"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...


Well, I thought you said that yourself... upwind, very light wind. I would
think that when there's a lull in light wind, the heel would go to zero,
if it wasn't nearly there already. I'm not sure how one would judge that,
since I don't have nor have I seen a tilt meter that accurate.

I'm not talking about momentary zero heel, rather zero heel when moving
along hard on the wind. Only rail ballast can effect zero heel, or even
windward heel, in such cases. When racing dinghies in drifter conditons,
most do slightly better if artifically heeled to minimize wetted surface
area. So in those conditions when you might expect zero heel, some heel is
preferable.

Ok... so feathering is zigzagging.

Done properly its a very smooth procedure, and really doesn't result in a
zigzag CMG, rather a slight serpentine. If you're zigzagging, you're
oversteering or moving the helm too abruptly.

Yup... straight line sailing is faster.. turn = slowing.

I'd agree that it's faster, but one can sail higher on the wind by
feathering. It's helpful in making a mark that you might be slightly below
and want to avoid having to tack at the last minute. To continue your
argument, one can always go faster by footing than by sailing as high as
possible. I should have made the comment that while some of those who don't
touch the helm do win, so do those who steer constantly, feathering into the
wind. The ability and experience of the skipper has more to do with winning
than any given technique on one point of sail. But you know that.

Max