A cautionary tale about BIG headsails and the wind.

The race began about 1:00 PM and as the afternoon progressed, the wind began picking up. Although we seemed to be sailing ok, we kept falling behind the fleet. Finally, we dragged across the finish line pretty close to last. To emphasize our condition, a few moments before we crossed the line we met the committee boat picking up the last of the marks! This finish was as bad as the one we had at our first outing last year when the genoa track was improperly placed.

Watching the boats we usually stay ahead of begin sailing away from us, I kept wondering what we were doing wrong. Our sail trim appeared to be the same as before and we were pointing well, but we were just not moving. Maybe I should have had the bottom scrubbed?

At the post race gathering, we learned why we were so slow. The old "Bay Fox," Ernie Rideout, said that we were falling behind because we were "overpowered." We should have taken down the 155% genoa and used the working jib. Pathfinder (Ernie’s boat) went with their 120% genoa and Cat Walk, the other Ariel, used a working jib. And they both walked away from us.

I'm not sure about the wind range for head sails, but it sure appears that in anything over 12 to 15 knots and you should not be using a 150. I assume a 120 will cover the 12 to 18 knot range (but I may be on the high side, Ed probably has a better estimate). If the wind is under 9 knots, maybe you could "effectively" use a larger headsail.