Pointing into a strong wind ?

[Roger Fleming]

Late last summer I had an interesting experience. I had to return to my home port, a distance of about 18 Miles dead into an 18-20 knot wind (gusts were higher). Of course, just when you needed it most, the diesel failed. No problem, after all it is a sail boat! I have a 150 genny on a furling and sailed with most of it out. I left the main down because there was so much wind, the foresail was plenty of canvas. After lots of tacking we made it home. Ever since, I've wondered if that was the most efficent sail deployment. I would appreciate comments about pointing into a lot of wind and how to best achieve ground made good.

 

[Dave]

Sails

Roger: We do that kind of sailing quite often in Alaska. You should have two reefs in your main. Fix up with a jiffy reef system (See the Best of Sail Trim by Charles Mason for a good set-up). There is also a good article on how much sail to carry. Eighteen-twenty knots is where I go to the first reef and reduce headsail. Twenty-five to thirty I go to the second reef and go to a working jib. Not sure I would go on jib alone. You get your drive from the main not the job, but I guess whatever works-works. My experience with reefing is when you think about reefing just go ahead and DO IT! Anything after that it is too late. We find when racing that reefed often we go just about as fast as with full sails....The reduction in heeling keeps from pushing added water caused by excessive heel. The helmsperson also likes not having the extra weather helm. We try to maintain an optimum 20 degree heel for best speed.

 

[Bob Fischer]

sail balance

At 20 knots I'm guessing you were in 3-5 foot seas? In those conditions I would have gone with a reefed main and furled my 150 genoa to about 100%. You probably wouldn't want to point as high as possible. In 3-5 foot seas, fall off a bit for a better ride.

 

[John]

Safety

Sailing under headsail alone in moderate to heavy wind is a bad idea. Reasons: (1) headsail puts more strain on the rig than mainsail, (2) if you lost ability to steer (MOB, rudder failure, etc.) the boat will head downwind and keep going, where under main alone, or balanced with a little weather helm would make the boat round up into irons and (3) the unbalanced rig is going to add leeway to your course (the center of lateral effort is farther forward than optimum).

 

[Melody Miller]

Not Your Biggest Problem

Hi Roger:Sailing in relatively strong winds with the headsail only is not the optimum choice, but also not the worst choice. The worst choice is sailing with the main only. The center of effort is too far aft and your bow will not stay down in the water. The bigger question is why did you diesel engine fail. Did you figure that out?ThanksMelody

 

[Roger Fleming]

Thanks Melody and others

Thanks, you have all given great info.My Universal Mod 18 has an exhust system in which the first Approx. four feet is made of cast iron (black)pipe. The pipe broke in half about half way back in its overall length. When the engine ran, all of the exhust cooling water dumped into the bilge. The engine also overheated when this happened. Easy to fix (replace pipe) when ashore. Not so easy in 3 - 5 footers.

 

[Roger]

Use the sails

I had a similar experience with a more experienced sailor than I on board. I sail on the SF Bay and he told me that since the C27 is such a light displacement boat, using the sails right makes the difference. Reefing the main, shortening the jib lets the boat ride flatter with less shifting.