jonic
Well-Known Member
+1 That's what we did too, worked really well for us and no worries when the 9.00pm squalls came through.
Assymetric for Arc+
- Thread starter Spirit (of Glenans)
- Start date
+1 That's what we did too, worked really well for us and no worries when the 9.00pm squalls came through.
lw395
Well-Known Member
That's very true when you have a fair breeze.
Less true when the diesel's been making the same noise for 48hrs because you can't make progress in 6 knots true with your heavy sails.
I've met a couple of people who've regretted not setting off 'because there's not enough wind yet' and 'who wants to start off motoring?' resulting in missing the best of a weather window.
Dave100456
Well-Known Member
I agree with you when the main is up. However, with no main and a deep cut asymmetric will you not be able to go DDW? I accept that furling the Asymmetric is best done with main up.
macd
Well-Known Member
To digress a little, SoG, squalls have been mentioned a few times. They can be sudden and strong, with winds from all over the clock. Radar is excellent for spotting them (or, at least, for spotting rain-bearing squalls, which not all of them are). Unfortunately, unless new-generation stuff, radar is quite hungry for power, bearing in mind that sunrise to dawn will be a more than 12 hours. In the absence of radar, squall cells typically approach from astern and usually give themselves away by 'holes' in the starscape. So a significant part of the watchkeeper's job is looking (anxiously?) astern. Squalls seem most commonly encountered roughly two-thirds of the way across, but may be around you for several hundred miles, most commonly at night.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
Mine were hoisted on a twin track foil, worked a treat even on the way back, sailing quite broad withe the No2 to windward and right forewards if that makes sense.
Whatever you use keep a close eye on any possible chafing points.
Whatever you use keep a close eye on any possible chafing points.
Prasutigus
Well-Known Member
Greetings,
sorry to change the subject a bit. Are there regular squalls at 9pm, when running down to the Caribbean?
Sounds interesting, I haven't heard of that before. I've been to the Azores a few times but never right across, just doing my Ocean Theory now as it happens, (mainly for the astro challenge).
Thanks Jonic, if you have time to explain why such squalls would exist, or point me to a source of info.
(Edited to add, just out of interest.. my old gaffer is designed for running down tradewinds, and she has twin forestays, either side of the stemhead, 2 stays'ls, and 2 poles for them, so you can "read from both pages of the book"..
maybe a simpler, more versatile solution than the Twistles etc, but slower in light airs of course..)
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Bajansailor
Well-Known Member
Prasutigus, I think that Jonic was generalising re the 9 pm squalls - or to put it another way, they invariably arrive at the most inconvenient time (ie they are never on time!)
Sounds like your old gaffer would very much enjoy running with the trades - make sure that you put Barbados as a waypoint to visit in your Trans-Atlantic passage plan if you are not signed up for the ARC (which goes to St Lucia, 100 miles further west). Similarly for everybody else thinking of doing the so called 'milk run'.
Sounds like your old gaffer would very much enjoy running with the trades - make sure that you put Barbados as a waypoint to visit in your Trans-Atlantic passage plan if you are not signed up for the ARC (which goes to St Lucia, 100 miles further west). Similarly for everybody else thinking of doing the so called 'milk run'.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
I was forgetting this was about crossing with the ARC, or leaving early in the season to get across for Christmas. Leave in January and have wind all the way, or that's my experience.
macd
Well-Known Member
Yes, as the OP wrote, it's the Arc+, via Mindelo in the Cape Verdes.
Schedule:
11 Nov Start of Gran Canaria - Sao Vicente leg (865nm)
16-18 Nov Arrival in Mindelo, Sao Vicente (Marina Mindelo)
21 Nov Start of Sao Vicente - Saint Lucia leg (2090nm)
3-8 Dec Arrival in Saint Lucia (Rodney Bay Marina)
They should enjoy consistent Trade winds on the longer leg which, if memory serves, is pretty much along the 16th parallel; the first leg will no doubt be less predictable.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
Had to share this, taken mid Atlantic on the way back when we met a Dutch Yacht, we were trucking along at a good 6,7 knts with a storm coming from behind.
Neil_Y
Well-Known Member
Then rolled up to slow down and have a chat. The wind angle here was on the quarter so the No1 was setting well sheeted to the toe rail.
flaming
Well-Known Member
Sailing with a kite of any sort without a main set is not, in my opinion, a very good idea at all. It gives you no option to blanket it behind the main and as you say, you will want the main up for dropping.
Even then, with a A-sail you'll be hard pushed to make it stable DDW. A-sails are really designed to work with flow from luff to leach. If you stall the flow you can get some very unstable effects on the sail, especially as to run deep you will have a very eased sheet, and therefore quite "bag like" sail.
Symmetric sails still like to have a flow across the sail, but their relatively more fixed and "locked" position makes them more tolerant of stalled flow. The same effect can be got by polling out the tack of the A-sail, but then why not just buy a Symmetrical kite in the first place?
lw395
Well-Known Member
Where is the best place to find wind statistics?
Windfinder seems to suggest a 20% incidence of F3 or less for the nearest stations?
Windfinder seems to suggest a 20% incidence of F3 or less for the nearest stations?
macd
Well-Known Member
If you asking about open ocean, there's nothing like the information available ashore or coastal. Wind rose charts are probably the most familiar to sailors. Downloadable by clicking 'World Pilot Charts' on Passageweather's home page: http://www.passageweather.com