Catana 90 sailing in a gale and crossing the Atlantic video

Here is a video of a Catana 90 crossing the Atlantic and some heavy weather footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64zg0lZTDl0&list=UUhcnTuhRZqnOWKFBoBwsJjw&index=1

Enjoy.

Scott

 

Thanks for sharing. It makes me realize why smaller boats have their virtues with everything being of a more human scale, it's hard to argue against the better ride that the longer LOA offers though and the extra volume onboard. The racer in me wants to know whats the fastest top speed you have hit and under what conditions. Do you have a cruising spinnaker in your sail wardrobe? Might have been a better compromise than going wing on wing? Most sailors down here in OZ favour a masthead kite for light conditions but I can see the sheer size of the boat and the loads that are present could cause some problems with that approach. Some spinnakers can be roller furled now as well.

 

Thanks for the tips. Actually we are looking for any tips for sailing this boat as we are just learning her. Especially on how to trim the big main.

Thanks!

 

From what I can see on the video your mainsail trim looks quite good is there anything in particular you are concerned about? On multis you generally end up with the main eased a bit more than you would on a monohull. I was surprised when I was introduced to multis how much the outhaul on the boom was eased but the effect was palpable to performance and the skipper demonstrated how the sail's airflow could partially stall with too much outhaul.

I'm actually quite impressed with the sails they look like they hold a good shape many large cruising cats have fairly poor sails but the Catana does have a performance reputation. Interestingly enough the initial Catana design was drawn by Lock Crowther in Australia you can still see elements of his bow concepts on this boat.

 

When trimming, we sheet the jib first, then
on the main I aim to have as many telltails streaming aft as possible and as
many telltails on the leach of the sail streaming aft also.

Thing is I'll get all the tell tails streaming as best we can and let the boat
speed settle out to say maybe 10K. Then I'll sheet in or out just a little and
the boat will often take off, going from 10 to 12 knots, or 12 to 14. The
telltails all still look about the same, but often we get a big boost in speed.

I'm looking for tips on trimming main to the best advantage without this last
trial and error?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Scott