Strong winds

[Don Watson]

Big Winds on the Gulf

It was three years ago as the final hurricane of the '98 season was churning the Southern Gulf of Mexico waters. At the same time there was a large high pressure system sitting over Texas and we had to move our Tayana 42 from Houston to Pensacola. Yep, we were right between the two converging winds and it was ugly. We had a deadline and wanted to meet it if at all possible when we headed out that Monday morning from Clear Lake it was Sunny and 70 degrees with moderate winds. 12 hours later it was pitch black, we were slamming into 20 foot seas as we were running East by southeast from the Galveston channel into headwinds of 40-50 kts. We gave it until midnight and then carefully turned around and headed back to shore where we waited two days before heading out again. This time it was 10 footers and 20 kt winds... and 24 hours later we were down to the usual 3-4 ft seas and 10 kt winds. That first night was something I have never forgotten. Four people on board at the time and two were totally out of shape being seasick. We decided there would be a better time for us to make the voyage and that was the right decision to make that night. Sometimes it's just better to let Mother Nature do her thing and not fight it.

 

[Bryan Morton]

Proof of stupid!

This is embarrassing to admit but a lesson I don't mind sharing. The winds in the Dallas Texas area during the winter can howl. Some friends with a handfull of Prindles, Nacras and Hobies had gathered at Lake Dallas, or Lake Lewisville depending on how stubborn you are, for a day of sailing. It was a bright sunny day and in the high 40s to low 50s. I was still new to sailing so my estimate of wind speed wasn't tuned yet. The experienced sailors of the group all agreed that it was too gusty to sail so, as sailors in the early twenties age range will do, we cracked open a few beers. The beer had a calming effect on the wind. The more we drank, the safer it looked. Hulls were pushed from the sand into the water and we went sailing. We were fortunate. No one got hurt that day but the lesson of drinking and sailing left a lasting impression on me. I know you. You can handle a couple of drinks and still sail fust jine. You go right ahead but let me know first so I can stay off the water that day.

 

[Dave]

Dinghy sailing

My home made sailing dinghy, little jan (see photos on the photo pages for O'days) went sailing in little narragansett bay (aka napatree point or watch hill) in about 25 knots of wind. This is a 11 foot lugsail rigged wooden boat with a flat bottom. It was a blast sailing with the wind, went the length of the beach in just a few minutes planing. Then I had to turn around and tack back to the boat, another story! The waves were so big and the boat heeling so much that it would keep taking water until it was about 50% full, I beached her and dumped out the water but it would just fill back up. Good thing the boat has water tight compartments fore and aft. I also always wear a life preserver when sailing her. By the time I got back it was blowing almost 30. Meanwhile a whole fleet of little kids in 8 foot dinghys were having a race in these conditions and doing great!!Dave

 

[Paul]

Summer 2001 30knts

Summer racing. During second race of the day wind, rain and lightning blew in. We blew a spinnaker on first downwind leg, another boat lost its mast, lots of boats broached, 3 people fell overboard (various boats), one died. Winds were 25 to 32knts, steep chop and horizontal rain--could only see 10 boat lengths or so at the worst.

 

[William Wertz]

strongest winds I've sailed in

The strongest winds I've ever sailed in were during the 1997 Queen's Cup overnight race across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Grand Haven, Michigan. Storms had danced north and south of us for most of the night and about 1/2 hour before dawn's first light we were hit with a straight line squall from behind; winds went from 15 to 55 in less than 30 seconds. We had, of course, the spinnaker up as we were racing and I wanted to drop it but was firmly told to "don't look at the squall line as it'll scare you." Well...it sure as hell did when we took 2 full knockdowns in less than a minute's time. We managed to drop the spinnaker and sailed on at 10 knots with just the main; even then we were tossed about like a small cork. The worst of the winds continued for almost 15 minutes and then the winds went back to 15 knots although they clocked around and were now almost directly on the nose. We did not break anything and everybody was tethered to the boat but...we were very lucky. That was the first, and hopefully the last time, I'll ever allow myself to not yield to the "if you're thinking of reefing do it" sage advice I learned so long ago.

