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La Rochelle - la rochelle parasailing



With the wind dead square to s/l and lacking any real grunt(6-12knots), motoring not an option and the main requiring 8 knots apparent so as to not impale itself in the rig , we decided to fully test the parasail and here are the results
Test boat----- Bavaria match 42 weight fully loaded 9 tonnes
Para sailor---- 125 square metres
Test parameters----- wind 6-12 knots parasailor on pole , no main and dead square
Sea state----swell 2-3metres seas slight
Wind speed------- boat speed
Under 6 knots. Burn carbon. 6 knots
6 knots. 4 knots. ( needed to be heated up to 160 apparent to fill kite
8 knots. 4.8 knots
10 knots 5.8 knots
12 knots. 6.4 knots
We had a very brief squirt of 14 knots generating 7 knots of boat speed
Parasailor verses mainsail and kite
With the ability of the parasailor to be flown dead square verses the traditional setup at 150 degrees apparent. The vmg difference is only around 0.3 knot in favour of the traditional setup. The parasailor wins hands down in a cruising environment.
Special notes--- we tried running the ps with no pole but due to the boat roll a pole was needed to stop it from collapsing and to stabilise
Also you can find nice lines of pressure and run with them , staying in them longer, not sailing through them as with the traditional setup
The ps will self trim to about 20 degress each side of dead square
In summary we all had a very cruisie day of no stress, no hand steering (louvre loved it ) and with its ability to disappear quickly and easily ( as we tested at 10 pm when we hit a line of squalls) . Can be flown at night with the combination of radar.
Can't wait to try the ps out in the 14-18 knot range , hopefully tomorrow

Capt less grumpy and frustrated La Rochelle

P.S. just caught up with our pommie mates on "shamrock", had a quick chat, and they offered us a full English breakfast ,but we were zooming along at 9 knots with the parasailor up, so we missed that opportunity.
"Don't let the truth get in the way of a good yarn" ( quote mark " chopper "Reid. R.I.P )




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