Sailboat donuts

[lindabarzini]

A bit embarassing, but a couple days ago, I really, really wanted to head directly to my destination, but unfortunately it was into the wind. I kept cheating away from my tack into the wind, I back winded my headsail but the mainsail stayed ok, this resulted in my boat basically doing a donut as the headsail pushed and the mainsail pulled into a circle.

Anyone else experience this phenomena?

[AFKASAP]

Yesterday I experienced the phenomenon of my destination being direct into the wind... A 4 hour journey from Palma to cabrera turned into 8 hours. No donuts though.

Beneteau Oceanis 40 - 2008
Mallorca

[tkeithlu]

All you need is a headsail and a mainsail that luff at slightly different headings, which isn't difficult to imagine, given one being based on the mast and having a boom, while the other is on your forestay and loose. They are very different shapes. I experienced it once on a Rhodes 40 in about 1962, but only for a few seconds before the genny pushed the bow down enough that we changed tacks without meaning to. I think the point is when close halted watch both, and when either starts to fail, drop off - you are pointing too high.

[IdoraKeeper]

Only done that while training my son to reef the main during a tack...did it several times infact. Local kids out on the seascout boat thought we were a hoot...gotta learn sometime. :-)

[barnakiel]

Hmmm. Interesting.

b.