H26 and the ocean

[Bruce Ahrens - Forty 2]

Do any of you (H26 owners) have experience sailing in the Atlantic Ocean off NJ or elsewhere? We would like to sail from the north end of Atlantic City up and down the coast a few miles when it's not (too!) rough. How well does the boat (and crew!) take the ocean pounding. Any tips would be very welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve]

Have fun

Not a problem... the boat was made for what your thinking of and more.... My H26 stays in the ocean and have sailed many many open water miles +- 18 miles out from land during crossing in New England waters... not a problem... Their's a lot of smaller boats out there..Use your common sense, reef early at 15-18 knots and stay in the harbor waters at over 28-30 knots, other then that, go for it...!!! the boat will heave too with out a hitch in a pinch.

 

[Garry Funk]

It's a blast

We (myself, my wife and two sons aged 6 and 8) weren't in the Atlantic but our recent trip to Catalina Island off California required 30 miles of open ocean. The waves were 2 to 3 feet when the wind picked up to 22 knots. We sailed close hauled about 2 hours with a single reef in the main, only once did a wave come up over the windward side (it was more like a christening). The boat was heeled over at about 25 to 30 degrees. This made using the head difficult but was definately exciting. The boat tended to want to head up into the wind since I was unable to get a satisfactory setting on the jib. Next time I'm going to try a temporary block on the stanchion (I believe they call them a barberhauler) to change the jib sheet angle.Good luck, stay calm and have fun.Garry Funk "Dragonflye"