Topic: Wind strength and sail size
Hi All,
I've recently purchased my Contessa and am getting acquainted with her. So far, only 2 sailing days in... one with less than 4knots of breeze, so not much sailing occurred and then a quick sunset cruise last Saturday. I estimate the winds were around 10 knots, although I didn't have the machine on and the >155% genoa, by itself was pulling me upwind around 4-5 knots (GPS SOG). We were just out for a sunset cruise so we didn't have the main up and we weren't heeling much.
To give me a head start with my experimenting, I'm curious to know what combination of sails you use for a given wind strength/range. Around the great lakes, I don't usually see anything above 25knots (although it has happened)
For example, what do you carry in 5-10knots? 10-15? 15-20 and 20-25?
At what point do you reef your main and at what point would you exchange a 155% genoa for a 100% jib?
Lastly, I'm considering ditching the 155% genoa altogether and having my 130% genoa cut for the furler as my primary head sail. I'm having a difficult time with the decision as I don't know the wind ranges for each sail yet. Is it a waste of money since my 155% is still good? Or will it make a better primary sail for winds 5-15 knots?
Regards,
Jordan.