Tuesday, May 28, 2019

J/70 Downwind Sailing- When to Switch Modes?

J/70 World Champs- Lucas Calabrese tactician for Jud SmithThe following question was asked of Lucas Calabrese, winning tactician on Jud Smith’s AFRICA in the 2018 J/70 World Championship in Marblehead, MA (btw, Lucas is also a bronze Medallist skipper in 470s for Argentina in the 2012 Olympic Games):

What are approximate boat speeds/ wind speeds to transition from displacement mode/ VMG light winds to WoW (wing-on-wing) to Planing Mode (jib out trimmed)?

Lucas- “It all depends on tactics, but a good guideline I think is:
  • Planing: it works when you do over 9.5 to 10 kts of boatspeed.
     
  • From planing to wing-on-wing: if you are trying to plane and you are doing between 8.2 and 9.5 kts, wing-on-wing is probably the best mode.
     
  • From wing-on-wing to VMG: if doing less than 8.2 kts of boatspeed while on the wing you are better off going displacement/ VMG mode.
Experiment! These are rough guidelines. It all depends on sea state and strategy, but those numbers should be pretty close.” Add to Flipboard Magazine.