CP16 pointing

[tmw]

I was sailing the other week, and the first day, the wind was coming from the direction I needed to go (SSW vs forecast of ESE) but with about 10 knots of steady wind, we made decent time with a couple tacks and long reaches.

Fast forward a couple days, and wind was like 6-8 knots of less steady, but reasonable from ESE, and after going around a point, I had a heck of a time pointing back into the wind to get back to my earlier location.  After a few tacks making no progress, I ended up firing up the trolling motor to improve my pointing for a good twenty minutes to make it back to the original cove and pier.

Is it normal to have this disparity--one day sailing is great, making better progress than sailing faster than a large classic charter sailboat, and the next not being able to make any progress into the wind?  From what I can tell, sail plan and approach was the same both days (unless I did something I didn't realize).

[Mas]

Hey TMW, long time no hear from! Not sure as to exactly what the lay of the land and your course were vis a vie wind but was current, tide and possibly the point of land factors? I know that I have more than once screwed up a perfectly good tack cuz I let speed drop and stalled as the bow tried to come about. Usually had to leave Jib backed to get over or simply gybed all the way round and slowly headed back up. Don't ya hate it when that happens!

Glad to hear you are getting out. This year has been abysmal in both commitments and weather for us getting down and taking a boat out. All things in good time though.

[tmw]

Yes, it feels like I was lost for a while, and happy to sail again.  Commitments can be challenging, and we work through them.

Attached is a picture of the track.  The challenge was going north.  Wind was from SE, and note the tack at point 1 (headed south), where it was easier to go east than later.  We headed towards an abandoned lighthouse before giving up seeing how far it was (we made it 1/3 of the way there, even though we felt closer).  After the very slow progress back (points 3-4 on picture), I fired up the motor (point 5), which allowed the windward progress.

I found the windex helpful to follow the relative wind, and keep me pointing in the right direction, no problems with jibes on this trip.

[lweisman]

Hi, We sail/live on the 1 mile wide 'Narrows' of lake Champlain (between VT and NY) which is oriented NNE/SSW and often deal with squirrelly winds and need to tack frequently.  Some days we seem to be pointing upwind just fine but can't seem to make any net headway.  The other puzzlement is sometimes, when we tack, it suddenly feels like the wind strength is different on the new tack.  Perhaps it's just the loss of the relative wind and our sloppy technique, but it just feels different.  Lake Champlain is not tidal, but I suppose there could be changing currents in the narrows affecting how the boat performs on any given day.

BTW, I like the image from your GPS.  Can you tell me what kind it is?  I use a handheld Magellan 510 which works fine but is rather annoying to use.
Lee in VT

[ameysails]

check the rigging balance port to starboard if it feels like
the wind strength is different on another tack...
a simple tap and listening to frequency of each shroud
(they should sound the same)...that's why it's called 'tuning', and should be done either when the boat is still or out of water
also check rake of mast...a bit forward is preferred on out CP16bc
also check the weight balance port to starboard

[tmw]

BTW, I like the image from your GPS.  Can you tell me what kind it is?  I use a handheld Magellan 510 which works fine but is rather annoying to use.

I use Marine Navigator app on an Android phone.  Downloaded the free charts, started logging.  I think the app costs a couple dollars (maybe even five?) although they have a free version you can try out.  Then I display the log and take a screenshot for sharing purposes.

[mattman]

I have been looking at this for a few minutes. Here are my observations all conjecture and opinion...
Assuming no current, at the beginning of your track, you make two short tacks. The wind appears to be coming from south south east. As you move toward tack #1 the wind appears to be backing to the south east to east. By the time you get to tack #1 you look close hauled but then ease off to head southwest. In the meantime the wind appears to be continuing to move toward the east. By tack#3 the wind appears almost directly east. As you tack upwind the wind begins to shift south again. You can see this as the track curves before starting the motor. The key here is to stay in phase of the wind shifts. My 16 would point about 50 degrees off the wind with barberhaulers, but made about 10-11degrees leeway. So that gives you 60 off the wind made good.  Also she would lose 8degrees on a beam reach, so factor that into your compass heading so as to not go leeward of  your mark and add distance. When watching wind shifts and shift cycles be aware of when you get a lift or get headed. Be prepared to tack to stay on the lifted tack. Just keeping in phase a few degrees is going to improve your vmg tremendously.  To stay in phase I watch my compass and determine the amount of shift occurring then once the boat moves past the average variation tack over and ride the lift. The hard part is the wind will also have smaller shift cycles within the larger shift cycle. Rule of thumb for me, "generally tack on a header greater than 5 degrees until I find them unstable or too unpredictable." Conversely I tack if my heading falls 5 degrees below my desired course.  Best of luck.

[tmw]

When watching wind shifts and shift cycles be aware of when you get a lift or get headed. Be prepared to tack to stay on the lifted tack.

This feels like I'm learning a foreign language, so please excuse my ignorance and slowness.  For the above, is it basically saying that one has to constantly watch the slight changes in wind and constantly adjust?

Is the optimal approach to go more into the wind as there is good wind, and back off when it lets up?  Is it best to try to read the changes and adjust ahead of time, or have a slight delay to build off momentum?

My latest has been looking up at the windex and trying to keep that thing pointing about 30 degrees off the bow, so I'm not giving up too much windward while also trying to keep sails from luffing.  Is that a decent approach?

[mattman]

When sailing close hauled,  in general, the jib will be sheeted in tight with tell tales flowing evenly windward and leeward, the main sheeted just inside a break in the luff with leach tension by sheet or vang bringing in the upper batten parallel with the boom. That means that the tell tales on the end of the upper two battens will be stalled but the lower will flow aft nicely. Once the boat is set, you drive for the wind meaning, if you are on starboard tack, if the wind goes left then you got a header (wind coming forward forcing you off your course to the left). So you drive down to reestablish flow and a new course a few degrees down. Same happens if the wind goes right-you get a lift as you now point higher toward your destination a few degrees up.  The wind however generally doesn't blow consistently and you should look for patterns to the variances to optimize your track upwind. The optimal approach is to not watch the vane but to steer a course that keeps your tell tales flowing and always sailing the tack that is closer to your desired destination. I think it is best to slightly anticipate the shifts...if you see a big puff coming I would start to come up to pinch in and depower just as the wind begins to hit the boat. Don't wait until you are knocked over. The other factor is sailing into a hole or an area of decreased wind speed. It takes a while to learn how to tell these from a header because the sail acts the same, but in a hole you will keep turning down and the headsail will fail to fill. Next thing you know you are 40 degrees down from your initial heading. No bueno! I tend to sail into the head just a bit looking at the water for a slight change to tell me if it is a header or hole, I call it right half the time. If you don't have tells on your sails get some and pick up a book on sail trim. Seeing pictures and diagrams makes it so much easier. Overall you are on the right track and asking the right questions. Best of luck!