed from onboard
the boat while it is moving. The true wind angle (TWA) is rarely less
than 40 degrees even on a fast racing boat. The TWA on a typical
cruising boat will usually be in the range of 45 to 50 degrees. The
difference between AWA and TWA is caused by the boats forward motion.
The most accurate way to estimate TWA without complicated
instrumentation is to sail the boat first on one tack and then the
other. Note the compass heading on each tack, calculate the
difference and divide by two.
For example if you are sailing a close hauled course of 45 degrees on
starboard tack and 135 degrees on port tack, the difference is 90 and
your true wind angle is approximately 45 degrees off the bow. Using
the example above, the AWA would be about 35 degrees in a typical
cruising boat sailing in moderate wind speeds.
I stand corrected.
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