Hi Gary
just messin round on the forum ,-I,ll take a guess .
Seems your track is very consistant with little veering ,
that,s good!!
Looks like you got a little lift out of the Del Rey harbor,
maybe a shore effect lift and it just followed you around the course.
There could be a number of factors other than the Del Rey triangle effect .
Generally main only rigs sail higher than main + jib rigs.
The mast section and fullness or flatness of sail effects course heading as well. Full ones create more lift and power ,-flat ones point higher.
A main only T can theoretically sail higher with main only rather than main and jib though the main and jib T sailed lower with better VMG will get to the weather mark first.
The higher aspect mainsail also helps sail higher without stall , most designers -sailmakers will tell you that sq ft area is not as important as aspect ratio
--That is higher taller narrower sails are more effecient , check out A Class sail configurations . They are allowed 150 sq ft only ,--so all of it is in tall narrow high aspect mains.
Narrow more displacement type hulls with narrow bows track better and sideslip less ,-board configuration and effeciency are big factors in pointing ability of a particular design ,-boardless boats being the worst at drift angle actual course vs course heading .
This drift lessons at cat speed increases and more hull is depressed underwater. This is apparent in design rating schemes like Texel where boardless boats are given 3 pts but this percieved non board disadvantage is negated in higher winds ,so H-16s often win Texel races on rated time.
sorry digressing there,-
Beyond basic boat hull design ,sail shape ,board config.
The other aspect may be the human element , some of us are pinchers {like me}
and always prefer sailing as close hauled as possible to weather though not always attaining the best VMG , Velocity Made Good.
The GPS will give a read on VMG though takes a while to read accurately ,--try sailing normally and get a VMG reading , then try sailing off a few degrees on a steady course and check the VMG .It can be surprising in that sailing lower is sometimes faster though never seeming like it to the pincher type.
The best thing to do is race alongside comperable speed boats and just race often,-in trying different techniques and various sailing angles to match conditions along with others you learn your boat and its characteristics. Many go out and speed tune with identical boats trying different tuning set-ups and various sail settings and steering methods ,-the most important being very smooth and not oversteering constantly as most new sailors do if you watch them from a distance.
In racing the I-20 for several years now in distance races it is very amazing how much more the teams get out of these same boats now as they did when new and techniques and correct tuning not yet fully known ,-it makes a large difference that addes up to huge distances over a days racing.
Some just have a wondefull 6th sence as to exact wind veers and changes that can sail perfectly once within the :zone"; you may be one so fortunate that sails by feel mainly .
Try sailing at night sometime , then check your course to see how straight and consistant it is .
or sail blindfolded ,its great practise to develop feel -
kind of a ZEN thing ,
HOPE that is helpfull
have fun
Carl
