N1EE wrote:
The type of sails a person has is an
easy way to tell what kind of person
they are.

That may be a little harsh, Bart...


It is important to at least have white
sails in good shape, because if you are
fighting your way off a lee shore with
lame sails, you will make too much leeway,
and if they blow out, worse can happen.

Careful there, next thing you know MC will accuse you of saying that
tanbark sails can put boat onto a lee shore!

But it's true, a blown-out sail is something that you have to deal with
right away, and if it happens in the middle of another ongoing
emergency, it could put the whole situation over the top.

OTOH on a blustery afternoon race or daysail, a blown-out sail can be
fun & exciting... as long as you're not the one paying for it


(more below)

I helped deliver a boat once with a friend.
He bought used sails for his boat. After
seeing his sails for only a few minutes I
knew that one of the two sails was going
to come apart that day.

It was blowing Southwesterly about 25+
knots or so, coming out of Buzzzards Bay.
So when the genoa came apart I was ready,
I was at the helm and bore off a milli-
second later, to make it easier to furl
up the shreads.

Interesting... I've never rolled up a blown-out sail on a roller furler.
That must have been a little quicker to get out of the way, but what
about setting a new sail?


After that we had to turn the motor on, as
the boat wouldn't point in those seas.
I think we were just east of the "Hen and
Chickens" or "Old Cock" when it happened.
Once past, we were able to crack off and
shut down the motor and made very good time
under main alone and got in just at sunset.

Since the genoa wouldn't furl very well, we
had lot of windage and that made docking
tricky. My friend was an Ok sailor and he
did get it in the slip ok, and was wise enough
to refurl it a little tighter, in the channel,
before docking.

By the way, the main was for another boat
and had a foot and head that were too short.
What a joke! I have to remember to give him
some more grief about that. I'll be helping
he deliver his new boat, one of the Benty-toad
ocean rated boats, from Annapolis to Rhode
Island this spring. At least this boat will
have sails less than 20 years old.

One other intersting thing happened that day.
When sailing with someone new, there are many
clues to the expereince level of other sailors.

At one point I found myself on the leeward
side of the boat, rail down. I put my hand
up and the third man on the boat, Dave, without
hesitation, hoisted me to the high side. A
good sailor reacts quickly. It is always nice
to have good sailors on board.

Another thing is that good sailors can anticipate.

I just heard from a friend who was at Key West Race Week on a boat he
has not crewed on before... since he was the lightest, they made him the
jib trimmer, because the jib trimmer sits to leeward... says it was very
wet down there and his arms will be sore 'till after St Patricks Day...



JAXAshby wrote:
bart sr, if you want people to listen to you don't tell b/s

Hey Jax, just because fantasize about sailing in rough conditions,
doesn't mean that others never actually do it.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King