Everyone Knows It's Windy

[Phil Herring]

You're planning to take some friends out on a summer Saturday, but instead of the nice, warm 10-knot breeze you've got a nice, warm small craft warning gusting to 25 knots.

What do you do?

 

[D Swanson]

Assuming these friends are not sailors and if I hope to keep them as actual friends, I would check my dock lines and suggest a different plan. Picture says it all. On the other hand, if my friends are sailing buddies, then its a different calculus, but to be honest - we would probably go have a couple beers on terra firma.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Motor to the nearest restaurant

 

[jon hansen]

go sailing. match the sail area sq ft to the wind and have a lovely day on the water. it's just that simple. it's a non issue

 

[jon hansen]

with that said talking of my keel boats, twenty kts of wind is prolly max on my Ascow. i cannot reduce sail. 38 ft boat, 1,800 lbs boat. we cannot hold her down. built way too light to withstand the forces.
my sailing dingy, a trinka 12 does have reef points in the sail and is fun on a windy day as described

 

[JamesG161]

Motor cruise in sheltered waters or make the day at the marina.

Comfort and pleasant day is best.
Jim...

 

[jon hansen]

being able to control the sq ft of the sail area while having it properly shaped to produce lift it the key. that is what this discussion is really about. if the sail has bad shape then drag is produced by the sail and problems develop.

 

[DRhoads]

Reef and press on

 

[BlowMeAway]

25 knots and above? We follow the dog’s lead!

 

[DougM]

Where I sail, the wind wouldn’t be a big problem, but I would have a double reef in the main. However, the distance between waves on Lake Michigan would make things uncomfortable in a hurry. There is a minimum of 56 miles of open water from the prevailing wind direction. Anything over a six foot wave height is probably going to put some water over the bow on a beat, and water in the cockpit on a run. Other than that, a fun sail with experienced crew, an absolute no go otherwise.

 

[j_schoenfeld]

I agree with DSwanson, depends on the crew. I wouldn't single hand it, I don't want to work that hard. But if I have an adventure crew that is familiar with sailing we are off! And if it's a group with kids it's pirate hats and pictures and card games. In the marina.

 

[Brian D]

Oceanside has a south facing harbor entrance. When the wind is blowing that puts the swells and inbound currents tough to negotiate with a small outboard. So instead of going out we would toot around the harbor so they feel like they went boating. I try not to take non-sailors out in conditions I know they would not feel comfortable.

 

[capta]

Motor to the nearest restaurant

Really? In case you've not noticed, since this thread was started we now have a pandemic going on and that sort of behavior is frowned upon, if not downright dangerous. How do you social distance on a 25 foot boat?

 

[Hayden Watson]

Really? In case you've not noticed, since this thread was started we now have a pandemic going on and that sort of behavior is frowned upon, if not downright dangerous. How do you social distance on a 25 foot boat?

This is a hypothetical questions so while you wish to hypothetically imagine the demise of the entire human race fine, the rest of us prefer to discus what we will hypothetically do when life returns to normal.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Relax .I was being sarcastic .Hard to tell sometimes when you can't hear someone's tone or see them smile. Seriously however , if the winds pick up while we are already out . we furl up the genoa ,throw a reef in the main and sail it like I sailed small boats . What does that mean exactly ?
Never cleat the main ,ease the traveler . point when the puffs increase and bearoff when they pass . I agree with others here . The waves have more to do than wind strength on Lake Michigan . I don't know what any of this has to do with the "Pandemic "

 

[jon hansen]

a couple of you guys brought up a really good point. where as the sailing might be quite doable, getting from your dock/anchorage to open sailing area is the problem. i do not have this problem. if you look at a chart of the sturgeon bay area you will see the the harbor is naturally protected and between 2 bays and the big lake there is always a fun place to sail that is with off shore winds to start the sail.

 

[jon hansen]

back in my lake erie sailing days i was at a yacht club that also had easy access to open waters

 

[jon hansen]

driving a big ship out of a protected harbor into the fray on a big wind day was always thrilling. the strength and power of the ship against mother nature's will could get quite dramatic.

 

[markwbird]

On SF Bay we call that Tuesday in the summer. Reefed main only.

 

[Calif. Ted]

The first time I just went out on a reefed main with a visitor from NE who was "supposed" to be a sailor. I was pointing out various landmarks etc. like a tour bus guide. About a mile out of harbor my wife whispers to me "You are scaring him, better go back in". Next time in similar conditions I just sailed "windward/leeward" with the reefed main in the 1 nm outer channel where there were no waves or blowing spume and everyone was happy as clams.