On Jun 26, 8:34 pm, "Maxprop" wrote:
wrote in message

ps.com...

"Maxprop" wrote:
Three races: 6th, 9th, and DNF with 9 boats.

Pretty uneventful--just some really poor sailing on my part.

The 1D35 is a pretty technical boat. Plus it is far enough up the
power curve that the reflexes developed in sailing heavier, lower-
powered conventional boats are not really helpful.

My background in racing is strictly in dinghies. The boat feels sluggish
compared with, say, a Snipe or MC Scow.


That's hard to believe. It has far more horsepower per pound than the
MC, which is in turn a lot more powerful than the Snipe. OTOH because
it's a keelboat, it won't feel as jumpy and certainly will not be as
responsive when you move your feet as the small boats.


One of the best texts to help make the transition is Bethwaite's "High
Performance Sailing" in which he covers the development of the skiff
classes and has a number of clear diagrams showing what works, for
example where to aim the boat seeking best VMG on different points of
sail in different wind strengths.

I believe it's the one I've had for some years. Great book.


It is, and he carefully lays out how to ell when you want more power,
when you want less, and how to prioritize shifts versus pressure
depending on the boat's characteristics.

While it's true that a good sailor can step into any boat and do well,
boats with very different characteristics need to be handled
differently.... very differently sometimes. For example, catamaran
racing is almost a different sport.


How hard was the wind blowing? If you were running DDW there shouldn't
have been that much pressure on the chute unless it was blowing pretty
good.

Both offwind legs were broad reaches in 15 kts. plus.

I can see blowing out a 3/4 in that. Bummer.

Can't resist Mondy morning q-b'ing.... did you think about running
deep to take some pressure off the 'chute while you get set up for a
change, then shifting to either reacher or heavier chute?

DSK