To answer Stu first, the C310 comes factory with a 135 genny on a roller furler. So I can reef to whatever is appropriate for the wind within reason. Of course, mine was made prior to when sail makers putting the foam in the luff was common. So it doesn't get good sail shape when reefed too deep. I also have two slab reef points in the mainsail. The second reef point is pretty deep and has been adequate to those conditions in the past.
For sailing around the Boston area, we can do short sails and stay within the Hull spit and Brewster Islands. This will be fairly protected but also limits your area to sail. Also, there are lots of submerged rocks and shoals. Sometimes you get into really shifty wind areas because of all of the islands. I have accidentally jibe in these areas in the past but thankfully it wasn't with winds above 15 kts.
Deep inside Boston Harbor is usually really protected but again you have really shifty winds coming off of the buildings. Also, when there is a lot of power boat traffic, it can be a washing machine.
When you get out past Boston Light, it is far less protected and seas can build up pretty high. However, there is very little to hit and you can get on some nice long tacks. There is generally plenty of space to work out your next tack and plan accordingly.
So Stu, would you leave port in the conditions I described just to go sailing for a couple hours (not cruising)? If so, what configuration of sails would you use?
The strongest conditions we have had in this boat have both been down in the Buzzards Bay area (this is our second season with this boat). Both days were either small craft advisories or warnings.
Last year we were in Buzzards Bay, going from Fairhaven through the canal. That day we he had 20-25 kts winds out of the northeast (the direction we were trying to go) with 3-5 foot chop. That continued to build and we eventually had gusts over 40 kts and chop as high as 7 feet at times. The boat did very well, but our VMG dropped to about 3 kts because of the chop slowing us down. We had the 2nd reef in the main and very little headsail out. Wished I had a gailsail that day.
Our second day of really strong conditions was this year. We were sailing from Menemsha on Martha's Vineyard to Cuttyhunk. Only a 12 nm sail with a 6 nm stretch across Vineyard Sound. When we left we had 15-20 kts with gusts to 25 kts and waves (rollers) at 4-6 feet. The winds were out of the south that day and as we traveled further west, the conditions built. When we got further out into Vineyard Sound, we were less protected by the island and the winds built to 20-30 kts with gusts to 35 kts. But the big challenge was the seas; they built to 8-12 footers with some breaking. We had only put out the genny, because we knew it was supposed to be gusts to 25 kts and we actually only planned to sail the 6 nm from Menemsha to Quick’s Hole, then motor from Quick’s Hole to Cuttyhunk because that would be straight into the wind. So to keep the knock downs reasonable, we reefed to about 75%. In hindsight, we should have put up the mainsail with the 2nd reef. We couldn't point very well and we were probably less stable then if we had both sails reefed. Because I had to keep sailing into the waves that were breaking, our VMG dropped to 1-2 kts. Worst of all, because I kept steering up into the waves, we ended up high on Quick’s Hole and I had to turn and have those seas as following seas for about a 1/2 mile to get back to the entrance. We furled in the sail in the shadow of Nashawena Island and powered to Cuttyhunk. Again, very pleased with the boat. The dodger was excellent and kept a lot of the waves from filling the cockpit. We did get a couple of small pops but the weather was warm and they just drained out of the open transom.
So I probably didn’t state this correct in my initially post, but I was trying to find out what other people with the same boat would do if these strong conditions. So would you go out for a “three-hour tour” or stay at the dock and work on one of the many unfinished projects? If you would go out, what sail configuration would you use?
For this particular day, I wussed out. I decided to stay at the dock because I didn’t really feel like fighting the gusts. If it were 30 kts steady, I would have gone out. But sitting at the dock watching the anemometer bounce from 15 to 30+ kts and then back down just made me think it was going to be more work than I was up for on this particular Sunday. I know, I should be ashamed of myselfL
