A few comments (strictly my oppinion, so don´t flame me too much
- 3D keel (as from Lucas/Raison) is a complet nuisance. It is just another buggery thing you have to worry about. The moto of a mini is KISS / Keep It Simple and STUPID/. If you don´t have it, you saved weight and it can´t break. The boats that win Transat are personified simplicity. Remember that!
And most important thing, you have to consider what will happend after a couple of sleeples days/nights in heavy weather. You will be a half conciusness (i know i did not spell this right
zombie, dealing with water ballast, twist/rake/angle of keel, daggerboards, sailtrim, ... where does this leave you time for weather strategy?
2D by McKee is cool & a good idea, but still simple canting keelers are just as fast or faster.
Sayer´s forward raked keel is just another thing. We talked and he pointed out that the keel is raked forwar just because he doesn´t want to have a keelbox in the "salon". To me , this is not a prob, because you spend as much time as possible in the cockpit. But it has a big drawback, the fin should be longer to achieve 2 meters, so it si less rigid and induce momentum on the attachment points. Mybe that´s why it broke off when he hit the container? The boat is good, but has some problems with not enough forward wolume (nosediving), but was capable of sailing 1300 miles in 10 days. Impressive isn´t it?
That is to say about mini capabilities. They slog upwind at 6.5 kts with tacking angle at about 90°, but your upwind is miserable, wet, jerky and like living in a washing machine. It really wears you down. Downwind they shine. Max speed is over 20 kts, but the most impressive thing is its averages. It can very comfortably surf at 12 kts, while surfs at over 15 kts are pure fun. We did 60 miles in 4 hours 10. Two brits on "Reality" sailed 38 miles in two hours. Daily run is 254 miles, but this should be exceeded during the last two Mini Fastnet regatas, but the organizer did not provide ARGOS beacons so it can´t be verified. But, from the Fastnet Rock to France (350nm), lots of competitors had averages arround 10.5 kts
Compared to let´s say Melges or any boat of similar length/weight, Mini is much more stable and friendly to drive. It can hapily sit under autopilot at 16 kts while you take a nap (with sheet in yout hand, though). Above 15 kts, it starts to get a bit more tense but the real adrenaline starts flowing above 18 knots. Here you too must be very concentrated at the helm, but the boat just slides on its flat&fat butt.
About crewing minis (max crew is 2-3, the rest is just a crowd) vs. min.wet surf boats: hmmm... Upwind , the MWS boats will have better angle, hence better VMG, except in big, rough sea. Downwind: Melges might have occasional bursts of speed that will be on pair with a mini, but with power/weight ratio of 140m2/ton and stable behaviour (BTW, minis don´t tend to burry the nose, because asymetric kite on the 3m pole rise the bow) my bet goes on a mini. Especially if the sea is big...
Have fun,
Kristian (
www.4ocean.si)
