[nolatom]

well done on the race, and kudos for "adapting to circumstance and keeping her going after something breaks", an essential skill for sailors ;-)

I echo the good advice above. Another thing to keep in mind is the angle of jib lead, you want the sheet to sort of bisect the angle of the clew corner. Or put another way, the sheet, projected "upward" in the same line as it has from block to clew, should bisect the luff, up to maybe 10% above that mid-point. Poor sheet angle will slow you more than you might gain or lose by having the tack itself higher or lower than "standard".

 

[nolatom]

I love coming across little nuggets like this. I have noticed things like this while sailing casually, but about the time I begin to see the correllation the conditions change or I tack, or something changes before I come to really understand what I'm seeing.

Would you mind expanding on your comment, but on a Sesame Street level so that I can picture it in my head as you explain it? Where you lost me is "10% above that mid point." I'm sitting here at my computer trying to imagine from memory what "that mid point" refers to.

Thanks in advance!

Let's say the jib luff is 20 feet tall. Midpoint is 10. I'm thinking the imaginary dotted line that projects "forward and upward" from the clew on the same angle as the sheet when close-hauled, should be between 10 and 12 feet above the tack fitting as it crosses the jib luff and heads off into infinity.