There's been quite a few posts on this forum regarding the propensity for a boat to capsize. This past weekend I inadvertently had the opportunity to push our 216 to the limit. You may know that the 216 is light boat with a 500 lb swing keel, no lifelines, no winches, 18' waterline, and a 7'11" beam. Its a fractional rig with a relatively large main and small jib.
This past Sunday we partcipated in our first offshore race. Our PHRF rating is a 192 which puts into a spinnaker C fleet. Sunday's forecast was calling for 15 - 20 kt winds and 3 foot waves. Waves on the Chesapeake are short wavelength chop which usually amounts to a pretty confused sea.
Knowing the forecast we proceeded with caution prepared to turn around. Needless to say the wind was 10 - 15 kts and the sea was max 2'. About 10 minutes before the starting signals, the mark boat was forced to change the course because of a change in wind direction.
About 20 minutes later the race began and so did the wind. 20 - 25 kt winds with gusts in the low 30s. The seas built to 3'+. We only had 3 crew including myself - the other 2 were women. So our ballast factor was low. To keep us upright I was continuously dumping the main. However, all my attempts to keep our sails crisp and trimmed were quickly failing with the rising winds and increasing waves. At this point, the main was flogging attempting to reach the windward mark. It felt like we were barely making way although our GPS was reading ~7kts close hauled.
So then began the real test as the gusts started coming through. At this point, our heeling factor was increasing considerably. We began standing on the vertical side of the cockpit seats with every gust. We continued to heel more and more severely, but each time the boat would get high on the rail and slap back down. The heeling was made worse by the occasional 4' wave. But again, we would reach an extreme angle and then she would settle right back down.
Finally, we reached our windward mark, rounded it and got on a run (no spinnaker needed). Rounding up occasionally, but a more comfortable ride because the strain on the sails was reduced. At this point, we retired and headed for port - port was to windward so we turned the engine on and eventually dropped the main.
What we did: There were reports of gusts in the 40 kt range by several boats. We kept our ballast on the windward rail. I constantly tended the main sheet to dump wind. We had an experienced crew capable of handling the jib sheets and able to tack quickly.
Overall, we experienced the strongest winds we've ever been in. Although we were excessively heeled and it certainly felt like we were going to go over, she just reached a point where she righted herself. This experience really built our confidence on several different levels. So, I would not say that the 216 could not be capsized, however, proper handling seems to go a long way.
Hopefully, this account helps those who are are concerned or curious about their 216's in big weather.
PS: Yes had we reefed, we could have probably continued the race and had much greater control over our rig.
This past Sunday we partcipated in our first offshore race. Our PHRF rating is a 192 which puts into a spinnaker C fleet. Sunday's forecast was calling for 15 - 20 kt winds and 3 foot waves. Waves on the Chesapeake are short wavelength chop which usually amounts to a pretty confused sea.
Knowing the forecast we proceeded with caution prepared to turn around. Needless to say the wind was 10 - 15 kts and the sea was max 2'. About 10 minutes before the starting signals, the mark boat was forced to change the course because of a change in wind direction.
About 20 minutes later the race began and so did the wind. 20 - 25 kt winds with gusts in the low 30s. The seas built to 3'+. We only had 3 crew including myself - the other 2 were women. So our ballast factor was low. To keep us upright I was continuously dumping the main. However, all my attempts to keep our sails crisp and trimmed were quickly failing with the rising winds and increasing waves. At this point, the main was flogging attempting to reach the windward mark. It felt like we were barely making way although our GPS was reading ~7kts close hauled.
So then began the real test as the gusts started coming through. At this point, our heeling factor was increasing considerably. We began standing on the vertical side of the cockpit seats with every gust. We continued to heel more and more severely, but each time the boat would get high on the rail and slap back down. The heeling was made worse by the occasional 4' wave. But again, we would reach an extreme angle and then she would settle right back down.
Finally, we reached our windward mark, rounded it and got on a run (no spinnaker needed). Rounding up occasionally, but a more comfortable ride because the strain on the sails was reduced. At this point, we retired and headed for port - port was to windward so we turned the engine on and eventually dropped the main.
What we did: There were reports of gusts in the 40 kt range by several boats. We kept our ballast on the windward rail. I constantly tended the main sheet to dump wind. We had an experienced crew capable of handling the jib sheets and able to tack quickly.
Overall, we experienced the strongest winds we've ever been in. Although we were excessively heeled and it certainly felt like we were going to go over, she just reached a point where she righted herself. This experience really built our confidence on several different levels. So, I would not say that the 216 could not be capsized, however, proper handling seems to go a long way.
Hopefully, this account helps those who are are concerned or curious about their 216's in big weather.
PS: Yes had we reefed, we could have probably continued the race and had much greater control over our rig.
