Just something that caught my attention :
>>Heavy air day of sailing today - 14-18 knots with some higher puffs in at least 3 of four matches.
>>In the other two matches, they beat us across the line by about 5-10 seconds (30-50 yards, close but there is no second in match racing!).
30-50 yards equal 5-10 second sailing in 14 to 18 knot winds ? This means the boats are doing on average about 5 feet a second (= 3.3 knots) in 14-18 knots winds ? This can't be right. Especially not if the finish is a downwinder or on a reach. There one would expect alot higher speeds, but even on the upwind leg one expects more than 3.3 knots boatspeed.
Either 30-50 yards is right and the time is anything between 2-4 seconds or the distance must be found somewhere between 85 and 170 feet.
Wouter
Wouter, you have answered your own question...
30 Yds = 90 feet
90 / 5 = 18 feet per sec
18/(5*3.3) to convert to knots = 11.88 (assunming your 5 feet per sec = 3.3 knots)
11.88 sounds OK upwind, but not so good down wind...
But there may have been last minute gybes onto stbd for tactical reasons.....
