Boat handling in higher winds....

[Jon]

My wife and I took our last sail of the season on Sirocco on Sunday. Winds were really odd....light and variable with occasional gusts up to 15. So, we're moseying along headed West with south winds under a full main and the 165 out on a beam reach and I decide to turn South back down the lake. Just as Sirocco heads up we get hit with a blast that I later discovered was yowling at us at about 37 mph. That wind came out of no where and I didn't see it coming, either.

I've always loved living a bit on the edge but that wind caught me completely by surprise and tempered that love somewhat. We immediately heeled to 35 degrees and I was knocked down into the cockpit. I managed to hang on to the tiller, get Sirocco's bow a little more into the wind and finally get that 165 reduced to a manageable size. I didn't try to reef the main with my addled wife at the helm.

I'm somewhat new to sailing and I'm wondering, from a technical point, if I handled the problem of the unexpected high winds correctly and if I did not, what should I have done?

[Commander 147]

Jon

The thing I like most about sailing is that it is a life long learning process. The more you do it the more competent you become and the less you will be surprised by things like the gust you discribed above.

Reading the wind gusts is most easily accomplished by watching the surface of the water. So make a habit of studying the water surface when you are sailing. Clouds are another indicator of coming wind gusts. The taller and darker the clouds the more likely you will have significantly increased wind gusts under those clouds.

Another thing to do especially if you are not an experienced sailor is to not over power the boat with the sails you are using. On gusty days start out with a working jib and a reef in the main. If you get out there and feel under powered it is easy to shake a reef out on the water to use the full main. Most boats sail best at an angle of heel of 15 to 20 degrees. If you are consistantly heeling over that you are over powered and need to reef or change sails.

Hope this helps some Jon

[Jon]

Jerry, thanks for the reply.

I have been sailing a lot this Fall by myself so that I can learn at my pace and without any distractions. I'm having a lot of fun learning to single hand and I'm feeling pretty confident so when this sudden wind came up I wasn't necessarily frightened but I was surprised and concerned for my wife. Scared the beejeezus out of her and she advised me of it...a bunch.

I started this trip with a working jib and a single reef in the main but during the day the winds had slacked for an hour or more so feeling comfortable I removed the reef, increased the amount of jib and sailed a mile or more at 10 degrees....thinking that every thing was copacetic. It was great and we were probably making 2-3 kts. My intention was to sail back to the south with that gentle head wind and reduce the size of the jib to avoid excessive weather helm after coming about. I don't think I was over powered for the conditions immediately prior to the wind but I may have been...especially with that 165. This wind hit hard just as I came about and we immediately heeled to 35 degrees and stayed there until I could haul myself off the deck. In response to all of that my first step was to loose that jib, point her directly into the wind and get the jib back on its roller. After I got her under control I added a bit of jib, pointed off about 5-10 degrees and headed toward the leeward side of a large island in the lake where I dropped the main and returned to my slip under power.

My dad flew bombers in the war and he always said that any landing you could walk away from was a good landing. Seems like you could almost say the same about this kind of thing but I'm wondering if I handled this correction in the right way. It's fun to sail in light air with a full main and jib but next time I'm going to be paying a lot more attention and start a practice of sailing with only a working jib. Reefed main, too; it'll be good for me and will rein me in somewhat.

Oklahoma is noted for its windy weather especially in the Fall and often when I'm on my patio, regardless of the time of day, it will deathly calm and within a few seconds we'll have 20-30 mph winds.

Thank you again for your advice. Be safe out there. jk

[Commander 147]

Jon

Like you I also have an admiral that frequently sails with me so I can certainly understand. Actually it made me smile when I read your sentence "Scared the beejeezus out of her and she advised me of it...a bunch." I learned early on that the more a surprise gust bothered me the more it bothered her. She judges how to react by my reaction so even if something does surprise me I try not to let it show these days. In addition I only take the admiral along on days when the winds are predicted to be under 15 knots. Unlike me she really is a fair weather sailor.

