Evidently I'm not prepared for heavy weather..

zeehag · Jul 14, 2016

i love my boat. under genoa, thrice wrapped, and single reefed mizzen, we encountered a 60 plus kt chubasco for 2 hours--0400-0500. hardly heeled, winds abeam., formosa a 41 at 8.4 kts sog. not too bad for a nights sail. cedros island village to cabo san lucas in less than 24 hours time. under sail. hell i was broke--not enough fuel to motor sail.. h aha ha ha ha
had to save all fuel to motor across the dead calm soc from cabo to mazatlan....
bu ti prefer big winds and heavy boats.
i was taught to heave to under line squall conditions. chubascos are no tline squalls, so ...... nor are prefrontal winds.. but it takes 20 kts wind to get my formosa to really move well.
weather is yet another thing in a lighter boat.

gom in phillips seidelmann was also a good learning experience weather wise--we always seemed to have weathery weather -- vhf kept saying severe fronts and we kept sailing.. was busy, but fun.

glad you didnt die and had a learning time... wow isnt it exhilerating

capta · Jul 15, 2016

If I have a warning, I'll take down all my gear and wait till the leading edge of the system goes by before I decide how much to put back up.
Of course, you need to have enough sea room to do that. If you don't, then keeping the boat making way away from danger is my first concern.

Daveinet · Jul 16, 2016

Having just experienced near similar conditions, I will tell you your Bimini is your worst enemy. It has too much windage to allow the boat to move forward in those conditions. I made that mistake. Makes sure you can bring your bimini down quickly without interference.

Bad Obsession · Jul 16, 2016

You also have to consider tactics as well as what sails you have up. Kretschmer's book "Sailing a Serious Ocean" speaks of forereaching a lot. I would say a triple reef, a storm jib, and forereaching may be the ticket.

Here is the thing, you are in a survival sailing situation. That is a nasty storm that is long in duration. At this point you need to consider keeping the boat and crew safe and not worry about sailing somewhere or trying to sail in it.

Either way, I want no parts of being in a storm like that. This is probably why I prefer to be a coastal cruiser. If I have an inkling of something like that coming my way I am going to be sitting in a safe harbor with my anchor out and plenty of anchor rode out to ride it out.

I second that you should read John Kretschmer's book "Sailing a Serious Ocean."

zeehag · Jul 16, 2016

bimini is not an issue in a wind when sailing . cruisers do this with hard biminis and dodgers.
what is an issue is not knowing when and what to drop fast and how much of what to reef for your particular boat.
my boat loves sailing under split rig. i have a 13.5 ft mizznboom and a 150 percent genoa. hell yeah she sails divine under jib n jigger in 60 kts. but i sail a righteous wind sailor
when i sailed a sloop i dropped main and enjoyed 8 kts in 15 of wind in san diego bay. niiiice.....

Daveinet · Jul 16, 2016

zeehag said:
bimini is not an issue in a wind when sailing . cruisers do this with hard biminis and dodgers.

I didn't previously notice he had a 40 ft boat.

zeehag · Jul 25, 2016

Daveinet said:
I didn't previously notice he had a 40 ft boat.

yeah 25 ft, bimini may make a difference doesnt on a boat over 30 ft with a little heft to it.

Gunni · Jul 25, 2016

Chris, I have never been put under tow, I am imagining that was one wild ride on an angry ocean. I would be interested in your experiences. And an Ericson29 is a stout boat, I would go off in one.

justsomeguy · Jul 25, 2016

Chris Patterson said:
(And what do those five stars on this thread page mean?)

It was an idea floated by a member to help point others performing a search on these forums towards especially helpful or informative threads.
Congratulations!