By the lee

[Paul Matthews]

Hello experts.

From my Laser sailing I have found that on a square run, for distance made good, and excluding tactical or tide, the principles seem to be i) set a course that has the boat at 90 degrees to the waves ii) select the tack (port or starboard) so that the boat is sailing by the lee.

(Explanation: by ‘by the lee’ I mean so that with the boom out square to the boat, the tell tales are flowing in reverse, indicating the wind is passing from leach to luff.)

My question: can anyone comment on this with respect to the Sabre?
(I know that t is not possible to have the boom square to the boat, but what about the principle of sailing by the lee on a square)

Sue

PS Please don’t anyone say ‘that is dangerous’! I am looking purely at distance made good – sailing fast.

[lamarstrehlow74]

Hi Sue

My opinion is that it can work in the Sabre but not quite as well as a Laser for two reasons. Firstly and most importantly the sail cannot be let out to the optimum amount. Secondly the laser’s round bilge hull has less drag when changing course ie through transitions between going by the lee and heading up onto a broad reach. The Sabre’s chines seem to give more drag .

Having said that i am convinced that it is faster in some conditions-namely when there are enough wind and waves to allow surfing directly downwind.
It also allows for quick choices to be made in avoiding waves . Eg if there is a big wave just in front there is no value in stuffing the bow straight into the wave. Unlike a Laser the Sabre with it’s bouyant bow won’t nosedive but it will just go slow. Being able to head up or go by the lee gives more choices in waves.
In big wind conditions, by the lee can be safer ie less chance of capsizing so long as the sailor has practiced first. It does feel a bit spooky at first but once a feel has been established it becomes okay and comfortable.
Because the wind flows across the sail in one direction it is less inclined to induce the death rolls.
One other thing I realised is that having the mast aft relative to the side stay position has a big impact on how far the boom can swing out. Boats that have their mast right foward on the tolerance see disadvantaged…but then most fast Sabres have their mast towards the aft tolerance anyway.
Lastly we tried some two boat tuning to gauge if the technique was in fact faster. What it showed was that by the lee in itself didn’t seem to be much faster. What made the difference was using a weaving technique-broad reaching and then by the lee to avoid or use waves to make best VMG.
With good transition technique,minimal rudder and clever use of waves the difference was significant. The bigger the wind the more difference it made.
Then again others may have a different perspective.

Cheers
matt.
1697
Zahir

[Paul Matthews]

Thanks Matt,
You have given me some solid material to now thank about and work thru.
Thank you for the detail of what you have tried.
Hope you southerners are keeping warm,
Sue

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