Anyone ever gone really fast nearly dead down wind with the boom on the wrong side?

Sounds stupid but last Wed night was the 2nd time this has happened.

The first time was 8-10 years ago on a NACRA 5.5uni. When the boat finally gybed, it was so violent, it ripped the main blocks from the sail.

Last Wed night the wind was 6-10 shifty and fluky. With rainstorms all around us. I was on my 14 and was getting killed by the V15's. I rounded the windward mark about 300 yds behind the V15's and got hit by a puff. I sheeted in and started moving well at about 170 degs (it's not a real cat). Then I got hit by a really big blast. The kind that blows spray off flat water. I sheeted in to a beam reach and closed the 300 yds in what felt like a minute. As I was closing I sheeted out to nearly downwind but still going really fast.

When I closed on the Fleet (V15, Sunfish, J24's, J80's) I realized 3 things 1) my cassette tape wind indicators were all going in different directions including circles 2) all the other boats had the their booms on the other side (port) and 3 the Sunfish had opened a BIG hole in the fleet for me to go through. I ducked behind a J24, gybed and went on the win

I know relative wind and by simple vector kind of calculations what I did was impossible. The only thing I can thing I can think of is the Lasers sometimes do this on purpose. They actually flow the wind backwards across the sail, the leach is the leading edge and claim it's faster.

I have seen some indications of this on my 14, gybing nearly dead down wind. You get a shift that should force you to gybe but you seem to be going faster.


I know most cats don't go this deep but has anyone else seen this.? Maybe on a Wave?

This is sort of fun it 3-5 kts. I do NOT recommend it except a desperate attempt not to pitchpole and break your mast in 20 kts.

Carl