No need to apologize, Sally, I think Minnow looks lovely with that rig.

Remember, the conditions around my boats in the Stavanger - Ryfylke area are quite different from those in the area where you are sailing:

• ·         We have generally more protected waters here, so making progress to windward is possible if the boats are built for it. Tidal height of 50cm and currents generally below 0.5kts make sailing life easy. On the other hand, if we get headwinds here, there is no tide to catch  -  we either have to tack our way, or motor.
• ·         The area between Brixham and Chichester looks to be a lot more exposed than I am used to, so stout boats and gear, rather than peak performance have probably higher priority. Bilge keels for drying out upright is also a part of it.
• ·         The JRs that you spotted on the Stavanger boats, all had wooden masts and these add quite some weight and windage to the boats. This is why I generally have aimed for shortish masts. To get a decent sail area, I have made the sails with wide chord and with a full-length yard with 60-70° peaking angle. With the light and tall mast available on Minnow, the moderately hi-AR sail of David T’s design looks perfect.

Finally:

• 1.      Could I suggest that you measure the actual camber in the panels of your sail?
• 2.      As always, I keep nagging about fitting telltales to the leech of the sail, as a guard against over-sheeting the sail.

Cheers,
Arne