ka025 said...

What is the best way to way to do a good alpha??? i always layoff trying to gain speed, that i layoff so much that when i gybe and make my way back i have layed off to much to make it into the 50 metre radius.

First you've got have some bearings, you need to roughly know a 250mt set of bearings. Sail as square to the wind as possible hitting the first mark at full speed (square to wind) sail to approximately 250mts then gybe tight and hard, and try to get back to staring point approximately 50mts downwind but not one metre more, aim for between 30 and 50mts.

sausage said...

Out of interest, does an alpha count if on the return run (after gybe) you cross your original path and then sail outside the 50metre range of your entry point?

Has to be within 50metres in a radius, so doesn't matter whether you cross over

Yes the Alpha name came from the Greek letter. When I originally came up with the Alpha concept I started by assuming you had to cross over and the calculation was always (and only) from the crossover point back to the crossover point. It was at this time that Tom Chalko came up with the name.

Later I realised that trying to judge a point to cross over before the maximum distance was going to be too difficult for sailors, and limited the number of calculation possibilities to just one for each gybe. By creating a proximity distance the sailors have a lot more freedom and chance of a result, and there are many more combinations of start and end point that could produce a result, much like a normal speed run. This ensured we would get the best result possible.

Another benefit of using a proximity distance is that the sailors dont have to cross paths at specific points when sailing back and forth. In a busy spot like Sandy Point it means we can all sail together safely.

On the subject of how to get a fast Alpha, I have studied many of Andrew Daff's fast runs, and it appears to me that you need to blast downwind to the start point then turn upwind using all your momentum to get upwind of the start point before you gybe. This allows you to do a wider turn or an easier beat to get back to the start point.

Be good to see some tracks from fast Alpha's!

C'mon all you Alpha gurus...share the good oil