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Spotting Windshifts. |
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fab100
Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
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Topic: Spotting Windshifts. Posted: 04 Feb 15 at 2:06pm |
Agreed. I'm looking forward to it. I stopped reading other peoples' sailing books for a fair while, not wanting to even sub-consciously plagiarise anyone, but too busy on other things to contemplate a second edition or follow up effort, so the block is now removed.
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Rupert
Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Feb 15 at 2:56pm |
One of the things that budding authors are advised to do is read, read, read.
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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MattK
Far too distracted from work Joined: 02 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 221 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Feb 15 at 7:07pm |
Something like this |
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iGRF
Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6496 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 04 Feb 15 at 7:33pm |
Spot On Matt, it's why we windsurfers use the force, not burgees..
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sargesail
Really should get out more Joined: 14 Jan 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1459 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 08 Feb 15 at 9:44pm |
Early in my time with my now wife and crew I sat her down on a Cornish headland in gusty shifty conditions and we watched what happened on the water and how it affected the breeze we felt. We had something to help us see the wind direction, as well as feeling it. A scarf I think, it being February. It was time well spent and she was able to learn to spot gusts and, with slightly less certainty, shifts.
Separating the apparent wind header / pressure lift, from the gradient header/lift, is altogether more difficult, and takes experience. But you can gain so much from it. I recall a race in very heavy 55 foot yachts in which the boat to weather and abeam gradually ended up to leeward and behind, in on-off breeze conditions at night. Why? Because she bore away whenever the breeze shut off and she was headed, while we just eased the genoa to stop it backing too much and left the helm middled. Once our speed dropped to the right one for our close-hauled course in he new breeze then we found that we were miraculously back on course. It was an extreme but clear example.
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Rupert
Really should get out more Joined: 11 Aug 04 Location: Whitefriars sc Online Status: Offline Posts: 8956 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 08 Feb 15 at 10:20pm |
Totally failed to pick up on a virtually no wind shift today and lost a good 100 yards on the boats in front, which sadly included rupertson, who did the 100 yards while I did 10. Last I saw of him...
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Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686
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Woodbotherer
Posting king Joined: 11 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 192 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 15 at 9:20am |
It was borderline breezy yesterday so I ended up using the small sail, it's another ghastly full batten thing, set half up half down the mast, doesn't transition and fill at all, terrible no feel to it, I'd started off well enough with a port end half assed flyer so I was in the mix at the front for quite a while, but it's lack of sensitivity and terrible re attachment after the tack meant I got a couple really wrong and slipped back down the pack.
Then the knot on the mainsheet had come undone and one sudden gusty lift at the gybe saw the boom gybe almost windsurf style right round the front and I very nearly swam. I probably ended up last on corrected. Full battens make spotting shifts ten times more difficult for me.
Edited by Woodbotherer - 09 Feb 15 at 9:21am |
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turnturtle
Really should get out more Joined: 05 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2538 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 15 at 10:11am |
I was out staurday doing a few laps on my own around some cans.... that D-Zero just hunts out lifts upwind, my light wind tacking technique was also improving, keeping weight right up by the kicker and tacking facing backwards.
I was also directly sheeting off the boom (didn't need the ratchet in that breeze), this helped keep the tiller and ropes de-cluttered and will be moving to off the boom sheeting permanently when my own boat shows up... probably using one of those little auto ratchets I had on my MPS kite sheets, and a longer tiller extension.
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Woodbotherer
Posting king Joined: 11 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 192 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 15 at 10:24am |
Quite how you've managed to blag one of those fine craft, is beyond me, shouldn't you now be doing your bit to improve the handicap by entering some events and starting in the third rank in light conditions?
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Steve411
Really should get out more Joined: 09 Sep 08 Location: Cheddar, Somerset, England Online Status: Offline Posts: 705 |
Post Options Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 15 at 11:35am |
Come on James, you don't need a ratchet at all - it just slows down the gust response.
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