Post by
YourMomSA | 2020-12-16 | 14:14:17
It's a royal pain. Don't expect it to be easy.
Also, when this was written, Dashboard had one decimal of accuracy. Getting to xxx.0 is realistic with some patience. Getting to xxx.000 is lunacy.
You set a programmation for the desired TWA, and confirm. Check dashboard to see what locked. If it isn't what you want, you open the programmation page, go into your scheduled move, unlock it, move it a couple minutes, re-lock it, and confirm. Then check dashboard again to see what you got. Repeat this until you get what you want. Then keep it. Your boat won't sail the desired angle until the xxx.0 programmation actually occurs.
Sometimes, the wind is shifting slowly, so you need to move by more than a couple minutes. Sometimes a lot more. Sometimes it's wavering back and forth, so after shuffling your schedule to get to .1, it goes back to .2, which can be really annoying. Other times, the wind is shifting rapidly, and moving even just one minute goes from .9 to .1. So sometimes, it's easier if you push the programmation point several hours into the future, to a place where the wind is shifting at a steady and moderate pace. Then get what you want. Then bring it back.
But also keep in mind that if often isn't worthwhile. It may be worthwhile when you'll be sailing the same VMG angle for many hours, or when you're sailing an angle that the polars show as a sharp angle where being on the wrong side causes a sudden dropoff in speed. In other cases, it isn't worth it. Also, keep in mind that the gains from this are usually tiny. One other mistake, or one unexpected sailchange, will negate days of trying to get the perfect angle.