Awesome day sailing!

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:47 am

It was an awesome day with just a little icing on the cake!
While Sunday was lacking, Saturday turned out beautiful around here!

Took a student sailing on Lady Jo. We left the dock in 10-15 kts, perfect sailing conditions! After a while, the wind started building . . . . . was blowing roughly 20. Chrysler 22 sailors know that with full main and a 110 genny the C22 has a bit of weather helm at 15kts. Anything more and she becomes a bit over powerd and a handful to play with! A reef is really required to continue playful sailing!

However . . . . . .we opted not to reef. We had enough winds to heel us heavily while close reaching and it caused some pretty severe weather helm. My student had the tiller and was amazed at the power Lady Jo had! We never completely cavitated the rudder but she was stalling at times and we would slowly round up in larger puffs!

After a while of my student struggling at the helm I asked if he had had enough! NOPE! LOL! Well, being the nice guy I decided it was time for the next lesson. Changing center of effort on the boat! We'd talked about it but it is like reading a book. You can understand the terms and the concept but it makes no real sense until you experience it! These were ideal conditions! LOL!

Since Lady Jo was desparately trying to round up in the larger puffs of wind we needed to change the center of effort by moving it forward to balance the boat. EVERYONE simply reefs! Well, that is nice but if the wind is unstable and puffy, reefing cares for the puffs but in the lesser or lows you had to little sail loosing speed!

Next thing might be to use the traveler to pull the boom slightly windward of center of the boat and loosen the main sheet creating a twist in the main sail allowing for wind spillage at the top thus loosing power and moving the center of effort forward! But alas, my travler is original and it SUCKS! LOL! Not worth the effort so . . . .

lets just keep it simple! All you dinghy sailors already know the easy answer!

So, I sat aft of my student on the windward side of the boat taking the main sheet in hand. He sat forward of my and had the tiller . . . . . .

Now picture this . . . you are sailing along, winds pickup and you have strong weather helm so the person at the helm steers harder to leward compensating for being over powered and dragging the rudder thus slowing the boat . . . . . . . .so you let the main out a tad to correct. . . . . and this is the method we used

as the puffs hit, I simple loosened the main sheet a few inches to maybe 6 inches and as the puff subsided I immediately pulled it back in never using the jam cleat. Yeah it is a bit of work but Lady Jo Immediately increased her performance and my student was amazed at how such little changes mades such a HUGE difference in managing the tiller and Lady Jos overall speed! We sailed our cabin cruiser just like a sunfish! Adjusting and tweaking for every puff! Mind you the puffs were in the low 20's kts!

Now the icing . . . A bit windward and off in the distance was nothing less than a Catalina 22 being sailed in a less than stellar fashon. By all rights the Catalinas are faster in most winds than our Chryslers when sailed properly.

Well, with our new found speed and my students desire to use it, we sailed better in a tight reach, made great windward performance ( relative ) and ended up behind but up wind of the Catalina. We were able to sail on a beem reach and passed the Catalina with such speed it really was kind of sad . . . .for the Catalina! LOL! I did manage to keep my student from blatently laughing out loud at the other boat! It just does not seem sportsman like . . . . . . However we had a grand giggle as we swept passed this poor fellow and his crew as they desparately tryied to figure out why we sailed up from behind and past windward of him with such speed! LOL!

Our return trip found us beating to wind sailing up river all the way to the ramp where we doused the sails and motor to the dock.

We did see the Catalina at the boat ramp as we retrieved our respective boats. They did not achnowledge us . . . . . oh well! 8 )

Grand day!
( FYI vacation photos and write up are coming soon )
Scott

I DO NOT PERFORMANCE SAIL . . . . .
I DO NOT PERFORMANCE SAIL . . . . .
I DO NOT PERFORMANCE SAIL . . . . .
I DO NOT PERFORMANCE SAIL . . . . .

Padiunka · Post by **Padiunka** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:55 am

Nice work Capitan!

astrorad · Post by **astrorad** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:53 am

Thanks Scott, for the good instruction and tips. Some day I may actually get my boat in the water and try them out...LOL

CaptainScott · Post by **CaptainScott** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:19 am

Bill, anytime!
Come on over to Puget Sound and we'll take ya sailing!

Scott

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:25 pm

I DO NOT PERFORMANCE SAIL . . . . .

me neither, Scott, I just like to get there as fast as possible...

Bhacurly · Post by **Bhacurly** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:25 am

Hee hee... Love it!

We had a similiar situation with a buddy in his catalina 25... Pam an I were laughing as we sailed all over him taking picts. Watchin him tweak trim an look an look tryin to get more speed! I asked her if we should tell him his outboard is still in the water... No, we didn't...
Took him 15 mins but eventually he saw what was holding him back and then we were even steven...

Chrysler20%26 · Post by **Chrysler20%26** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:46 pm

Vary nice, keep the sailing story's comming.