On the edge: wind gusts and weather helm
The Extreme Sailing Series is designed for adrenaline junkies who race identical 40-foot performance honeycomb-cored, carbon-fiber catamarans at double-digit speeds that have been clocked as high as 30 knots.
Back in the days when the square-riggers were doing battle, being a good sailor with a responsive crew was a critical part of winning, or even surviving, a battle. You had to maneuver your guns into effective position while keeping the enemy from doing the same. If you got caught by an untimely wind shift, or made a tactical mistake and wound up "in irons", you became a "sitting duck" to your adversary's guns, and it meant that your fate was sealed. You were, at best, going to have a very bad day.
Today, aggressive maneuvering under sail is still a vital part of sailing competition. The only thing lacking is the part where the loser gets blasted into flaming wreckage—almost.
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