Alternate Configuration
Another configuration is a triangle with a right angle at the wing mark and 45 degrees at the top and bottom marks. In this case the ratio of the windward leg to a reaching leg is 1:0.7071 and the course length for the 9 legs described above is 7.8284 times the length of the windward leg. One would imagine that a triangle with 45 degrees at the top and bottom marks and 90 degrees at the wing mark would provide ideal reaching conditions on both reaching legs, provided the windward leg runs straight up wind. However, the wind will often shift during the race and the Committee may not always be able to shift marks to re-align the course to the new wind direction. With a 60, 60, 60 triangle, if the wind shifts 15 degrees either way, one of the reaching legs will be a 45-degree broad reach, while the other will be at 75 degrees to the wind and will be a close reach.
Read more about this topic: Olympic Triangle
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