[Rhodes22-list] Close Haul Question

[Leland]

I typically sail on a beam to close reach for fun and so I end up back at the
marina without having to motor.

Yesterday I decided to do a destination sail.  There was a small craft
advisory due to heavy chop, but winds were generally less than 15 knots.  I
started with a full main and no genoa just to try it out.  I was on a run
and immediately exceeded theoretical hull speed.  It was fun riding the
waves but I certainly had to stay focused--a couple of times I let the chop
hit me on the beam and I felt like the boat was going to roll over.  After
about 30 minutes the chop died to about two foot waves and I enjoyed a fast
broad reach for about an hour.  By this point I had reached the shipping
channel in the middle of the Chesapeake, and decided it was time to turn
back.  Since the last hour had mostly been a broad reach, I figured I could
follow the same path home on a close reach.  The wind and waves got a little
better, yet it still took me five hours of sailing and a half an hour of
motoring to get back to the marina.  Part of the delay was experimenting
with different adjustments and spending more time going fast than into the
wind, but I still felt like I could have done something different to make
better time.

In about a 10 knot wind, full main, 10 to 15 degrees of heel, 120% genoa
rigged to the outside, board up, boom and poptop up, close reach; I could
steadily maintain 5 to 5.5 knots, even with a little chop.

In about a 10 knot wind, full main, 10 to 15 degrees of heel, 100% genoa
rigged between the mast and inner shroud, board down, boom and poptop down,
traveler to windward, close haul; I could only do 1.5 to 2 knots.

Question:  If your destination is into the wind, do you make better time
going slow into the wind, or fast off the wind, or somewhere in between?  I
assume the answer is slow into the wind with lots of tacks, but it just
didn't feel that way.  Also, is there something I could have done to improve
my speed into the wind?  Any advice is appreciated.

Lee
1986 Rhodes22  At Ease
Crab Alley (Kent Island, MD)
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