Without knowing the prevailing conditions where you sail and everything that happened it is difficult (make that impossible) to offer much more than the things I already said but there is one thing I read into your statements that might be a clue to what happened to you. Differant points of sail with the same prevailing conditions can require differant sail configurations. As an example I spent Friday thru Sunday sailing in Charlotte Harbor in southwest Florida. On Friday we had prevailing winds ranging between 16 and 20 knots and gusts to the mid 30's. Our destination (a quite anchorage in the mangroves) was almost downwind of our starting point. So we broad reached back and forth down the harbor with a full main and a 110 working jib and spent a lot of the time at or near hull speed. If we had needed to head up wind that day however we would have put a reef in the main before we even headed up. Working our way upwind in those conditions would have been more work with the full main than with the reefed main and not any faster (probably slower). With the right sail configuration you can sail in most weather conditions...however I would advise against sailing in a hurricane :-).

Jon stick with it and the experience you gain will make you much more comfortable with sailing and you will not be able to wait for the next time out. And try to find a role model who will let you sail with them and help you with the learning process. I've been sailing for many years and it has become a passion for me. But I still have a good friend who I sail with every time I get the chance because I learn something every time I sail with him. Sail on _/)~~~_/)~~~_/)

[Ed Ekers]

Hi, I don’t often post much anymore but I thought you might be interested in the following thread. It may be helpful. …..ed

http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?272-Heavy-Weather/page2

[Jon]

Thanks Ed, I'll take some time with that entire thread.

[Lucky Dawg]

Glad I'm not the only one that has these experiences!

I always find, and try to impart to my young (3 and 7 yo) crew, that I/we learn something every time we sail. Not being patronizing - honestly my experience. Going on 30 years now. I am distractible enough to raise the main with my main sheet still tied up and secured to the boom, find myself out of gas for returning to port, forgetting to attach my genoa blocks before the genny goes up..., etc. "Oh Sh%$!" The list goes on. Those were just over this short sailing season. I know full well to do all that, but various distractions... and I forget something. I need a laminated pilot's checklist, but I've never actually created one. A good idea that has never "taken flight."

Hard to tell from your description if that was a sustained change or a blast that subsided. I'm assuming it was a blast.

So in that vein... a jam cleat is convenient, but I've learned from my Laser and Sunfish days that just holding the un-cleated line in my hand was good practice for sailing on gusty days - really any day that isn't a dead-nuts steady breeze. Untended, our boats will round up in a big gust. I don't know all the physics, but as the boat heels that significantly, the CE moves high up the sail and rounds up the boat. That is scary and awkward though to let the boat handle - your scared crew as testement.

For our end of season sail last Saturday, it was the windiest / gustiest day of the season and simply popping the mainsheet out of the cleat flattened the boat out in seconds on several occasions. I teach my kids that if I ever fell overboard, "pop the main, pop the foresail." We practice it every time we sail. Noisy for a minute, but instantly tames the savage beast.

That is all I'd offer in terms of best "gust" practices. It would be great to see it coming, but once you're up to your neck in it... good to have a quick fix.

If it was a sustained change, you can ease your traveler to leeward to dump wind, and snug your cunningham and vang to flatten your sail. In the end, you can always heave to (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbjwP6F_N9s&noredirect=1) and reef (or drop) the main and furl your headsail into the wind. That also is a noisy undertaking, but... it's just noise.

[Jon]

Thanks, LD. After thinking about it and reanalyzing the event I finally decided that that hard wind was simply an unexpected change in conditions. One moment it was calm and the next it wasn't and the weather persisted throughout the remainder of the day. Like nearly everything else, it was just timing. The handling suggestions that you guys have provided were also the conclusions that I came to as well.

I do use a cam for the furling line on the jib but in this case all I did was pick myself up and release the jib sheet and then I hauled in the jib til she quieted, at which point I gave her some storm jib and off we went. She rounded up as she should have but XO cooled down a little slower perhaps than she should have. I told her that it won't be long before she enjoys this kind of thing but she ain't all that convinced right now....despite the fact that she loves to talk about her gnarly experience with her chums. She's a Southern girl and talking comes easy; heeling not so much.

