From: Valuemetaphysics@aol.com
Date: Fri Jul 23 2004 - 21:04:18 BST
Dear forum,
I felt some of you may be interested in the following:
All sails have a "sweet spot"; a wind range where they perform at their
optimum, and no sail delivers a bigger sweet spot than North 3DL. Only 3DL sails
are thermo-molded in their optimum flying shape, so they assume this shape
quickly in light winds. And because 3DL structural yarns are laid on the mold in
the precise 3-dimensional space they will occupy when flying, they lock in the
sail's designed shape longer. This translates into a larger sweet spot which
means optimum sail drive over a broader wind range and fewer costly sail
changes.
RESULT: Speed that's always turned on. Every single America's Cup and Volvo
Ocean Race team chose 3DL for a reason... more speed, more of the time.
http://na.northsails.com/FasterByDesign.htm
To sail fast most skippers and crew need about five seconds of lead-time to
make changes with sail trim, rudder angle and crew position. Most sailors
always look about forty feet upwind no matter what the wind strength. The five
second sweet spot varies depending on the wind speed. For example, a 3 knot wind
will travel 4.92 feet per second, so to get a five second warning you multiply
to get 24.6 feet upwind as the place to look. Some sample winds and distances
are as follows: for winds of 6 look upwind 50 feet, for winds of 11 look
upwind 90 feet, for 17knots look upwind 140 ft and at 21 knots of wind you need to
look upwind 170 feet to get a five second warning. Clearly, the harder it
blows the further upwind your need to focus to pick up the wind velocity and
direction. Practice looking at the sweet spot and counting out loud 5-4-3-2-1 to
estimate the precise moment the wind gust will hit while helming, crewing or
even standing on a dock with the wind blowing onshore. The sweet spot distance
will also change depending on how fast your boat is because fast boats are
moving at the wind at a faster rate. Seeing and anticipating the wind is a
fundamental skill - one you never get too perfect at.
http://www.e-scow.org/PDF/98bowers1.pdf
All the best,
Mark
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