Hi Steven, "I am pointing well, though wounder if I should pinch more or be more off the wind for speed? I seemed to be passed on reaching and running"
I don't sail a 30 but for pretty much any boat the pinch vs speed question the answer depends on the headsail you use, wind speed, chop, the shape of your sails, etc.. For example, my 150% can back-wind the main pretty badly on the higher end of its useful wind range compared to the 135 so it's a definite trade-off on speed vs point when the wind pipes up unexpectedly with the 150% up.. I'd say the best place to start is with your boat's polar graph. I made an enlarged / highlighted version of mine that includes the best angles for wind speeds listed out and that's plastic laminated / taped to my bulkhead. Unless the winds are very slight I usually point 8-10 degrees true less than what the polar graph says that seems to be the sweet spot for my setup. Except for the 150%, my sails are pretty much used-up so that might have something to do with it. Once you know the ballpark angle, the best way to tell is to compare your pointing / boat speed with your competitors and keep a very close eye on the windex / wind angle gauge, and even more importantly : The telltales on your genoa. I beat my nemesis (A modified Beneteau First 29 with fresh carbon sails) this Wednesday night by mostly out-pointing him and also because he missed a nice lift :-) As for the whole phrf thing ours is scored ToD and it seems to work fairly well.. Some boats seem to have a bit of an edge When we do everything right it seems we can beat pretty much anybody in our current class, even the Yoda on his Pearson 29 with a phrf of 213.. We have to finish a country mile ahead of him with our 105 phrf but it's do-able :-) Regards, -Francois Rivard 1990 34+ "Take Five" Lake Lanier, GA
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