As long as it's not gusting much over 25, and the friends are good for it; I can Reef heavily and go. It's more like work than fun in those conditions in my boat, but it's doable. Took my middle daughter out under similar conditions, except gusting a little stronger. Coming out of the Fowl river into the bay, we saw one center console fisherman giving up and coming in. When he hit the river, we had the bay to ourselves. I have a roller main and roller Genoa, so I can Reef down to a handkerchief if necessary. We ran out to the ship channel and back easily making hull speed. I confess to motoring through the tack to keep the excitement to a minimum. My daughter was ready to head for the river to get in calmer conditions for lunch and I was ok with that.
Water ballast and a glass dagger puts me on the lighter end compared to many of you. I heel a bit in gusts over 25. I've taken out friends that were new to sailing (both sexes), that almost panicked at 15 degrees of heel. They would have been scared to death in the conditions posed. Fortunately, my daughter has more game than that. We heard the few loose items in the cabin rearranging themselves several times.
Those conditions for a few hours weren't bad, but I wouldn't choose to do it much longer on purpose. As I said, it's more work than fun in those conditions on my boat. We had the advantage of leaving the dock knowing what was coming. I think it's a bit easier than being out and having a squall sneak up on you while you've got a lot of sail up.
Water ballast and a glass dagger puts me on the lighter end compared to many of you. I heel a bit in gusts over 25. I've taken out friends that were new to sailing (both sexes), that almost panicked at 15 degrees of heel. They would have been scared to death in the conditions posed. Fortunately, my daughter has more game than that. We heard the few loose items in the cabin rearranging themselves several times.
Those conditions for a few hours weren't bad, but I wouldn't choose to do it much longer on purpose. As I said, it's more work than fun in those conditions on my boat. We had the advantage of leaving the dock knowing what was coming. I think it's a bit easier than being out and having a squall sneak up on you while you've got a lot of sail up.