Predicament

[Gary Wyngarden]

I read an article in the January issue of the Seattle sailing magazine 48 North that reminded me of a situation I got stuck in one time. The author of this article was sailing Northwest in the Strait of Georgia heading for Desolation Sound. The wind was behind him and kept building as did the seas. He managed to douse his roller furling genoa but still had his full main up which proved to be too much sail.He wanted to take in a reef or two, but was afraid to try to come up into the wind to do so. He thought the combination of the wind and the waves when he came around would knock him down (quite possibly true). He ended up with a long and wild downwind run until he got into some protected waters in Desolation Sound and was thoroughly exhausted.Ever been in this situation? How did you handle it?Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust H37.5

 

[Fred Ficarra]

When the wind builds and we are running

the main is the first sail to go. We have gotten so we don't mess with the second reef, just douse it. Our 150 genoa is easy to control with our roller furling.And we have a high aspect main with full battens.

 

[Don12364]

Yep

Happened to me (twice). First time the destination was a small harbour with a very dangerous entrance between walls and an evil reputation for reflected waves. There was nowhere else to go other than carry on for another 25 miles and I did not fancy this either! What we did was to gently round up to a reach and then gently round some more so the main was flogging and it seemed as if all hell had broken loose. At no time did we haul in the mainsheet. Momentarily the heel became extreme but mostly because of the centrifugal forces induced by our turn. At this attitude we pulled the main down and were then able to motor up into the weather and put on the tiers. In the event it was quite a safe manoeuvre.The entry into harbour was exciting but uneventful.

 

[Les Blackwell]

Not a problem with a roller furling main

I've been in that fix with other boats and my feelings are to keep the jib and drop the main and then come about. But each situation demands different reactions on the part of the skipper--how tired is the skipper, how far apart are the waves, how fast does the boat turn, are lines on the mast or in the cockpit, etc.However, I did want to say the with my present boat (H380), all I would have to do is roll up the main (I really like roller furling mains) and sail under the jib. Even going down wind I can crank the main in. Would like a power winch though.Les

 

[Paul Akers]

Turning into the wind

When I have gotten into a somewhat similar situation. I pull in the genny. Then I usually coordinate the turn into the wind by easing off on the main as I come about by letting out the mainsheet. As I come into the wind, I then haul the mainsheet back in and take the reef. Reverse the process to head back on course.Granted, this is more complicated when single-handing, but I've never had to do it then.

 

[henkmeuzelaar]

Learn to heave-to when loss of control threatens

If you don't want to head up into wind and waves in order to heave-to the classical way by tacking (while keeping the jib cleated and turning the rudder hard-over as soon as the jib is solidly backwinded) you can just head up a little bit till you are somewhere in between a broad run and a beam reach. Then put the lazy jib sheet on the winch and start pulling the clew over to windward. While doing so, slowly keep putting the helm down a little further to keep bringing up the bows, thus preventing the headsail and (heaven forbid) the main from jibing.If you are a little more experienced and/or gutsy, you can make light work of cranking the jib clew to windward by momentarily steering far enough downwind to jibe the headsail (assuming the boom is properly prevented) while taking the slack out of the lazy sheet. In other words, for about 10 seconds you are pretending to sail "wing-on-wing", thus allowing the jib clew to be tied down easily. Then you start putting the helm down again, thereby backwinding the jib. Either way, you will now be hove-to. The fine points of how to adjust clew, rudder and traveler position, as well as mainsheet tension, in order to achieve maximum stability and reduce residual slapping and slamming of main and boom are different for each vessel, sailplan and seastate and need to be learned through practicing. Fortunately, it is all a lot easier than it may sound here. Moreover, if the heave-to is successful, it will feel like heavenly peace has descended on your tired vessel and crew! You can now take the time to drop or reef the main and even to take a break and make a cup of coffee, as long as you have a little bit of searoom.Have fun!Flying Dutchman

 

[Rick D]

Reminds Me

of when I was sailing my 26' T-Bird from Marina del Rey to Long Beach singlehanded. Wing on wing with a poled-out genny and preventer on the main. It was a great run in 6' rollers... until I realized I was surfing and the wind was somewhere between 25 and 30 knots. Oops! I finally surfed into the harbor and hid behind an anchored freighter to douse the sails. Might be a little hard to do offshore, Gary. RD

 

[David11054]

Heave to

Pull out a little genny. Then take the boat through the wind. If you can run with the full main, then I think you would be OK tacking to heave to. And the transition to hove to is really startling in rough weather - from fear to relaxation more than once for us.We find it quite possible to reef while hove to. I have done it singlehanded more than once.Of course, reefing the main as soon as it occurs to us is the best solution.Also, our standard set-up is with a 110 genny. We use an asymetric for the light air, But the 110 is the right sail if the winds pipe up. We can reef it down to 85, and still have reasonable shape. With the second reef in the main, that means we can sail in pretty heavy weather.DavidLady Lillie

 

[Todd (SV Windwalker)]

Been there, done both...

