Went sailing coupla days ago.......when Missus and I started sailing a little while ago the forum suggested I sail on mainsail only
'til I got used to things, mainsail only meant I didn't have to tack. Fair enough!!. However I chose to use the headsail instead b/c
it saved me having to furl the mains'l back on the boom.
On Wednesday the breeze was 20knts and Missus was doing a bit work below deck, so I said "Darl, I'm going to hoist the mains'l
and just use that". So I did.
The result was the boat moved forward at about 1 knt, barely enough to steer. The breeze was a Nor'easter and I was heading
due East. I noticed I was being blown closer and closer to Scotland Island, so I yells to Missus "I'm going to pull out a bit of headsail".
So I did.
My headsail is 150% and a furling/reefer, so, b/c it was breezy I pulled out to about 90% and reefed it there.
Well all of a sudden we were moving along at a good rate of knots and spent the rest of the day at that sail setting. A big bonus was the
ease of tacking.....with the headsail shortened it was so easy, I did it single handed...no problem.
So the question is.....why was the boat so slow under mainsail only, and so quick with a bit of headsail added.??.
If I ever have to replace the headsail would it be better to go for a 100% rather than a larger sail b/c it seems to gallop along on the
smaller sail and tacking is SO much easier.