Sailing By The Lee

[Don Guillette]

I was going to add this topic to the thread on downwind but I didn't want it to be lost there. Sailing by the lee is very dangerous because you are "inches" from an ACCIDENTAL JIBE, which could ruin your whole day and tear up boat equiptment or more importantly maybe take someones head off in the process.

What is sailing by the lee? It is when the wind is coming over the same side of the boat that the sail is on. If you notice ANY flutter in the top of your mainsail that means it is not being pushed by the wind and you are sailing by the lee. You should immediately jibe or alter course.

Anytime you are sailing downwind you should have a preventer attached and I don't mean a bungy cord!!

 

[Alan]

While sailing by the lee and in danger of an accidental jibe the last thing you would want to do is jibe. The fastest and easiest thing to do would be to head up bringing the breeze to the opposite side from the main and removing all danger. Sailing by the lee is usually not of benefit, though we did do this two weeks ago approaching a leeward mark in light air and wanting to avoid a double jibe to make the rounding.

 

[Seattle Scott]

I thought by the lee was necessary when wing on wing to keep the jib drawing.

 

[RichH]

Sailing on the lee with an asymmetrical or symmetrical spinnaker or big genoa is an easy way when forced (by land or channel constraints, etc. ) to go DDW. .... and yes you do need a 'preventer' of some kind.
I use a Wichard Gybe-Eazy: www.wichard.com/fiche-A|WICHARD|7150-0203030000000000-ME.html. ... all controllable from the cockpit.

Even when a spinnaker is flying, sailing/racing on the lee is a 'good thing to know'. Just like gybing, sailing on the lee is no big deal .... if you have a preventer, boom brake, etc.

 

[Cayennita]

If you are a racer, then sailing by the lee is justified. If you are a cruiser, then WHY? You need a preventer and you can't relax.
Approaching a turning mark on a downwind leg, you may need to do this to get to the mark or get an inside over lap or do a Mexican take down. In very light air sometimes reversing the flow on the main will send more wind into the spinnaker and actually increase the boat speed. When I cruise on my mother ship, I will let the autopilot sail the boat by the wind instrument and can do a very good job of DDW sailing.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I thought by the lee was necessary when wing on wing to keep the jib drawing.

There's a BIG difference between light air and heavy air. In heavy air, don't, pretty obvious why. In light air sometimes it is necessary to get enough air to keep the jib full, regardless of course/heading.

 

[yacht cranes]

[FONT=&quot]When sailing by the lee, the wind flow is from the trickle to the luff of the sail rather than from luff to trickle. Hence little kicker is necessary, as the ship's mast is the hardest trickle anyone could want. The sail can be sheeted in until the trickle starts to flick, thus escalating the wind flow over the sail and decrease the load on the trickle.[/FONT]