Excuse the very amateur sailing question but I'm learning as I go.
in what direction is it best to sail in choppy waters? Parallel to the waves ,perpendicular to them, or at an angle to them?? These last two sundays I went sailing off the beach in Hollywood, Florida. Last sunday was brutal trying to get through the breakers (wind blowing onshore) and when I finally got out it was like riding a wild buck out there. When I pointed the cat more to winward (and the direction of the waves) it was a little more fun because it felt like I was really crashing through the waves. way too much movement though. when I turned the cat to go more parallel to the wave direction I picked up more speed but movement of the hulls as the wave passed through made it feel like it was going to flip over all the time. anyway it was way too rough for me out there so I went back to shore. Anybody out there go sailing off the beach in the fort lauderdale area these last two weeks who could tell me if they also thought it was too choppy out there?