We've been out in these conditions many a time in our C310. Typically not by choice and not when we knew it was coming. We generally don't leave the docks if the conditions are sustained winds above 20 kts and/or gusts above 30 kts. The biggest reasons for this is typically docking. Prevailing winds push us off of our finder and into our neighbor's boat. So it can be really tricky to dock when the winds are above 20-25 kts. We have often said that we would go out more in those conditions if the boat was on a mooring. I did a post on here a couple of years ago about sailing in small craft advisories. I have since been out in them on a number of occasions.
As far as being out in those conditions, one memorable time we were out was on short cruise up to Salem, about 25 nm up the coast. The prediction was for 10-15 kts with gusts to 20 kts. Perfect! We headed out with our friends buddy boating in their O'Day 272. Once we cleared the harbor islands and hit the more open water it was blowing 25-30 kts. We hadn't gotten a real good handle on the slab reefing at that point and decided to just reef in the genny to almost nothing. She had really bad weather helm but we didn't get knocked down too bad. We averaged around 4.5 kts on that sail. This was four years ago and our first season with the C310.
This year we did our summer vacation cruise on the tail end of Hurricane Arthur. So most of that trip was winds in the 20-25 kts with some gusts as high as 45 kts. With the single reef in and about 80-100% of the jib area on the genny, we could sail pretty good in most of those conditions. And that included some Buzzards Bay chop days. The C310 does have some good weight to carry momentum through the chop while still getting up to speed quick enough. Sailing down Cape Cod Bay towards the Canal we had one reef in, about 110% of the jib area on the genny. The wind was about 18-22 kts with gusts to 26-28 kts and seas were about 2-4 foot rollers. We averaged around 6.2 kts on that sail with a max of 7.8 kts.
We have two reefs. In general the first reef goes in with sustained above 18 kts or gusts above 25 kts. The second reef goes in with sustained above 22 kts or gusts above 30 kts. The boat is setup to run two reefs. Have a second reef put in the sail it's not that expensive or order a new one with two reefs if it's that time.
As far as single handing, it's really the docking that's an issue. The C310 is setup very well for one person to sail her. The jib sheet winches can be reached from the helm. Either with the auto pilot or if you have her balanced you can leave the helm and go forward to deal with the main trim but it's a short trip. Most of the time I am sailing ours by myself. My Bride will be reading, napping or making us something to eat.
That all being said, these are probably not the conditions for you to go on your first solo sails. I might just hangout at the boat, get some projects done and enjoy the time off. There are often times, this past Saturday afternoon being one of them, that I just don't want to go out and "work" in those conditions. It's not relaxing when I am anxious about the conditions getting worse or about docking when we return. It's just not worth it for us to push those marginal days when we can just wait for a good one.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
