Instruments set to True or Apparent wind

[johnalison]

I'm not at all sure that I use my wind meter much to determine whether or not to reef. Off the wind, I am happy to carry whatever sail the boat will cope with without being a problem to steer. When beating, much the same applies, though it becomes more a matter of comfort since my boat behaves well on the helm even when over-pressed. The meter reading will generally confirm what I already know, if I haven't already reacted to complaints from below. The only time I have trouble judging the wind is when motoring or m/sailing, which is why I then use true.

 

[flaming]

Flaming, I have no doubt that what you say is good practice on your race boat.
But I feel you are overlooking the fact that whatever the dial is showing, True or Apparent, we always need an additional interpretation before can make decisions.
Knowing that the TWS is 15 knots is not enough to decide whether to put a reef in the main or not. If I am going upwind, I know I will do a good 7 knots, so AWS will be over 20 and a reef will be needed. If I am going on a broad reach, AWS will be nearer 10, so definitely no reef.

No, you know that going upwind in 15 knots TWS you need to reef. Going downwind you don't. The difference is that when you are reading 15 whilst going downwind but about to turn upwind you know that you will need to reef without having to take the 10 knots apparent and add the 5 knots you're doing downwind, and then the 7 knots you'll do upwind to get to 22 apparent upwind.

You just know your reefing figures in TWS. Obviously they are different if you are running or beating. But then so are apparent figures. You don't reef in the same apparent upwind and down.

 

[BelleSerene]

Most of the time my instruments will be on apparent, which reflects the fact that somehow I spend more time beating than running, but that may be just my luck ?

I fear we are all destined to share your ‘luck’, Westhinder. The moment we power ourselves over the water we are sitting in, our apparent wind is far more likely to come from ahead of the beam than abaft it. Firstly, our boat’s motion in the direction we call ‘forwards’ biases the angle of the apparent wind towards our bow, turning a broad reach into a beam reach and a beam reach into a fetch or a beat.

Secondly, about 90 degrees of the compass are off limits to us under sail power. So the only way to reach a quarter of our destinations is to contrive a beat ~45 deg off them and then back towards them, and that’s for root 2 (~1.4) times what would otherwise be our sailing distance.

I think the only way to skew our ‘luck’ is to go tradewind sailing!