I was Just was wondering, what is your comfort zone as far as how much wind would you sail in for a fun, short cruise ? Also what boat and keel do you have ? I have a 1989 Catalina22 with wing keel and I find that up to 20 mph is ok by me. Thanx Alan
comfort zone
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Our comfort zone is a bit less than 20 on our 76 V21(swing keel). Up to 10mph is fun; 15 mph gets exciting. Beyond that the admiral starts getting anxious(though "cabin dog" doesn't mind much) and makes it clear we should head for land. I often sailed solo in that kind of wind on our little Snark 11-footer before we moved up to larger boats.
I agree...
...it depends on the crew. Although my new (to me) boat just loves the wind and I wouldn't hesitate to go out in 20 with gusts to 30 if I had another sailor on board. I probably would think twice with my Wife aboard. My 135 has a foam luff and I have been out in the aforementioned condition with just the jib furled up to about a 110. Rail was down, of course, but thats were the fun is.
...it depends on the crew. Although my new (to me) boat just loves the wind and I wouldn't hesitate to go out in 20 with gusts to 30 if I had another sailor on board. I probably would think twice with my Wife aboard. My 135 has a foam luff and I have been out in the aforementioned condition with just the jib furled up to about a 110. Rail was down, of course, but thats were the fun is.
Well here in North Texas, the average wind speed is around 10-15 mph. What that means is that the wind is zero half the time and 20 to 30 the other half. It is not unusual to have the hull side windows under water when you are sailing.
I like the wind when the weatherman tells it in kilometers per hour. It sounds much faster.
In real life though, I would start reefing at 20 knots. Maybe higher windspeed if I have experienced crew. If the dog is aboard and the winds are up, the boat sails well with just the genoa and sits up straighter too.
If it is me and the boys it is all about speed.
In real life though, I would start reefing at 20 knots. Maybe higher windspeed if I have experienced crew. If the dog is aboard and the winds are up, the boat sails well with just the genoa and sits up straighter too.
If it is me and the boys it is all about speed.
We have a Hunter 44DS. We start reefing when wind speeds top 20 knots. My husband prefers to reef at 25 knots (for being a cruiser and not a racer he sure tries to push the speed)! I look at the angle of heel more often than wind speed. I don't like to heel much more than 15 degrees. No rails in the water on our vessel as we live aboard!
It depends...
If I can get out (or back in) my slip safely. If I have someone that can help me I'm comfortable in 20-25 knot winds and some small chop. My boat seems to revel in those conditions as long as I keep it under 20 degrees of heel.
Manny
If I can get out (or back in) my slip safely. If I have someone that can help me I'm comfortable in 20-25 knot winds and some small chop. My boat seems to revel in those conditions as long as I keep it under 20 degrees of heel.
Manny
Just a short story about wind and waves...
A year or so ago, while traveling down the coast of the North West, we heard another sailor on the radio claiming 40 to 50 knots of wind and 20 to 30 foot seas and was calling the Coast Guard as he was about to give up the ship.
When he gave his position, I was surprised as he was only a couple miles off our stern, in the same conditions as we were. And yes it was rough but the winds were more like 25 to 30 and the waves were 10 to 12 feet and breaking at the top. But it was managable by reefing and keeping your boat in the proper line, and because it came upon us slowly, we were able to adjust to the conditions..
The reason I bring this up is, that many people streach the truth a little and its easy to do. Because someone has said they sail in 25 to 30 knots of wind and they're comfortable with it, dosent mean its so. Be careful and dont push that boat more than you feel comfortable to do so..
By the way, we live on our boat, are presently cruising, and our comfort level is around 15 to 20 knots, above that, we start being a little more cautious about wats going on around us..
And our boat, is a FIRST 42 by Beneteau
A year or so ago, while traveling down the coast of the North West, we heard another sailor on the radio claiming 40 to 50 knots of wind and 20 to 30 foot seas and was calling the Coast Guard as he was about to give up the ship.
When he gave his position, I was surprised as he was only a couple miles off our stern, in the same conditions as we were. And yes it was rough but the winds were more like 25 to 30 and the waves were 10 to 12 feet and breaking at the top. But it was managable by reefing and keeping your boat in the proper line, and because it came upon us slowly, we were able to adjust to the conditions..
The reason I bring this up is, that many people streach the truth a little and its easy to do. Because someone has said they sail in 25 to 30 knots of wind and they're comfortable with it, dosent mean its so. Be careful and dont push that boat more than you feel comfortable to do so..
By the way, we live on our boat, are presently cruising, and our comfort level is around 15 to 20 knots, above that, we start being a little more cautious about wats going on around us..
And our boat, is a FIRST 42 by Beneteau
Our Bristol 24 with modified full keel, is comfortable until we run out of reef points. Depending on the point of sail; we are fine up to about 30 knots. Above that, it's harder to manage, and not so much fun. We,ve seen over 40 knots in her, and found it hard to keep headway and control. Time to heave to then.
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