Got caught coming into Cattle pass during an opposing current. The wind picked up so we made a fast crossing. I doused the Genny & had to really work the wheel to keep from broaching (thank god the steering held up). The waves stacked up & I began to surf. So did my dink (needed a longer painter). Anyhow that story ends like the others. Long, exhausting leg until the wind eased near Friday harbor. The next time, Crossing Rosario Strait, I saw the wind beginning to pick up & doused the main in the shadow of Thatcher pass. I left the Genny out. Much easier to furl the jib in bad conditions than douse a non furling main. It's easier to let the sheet go on a Genny if you begin to broach as well. I ended shortening up for most of the crossing and had much less stress on both captain and the boat.

 

[Roger]

downwind hurl

Cutting to the chase, no shit there I was, on a broad reach on my brother in law's 22 oday, me at the helm, he at the sheets, bearing down on a rocky point in a boat we didn't want to gybe in the heavy winds on our quarter for fear of the damage to boom and sail. We tried a number of times to come around to windward, but with a shallow draft keel we lost the momentum and couldn't get upwind, even after a few trials. To make matter worse, the jib halyard had jammed and we could not bring it down. With about 40 feet to go before we would be on the rocks, we had no choice but to gybe. I started the gybe, but my brother in law had already jumped ship thinking that he could hold her off the rocks. Well, she gybed with a bang, and back out into the lake (we), I went. I had seen him go over so assumed that he would simply swim to shore. When I looked back however, he was nowhere to be seen. I was just starting to get into that panic mode trying to reason where he might have gone when all of a sudden I saw a hand come up over the motor cover, then another hand come over the transom. The skipper had refused to let go his ship, hanging on the the leg of the outboard, then working his way up and finally over. We still recall that day, everytime we go sailing, although he is now boatless, and comes with me.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Roooogggerrrrr!!!!!!

Do you really think we believe that story????

 

[Roger]

Oh Fred, truth is stranger than fiction...

nm

 

[Bad Obsession]

Done that from Point Lookout to Pax

I was doing good. My wife was in the cabin sleeping and I was singlehanding on deck. The wind started building so I put a reef on the main. The wind kept on building so I doused the jib. It got to the point that I was going to fire up the engine and take down the main. I couldn't get my wife to get up and come and help. I turned the boat up into the wind (did a nice little broach) and I was finally able to get things under control. Thank God for lazy jacks because I didn't have time to mess with storing the main. Well, the true message in this story is that I bet that my wife will help out next time (Rather than be inside when the boat broaches).

 

[Augie Byllott]

Uncontrolled gybe

Roger writes:"downwind hurl Cutting to the chase, no shit there I was, on a broad reach on my brother in law's 22 oday, me at the helm, he at the sheets, bearing down on a rocky point in a boat we didn't want to gybe in the heavy winds on our quarter for fear of the damage to boom and sail."Response:Having two people aboard, why not fasten a line to the aft end of the boom, snub it on a sheet winch or outboard cleat, and use it as a 'preventer' to initially hold the boom to leeward. As the gybe begins, ease the line at a rate that will keep the boom under control and allow it to cross the cockpit slowly and safely. I single-hand my 38 footer, The first time I committed an accidental gybe, it scared the hell out of me. Since then, I always keep the boom tethered as described above.When tacking or gybing, I let the main backwind while I handle the jib. Then I ease the boom across and reset the line on what has just become the leeward side. It may not be a pretty maneuver, but it saves wear and tear on the boat and on my nerves. And, when I have non-sailors aboard, I don't have to worry about paying for any busted skulls.

 

[Roger]

Thanks for the thoughts Augie

As with all terror moves we encounter in the past, we tend, (at least I do) to obsess on them so that we correct our mistakes. I now take as many opportunities as I can to do a gybe in wind conditions, that would have frighted me in the past. A preventer is a good idea. Most often however, I orient the boat so that the wind is a bit more on the quarter than directly abaft, then sheet in the main and traveller to bring it as much to the centreline as possible, I then steer the boat to bring the wind almost abaft again, push the main over to accept the wind on the other side, at the same time, bringing the wind onto the opposite quarter with some deft steering. My experience is that the gybe is dampend somewhat by the energy taken up by the boat steering through the wind slower, less movement of the sail across the boat, and less sail broad to the wind.My brother in law's boat, suffered a full range gybe that day, and bore the tear marks on the sail where it met the spreader end at the end of the gybe.I have also learned since then to give myself a lot of sea room when manoevering the boat, although my daysailer 17 is significantly smaller than the 22.

 

[Herb Parsons]

Gybing

Maybe it's that I haven't done it in extraordinarly strong winds, or maybe it's because most of my sailing to date has been on my O'Day 25 (I now also have a Coronado 35), but I've never had a problem with accidental gybes. Don't get me wrong, I've done it several times, but I always just grab the main sheet as it begins to come across, and lessen the impact that way. When I plan a gybe, I do the same thing, but much sooner, and they have gotten where they're almost as smooth as a tack.