Beating in Heavy Weather

[tartansailor]

BEATING IN HEAVY WEATHER

(Again my respects to the experienced and knowledgeable skippers, but this is for novices)

First off, you should not be out in a blow unless you have a death wish and paid up life insurance, but if circumstances conspire against you and you absolutely must go from “A” to “B” without delay, then this would be my game plan.

Recall that rarely, have you ever found waves lining up perpendicular to the direction of the wind, and you already know that sail trim on one tack will be different than on the other. You also know that how you steer on one tack will be done differently than on the other tack.

Say we find ourselves on starboard tack almost out of control with the waves pounding the bow down and leeward, and we’re footing at a big angle. Below some ladies are getting hysterical for imminent capsizing, the head is backflowing, and your mother-in-law is pointing out your deficiencies at 108 db. after her cat abandoned ship. Your brother-in-law and other landlubbers are fouling the scuppers with puke, and little Billy is trying to climb the mast to get a better view of the fast approaching thunderhead. What do we do?
We need more helm! Right?

We are down to our #3 jib, so let’s start there. Point as high as possible.
We want a very slight twist at the top of the jib so it breaks before the middle does.
Adjust the jib lead car till the luff just breaks evenly, now ease the car back about three inches and ease the sheet just a hair from max trim.

Now address main sail trim.
We want the main to take as much surface as it can, that means a straight tight leech and the traveler slightly higher than normal for that wind strength.
Reset a course slightly higher than close hauled a real beat.
Pull outhaul, cunningham and vang to max. setting. Trim so that the main gets slightly back winded in the middle of the sail while maintaining a tight leech.
Now you have a gain to weather, weather helm, and real good boat speed. Steer the boat into the wave as it will certainly submerge the deck in froth, and drench the crew, but your boat speed will shorten the ordeal.

We are not going to make the inlet, and we have to tack. Oh sh*%.
You know that on port you will be heading directly dead straight into the waves.
Recall “Nearer My God to Thee” because there are no more atheists aboard.
Back off tension on the backstay a bit say about 5 to 10% so that your mast will survive what is to come. Forget trying to tack down a big slider, but wait for a flat spot and never let the boat get upright in your turn.

On starboard when the waves were putting the bow down we needed helm. Now on port with the waves on the nose we need what?
Power.
First you want minimum helm by setting the jib flat with no twist. Pull your jib car forward. Now the main, you want it full for power and trimmed between a close haul and a broad reach. Ease outhaul, cunningham, and then the vang slightly. All of your tell tales should be streaming smartly. Get Billy off the spreaders because you will be meeting the wave at a very small angle, then surfing down the coasters. If your hull is anywhere near canoe shaped it will be like landing on concrete. Fortunately for us Cape Dory sailors a slight heel will make our boats plunge rather than bounce.

Unfortunately for me I am too old and feeble to play this game. That is why I bought a cruiser, and as I said in the beginning, don’t do it unless there is no alternative.
Dick

[rtbates]

I'd strike the main altogether, roll the headsail up to about 90%, fire up the trusty Yanmar and foot off a tad. But that's just me.

[Bill Cochrane]

...so why are we trying to point as high as possible on both tacks? Even if it were a race, power and speed can be had by falling off a bit...take the waves at a less punishing angle, even if it does take a bit longer...and it probably won't.

(How many CD's have adjustable backstay tension, anyway?)

Go back and rescue the cat and throw M-I-L overboard. Relax and have another Dark and Stormy, and hope when the little rotter falls off the spreader that he misses the boat altogether so there's no mess to clean up.

And, short of a 747, nothing goes to weather like the iron main (oops, that's been covered already.)

Come on, Spring, you can do it...almost there...although for those of us on the upper east coast, winter is still trying!

[Carter Brey]

tartansailor sez:

...on starboard tack almost out of control with the waves pounding the bow down and leeward...

Doesn't anyone reef around here?

Suggest using mother-in-law, cat and Junior as a series drogue for the return trip downwind.

CB

[tartansailor]

1) The premise was sailing, not power boating.
2) Again the premise was: "absolutely must go from A to B without
delay" BTW All of my boats have adjustable back stays.
and
3) Eminent Sir; if the wind is blowing your bow down and to
leeward, what do you think reefing the main will do to your
bow?

Respectfully,
Dick

[chase]

Dick,

Thanks for the workout; I needed Dramamine just to finish the post.

First off, let me say that I hope I can avoid this situation for some time to come. If Annie's Yanny was serviceable, however, I'd be burning diesel just to calm my nerves....... the smell of diesel fumes feels like home.

