Greg... I commend your practice of no auxiliary... congratulations. The
standard practice for a full keeler is always 1]- Reef the Main ; 2] Reef
the Main ; 3] Reef the Main..... after that reef your drive sail... the jib.
A main alone on a full keeler is not recommended in high winds. A jib alone
on a full keeler in gusty winds is a No No! The sails work better in unison.
In gusty winds I find that you need to acquire a mindset that you are in
this for the long run and the prime consideration is keeping a proactive
attitude and an eye open for the approaching gusts. I would have put one
crew on the jib sheet and myself on the main sheet to ease the sheets and
maintain direction as the gusts hit. Only experience will teach you...

Questions... you claimed to have sailed "upwind" so I assumed your home
destination was downwind? .... you didn't give us the jib size.... roller
furling? How many reefs do you have in the main?

Your vessel should be able to easily undertake sailing in 35 knots with
sails reefed and a 110 jib. There is nothing you can do about lightening
strikes. I would strongly suggest a third reef in the main. Use it and you
will be surprised as to how effective it actually is.

I doubt you need a tow.... it seems the weather overwhelmed you. Use the
wind don't fear it.

CM




"Greg Bossert" wrote in message
om...
| I have been sailing for the last 5 summers but just had my first foul
| weather experience. I sail in a Cape Dory Typhoon out of NorthEast in
| the Chesapeake and sometimes Frenchman's Bay in ME. The boat has no
| outboard and I had a one member crew with very little sailing
| experience. I was about 2 hours upwind when an unexpected (and
| unforcasted) storm moved through. My question is, what steps should I
| have taken when I knew that it was inevitable that I would be caught
| in foul weather? There were very high/gusty winds (probably
| 30-35mph+), heavy rain and ligntning all around. I made my way as
| close to shore as I thought possible without grounding but still felt
| very uncomfortable about the lightning. I droped the sails when the
| high winds hit and then tried to sail under the jib alone but was
| still healed over with the rail burried and the gusts would just push
| the bow downwind. I considered dropping anchor but had trouble with
| the rhode. When I got to the point when I felt that we were in danger
| of taking on heavy water I flagged down a passing pontoon boat and got
| a tow back to the harbor. Does anyone have advise on handling very
| high/gusty winds (strong enough to knock her down) and lightning?
| Would I have been better off pulling down the sails and anchoring
| until the weather moved through? Would reefing the main and dropping
| the jib be a better choice than flying the jib alone? Your experience
| is appreciated by a now slightly weathered guy!