Downwind By the Lee & an Unstayed Rig

I post this picture below of a Finn stolen from the Worlds Flickr site which shows the boom out far more than 90 deg !   I know the Finns can pump freely above 10 knots and maybe this is what is going on ;  the helm has eased off a big armful of main and is just about to aggressively haul it in again.

But my first question for 'non pumping classes' with similar rigs, is this :  Is the quickest way down wind, in a medium breeze, to free off the main well beyond 90 deg and then keep bearing off  ? 

If so, I can't help thinking this will utterly destabilise the boat with massive lurches to windward which will then require the helm to make  correspondingly aggressive boom adjustments just to stay upright. 

My second question is:  In non-pumping classes, at what point does trying to stay upright,  by constant boom adjustment,  start to become pumping  ?  






Edited by boatshed - 26 Jul 13 at 10:16am

these Europes are doing much the same at a training day at Hunts.  Those that allowed the boom well forward were significantly faster.  Some sailors were not entirely comfortable with this at first, but it is a balancing act that can be mastered and does pay dividends.   Pumping when it's legal is also a skill to be mastered and as the Finns show, requires considerable agility to do it effectively and safely!

We recently had a training day from mr Goodison. He suggested the boom should not go beyond 90, but the kicker should be off so the sail does. He also stressed that looking for the puff and steering to get in it and stay in it for as long as possible was the real key to going down the run fast. We also talked about angles which should increase in lighter winds, and that sometimes a gybe may be better than by the lea to stay in the puff.
This is not the first time I had been given the same advice, another Olympic coach, swiss team, who in fact used to be a Hunts member had also mentioned the 90 degree rule.
I now tend to stick to this, as do most of the front few in the laser fleet at Rutland.

Looking at the picture above. I would like to see the next few in a series as I wonder if he is about to gybe.

Andy

Edited by andymck - 26 Jul 13 at 11:18am

Originally posted by PeterV ... because you can stay on starboard when all the stayed boats have to be on port.