Over the past few years I've tried to learn all the lingo, so's I can communicate with real sailors, but I must say "you lost me". These twists and breaks you speak of are so esoteric to me I feel like I'm trying to follow a discussion of the Eight Verses of Mind Transformation by the Dalai Lama in Tibetan.

We are down to our #3 jib, so let’s start there. Point as high as possible.
We want a very slight twist at the top of the jib so it breaks before the middle does.
Adjust the jib lead car till the luff just breaks evenly, now ease the car back about three inches and ease the sheet just a hair from max trim.

Can someone hold my hand here? Am I just not ready to understand sail performance at this level? I need a "pull the red one 'til it's tight and flushes the scuppers" and "ease the blue one until the water stops flooding the cockpit" lesson.

Aside from silliness, I've enjoyed your posts -- keep 'em coming! I’m looking forward to learning how to really sail over the coming years.

Future Jedi Sailor,

Chase

[tartansailor]

In Conclusion

DRAMAMINE! Oh that is good, I admire your wit, and thank you for asking questions that I am sure will help you as well as others on this board.

“We are down to our # 3 jib.” In this case that is the smallest sail that you have on in the front of the boat. You normally sail with a 150 genoa, and as the wind picks up, you reduce sail to a 130 genoa jib, than with more wind you again change the front sail down to the #3 sail. Some have even smaller storm jibs.

“Point as high as possible” The object is to sail your boat as close to the direction of the wind as possible. Usually it is in the neighborhood of 45°. You steer very gently into the wind until the very front of your sails (the luff) just barely starts to flutter, (this is called luffing) and you just sense that the boat is slowing down; then you gently sail a very few degrees back away from the wind direction. You keep doing that because the wind is usually shifting, and the optimum pointing direction of your boat is constantly changing.

“We want a very slight twist at the top of the jib so it breaks before the middle does”
Twist dumps wind and that reduces heeling.
Twist is the slight reversal of the leech, (the back part of the sail that gets the wind last). If you have say 3 feet of twist up at the top of the sail then the wind gets stronger the wind will force more twist down along the leech. When the twist starts down that is said to be breaking.

OK, back to our story; you made the inlet! Hoo-Rahha. Park the boat, go to the clubhouse and collect $10,000.00 from the blow-hard who said you couldn’t do it, settle out of Divorce Court, take the 10 grand and plop it down on a bigger boat with Billy as your new first mate. Life is good.
Dick

[Carter Brey]

I love your posts, Dick. Keep 'em coming.

I'd still reef, with the boat that out of control. I think you'd still have plenty of weather helm, especially on a low aspect, small foretriangle rig such as yours. But then, I'm a low blood pressure kind of guy. I hang out at the bottom of the score page, just south of the violas and just north of the double basses.

Best regards,
Carter

[Neil Gordon]

... if the wind is blowing your bow down and to
leeward, what do you think reefing the main will do to your
bow?

It wasn't the wind blowing the bow off, it was the waves. That's the result of it being easier for the bow to surf down the wave rather than climb up it.

If the boat is on the edge of control, reefing the main will reduce weather helm and make it easier to steer... easier to steer means you can bear off when facing a wave and then head up to surf down the other side.

The boat can only go so fast; reeding may actually increase velocity made good because you can steer a better course with an in control boat.

[tartansailor]

Neil, You are wrong. See John Kolius "How to Steer Upwind in Waves" Sailing World Magazine, March 1993. John Kolius, one of my mentors, has an international reputation as a professional big boat racing skipper.
Dick

[Rollergirl]

Just what the wind range is for "a blow."

Beaufort, knots, mph, whatever.

Bill

[Carl Thunberg]

Oh, boy am I in trouble. If this is for novices, then I'm a complete duffer. I've been sailing for 30 years and I haven't even reached "novice" yet.

[tartansailor]

Bill, A "Blow" as I understand it depends on you and the size of your boat. When you feel your boat would be seriously overpowered, or the wave height intimidates, or when you feel your blood pressure would rise and your knuckles turn white, its time to call it a day.
Others may have different opinions. Thanks for the question.

Carl,
Please do not feel intimidated here, on the contrary. Sailing as in most areas of endeavor have different aspects. A brain surgeon does not do heart transplants, as cruising sailors do not push the envelope to the razors edge.
I am 70, sailed all my life and believe me I feel that I do not know squat. Just ask my friends. What little I do know is what I did over and over.
I am absolutely certain that after 30 years of cruising you know more about reefing, weather, ideal cruising grounds, bottom holding, hull design, deck lay out and on and on.
Thanks for the question.
Dick