Thats exactly what i am saying, i never learned a bowling, or bowline out of a book, so i dont know how to spell the name of it, i just heard someone say, "this is a bowling" the first part of the word being "BOW" as
Anchoring at sea
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I did a Google search trying to find support for AtlanticAl's contention re heaving-to with headsail only. Didn't find support for that concept, but I did find a Pardy video on YouTube wherein Lynn describes heaving-to under reefed main or trysail only. Was quite surprised and enlightened. Noone questions their experience or credentials. Thanks, Al, for opening up our eyes to the wonderful world of variation that is sailing.
Heaving-to really just means stopping the boat at sea. Coast Guard the world over regularly ask power vessels to heave-to. For them, it means stop - hold the vessel stationary using whatever motor power is required. Sailors of course find complication interesting.
Heaving-to really just means stopping the boat at sea. Coast Guard the world over regularly ask power vessels to heave-to. For them, it means stop - hold the vessel stationary using whatever motor power is required. Sailors of course find complication interesting.
Thats exactly what i am saying, i never learned a bowling, or bowline out of a book, so i dont know how to spell the name of it, i just heard someone say, "this is a bowling" the first part of the word being "BOW" as in "bow tie" and the second part never pronounced "line" but more pronounced 'lynn" or Lin But its what i say, i had to get a book out and called "what knot" and for the first time in my life look up "bowline" course i could equate taking a shit with tying a bowline, i know how to do it, but i never read how to do it in a book, so i could easily be doing something wrong, there too.
Sorry, brain fart happening - that was Larry Pardy's video. Knew something was wrong when
I hit the post button.
I hit the post button.
All i can repeat to everyone is, unlike most of you, i have done it. If you ever get to the point you can no longer sail because the winds are too strong, and want to heave to with the main up, that your problem, The fact though, (and no one would dispute this) is you can sail a boat under head sail alone, now if you can sail under headsail alone, the physics of the whole thing, tell you that you can hove to under headsail alone. Your sail is like a airplane wing, and the vacum in front of the sail, sucks you along, the more sail area, the faster you get sucked along, when the weather gets up, and you maintain speed, you start to get thrown about, so you reduce sail area, which slows you, when you have reduced area to the max, and are still getting thrown about, and decide to hove to, you want to flatten the sail you have left up, as much as possible, so you get as little of the airplane wing effect as you can, and as little vacum infront of the sail to pull you along. So your speed becomes as slow as you can get it, the wind is pushing against the foresail, so you put the tiller hard to leeward, to counter the actions of the wind, which is pushing the bow to leeward, the boat is now down to as slow a speed as it gets, maybe a knot, and it becomes comfortable. If you had the main up, and their was wind in it, and your tiller was over to leeward, your speed would increase, and you would turn into the wind, then you would jive, and automatically start to sail again. You could probably do it in very calm weather, with low wind speed.
All i can really say is, i know because i have done it, and if anyone wants to run an expirement, why wait until summer, now is the ideal time, or march, when you get the equinoxial winds.
All i can really say is, i know because i have done it, and if anyone wants to run an expirement, why wait until summer, now is the ideal time, or march, when you get the equinoxial winds.
I am not making this up, the first time i was on a boat that it was ever done, i was with a Royal yachting association skipper, the weather was picking up quickly, so we were in a hurry to get back to port, and the boat was taking a hammering. He had the helm, and he told me to go bellow, and see everythign was ok, so i did, the usual gear flying about, i went all through the boat, and found nothing wrong, until i got into the forward cabin, I swear to this day, i could hear the anchor locker breaking up, I could hear everything in the locker thumping as the boat came off a wave and hit, and i could (i believe) hear the fiberglass cracking. Their were two anchors, and a lot of chain in there. So we wound in some of the jib, lowered the already three reefed main, and come hove to, and we both got up the bow, and took the two anchors out, and a lot of chain, followed by hundreds of feet of line, when we got it all out, and had been taking it bit by bit, into the cabin, we couldnt find any damage, in port we went over it all again, and all we found were a few stress cracks in that area.
Good, Al. Glad you have been in it too. I will experiment with headsail only heaving-to this summer. Will you try it with a reefed main and small headsail? That way, we can meaningfully compare, providing boats have suitable similarities.
I won't be trying it any time soon. My cruising grounds are frozen solid and I am eeking out a living on the ski hill. You are lucky to be able to enjoy the equinoxial winds. (Thanks for the new adjective.)
I won't be trying it any time soon. My cruising grounds are frozen solid and I am eeking out a living on the ski hill. You are lucky to be able to enjoy the equinoxial winds. (Thanks for the new adjective.)
Sorry everyone, I am responsible for this little ugly interchange: I am now more confused than I was, all I wanted to know is how you stop the boat at sea! Started very nicely, but must admit it got a little ugly and unnecessary words were exchanged, seemed like some of you good people tried to score points off each other.
I do agree with sandpiper, no need to belittle anyone and I detected some bad vibes.
So now I have to read all of these coments and not know what the hell to do at sea, or hove to!
This is a great forum, am now too scared to ask questions, I may start another riot!
