wrote in message
oups.com...
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


You might want to consider learning how to heave to. It's pretty simple, and
it will afford you the opportunity to deal with the situation in a calm and
reasoned manner. Every boat is different when it comes to heaving to. The
basic procedure is to immediately tack from a close hauled position without
releasing the jib. This backwinds the jib, which slows the boat down. Then,
you need to ease the main a bit to a lot, depending on the boat. Then, turn
the tiller toward the mainsheet (or the wheel away from it). This
configuration causes the boat to slowly scull back and forth. You will have
an opportunity to reef the main every time the pressure comes off it, as the
jib takes over. After the main is sufficiently reefed, then you can bring
the jib to the other side and start sailing. You could then blanket the jib
with the main on a deep reach and furl it in.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com