Well, I was sailing on Lake Mead with a friend and we were in his South
Coast 26'a and we were having a fun race against a bunch of Mac 26'Xers and
the water was like glass and the winds was almost nonexistent. We were ahead
of everyone, then this old salt who in one of the Max 26'Xs sailed past us
like we were sitting still. He passed close and his motor was out of the
water. I spoke with him later and he said he had made some slight
adjustments to his standing rigging. I am not sure, but I think he angled
the mast back, and he did some other things he would not divulge. Now the
next day, the winds were blowing 18 plus and the last time I looked back, I
could not even see the closest Mac 26'x with binoculars! We humiliated them.
I guess the 1,400 bulb / fin keel is a slight advantage over water balast.
In light winds, they can pump out ballast and pick up a little speed I
guess. Now we out sailed all the Mac 26'Xs in low winds except that one and
he always beats all the other Mac 26'Xs. Well, that's my story.

Sea Yawl,
John

If he emptied his ballast the SA/Disp ratio would be up over 25. With a well
shaped sail and flat water, that should allow it to outperform most boats.
Also, if it was off the wind, he probably had the board up. Off course, the
"capsize ratio" will be dangerously low, and the "motion comfort" factor will be
poor.


"FamilySailor" wrote in message ...
Well, I was sailing on Lake Mead with a friend and we were in his South
Coast 26'a and we were having a fun race against a bunch of Mac 26'Xers and
the water was like glass and the winds was almost nonexistent. We were ahead
of everyone, then this old salt who in one of the Max 26'Xs sailed past us
like we were sitting still. He passed close and his motor was out of the
water. I spoke with him later and he said he had made some slight
adjustments to his standing rigging. I am not sure, but I think he angled
the mast back, and he did some other things he would not divulge. Now the
next day, the winds were blowing 18 plus and the last time I looked back, I
could not even see the closest Mac 26'x with binoculars! We humiliated them.
I guess the 1,400 bulb / fin keel is a slight advantage over water balast.
In light winds, they can pump out ballast and pick up a little speed I
guess. Now we out sailed all the Mac 26'Xs in low winds except that one and
he always beats all the other Mac 26'Xs. Well, that's my story.

Sea Yawl,
John

Funny, I've only sailed close to macs on two occasions, one of which was in
very light winds, 4 kts., I was flying my a-sail and I passed the mac up
like he was standing still, which I think he was. Guess he was practicing
light-air sailing.
John Cairns
"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
If he emptied his ballast the SA/Disp ratio would be up over 25. With a
well
shaped sail and flat water, that should allow it to outperform most boats.
Also, if it was off the wind, he probably had the board up. Off course,
the
"capsize ratio" will be dangerously low, and the "motion comfort" factor
will be
poor.


"FamilySailor" wrote in message
...
Well, I was sailing on Lake Mead with a friend and we were in his South
Coast 26'a and we were having a fun race against a bunch of Mac 26'Xers
and
the water was like glass and the winds was almost nonexistent. We were
ahead
of everyone, then this old salt who in one of the Max 26'Xs sailed past
us
like we were sitting still. He passed close and his motor was out of the
water. I spoke with him later and he said he had made some slight
adjustments to his standing rigging. I am not sure, but I think he
angled
the mast back, and he did some other things he would not divulge. Now
the
next day, the winds were blowing 18 plus and the last time I looked
back, I
could not even see the closest Mac 26'x with binoculars! We humiliated
them.
I guess the 1,400 bulb / fin keel is a slight advantage over water
balast.
In light winds, they can pump out ballast and pick up a little speed I
guess. Now we out sailed all the Mac 26'Xs in low winds except that one
and
he always beats all the other Mac 26'Xs. Well, that's my story.

Sea Yawl,
John

We were in winds under one knot. We sailed away from all the Macs, but that
one. He did and knew something! There was some tactical errors on the part
of the captain (in my opinion). He tacked 4 times more often that he should
have. He made 4 tacks to the old guys one! That put the Mac in the direction
the wind was coming from and when it picked up just a little he got it way
before we did.

You answered you question with your last post. The old guy had experience
and out sailed you.
"FamilySailor" wrote in message
...
We were in winds under one knot. We sailed away from all the Macs, but
that
one. He did and knew something! There was some tactical errors on the part
of the captain (in my opinion). He tacked 4 times more often that he
should
have. He made 4 tacks to the old guys one! That put the Mac in the
direction
the wind was coming from and when it picked up just a little he got it way
before we did.

We were in winds under one knot. We sailed away from all the Macs..

That's some light air performer you got there.
S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"Trains are a winter sport"

That would explain the over all race, but that does not explain when he was
50 feet away and sailed right by and we were on the same tack. As I recall
we had a 130 up as did he. The wind picked up the next day and it was NO
CONTEST!

We were crawling along and dripping with sweat :-(
It was a long day, until a breeze picked up about 7 hours later!

Maybe he doesn't know what apparent wind is. He could have been sailing
DDW,
thinking the wind was less than one knot, when it was actually 6 knots.

BB

We were beating into the wind. and the water was like glass. And you should
know that you could have a wind speed of 0.1 knots and it will move the boat
if there is no current opposing it. The speed of the boat is relative to the
speed of the wind. I guess most people would crank up the screaming
outboard, but we were there for a week of sailing and in no hurry. We had
all day to go from Echo bay to Center point. Most of the Macs cranked up
their engines and beat us there, but we sailed all the way. And sailing in
while others gave up, just makes you feel good about whole day. In the days
of old all they had were their sails. As far as the captain making too many
tacks, well, I gave my advice once and did not worry about it. I was not the
skipper and it did not really matter. I was there to get away and sail. The
Mac that passed us did point that out to the skipper later that evening
though.

"FamilySailor" wrote in message ...
Maybe he doesn't know what apparent wind is. He could have been sailing
DDW,
thinking the wind was less than one knot, when it was actually 6 knots.

BB

We were beating into the wind. and the water was like glass. And you should
know that you could have a wind speed of 0.1 knots and it will move the boat
if there is no current opposing it.

No, I'll go out on a limb and claim that in a practical situation, 0.1 knots of
wind will not generate enough force to overcome the hull friction. At one knot,
the pressure on the sail is roughly a pound or two - but the force is
proportional to the square of the wind strength, so at 0.1 knots of wind we're
down to several grams of force.

Even if you could go at the wind speed (highly unlikely), that's only 600 feet
in an hour.

The speed of the boat is relative to the
speed of the wind. I guess most people would crank up the screaming
outboard, but we were there for a week of sailing and in no hurry.

I remember a regatta that was postponed due to lack of wind - we held "kinetic
races" using all the techniques strictly forbidden by the rules. Several
skippers were doing a few knots just by roll tacking viorously.

We had
all day to go from Echo bay to Center point. Most of the Macs cranked up
their engines and beat us there, but we sailed all the way. And sailing in
while others gave up, just makes you feel good about whole day. In the days
of old all they had were their sails.

And their oars.

As far as the captain making too many
tacks, well, I gave my advice once and did not worry about it. I was not the
skipper and it did not really matter. I was there to get away and sail. The
Mac that passed us did point that out to the skipper later that evening
though.