Iron wind

[David Marod]

motor under 1 knot

If the boat speed and or DMG fall below one knot (unless racing) we do what we call the San Juan cruise set. Full main with engine at 3/4 power. Hot water, full use of all toys with the illusion of sail.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Gunkhole

If the wind drops, I just putter around slowly, looking at boats in the marinas along the estuary, or going down side channels that I don't usually get into when normally motoring out to go sailing on the Bay. Always something new to look at.

 

[Paul Zetlmaier]

river sailing

I usually sail on the Columbia River so you haveto make 3 knots or the river will take you where she wants.

 

[Sam Clemens]

Beats motoring

We really like about 12 knts of wind the best, boat is close to hull speed and not healing much.Sailing at 2 knts of boat speed is better than motoring 7 knts.

 

[Rob]

Anyone can sail in a breeze

I like ghosting

 

[Ron Dodini]

Sail boats should be sailed. My trusty Atomic 4 is used to manuever in and out of the slip and when needed for anchoring or docking at other than my slip. If the wind is really light and I need to move up the pace, I will motorsail with headsail as it is much easier than the Main. Although ther3 is nothing wrong with exercising the engine, I will not go out of the "basin" with out some sails showing. Kind of a Sailor thing.

 

[Mark W]

Iron Jib

I and crew enjoy being on the water. If we have a place to go, then I fire up the Iron Jib (Honda 4-Stroke) and go,usually @ 4 kn or less of wind. We have gone 70 miles on 6 gallons of fuel, so I'm getting around more places more often. In fact, GPS and 4-stroke technology have completely changed the way we sail. Many fewer no-go days. Only high seas restrict our movement. We use sail and motor now as two clean modes of propulsion. Try that on a cabin cruiser.

 

[Gerald Moore]

Only when there is no hope

If it is a real must to go!

 

[henkmeuzelaar]

Too little wind can create survival conditions !

With the vast majority of the posters looking at the idyllic upside of light wind / no wind situations I feel prompted to point out the considerable downside of this issue for offshore sailors. Being totally becalmed is no lauging matter. Not only does one tend to start running out of essential supplies (viz. beer, cookies and toilet paper; not to mention water, food and fuel) but also out of stories, jokes, music, patience and, eventually the will to live.....Even worse than being totally becalmed is to have 0-4 knots of constantly varying light breezes exhausting the crewd with the need to keep changing sails and whisker poles.Worst of all is the combination of light variable winds and disproportionally large swells, quite possibly even confused in direction (as somewhere in the distance one weather system is starting to replace another). Now not only the crew gets exhausted but the vessel starts taking a severe battering with sails, blocks and booms slatting and slamming every few seconds. It has been said (and I agree) that the wear and tear on one's vessel is easily worse than in a 40 knot gale.So, under such survival conditions there is only one thing left to do: FIRE UP THAT IRON GENNY and get the hell out of the doldrums.Flying Dutchman

 

[Dave Sharp]

Crew gets itchy

If we are going to a necessary destination such as a distant port we have a rule that we must maintain five knots. However, most of our sailing is just for fun and I am comfortable down to about 1.25 kn. Beyond that the boom tends to slat in the ocean waves and my crew gets itchy.

 

[Randy Pace]

My "2 knot" rule

In a thought process borrowed from a friend who was a retired Navy Captain, if you can't make at least 2 knots, time for the auxillary!

 

[Alan]

I respectfully disagree

Mastering light air sailing is a challenge for the best of sailors. Heeling the boat to leeward with crew weight, flattening the main, tip toeing when you must move, almost no rudder movement are some of the things that you must learn how to do to get the boat moving in the light stuff. Light air sailing is a skill to be mastered and it can only come with practice.

 

[Michael Harper]

I am not in the office

I am not in the office, I have no where to go, I am on my boat on a very nice day indeed, whether I get nowhere fast or slow I don't mind because it is the journey that I need for my state of mind.

 

[Alan]

Michael boating therapy.. *!

..certainly has its place. I'm talking about sailing vs motoring. We buy sailboats to SAIL. Sailing means learning the skills to move and control your boat whatever mother nature throws at you. And light air sailing is difficult to say the least. I, for one, would rather try and perfect my sailing skills than turn on the iron genny.

 

[Sean]

Light Air

Light air sailing is great and really brings out the skills and abilities of skippers. However, if you are on a weeks holiday and your destination for the day is 20 miles away. Forget about sailing at 2 knots. i know a lot of sailors will say it's the sailing and not the destination. Me too. However, a lot of sailors wives don't feel that way. Sean

 

[Tom]

Thats what its all about

With no place to go I am not in a big hurry to get there. Light winds, no power boats around, quiet, thats almost as good a fifteen knot wind when you are singlehanding. sometimes even better if I need the tranquility.

 

[Bob Upton]

Hardcore Chest Puffers

After reading most of the commentary shared on this subject, I now feel compelled to add my own point of view. Yes, we own sailboats to sail. No, we don't like noise or schedules or stink boats. Yes, some sailors fancy themselves somehow superior to those who run their big ol motors all the time, and these are the same people that make sailboaters seem to be pompous asses. After some thirty years of sailing (which include many races in light air as well as heavy air and years of cruising for pleasure) I have observed that the "I never use power people" are usually people either new to sailing or very much in need of proving something to themselves. These same people often make attempts at docking without power in crowded Marinas (to prove their skills), and end up crunching their boats and/or the other guys boat. Yes there is a place for everything, but not at the risk of other peoples property. The people that brag about "sitting quietly as they hone their sailing skills whilst waiting for a whisp of wind, and insinuate that they are above the use of motorized power" are trying to fool somebody. If this were truely their practice then they would still be sitting in their boats sending their comments on a laptop. Wait a minute.. being purists, I guess they wouldn't use electric power on their boats either.

 

[Tom S.]

Bob Upton - Take that a step further

If theu were really purists, they wouldn't have an engine on board either ;D

 

[Frank]

Fun on the water

I sail as long as the sails have air, when they start flapping I go to iron air.

 

[John Dawson]

Larry Pardee is smiling

We weren't given a motor when we were scouts, we (three younsters alone) made trips (Rhodes 19) to the mouth of the Potomac (200 miles round trip) all summer long in two-week rotations. We had a dinghy and a white ash breeze when we needed it. Our ability to duck in from storms, make a destination, or even make progress was limited. When we ran aground, we kedged off. When nor'easters caught us, we sat in a creek for three days.Now that I'm older, I have a decent car and my boat has an engine and even nav instruments. I may motor as much as anybody, and some of those old skills are rusty, but they are there in my head somewhere. And I know we learned some fundamentals that I don't use and wouldn't learn with the motor on. Its like the race committee cancelling the day because the wind isn't 12kn.So its not that I have some principal about fast or slow, motor or sail; the question made me realize some of my most fun memories and best lessons were not on clear perfect days.