 

[William Fraser]

rafted in heavy wind

In 1992 I was caught in a 100 mph frontal passage in Galveston Bay at night while rafted to another boatwhere there was sufficient fetch to build up 5' seas. The blow came through at 2am andcaught us unprotected outside a seawall.We had tucked in behind the wall, expecting weather from the south.It blew in quickly from the north, building from 10kts to 100 in five minutes. By the time we separated the two boatsone was dismasted, the other heavily damaged. The teak toe rails exploded when the boats were slammed together by the wind and seas repeatedly. Getting them separated in the howling dark pitching and pounding was almost impossible.Crew were injured, we abandoned and cut loose the 25 footer,electing to ride it out on the 34. The small boat was wrecked on the sea wall while we watched. The survivors are now very very cautious with regards to winds, weather forecasts and selecting anchorages.You should be too!!!!!!!!!! Moral: Never, ever raft at night inan anchorage that is not completelyenclosed. Fraser

 

[Drew Dolak]

Windy, Bright and Sunny

We've been out several times in winds 30 knots, and the highest has been at 38 knots. This has been off the coast of Fort Myers Beach in the Gulf, Florida Bay and the Hawk Channel.As might be expected, the point of sail makes allt eh difference. Downwind thsi is too much for our assymetrical chute, so a full headsail and double reefed mail is preferred. Reaching is a time to furl the headsail, and a beat requires a hankerchief of headsail and that double reefed main. We've seenthse winds many times and are going to install a baby stay and staysail for more comfort and easier handling.As far as reaction; it's all bart of the learning process and the adventure. The only times we've headed in has been in the case of gear failure. But that's another story.S/V Sailor's Grace

 

[Robert Idsinga]

Lake Champlain/Lac des deux Montagnes

First time I ever REALLY got nailed was sailing a C

 

[Rolf Roding]

Thunder storm

Bright Sunday morning anchoring in the blue lagoon on Malta. Lifted anchor to return to Valletta. After 30 minutes a fast build up of huge dark clouds NW.Genua plus main with comfortable 6 knots. Suddenly heavy wind gusts to 24 knots. Took all sails down immediately and went by engine fore the wind. The Med has bad reputation for quick weather changes. Next 10 minutes wind increased to 48 knots for about one hour with very heavy rainfall. Bad visibility, sea building up to 12 ft. weaves. On low engine speed the wind pushed us to a speed of 9 knots. Suddenly everything cleared upand we returned safely to port. Lesson learned: Listen to the weather report even on a most beautiful day.

 

[Gary Bruner]

30 in Georgia Strait; Whew!!!!

Caught in Georgia Strait with 30 against a strong ebb; make huge, breaking waves. Cat 25, SK. I ran off with just an 80% jib, making 6 1/2 knots. Was glad to get in the lee of an island after an hour or so. My family was freaked when the jib sheet parted and we had to lie ahull for 5 minutes or so while I rigged a new sheet. The engine wouldn't stay in the water in those conditions. Good experience though....

 

[Dave Wilson]

California Delta

Gusts to about 35 mph. In the Delta it was an e-ticket ride. Going accross San Pablo (upper San Francisco) Bay it was hold on for dear life.

 

[John Bannister]

Has to be done

I have been out in 40 on 2 occasions intentionally. Once was a long time ago in my previous boat to test the boat prior to a long voyage, the second was to "buddy" a budding liveaboard who wnated very much to experience this and to test his boat prior to casting off for pastures new. Both times were under controlled conditions (or as controlled as you can get under the circumstnaces) but again, sufficient preperation was taken to ensure safe return for both vessel and crew. As a sailor, especially one that plans extended voyages months in advance, I personally feel that even with the best weather forecasting, most care, etc, etc, there is going to come a time when you are caught out. I recall a few years ago a weather forecaster on national tv predicting moderate winds 6 hours later half of the soouthern uk was ripped apart by some of the severest weather ever to be experienced on the Island.Anyway, I feel that if it is inevitable that we are going to be caught our at least once, we should do everything possible to prepare ourselves for that eventuality, and what better preperation than acutally experiencing it?

