Wind

Posted by Mark Williamson on
URL: http://kelt-sailboat-forum.30.s1.nabble.com/Wind-tp5000097.html

We just did our first few days of sailing for the season.  It was fairly windy and few other sailboats were out on the bay.  Here are a few numbers (the best I can recall):

10 mph - our Kelt 7.60 sailed fine
15 mph - ideal for sailing
17 mph - windy enough for us
20 mph - time to reef the main and roll in some of the jib - exciting
20 to 24 mph - we sailed for a bit with full main and a hint of jib (close hauled only).  very exciting.

We didn't have a chance to do a lot of experimenting.  The first day we had the main reefed and discovered that it wasn't necessary in winds up to 18 mph.  Second day we didn't have it reefed then got into winds that peaked around 24 mph.  

We're somewhat novice sailors only having half a season under our belts, so we're fairly conservative and our observations mirror that.  Wind speed was measured on a handheld "La Cross" wind speed meter - bought cheap on ebay and very handy.

Next time I'll write down wind and boat speeds.