Spook wrote:
Dead Air explanation as some of you, Tony do not understand sailing. When you sail dead downwind you are being pushed by the wind, There is no airflow over the sail so we do not generate the same forces we do when we sail with the wind flowing over both surfaces of the sail. So to sail dead downwind means you are just being pushed along. We call this area dead down wind.... Not because the air is dead, the course we are sailing is dead downwind. If you sail a bit higher than dead downwind you will allow the wind to flow over the sail and you will generate a bit more force on the sail and go faster. This is sailing basics and common terminology throughout the sailing world.
If you take the time to read the whole page on my website you will have understood this but if you one of those that just reads a post and starts adding un educated comments you will just confuse everyone and make a mountain out of a nothing.
Of course, all the above explanation goes out the window once the wind speed exceeds the hull's maximum speed. There is NO "dead air" going downwind unless there is no wind. "Dead down wind" is not the same as "dead air".
Newer readers might wonder why I am critical of details in spook's posts.
It will be a long time before his credibility will recover in my eyes after he claimed in this forum,, in February 2013, that he had been
Quote:
AVERAGING 10.27 knots for 18:15 minutes
My BS meter broke upon reading that (unless his AI had an outboard he didn't mention), so I tend to treat his other posts with caution, just in case his smooth presentation disguises other information which might mislead newbies, just like this dead air BS.