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In article .com,
wrote:
I was recently sailing in a 38' sloop rigged cruiser. Both the jib and
the main are the furling type.
I was caught off guard by a sudden 35 kt gust than pinned the sails
down hard. I fought to turn into the wind so that I can furl the
sails, but this was a real struggle, as the wind kept pushing the boat
out of irons and over on it's side. Unfortunately, the sails were not
reefed in the first place. Releasing the sheets helped ease the heel
angle, but caused a real mess as all the lines started whipping around
and getting tangled. Eventually, we managed to furl the sails, but it
was a real scare.
Any advice on what would have been the best way to handle that
situation?
Thanks,
Bob Bramble
I read the other posts to date and there's a lot of good stuff, albeit
confusing if you don't remember that all boats handle differently and
you have to deal with YOUR boat.
On a 50' charter boat in tradewind conditions, a squall with 35 knot
winds is sometimes best handled by heading down and surfing at fantastic
speeds. Letting the boat head up from a broad reach can *almost* toss
the "deck fluff" sunning on the foredeck overboard from the sudden heel.
(The Admiral and I were *not* amused.)
We've sailed 20-35 knots (gusting) in our little girl, though only on a
beam reach, and we were reefed, on the working jib and had prepared
otherwise. Was great fun.
But when surprised and overpressed, my first action is to ease the main
and feather toward the wind (NOT going head to wind, just luffing). If
things are still too hairy, I ease the jib or release and furl it. Main
flaps like crazy, but safety first, maintaining at least a bit of speed
for steerage.
Then, we have an option you don't: Release the main halyard and let the
main drop. Sloppy, but effective. You'll have to experiment with your
r/f main. Perhaps that's your first job, then crank in the wildly (but
intentionally) luffing jib.
If things REALLY have gone pear shaped, we just release the sheets and
let everything flog off to the side until we figure out what to do.
(maintain steerage!)
Heaving to with out boat is rarely possible. I got bit by motoring
through sheets twice, so rarely consider it until much later.
Of course, all this is improved with planning and by looking outside of
the boat. Most squalls can be seen coming IF you remember to look for
them every once in a while. Notice that there's often a different
quality of light well before squalls, sorta reddish even when the sun is
high. (Was reminded of that this afternoon.) ANY change gives a reason
to look up and around. A suddenly cooler breeze often evokes an
immediate call to strike sails. A dark band of clouds is not the only
warning.
And keep things neat, just in case. Your sheets should be ready to use,
and should not be be underfoot or intermingled.
You will have practiced your emergency procedures under benign
conditions, of course. Monday, the winds were right and no one was in
the way, so we sailed into the marina, engine ticking over but out of
gear. Got us applause as usual, but we don't do it to impress, we do it
for that time the engine died a couple of miles out and we had to sail
in with 15-20 behind too-big sails and just ahead of the REAL wind. Had
to gybe three times to get through the breakwaters and around the fuel
dock, but it wasn't that big a thing. Afterwards, we had a postmortem to
improve our technique. (Have more fuel in the tank!)
Getting caught off guard was about the middle of your chain of mistakes.
I suspect some of them won't happen next time. If you're like me, you'll
wake up some nights "dealing" with some emergency in your dreams.
--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/
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