On Mon, 7 Mar 2011 20:18:56 -0500, "Flying Pig"
wrote:

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
tanews.com...

You know nothing about sailing.

The wind was from the east. It follows, then, that Skippy was reaching
while headed north.

There is a northerly set to the current in the Gulf Stream which would
tend to skew the east wind-driven seas somewhat so they have a slant
towards the south west.

If Skippy had angled towards the inlet instead of squaring it off like a
newbie rube, the Flying Pig would have experienced nice broad-reaching
winds and the fastest point of sail. The seas would have been somewhat on
the starboard quarter - also not an uncomfortable direction under a press
of sail which keeps rolling to a minimum.

Now, run along, you bother me . . . Come back when you become informed.


Wilbur Hubbard


Heh...

First, you're ALMOST right. The wind was from ~080-100T. You totally
neglected that forward motion doesn't move the apparent wind aft, it moves
it forward. When you're doing 10 knots in still air, you get 10 knots of
wind on your nose, e.g. When there's 20 or so coming from the side, that
makes for 25 or so from forward of the true wind at 10+ knots of boat speed.
That's why, if you look at our track we were slightly west of north COG, in
order to minimize the forward angle of the apparent wind

Second, you're also ALMOST right. The stream (or, maybe, and/or tide, as
the NOAA folks said the west wall was 19 miles offshore, more than we were
at the time) motion at the time made it necessary for me to turn south in
order to keep the COG due west, as it wanted to push the boat north. So,
while the boat's moving north in a dead downwind COG mode, it creates the
effect of bringing the wind forward from the stern, and thus my apparent
wind at 120-150 port...

L8R

Skip and crew, enjoying the loudspeaker antics of the USCG training station
in Ft. Pierce


And once again the Wily Wilbur is proved wrong... "-)

I've told that boy over and over, "don't open your mouth and let all
that stupidness leak out. Just keep your mouth shut and you'll fool
all them folks into thinking that you are as smart as they are."

Cheers,

Bruce