Hi cisco
In the photo the yacht sail is directly into the wind 45 degrees is an estimate only
It is parked backed into a log or I would have to have laid it over to stop it taking off It doesnt look like it but there was a good wind the webbing on the batten ends are some indication
The beach where the yacht is is packed down by all the traffic as that is the entry point to the beach A little furtther out the beach is all ruts and bumps from the 4wds motorbikes horses etc and out by the water where the 4wd is sitting it is quite good as it is low tide Unfortunately out there there was a lot of gutters and holes up to half a metre deep Kariotahi is not normally like that in my experience
The soft stuff I think is due to all the light sand that has come off the sand dunes in all the recent hard south to south east winds we have had
Further down the beach where the sand is not so rutted by the vehicles the soft sand was sailable only if you could keep moving If you stopped you sank into it and
hard to get moving again
Short tacks out to the water and long tacks as far as I dare to the soft stuff
dodging the holes and gutters was my upwind strategy when I wasnt just fooling around
Down wind I would sail 90 degrees to the wind out to the water to build speed and then bear away and run directly down the beach and either tack or gybe in the turn at the end [usually gybe ]
I didnt notice the yacht skittery at all and went where I pointed it at all times
I didnt explore its speed potential too much as the holes and gutters were not that easy to see coming up [I hit a few ]
The slides and donuts etc was just me hooning around I could do them or not just as I liked [unless I stuffed up]
I had a good day!!!
From memory.
You Kiwis may be spoiled with your black sand beaches. I was over there at New Plymouth for three years and I do not recall a "soft" black beach.
.
for them. They didn't particularly bother me though.
. Cheers Cisco