 

[Don Evans]

Murphy Came A Calling...

Fall sailing can be the best season, on my pond, as there is more weather happening. Winds from pressures marching across the Great Lakes usually guarantee rollicking sailing. Two years ago, it was to be the last sail of the season. Mid-October, sun shinning, and a high was barrelling through. Winds were constant 20 knots, gusting to probably 30. Everything was under control, and I was heading home, upwind, with a relatively unexperienced sailing buddy. The wind was increasing and I went to roll in the jib some more, but it had jammed due to a halyard wrap. I started the diesel and instructed my partner to keep us head to wind, while I went forward to deal with the jammed jib. The only recourse I could see at the time was to release the jib sheet and wrap the sail by hand. This I did, but the sheet got away from me and fell overboard. I was screaming at my friend, over the roar of the wind and the flapping sail to kill the engine as I could see what was about to happen. Only problem was I forgot to tell him how to engage neutral, and where the kill cable was. Well, you guessed it, bang, the engine quit as the sinking halyard wrapped around the prop. After securing the jib, I crawled pack to the pit, to console my friend who was wailing multiple sorries, and how do we get home now. I could not make any headway as my boat is a pig without a headsail. I had to get to shallow water, anchor, and deal with the prop-wrapped sheet, or I was not going to make it home. We headed for a nearby beach on a beam reach, and got ourselves tucked in. Water temp. was about 7 degrees C, damn cold. I went over the side, reluctantly, with a mask to check the prop out. There was about 4 wraps around the shaft, but I could only stay down for a few seconds due to the cold. It was literally taking my breath away. After unwrapping the sheet I climbed back into the boat and wrapped myself in a sleeping bag. I didn't even have a towel onboard. Lessons I learned were to make sure crew know how to turn the engine on, and off. If I have to remove a jib sheet, I will clip it to a bail on the mast, not just drop and hope it stays. I now carry a shorty wet-suit onboard for unexpected dips in the pond off-season.It was a ya-hoo experience for the most part, but things can unravel pretty quickly when the winds blow strong.Don

 

[Lou Aubert]

Off Shore Passage

We were taking our new boat (Catalina 470) to Ensenada. We were traveling form San Francisco South. When rounding Point Conception at 1:00 am the winds were 35 knots and sea's were 12 to 14 feet (Quartering). We were on a down wind run sufing at 17.3 knots (GPS READING). Running wing

 

[Daniel Jonas]

Lucky Lou

Lou,Just my opinion, but if the conditions and sails were as you described them, you are pretty lucky no one got hurt and the boat is ok. I have had the benefit of some good instruction from people who have spent many years cruising or as professional delivery captains. If I were unreefed in 35 knots, 14 foot seas, and trying to go wing-on-wing in the middle of the night (let alone in the day time), I am pretty sure that they would not let me on any boat as crew, let alone as Captain.I sincerely hope that you don't derive any confidence from this experience at least as it relates to acceptable response to conditions. Sailing on was perfectly ok, the conditions were not that bad. But you should have been reefed and well protected from an accidental gybe.Just my opinion.Dan Jonas (S/V Feije)

 

[Bob Ryan]

Blowing up a storm

In 1992, right after I bought "Fantasea", my 1982 30, I was moving her from one berth upriver to a new one closer to the Chesapeake Bay. It was a blustery day, with occasional gusts in the mid 20's, so I was running single reefed main and jib rolled in as much as possible. At about 2 PM the wind, which had consistently been southwest suddenly and abruptly shifted to the north and started howling, ripping out 2 reef points. After adjusting for the major and unexpected shift I managed to put another reef in the main and crank in the rest of the jib as the skys turned black and menacing. Within 5 minutes the wind oscillated back and forth from north to east and back to north, with gusts so completely unmanageable as to cause me great fear for my rig. I fired up the iron spinnaker and got the rest of the main down, tied everything down and hung on for the next 25 minutes or so, while the skies went from black to purple to ugly green and back to black and the wind just roared. I was only able to keep the bow into the wind occasionally, and any thought of going forward to deploy and anchor was total bull!. Within 15 minutes the winds had eased back to the southwest at a somewhat more reasonable rate, about 20-30 mph gusts, but the seas in Hampton Roads were still very confused. twenty wet minutes later I arrived at the dock to find a bunch of fellow sailors eager to help me get my lines secured and to ask me what the h--l I was doing sailing in a tornado. That's when I got scared!