Ok i will try it. But of course, it wont be in the same weather conditions as i had to do it in the past. As i noticed on this side of the pond, its either good sailing weather, or too bad to sail. Which is why (most bost i sailed over here) have at most two positions to reef the main, on the other side of the pond, where the winds will build up slowly, and go down slowly often over days, every boat i sailed has three reef points. Its like where i live, the wind speed is nearly always under 20 knots, then you get 70knot straight line winds going through, that tear down radio masts. You get nothing in between. In the uk, you get the full beufort scale, from 0-12, or to 14 if you are working on the american scale.
This forum is the best forum for technical advice about repairs and maintenance. You can get any answer, to any question, about any boat, But, when sailing questions are asked, everyone is playing with a different hand. I am new to lake sailing, I am in my forties, and every bit of sailing i have done up until now, is salt water sailing. Most of it, the other side of the pond, but, some on the east coast, and out to Bermuda, but the gulf of mexico where you are is not a wild place (unless their is a hurricane) so their advice might be better than mine.
Jorgé, keep those questions coming! We are all big boys and girls here and can work out our differences. Its like a bunch of sailors getting together at a pub on a winter Saturday night; we all have opinions, we are always right, and we all (usually) keep a civil tongue in our heads. Cheers! 
Don't be underestimating the Gulf of Mexico anybody( http://www.tampabay.com/news/disabled-sailboat-from-st-petersburg-rescued-in-gulf-of-mexico/1092457 ). This will be Jorge's playground and we don't want him going out there thinking it is a pond or lake.
And Jorge, there is nothing to be gained by NOT asking your questions. We all learn from these exchanges, even AtlanticAl !
And Jorge, there is nothing to be gained by NOT asking your questions. We all learn from these exchanges, even AtlanticAl !
Yup thats a fact, the day i close my mind, and stop learning, is they day i am dead. You can never know everything, and their will always be someone that has forgotten more than you know.Don't be underestimating the Gulf of Mexico anybody( http://www.tampabay.com/news/disabled-sailboat-from-st-petersburg-rescued-in-gulf-of-mexico/1092457 ). This will be Jorge's playground and we don't want him going out there thinking it is a pond or lake.
And Jorge, there is nothing to be gained by NOT asking your questions. We all learn from these exchanges, even AtlanticAl !
That's it?... It's over?.... I thought you were going to explain how to tie a bow tie....Always wanted to know how to do that...
Al
I wasn't referring to heavy weather conditions. Jorge's question was simply how to stop, and I've used the method to pause for a bit during normal sailing conditions. I have no open ocean or extremely heavy weather experience driving anything smaller than an 840 Ft 45K Ton amphibeous assault ship (LHD-3). Your experience with heavy weather sailing makes sense to me.
Just a comment on heaving to.
This past November while crossing the Gulf Stream from Fort Lauderdale to West End we lost our anchor. Conditions where 2-3 m waves, 15-20 knots of wind and we were sailing with just the Yankee. I hove to with just the one sail by back winding it (Tacking without swapping the Jib) then turn rudder/wheel to windward so that the sail and the rudder forces canceled each other out.
We hadn't lost much in the way of anchor chain as I tied a big knot in the chain down below as soon as I heard it so it couldn't go out the haws pipe. Some minor anchor rash later on the bow and a lesson learned to not overlook anchor security.
Heaving to will also work with main and jib, and was my preferred method of dropping sails in light winds when I had no furling gear, single handing my 27 Helms. The order was always main down first with the jib back winded, the reason being, that with just main alone unless the traveler was all the way up wind(and sometimes even then)the boat would begin to sail away as the boat begins to develop forward speed and the rudder becomes effective.
When it blows there is a danger that the boat hove to with both sails may develop enough forward speed to allow the rudder to overcome the sail forces and tack back to a sailing condition.This is especially true when faced with larger wave conditions as it may race down a wave face creating enough rudder force to overcome the wind force.
Hope this helps, I have used this in wind strengths up to 65 kts to gather my thoughts and reduce the workloads on the crew and loads on the boat.
This past November while crossing the Gulf Stream from Fort Lauderdale to West End we lost our anchor. Conditions where 2-3 m waves, 15-20 knots of wind and we were sailing with just the Yankee. I hove to with just the one sail by back winding it (Tacking without swapping the Jib) then turn rudder/wheel to windward so that the sail and the rudder forces canceled each other out.
We hadn't lost much in the way of anchor chain as I tied a big knot in the chain down below as soon as I heard it so it couldn't go out the haws pipe. Some minor anchor rash later on the bow and a lesson learned to not overlook anchor security.
Heaving to will also work with main and jib, and was my preferred method of dropping sails in light winds when I had no furling gear, single handing my 27 Helms. The order was always main down first with the jib back winded, the reason being, that with just main alone unless the traveler was all the way up wind(and sometimes even then)the boat would begin to sail away as the boat begins to develop forward speed and the rudder becomes effective.
When it blows there is a danger that the boat hove to with both sails may develop enough forward speed to allow the rudder to overcome the sail forces and tack back to a sailing condition.This is especially true when faced with larger wave conditions as it may race down a wave face creating enough rudder force to overcome the wind force.
Hope this helps, I have used this in wind strengths up to 65 kts to gather my thoughts and reduce the workloads on the crew and loads on the boat.
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