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Wrong · 18-03-2015, 05:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

The debate about whether or not he was able to turn (barring steering failure) has been pretty weird IMO. Just like the debate about whether the wind was on his beam or directly behind him.

It's clear the wind was on his beam, and the way his sails were(n't) set should have allowed him to turn either way, really. He appeared to be going fast enough that his rudder would be effective, and the loads on the sails would be minimal.

<snip>

Clearly. The dude didn't turn because he wanted to t-bone the ferry.

Or, he could have been asleep below. One of the hazards of single-handing...

Or, he could have been injured, unconscious...

Did anyone actually see anyone on the boat? Maybe he went over the side.

jtsailjt · 18-03-2015, 06:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

The debate about whether or not he was able to turn (barring steering failure) has been pretty weird IMO. Just like the debate about whether the wind was on his beam or directly behind him.

It's clear the wind was on his beam, and the way his sails were(n't) set should have allowed him to turn either way, really. He appeared to be going fast enough that his rudder would be effective, and the loads on the sails would be minimal.

For mine though, even at the start of the video he's much closer to the ferry than I'd get. They make a decent wake, Sydney harbour is quite big, I leave them plenty of room.

I think that it's safe to assume that if he had been able to turn, he would have. Even going fast, you can still stall the rudder. The trouble is that he was trying very hard to turn to port so as to pass behind the ferry and he almost made it. Don't you think that if he had been able to turn further to port just before impact, he would have? I think he was at the helm, paralyzed by confusion because even with the helm hard to port and rudder stalled, his boat wasn't turning.

If he had just sheeted in the main slightly, and turned to starboard, he would have come right up into the wind or tacked. In fact, in that wind and with the boat heeling that much, if he had just let go of the helm, I think he would have come up into the wind. But I think he had made up his mind that he was going to clear the ferry by passing behind it and was so focused on making that happen, he didn't explore his other alternative.

Wrong · 18-03-2015, 07:46

Lots of speculation here.

How many of us have actually been in a siimilar situation? And, how many know precisely how boats with different design characteristics and sail plans will behave in similar conditions?

OldFrog75 · 18-03-2015, 08:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I think that it's safe to assume that if he had been able to turn, he would have. Even going fast, you can still stall the rudder. The trouble is that he was trying very hard to turn to port so as to pass behind the ferry and he almost made it. Don't you think that if he had been able to turn further to port just before impact, he would have? I think he was at the helm, paralyzed by confusion because even with the helm hard to port and rudder stalled, his boat wasn't turning.

If he had just sheeted in the main slightly, and turned to starboard, he would have come right up into the wind or tacked. In fact, in that wind and with the boat heeling that much, if he had just let go of the helm, I think he would have come up into the wind. But I think he had made up his mind that he was going to clear the ferry by passing behind it and was so focused on making that happen, he didn't explore his other alternative.

+1 Makes sense to me...

jtsailjt · 18-03-2015, 08:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrong

Lots of speculation here.

How many of us have actually been in a siimilar situation? And, how many know precisely how boats with different design characteristics and sail plans will behave in similar conditions?

It's not rocket science....