sorry for the long delay. got pretty busy over the holidays.
> Any idea how much faster the 2 spinnaker [wyliecats] were compared to the rest
> of the fleet? Only two after 20 years of competitive mixed fleet racing,
> implies that the speed gain is not huge.
of the 10 wyliecats listed in the san francisco handicap fleet (two 39s and eight 30s), three at one point had spinnakers. currently only bandicoot does. he is rated 21 sec/mile faster on a W/L course, and 33 sec/mile faster on a downwind course:
http://www.yra.org/PHRF/docs/current_phrf_certs_type.pdf
interestingly, bandicoot's rating for the 2012 transpac is close to that for without a spin. makes sense for him not to bring the spin since it was a solo race. he beat 4 of the 5 shorter boats (as expected), and 9 of the 14 longer boats, on elapsed time. so yes, it's fast for it's length! even without the spin. but with the spin, if the handicap is correct at 21 sec/mile faster, he would've finished 6th overall, instead of 9th, given the 2400 mile distance.
http://sfbaysss.org/2012/PDF/SHTP%20final%20overall.pdf
now let's see... what percentage is 33 sec/mile faster downwind. say VMG is 7 knots, so a mile takes 60*60/7 = 514 seconds. 33/514*100 is 6.4%. so on a two week voyage you arrive a day earlier.
for cruising and solo racing i completely agree with you rob. mainsail is all you need. spinnaker is too much hassle for an extra 6%. better off spending the time drinking more beer or getting more sleep so you can better think about strategy.
but if there's one thing i've learned over the last three seasons of racing my weta single-handed, it is that i am a much more social being than i ever knew before. i like having other people on the boat, either working as a team, or just passing the time. if you're going to bring 100-200 kg of extra people, an additional 35 kg for an extra sail and a winch is a pittance.
ben
weta #358
chesapeake bay