flaming
Well-known member
I realise I've missed most of this debate, but a friend read it over my shoulder and told me a tale of bitterest woe.
My friend is a very good sailor, and he was racing his 49er one sunny afternoon in a force 3/4. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 49er it fully powers up in just 8 knots of wind, so in a 3/4 it will be travelling very quickly.
Anyway, they were lying in about 4th or 5th on a downwind leg when a "very large" MOBO decided to cross about 20 feet in front of the leading boat at a very high speed. The closing speed between the small dingy and the wake was probably in the order of 30+ knots. The leader hits the wake and takes off, he clears the rest of the wake and lands very nose first, both crew go flying forwards on their wires, the mast snaps, the pole snaps, the leeward wing breaks off, the main rips, the spinnaker is shreaded and the crew are very lucky indeed not to recieve serious injury. The boat is a complete writeoff. The MOBO does nothing. An attendant rib attempts to catch the MOBO but cannot close the gap, such is the speed.
The rest of the fleet saw the result of tangling with the wake and scattered. This one MOBO basically wrecked not only the guy's boat, but his race, weekend, bank balance and season.
As far as I see it (and I sail anything from dingys to 50 footers) a larger raggie has little issues with wash, but if you come across something that looks like a suitable size of tender for your boat, for Pete's sake slow down, your wash could cause serious harm.
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My friend is a very good sailor, and he was racing his 49er one sunny afternoon in a force 3/4. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 49er it fully powers up in just 8 knots of wind, so in a 3/4 it will be travelling very quickly.
Anyway, they were lying in about 4th or 5th on a downwind leg when a "very large" MOBO decided to cross about 20 feet in front of the leading boat at a very high speed. The closing speed between the small dingy and the wake was probably in the order of 30+ knots. The leader hits the wake and takes off, he clears the rest of the wake and lands very nose first, both crew go flying forwards on their wires, the mast snaps, the pole snaps, the leeward wing breaks off, the main rips, the spinnaker is shreaded and the crew are very lucky indeed not to recieve serious injury. The boat is a complete writeoff. The MOBO does nothing. An attendant rib attempts to catch the MOBO but cannot close the gap, such is the speed.
The rest of the fleet saw the result of tangling with the wake and scattered. This one MOBO basically wrecked not only the guy's boat, but his race, weekend, bank balance and season.
As far as I see it (and I sail anything from dingys to 50 footers) a larger raggie has little issues with wash, but if you come across something that looks like a suitable size of tender for your boat, for Pete's sake slow down, your wash could cause serious harm.
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