Downwind

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Padraigh36

New Member
Hi all,

Is sailing big angles (be the lee etc) downwind actually faster by straight downwind? Racing over the weekend I went from 3rd at the windward mark to 11 at the leeward mark. The wind was light (5-8knts) and I was the only boat in the fleet that attempted to sail anything other than straight downwind. I got creamed on that leg and it completely stuffed my race. There are much more experienced helms than me in the fleet and they almost always sail straight downwind to the leeward mark. Are the books and instruction material having a giggle or is there actually some benefit in the whole by the lee thing.

Frustrated sailor looking for advice.

Padraig
 
I can't say that i have ever tried, or even thought of sailing downwind in any way other then to just going straight there, this is probably because i find that sailing straight there is easier and in my opinion faster.
However, in slightly stronger winds and bigger seas i can now see the theory behind sailing at big angles as it would probably give improved stability and boat handling without a great loss of speed.
 
If the wind is light, you'll want to sail a straighter course towards the mark, bearing down slightly in puffs.

In heavier breeze, you will most likely be surfing waves, which means you will be sailing some pretty wide angles at times.

Sometimes, the fastest route to the mark is not a straight line.
 
Angles or not downwind, is all about VMG (velocity made good).

Lasers are just too slow to make angles pay off, in light winds they may reach 15% faster than going straight down wind, but if you sail 20% more distance, you will have lost out at the bottom mark.

For some reason which I have forgotton, in Laser's, Finns, OK's etc with unstayed una rigs, it is faster still to run by the lee, with the wind flowing across from leach to luff, than it is to run normally with the wind running from luff to leach.

In all Laser fleets you will see that downwind in light wind, they try to run by the lee straight at the mark with the boat well heeled to windward, to get the centre of effort of the rig over the centre of the hull., and to minimise the hull surface area.

Stronger winds and waves, sail all over the place to keep the boat surfing/planing.
 
In the catamaran fleet, it was often a bit quicker for us to sail somewhat higher angle than DDW. A cat is quick enough to make up that distance easily with the speed increase. I don't think the Laser can do that very well.
 
I am a Laserlearner myself, however I have made up some places on DDW-runners by sailing angles, even in light air. I believe - please correct me if I'm wrong - that the trick is to sail just slight angles and/or use small windshifts to go by the lee or on a broad reach as opposed to DDW because DDW there is no lateral flow over the sail and even on a broad reaching angle (or by the lee) you will have lateral flow over the sail, one that increases with the boat's movement and generates a stronger apparent wind as opposed to the DDW-push effect where the boat's velocity reduces the apparent wind. In theory that is.

In practice I have experiences people running away from me going DDW while I was zig-zagging behing plenty of times. I guess it is a matter of doing it right.

One problem in doing it right is that it is harder to detect wind shifts going downwind than upwind because the effect on the apparent wind shift is smaller and therefore plenty of shifts go unnoticed by the inexperienced or unattentive sailor.
 
Try sailing by the lee to gain speed, then heading towards the mark, consider the effects of current, in light winds try not to use the tiller excessively. You need to find the right comprimise between speed and heading. In gusty conditions it will usually be faster to run in the gusts, then sail by the lee in the lull looking for the next puff, this way you sail longer in and find more puffs.
 
Is it legal to lift the rudder up? I have been sailing DDW in light air with the rudder up as an experiment.
 
wessel said:
Is it legal to lift the rudder up? I have been sailing DDW in light air with the rudder up as an experiment.
Click to expand...

Class rule: "The rudder shall be maintained in the full down
position except whilst racing in water less than
1.5m deep unless otherwise specified in the sailing
instructions."
 
wessel said:
Is it legal to lift the rudder up? I have been sailing DDW in light air with the rudder up as an experiment.
Click to expand...

15(j) says it must be in the fully down position unless racing in waters less than 1.5m deep (SI's may amend this). It's also a really good way of prematurely snapping your rudder if it at all in the water and not fully down.
 
This thread shows once again why racing is an interesting game. In addition to the points already made, let me add a few regarding tactics.

If you are leading by just a few boat lengths, the fleet will blanket you to some extent on the downwind leg. Therefore, it will pay to sail either low or high. Blanketing is more pronounced in lower breezes. If you are ahead 'by a mile' it won't matter (much).

Sailing (a bit) low may give you the desirable 'inside overlap' position. When it's crowded, this can result in you getting ahead of many boats.

At the local and District level, I see many of the better guys and gals sailing curved routes to the leeward mark. I haven't been to National events, so I don't know what the top sailors are doing.
 
wessel said:
Is it legal to lift the rudder up? I have been sailing DDW in light air with the rudder up as an experiment.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will reduce drag enough to make a significant difference and thats just another thing you have to adjust before the leeward mark
 
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