> * On a long passage, speed can mean the difference between finding a moorage
> in the daylight vs. at night.
Amen to that! Speed and effective pointing angle can make a big difference.
According to the analysis that kent published, improving your effective
pointing angle from 60 to 50 degrees gives you a 27% improvement in vmg. (I
didn't check my mathetmaitcal reasoning, I could be embarrassining msyelf
here)
That means one boat sails 8 hours to get to the mooring, while the other boat
sails needs only 6 hours.
One time I sailed my Force 5 on SF Bay with the Force 5 fleet (one design
dinghies) from Emeryville to Yerba Buena in moderately strong head winds with
a stuck outhaul. I couldn't point for beans. Even though I was screaming
along on a close reach, it took me 2 hours to get there; they got there in
under 1.5 hours. (Usually, I'm right in the middle of the pack in moderate
air)
Regards,
Judy B