Like Oxygen, Sailing with Grace

I took my daughter Grace and her partner Ellis for a sail on Sydney Harbour on Monday 23rd December. Healy Ryan was crewing and the only other person onboard who knows how to sail.
The video features a cameo from Comanche, a 38 knot gust and Istros, Lachlan Murdoch's classic 42m superyacht.

[@fezzafella]

Looks like fun.

[@captbilllanni304]

I sure would love to know how to get one. I come equipped with foulies.

[@berndbuck8332]

Great to see the speed potential. How about the light wind performance?

[@Yorky1956]

There a many factors which contribute to a boats performance. I designed the REO 8.5 to have great performance in good breeze with a crew of four.
The hull shape, weight and size of rig are the major factors. She performs well in 8 knots and extremely well above 12 knots. A larger rig would improve the performance in the lower wind range but would detract from the performance in the upper range.

[@berndbuck8332]

I like the concept of the boat. I sailed various skiffs and sport boats. But on our lake we have many times 5kn and less. Would it help to add a top head sail, like a code 0?