Re: Lateen rig on p15

Gordon (hlg@pacbell.net)
Thu, 24 Dec 1998 14:59:18 -0800


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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David Kautz wrote:

>AND it IS true that Harry's boat outperformed us that gusty day at Lexington
>Reservoir when we had a reef in and he got an exciting ride..... But I
>plead for
>mercy and understanding from other sloop owners by making the following lame
>excuses:
>
>1) I was not at the helm, a friend of mine, a "big-boat" guy, was at the
>controls and it was his first time in a Potter.
>
>2) It was gusty. The reefed sail was the right size for the gusts, but we
>were
>under-canvassed the rest of the time.

No doubt we would have been more evenly matched if Dave had been
singlehanded or had an experienced crew. I also failed to mention I felt
quite overpowered when I first ventured out where the wind was jetting over
the dam. The lateen sail was billowing so badly that it was impossible to
trim properly, so I retreated to a more sheltered area and rigged a
"Sunfish vang," a line over the gooseneck that allowed me to pull the boom
down and flatten the sail. It was much more manageable after that, but was,
as Dave said, an exciting ride. I would rather have been reefed, but the
heel was still manageable with the low center of effort and flexible spars..

>What Harry didn't tell you (wink, wink, grin, grin) is that this very same
>boat
>(with my wife Francesca as crew) left him in our meager wake during some
>light
>upwind sailing in the Alameda Estuary about a month earlier.

How did I overlook that? But that's what I meant when I said a well-sailed
sloop rig will beat the lateen, especially upwind, but Dave and I were both
staying in front of three P19s in the Estuary. But Jerry Barrilleaux, in
his HMS 18, was so fast that he was soon out of sight of the rest of us,
and one of the three P19s overtook Manatee eventually.

Similarly, at Tahoe, on the return from Emerald Bay, Manatee at first ran
away from two other sloop-rigged P15s, but by the time we reached Tahoe
Keys, Rob McClain, a long-time Potter sailor with his wife crewing, had
steadily reduced Manatee's lead and was close behind when we reached the
marker outside the harbor. That was a straightline 4 miles with wind
direction varying but no tacking required.

Even being in the race is a new experience for me. With my gunter rig and
the original mainsail I was always tail-end Charlie unless there was just
enough wind to where the newer boats were starting to be overpowered. Now
with the lateen rig I have no problem keeping up with the fleet.

Another advantage I forgot to mention is that it seems easier to recognize
and adjust for wind shifts with only the one sail to monitor.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYBODY!

Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA