Navigating large swells

Will Gilmore · Mar 26, 2018

What is up with those surfers? That's a big boat they are crossing in front of. There's a big, fast spinning propeller under that boat. Those waves can knock you and that boat around pretty good. GET OUT OF THE WAY! Little surfer dudes.

I would wait for the wind and waves to calm down. Those breakers are probably rolling onto a shallower and shallower bottom. Don't go back.
However, if you had to sail with a following sea like that, sail it like a surfer dude. Don't go straight down the face. You will outrun the wave and pitch pole on the back of the wave in front. Take it at an angle and ride in the "blue room". Your keel will keep you upright and slow you from sliding out of control down the wave.

- Will (Dragonfly)

dlochner · Mar 26, 2018

I told ya, sailing in Hawaii isn't all that it is cracked up to be. Ala Moana Bowls is just off entrance to Ala Wai boat harbor, a large marina near Waikiki. #7

Joe · Mar 26, 2018

Enjoy the Ride!

markwbird · Mar 26, 2018

Those aren't swells. They're breaking waves.

MitchM · Mar 26, 2018

i particularly like the view the guy has , hanging on for dear life on the coach roof . the two times i've been at ala wai it has looked nothing whatsoever like this. (if it did i would find some shade and a drink with little umbrellas in it. ) he better pray his diesel fuel tank doesn't kick sediment in to his lines and stall his engine.

rgranger · Mar 26, 2018

I would not
That is foolish and reckless

agprice22 · Mar 26, 2018

How about a series drogue to slow you... the waves crash by, but your speed remains controlled...

dlochner · Mar 26, 2018

Not sure exactly where Ala Moana Bowls are, but you can see the channel from Ala Wai Yacht Club goes right into it. Still it is foolish to try and go through breaking waves that high.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/A...b3963349b726b!8m2!3d21.2817367!4d-157.8404761

DArcy · Mar 26, 2018

Sailboats and surfers do not mix... for very good reasons. I'll go with foolish and reckless as well.

Scotty C-M · Mar 26, 2018

I've surfed that area. Good waves. The telephoto lens probably (maybe) makes the surfers look closer than they are.

I have some experience sailing into a harbor with breaking waves here in Santa Cruz. Let me share some thoughts:
First, these guys were nuts. Wait for high tide or if conditions are still unsafe DON'T GO OUT. It's that simple.
Second: If the harbor is closing out, DON'T GO IN! Wait outside for conditions to improve. Search around for the famous shot of the catamaran comming into a harbor in Australia.

. He made it, but it was pure luck. Is it really worth your life, and your boat? Find a nice spot to anchor or wait it out.
Third, If conditions allow, wait for the lull between sets. You give it a nice long time, get a feel for it. Then, when the lull comes in, get in Right Now. If a wave comes don't surf it. Slow down and let it pass.

OK, let's say you totally screwed up and are comming in with a breaking wave. Keep the boat headed dead down wave. Don't go at an angle. If you go at an angle you have a good chance of broaching, or being turned sideways. If you do, your are liable to do considerable damage. Go slow and let the wave pass the boat. Yes, you might get pooped, but if you have the cabin closed, you should be OK. As soon as the wave has passed you try to accelerate (use your engine) and get as much distance in as you can. If you are able, ride the back side of the wave where you will be in deaper water, for as long as you can. Yes, I have done this. I was a stupid guy. Actually. I've done it a couple of times over the years, because I'm really stupid - slow learner. It is not a good situation to get yourself into. One boat, I was 18 years old at the time, I ended up touching the bottom. Did a lot of damage to that boat. I'm not proud of that.

Don't come in a closed out harbor unless you are sure of the lull, or can wait for high tide, or are willing to risk your life.
The boat in the Ala Moana is going out. My Dad always told me "Don't go out in bad conditions". Best advice ever.

JimInPB · Mar 26, 2018

If someone asked me to take that boat through those conditions on purpose, I would pull a Nancy Reagan & just say NO. If I found myself caught in those conditions, I would do much as Will said & take the seas at an angle while I was on the slope. Much like the surfers, you need to watch for the curl & work around it as needed. You need to adjust your angle as the waves change around you. It takes some practice to get good at it. I grew up taking small boats out in big water (but not that big), so I sort of learned how to play the chop early on.

On snotty days when I'm planning to go into Boynton inlet & things look dicey, I seriously consider going north to the more manageable Lake Worth Inlet & then run back down the ditch instead. Discretion is the better part of valor.

Edit:
Now that I have watched the cat video as well, I am further unnerved by the concept of the rudders coming out of the water as the hulls come over the crest. Loss of steerage at that time could be instantly catastrophic.

Edit 2:
Wow, I just watched that first video another 4 or 5 times. I'm kind of on the fence if I would want to have a storm sail up or not. On one hand, a storm sail gives you a lot better drive than a motor in those kinds of conditions & gives you A LOT more stability, but those conditions are SO bad that I would have concerns about the integrity of the standing rig, even with just a small trisail.

Hayden Watson · Mar 26, 2018

From everything I have seen I don't think trying to traverse a wave is a very good way to go.

justsomeguy · Mar 26, 2018

Hayden Watson said:
From everything I have seen...

Complete with spooky music, too.

Will Gilmore · Mar 27, 2018

Hayden Watson said:
From everything I have seen I don't think trying to traverse a wave is a very good way to go.

how many people were on that boat. It looked like a floating dock on the California coast, there were so many bodies sitting on the deck.

Nice that she came back up.

RC sailing in breakers.

- Will (Dragonfly)

RoyS · Mar 27, 2018

First video - lines in the water looking for prop. Anchor swinging on bow. No life jackets. Fools rush in...

Parsons · Mar 27, 2018

I read (either Cole or the Pardeys) that a breaking wave over 1/3 the LOA of a boat is a potential capsize. It's enough power, high enough, that it will turn the boat and make a beam sea. I'm just estimating from the video, but it looks like they are right on the edge of that number for a 40 foot boat. As others have noted, no PFDs, unnecessary crew on deck, etc. means they don't think this will be a problem.

sailnoproblem · Mar 29, 2018

Spooled Again said:
Ive watched this attached link several times. It amazes my every time I watch it. These guys have some brass ones. They make it out the inlet in some ridiculous conditions. My question is how do they return through the swell. I do t think the motor would push them fast enough to run between swells on the return trip. I would think you would broach with one of those swells pushing you in. I was wondering if you would come in in reverse. Travel backwards and push forward when the swells are about to hit you.

I have no intentions of taking on a swell anywhere close to the size in the video. Just curious of how you would handle such a swell on the return trip.

Wow now that is what I call a adventure. Stupid as it may be. Surfers seem close but have to agree it is probably the camera lens.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 29, 2018

Every video that I have seen of a boat attempting to traverse a wave like a surfer ends badly with the boat overturned. The problem is that the keel is an anchor that moves way too slowly as the wave curl turns the boat over. The only hope of staying upright is to keep the keel inline with the direction of the wave. Pitchpoling is a danger if the wave is big enough and steep enough at the right moment to tilt the boat near vertical. I'd think it is far more difficult for the wave to cause a boat to pitchpole rather than cause it to roll when the keel is traversing the wave.

The guy standing on the coach roof has got the right idea. When the boat rolls, I would much rather go for a swim, even in big waves, than be tossed around inside a cockpit or a cabin. No need, even, for a PFD. If you can't swim a surf break to shore, you're not much of a swimmer!

jssailem · Mar 29, 2018

Scott T-Bird said:
surf break to shore

Sounds like you know about with the east coast shore break. When I first saw the “surfers” in Virginia Beach head into the water I was amazed they were actually looking for shore break.

What I’d be concerned about is the Rock Break... From the video the swimmers were trying to stay in the channel away from the break water.

Navigating large swells

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SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John