Sailranker
Optimist · Wind and weight

Why does it go worse in strong wind, or better?

A child's weight helps or slows them down, depending on the wind. A video of about two minutes, with everything to read below.

The video as text

The question

Last time it went well. Today, in strong wind, it went badly. Or exactly the other way round. Why is that?

Weight in the boat

An Opti weighs about 35 kilos. Many children weigh more than their boat. So their weight matters a lot.

Light wind: weight slows the boat

In light wind, weight pushes the boat deeper into the water. More of the hull is wet, and that slows it down. A light child often has the edge here.

Strong wind: weight rights the boat

In strong wind, the wind pushes the sail sideways. The boat heels over. The child sits on the side and leans out. This is called hiking.

Weight times distance gives the force that brings the boat upright. A heavy child keeps the boat flat more easily. A light child has to take power out of the sail sooner.

Weight is only one part

But weight is only one part. Technique, trim and strength count too. And the sail is chosen to match the weight.

Wind in Beaufort

Wind is measured in Beaufort. SailRanker splits it into three levels. Up to 2 Beaufort is light wind, 3 Beaufort is medium wind, from 4 Beaufort it is strong wind.

Here is how to spot it on the water. At 2 Beaufort, the water only ripples. At 3 Beaufort, the first whitecaps appear. From 4 Beaufort, you see many whitecaps.

When a child hikes

When a child has to hike depends on their weight and skill. A light child starts hiking earlier than a heavy one.

A result belongs to its wind

That is why a result also depends on the wind of the day. For every regatta, SailRanker shows how much wind was measured on land. So you can see the conditions behind a place.

Which wind suits your child, and what to practise, your coach knows best. Talk to them about it.

Remember: in light wind, light helps. In strong wind, heavy helps. A result always belongs to its wind.

You can find the sources on sailranker.com.

Sources (in German)

North Sails names weight as the main reason for choosing a sail. None of the sources we found gives fixed weight ranges per wind. That is why this page gives no kilo limits. The 35 kilos are the weight of the hull. The three wind levels are SailRanker's: under 7, 7 to 10 and 11 knots and up, mean wind between 10:00 and 17:00. Wind is measured on land or in a weather model, not on the race course.

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