The process he describes took me back many years, precisely to the year 2000. I was very passionate about America’s Cup Sailboat Racing. It was the year that Luna Rossa won the Louis Vuitton Cup. I remember watching the Virtual Eye replays of the races and it was this very zigzag (tack & jibe) technique that was used to navigate the course upwind. Downwind is easy…usually the boat sails straight.
The skipper would send a crew member to the top of the mast to scout for wind. The idea is to identify pockets of wind by studying how agitated the sea is. The result was that the Skipper would have to make a split second decision about staying the course or diverting to reach the windy spot.
The problem is that by moving off a direct line to the flag you give your opponent an immediate advantage. It takes a lot of courage to do this but if it is done right, the results are awesome.
I was always amazed at how fast the sailboats could go with the right wind and only the brave found the best wind and ultimately, the win.
Great post by Dan.
The process he describes took me back many years, precisely to the year 2000. I was very passionate about America’s Cup Sailboat Racing. It was the year that Luna Rossa won the Louis Vuitton Cup. I remember watching the Virtual Eye replays of the races and it was this very zigzag (tack & jibe) technique that was used to navigate the course upwind. Downwind is easy…usually the boat sails straight.
The skipper would send a crew member to the top of the mast to scout for wind. The idea is to identify pockets of wind by studying how agitated the sea is. The result was that the Skipper would have to make a split second decision about staying the course or diverting to reach the windy spot.
The problem is that by moving off a direct line to the flag you give your opponent an immediate advantage. It takes a lot of courage to do this but if it is done right, the results are awesome.
I was always amazed at how fast the sailboats could go with the right wind and only the brave found the best wind and ultimately, the win.