The polars are in this web site under Articles. If the wind was really 5-6 knots, then you'd be sailing close to 90 degrees apparent and doing around 3+ knots of boat speed. Just a few degrees too low and your boat speed suffers bad. You want to be generating all the apparent wind you can, so sometimes you just have to heat up and wait for the boat speed to come back.

I've seen that in these lighter conditions the cut of your spinnaker can make a huge difference. If you have a kite cut for running, it can be very slow in these light-air reaching conditions compared to an AP or reaching spinnaker.

Masthead would certainly be faster, but not clear whether it would pay with the adjusted rating. And of course, it would always be tempting to fly it too long and possibly tweak the unsupported top part of the mast.

Best solution: don't race in light air. It causes gray hair and other maladies...

--brendan

:: HELP we sailed a light air race lastweekend 5k to6k
:: smooth water.800 pounds of weight. 2 times around
:: windward leward 1.5 mile legs. Sat on by olson 40 at
:: start, tacked away ran down a pearson flier and J29 mast
:: head. sail past to leaward tacked and crossed. Went to
:: far left but still rounded close behind. Could not keep
:: time down wind even passed by olson (2) 25s mast heads.
:: This is PHRF but is still fun. How hot should we sail
:: off the wind and would a mast head spin pay in these
:: cond. thanks for any help.