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Ramona said..MorningBird said..
No, I understand they don't. I'm not a racing sailor but I don't understand why a 2 handed S&S34 can't compete with a 6 handed S&S34.
The two handed boats can use autopilots or windvane steering so they have an immediate advantage over the fully crewed boats. A double handed SS34 with a windvane self steering that steers better than an Olympic helmsman is going to easily beat an SS34 forced to carry all that extra weight.
The two-handers in Europe find hand steering quicker, understandably. No matter how good the autopilot, it still can't see the oncoming waves and gusts.
Crew weight is quicker, as ORC ratings show. You increase your overall boat weight by far less, as a percentage, than you increase your righting moment by having that weight on the rail. The computerised ORC ratings take crew weight into account in the calculations for righting moment and for displacement/drag etc, and they always put the two-handers as being considerably slower.
The Fastnet organisers have far more experience with two-handers and they allow them to race with the main fleet. I'm biased because I enjoy two-handing, but I also think it's far more in line with what the race was in its early days and when offshore racing was much more popular. The Hobart these days is far more about big boats with 10 or so crew than it was in the days of the Halvorsens, Kurtsey, Illingworth etc. The hassles of getting a full crew together are now far higher, as is the expense. The two-handers tend to be cheaper, smaller boats where the individual sailor and their ability to hang in for days is the critical factor, rather than the ability to be part of a huge team who do things like pushing buttons for 2 and a bit days.