What Lin and Larry Pardey
I would ask myself what Lin and Larry Pardey would do in their first boat, the 24 foot Seraffyn in a 30 knot wind. The answer is reef the main and go to a storm jib and keep sailing. If this was a passing gale, I would not be inclined to go to the marina in such conditions but wait out the storm. Even if I had turned the motor on - the Pardey's Sarefynn did not have a motor and they sailed 10's of thousands of miles in it - I would have left the jib up to steady the boat and reduce some of the motion. A motoring sailboat is a bouncier sailboat than one with sails. Now to the couple, I would tell them there is nothing I can do to make them feel less scared, but as time progresses maybe they will have more confidence in the boat. I would explain to them that a boat at sea is safer than a boat approaching land in a bad blow up and it would actually be safer to wait out the storm. I would explain that motorcycle racers fall all the time doing ninety miles an hour on a race track, but they slide and only hit straw bales or nothing. That same motorcycle rider falling off a bike doing 90 would die on the highway, not because he fell or slid, but because of what he hit. Sailboats are the same way, as long as there is nothing to hit, it's a lot safer than getting closer to land and hitting something. If the wind really picked up and became serious, I again would do what Lin and Larry would do and that is set out the para-anchor and wait out the storm. To me the visiting couple is a side item, the safety of the boat and crew as a whole is most important. If I set up the para-anchor, I would broadcast a "securite" to let others know of my location and estimated drift. As a side note: most production boat main sails don't reef as deeply as those in the know with heavy weather experience. These people have extra reefing points added to the main to allow a deeper reef. You either want a deeper reef or use a tri-sail.
I would ask myself what Lin and Larry Pardey would do in their first boat, the 24 foot Seraffyn in a 30 knot wind. The answer is reef the main and go to a storm jib and keep sailing. If this was a passing gale, I would not be inclined to go to the marina in such conditions but wait out the storm. Even if I had turned the motor on - the Pardey's Sarefynn did not have a motor and they sailed 10's of thousands of miles in it - I would have left the jib up to steady the boat and reduce some of the motion. A motoring sailboat is a bouncier sailboat than one with sails. Now to the couple, I would tell them there is nothing I can do to make them feel less scared, but as time progresses maybe they will have more confidence in the boat. I would explain to them that a boat at sea is safer than a boat approaching land in a bad blow up and it would actually be safer to wait out the storm. I would explain that motorcycle racers fall all the time doing ninety miles an hour on a race track, but they slide and only hit straw bales or nothing. That same motorcycle rider falling off a bike doing 90 would die on the highway, not because he fell or slid, but because of what he hit. Sailboats are the same way, as long as there is nothing to hit, it's a lot safer than getting closer to land and hitting something. If the wind really picked up and became serious, I again would do what Lin and Larry would do and that is set out the para-anchor and wait out the storm. To me the visiting couple is a side item, the safety of the boat and crew as a whole is most important. If I set up the para-anchor, I would broadcast a "securite" to let others know of my location and estimated drift. As a side note: most production boat main sails don't reef as deeply as those in the know with heavy weather experience. These people have extra reefing points added to the main to allow a deeper reef. You either want a deeper reef or use a tri-sail.