 

[Richard]

Quick Study

We bought a 31' Hunter in February 1995. We had taken basic sailing lessons just prior to purchase. In May we decided to motor about 25 miles up the Tennessee River to Decatur, AL to have the bottom painted. We decided to motor because the wind was a bit gusty at 20-25K and we were most inexperienced.Worse yet, we had invited my Mom and Dad along. They were in their early 70's. About 8-10 miles out the winds had increased to 35-40K over the starboard quarter and the waves were 4-5 feet. We were near the north shore because of the sailing line and the depth of the water. Everything was fine until the engine stopped.Immediately, I removed the mainsail cover and connected the main halyard shackle and proceeded to raise the main. The boat almost turned itself into the wind assisting getting the main up. We then double reefed the main and began tacking away from the shore toward the south shore one mile away. At about 200 yards from the south shore I dropped the anchor and lowered the main. The next two hours were spent trying to locate the fuel problem to no avail. After running down the starter battery(we kept the aux isolated in case we needed lights or VHF radio or worse, bilge pump. The weather was getting much colder and the sky was getting darker. After making repeated calls on the VHF for assistance with no results we decided to pull the hook and make a run for it. We began an hours effort on a beam reach having to come close hauled repeatedly to prevent being knocked down. We had to sail due north to go beyond the entrance of the harbor before we could fall off to enter as would could not rely on power for steerage.As we sailed into Joe Wheeler Resort we met the rescue boat.I had been a power boater for 30 years in all sorts of weather without ever having this kind of problem. We credit the basic sailing course for teaching us what to do in that emergency. I don't think I have ever had such a helpless feeling.The next week after checking the weather report thoroughly and cleaning the gunk out of the diesel tank, filters, and lines, we made the trip without a hitch. Nothing like learning by the seat of your pants. We love sailing.

 

[Steve S]

Thankfully it was blowing from astern

Morning. Winds were forecasted to be 28 to 35 knots SW. We had a perfect lee in our anchorage in Henderson Bay (eastern Lake Ontario), but wanted to sail home. Fortunately the wind would be behind us the whole way. Soon after leaving our anchorage there were white caps everywhere, spray, steep waves. We sailed with the jib mostly rolled up and no main going faster than hull speed. I couldn't slow the boat down. There was no possibility of turning back or even altering course much. We rocketed between two islands holding our breaths. The wind and waves eased a bit and we got home alright. It was actually pretty exhilarating.

 

[Tom Van Huben]

30 Off New Jersey Coast

We encountered 30 winds and 4-5 foot seas as we were making for Manisquan from Cape May in June. We were bringing our brand new Hunter 450 from Annapolis to Boston. We had actually burned a day in Cape May due to very strong winds and set out the next day in beautiful conditions. About five miles off Manisquan the wind came up and the seas built. We had to strike our sails and put our port beam across the waves to maneuver into the very small entrance - it was pretty hairy.Then injury followed insult in this case.The marina we were staying at put us into a slip perpendicular to the wind. She's a very heavy boat and it took three men on the dock and my son and I on board to pull her into the dock once she got crosswise to the wind and slowed down. We put the first ding in her hull during this episode and almost pulled two of the guys off the dock.

 

[Alex]

Buzzards Bay, But never a mistake.

Well, around here winds normally grow to 15-20 knots on a typical day. But the strongest wind i've ever sailed in has to be around 37 knots.