Transat VMC example

SOL Mini6.5 Exmeromotu coasting home with a huge lead! At this point in the race, boats are starting to get worried about whether to sail for maximum boatspeed or best VMG. When the screencap was made Brazil was keeping the decision easy enough, but once the fleet is around the corner we’ll see some scattering.

The blue line is Exmeromotu’s polar curve for this windspeed, and the the polar diagram has been rotated to align with the on-screen wind arrows. You can see that he is neither sailing his fastest TWA (around 110°) or VMG (170°) – he is working his way down the coast on a middle angle that gives him max VMC along the red arrow, which not coincidently is pointing right where he wants to go.