Personally I enjoy each experience like this and I always learn a lot especially when I sail alone. The only problem I find with sailing is that it makes me want a larger boat. Sometimes.

[c_amos]

Faith has been quite gracious to me in her innate ability to perform in her element.

She really is a much more competent Sailor then I ever will be.

Even times when I have asked her to compensate with some irresponsible combination of sail, she has an ability to find her way.

Cruising is a little like racing in that you find yourself on the water on days that you might not have chosen if you were going out for a daysail. Even in big winds, and big seas she has a way of working things out.

How many times have I needed to come about and lost far too much boat speed... and had her come through anyway?

Reducing sail (even when too late) is rewarded with immediate improvement... a good reefing system (one you can use in chaos) is a really really good idea. I have not gone to the 'lines lead aft' system, as my experience is that it is hard to get rid of the friction.... but she always protects me as I go to take the strain off. I have reefed in the Gulf Stream, Pamlico Sound, and in big seas south of Cat Island (out islands of the Bahamas) all without problems.

She will take the wind (even howling) with a confidence that I have not felt sailing much larger boats.

These are some of the times when the line between inanimate object and living thing are blurry.

These are indeed fine little ships. One could certainly do far worse to be out in foul weather then to be aboard.

[ebb]

You say the nicest things about Faith.
You have there a beautiful friendship,
moreso because you have given us a glimpse of what is so special.

Faith sings melodies while you admire her.
There's companionship in what she says to you.
Couldn't it be the same stardust that makes us is also Faith's?
She's family.

It's an insignificant separation you have there, you and Faith.
Look forward myself to those conversations with my gal.
Hearing tunes from the rigging and dancing her decks.

Having quiet times in quiet anchorages and hearty voyages
over loud seas. Want that connection you have with your good boat.
My gal's been too silent for too long. Have to get her in her element!

Thanks, Craig!
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________
Ed's blue line for our great Heavy Weather thread reminds me that I am unable to download that thread.
I've wanted to have a copy of it for litlgull's own sailing manual.
Has anyone else had this problem?
Get one page, then one heavily over printed 2nd page....

[Ed Ekers]

try this link ebb. my first blue line was started on page three. this blue line is the first page........ed
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?272-Heavy-Weather

[ebb]

Ed. Thanks.
It's probably this computer. I've had problems with it and this A/C site for years.

But the same thing happens when I just tried it again. The H.W. thread is nine parts, how many pages would that total... 30 - 40?
So I cursor the print symbol and out pops a blank page that says 'Page 3 of 3' on top.
Then the second page squeeks and wheezes: it comes out heavily over printed with unreadable black lines on top of the photo on the bottom of the thread's first page : 2 of 3. Then 1 of 3 which has the first three posts printed nice and clean as you please.

I bet it's a setting on this system that's screwed up. Or my ignorance. Or that the last post was in 2007.
But wonder if Bill has a preventor on any quantity downloading of material from this forum?


Over the years an amazing amount of info on our boats has been gathered here.
I've thought that an energetic editor could go through this resource and cleverly compile a manual on the care and feeding of classic plastic boats - especially of the Pearson variety.:D

Such a book wouldn't make it to the New York Times best seller list.
But I haven't seen a book on the market that covers our early glass boats in specific all-inclusive detail.
Seems to be a constant renewable interest.
Wonder if Bill has a total hits number for the last decade? Must be Astronomical!

There ought to be a hard copy companion resource that goes with them into the times and generations ahead.
Much of the original Association Manual could be incorporated in the book.
Maybe it's a publication honoring the 50th birthday of Alberg's creation!
Visitors to these pages can't all be owners of Ariels & Commanders or antique Pearsons - or even full keel sailboats.

Somehow the people, personalities, humor, expertise, tips, photos contributed over the years to this popular internet forum
could be preserved and celebrated in hardcopy.
And be useful to future owners. And for all who dream and slave and sail vintage glass boats. That's what I hope.
But I'd still like a copy of our Heavy Weather thread. With all the photos!!