Conference unifix::sailing

    I wrote on that a little in note 2036.  There were some other
    experiences, including some stuff from Alan B.  There was also a note
    that Alan put in a long time ago that talked about his experience in a
    C&C 26 in heavy seas and wind.  I cannot remember the nore # perhaps
    Alan you could point to that one .... I'd look at it again.
    
    Graham

    Some good references on technique are Heavy Weather Sailing, Champman's
    and Annapolis.  
    
    The technique is straight forward and requires you to be familiar with
    how your boat will handle once hove to.  Practice on a nice sunny day
    under mild conditions first so you know what to expect when the world
    turns to ca-ca.  
    
    
    

RE: .2

I've read Chapmans and am now reading Heavy Weather Sailing 
(authors Coles & Bruce). But your last mention of Anapolis
is foreign to me. What is the full title? Authors? 

To others, although I'm only 1/3 of the way through Heavy
Weather I can HIGHLY recommend to to anyone unfortunate
enough to get c77aught in such. Take time out and look this
one up. (ISBN 0-87742-336-9)

Michael
"Latitude"

    I haven't picked it up in awhile but I believe is is The Annapolis Book
    of Sailing (or some such) by John Rousmanierre (sp?).  It is about the 
    same size as Chapman's, has basically the same info but is geared towards
    sailboats versus power and sail.  The methods described should be
    pretty close.  I have it at home and can check the actual title etc. 
    It is available in larger books stores and should be at the library. 
    I saw it at the Fitchburg Library.  

    re .3
    
      Try renting the video of heavy weather sailing at BOAT US. One of
    the best.   The annapolis video on heavy weather stinks IMHO. They
    are out on a nice day, and the info doesn't jive with Heavy weather
    Sailing, nor the Fastnet findings. They guys says he was there. Must'a
    been on one of those big boats ;>) .
    
      Sailing World is starting some articles about the race in Australia
    that went to pot. They have published a couple of good articles
    including seeing if all the changes from Fastnet are doing the job.
    
    john

RE: .5

This months SAIL has an excellent article on the little blow down under. 
Good reading. Aparently much was learned from Fastnet '79.

Michael

    
    Not sure if this works on all boats, but it can be as easy as 1,2,3:
    
    	1.	Come about, leave the headsail backwinded,
    	2.	Release the mainsheet,
    	3.	Tie the tiller (lock the wheel) to leeward.
    	

RE: .7

Can I assume the smaller the jib the better? I suppose one must 
experiment with the degree to leward the tiller is lashed to
find the 'right' spot. Does this change with the velocity of
the winds? As I understand, heaving-to should have the end 
result of taking waves on the forward quarter. Is this correct?

Michael
"Latitude"

RE: .1

Laying a-hull is simply riding a storm out under bare pole, as I 
understand (ref 2036.*). Is the tiller lashed down such that the 
rudder is straight ahead? Would deploying a sea anchor be of any
help? When would you lay a-hull instead of heaving to?

This sounds like a rough ride...

Michael
"Latitude"

    re .8 > The smaller the jib the better - how much rudder
    
    On my Com-Pac 19, with my standard 110% jib (and I don't remember if I 
    tried it with my 135%)the tiller is tied hard over to leward to counter
    the jib. The boat doesn't directionally hunt at all, the way many
    books describe. it holds steady  maybe 50% off the wind, 
    moving forward very slowly. It's
    almost like magic - like putting on a huge brake when the wind is
    blowing hard.
    
    Bill
    

RE: .10

On a Com-Pac 19 I don't know just HOW heavy of weather it can 
withstand -- I've never been on one. But it would seem that
a 110 jib is rather large for heaving to in heavy weather.
But then, possibly a 110 isn't so bad for such a boat. I know
for a fact that with my 135 up and the main down a good blow will 
spin me 'round in circles. Suppose things wouldn't be so bad
with only my working jib up -- I have no storm jib but probably
need one.

What type of keel does the Com-Pac have? The Catalina 27' I sail
draws 4' and does not have a full keel. According to Heavy Weather
a deep full keel heaves-to well. Little mention is made of anything less.

Michael
"Latitude"

    The Com-Pac has a shoal draft keel. It is like a fat, symmetrical
    aircraft wing that is cut off flat (2' on a 19, 18" on a 16, 30"?
    on a 23) below the waterline. No, I haven't tried heaving to
    in a real blow, but have in 15-20 kt winds.
    
    	I was kind of surprised that it hove-to so nicely. I have a 70%
    (actually a lightning jib) that I use in weather over 20Kt.
    
    

	The behavior varies a lot with the boat.
	With a Pearson-26, I remember having difficulty in finding
	the right conditions. It had a tendency to go round in circles
	with each circle being accompanied by a horrendous jybe.
	Although the boat pointed 3/4 upwind, it sideslipped noticably.

	With a Norseman-44, it *looked* easy but then I had an experienced
	captain beside me to tell me what to do.

	On my Cape Dory 25, the instructions in 2164.7 apply with
	the following comments:
		Come into a close-hauled position before you start.
		At the end have the tiller full over.

	When single handed, I frequently hove-to to have a meal, 
	to reef, change sails, go to the head :-)
	Going into the hove-to position from the turbulence of
	being close hauled seems like a miracle, suddenly the 
	wind seems tamed and the boat takes on an easy motion.
	The more often you do it the more you learn about your boat.

	The close hauled position for the CD25 seems best with the genoa. 
	The wind then holds the boat at a steady heel with the
	rail almost in the water (it has a very low freeboard).
	The boat then is hardly moving except very slowly sideways.

	With the jib, the hove-to position is less effective and the boat
	moves forward steadily at about 1-knot. This is because the jib
	does not backwind very effectively in such a narrow boat.
	(Maybe I could Barber-hauler the jib to a greater sheeting angle?)

	Beware the accidental jybe as the main sheet is well out
	so the sweep of the boom is large.
	At the beginning of the season, I hove to in the middle of a 
	cove under gale conditions. There were hardly any waves
	and the boat seemed entirely docile. I went below and after
	several minutes there was a huge CRASH! Rushing to the companionway
	I saw everything was the same (maybe after 360 degrees), I also saw
	that something had just fallen into the sea. At that moment, 
	some of the smaller parts of my windex fell on my head.

	Mike
	

    Heaving-to, especially with a big jib, can become pretty unmanageable
    in wind stronger, say, than 25kt depending on the boat. I've heard that
    in wave heights bigger than the beam of the boat can make heaving-to
    somewhat uncomfortable, and the final resort of lying ahull is just
    that: a very uncomfortable, somewhat dangerous position to be in with
    most boats, especially with the wind over 30 knots or so with big waves
    8' or more. Obviously, this all depends on the boat, but we found that
    running under bare poles to be a far better and more comfortable
    method, if there is sea room. As our boat is about 54,000lbs, other
    experiences will vary, but running under bare poles served us well in
    waves up to 25' and winds averaging around 45kt.
    
    The final options appear to be using a sea anchor (parachute) or
    running under drogues to slow down.
    

    re .1:
    
    See Note 1330.1.
    

From HEAVY WEATHER SAILING   ISBN:0-87742-336-9

"One can heave-to either by backing the headsail or by tacking 
and leaving the jib sheet made up, accompanied by a mainsail 
appropriately reefed for the conditions. Then the helm should 
be secured so as to hold the boat's bow towards the wind. The 
increase in comfort that can be derived from heaving-to in a 
seaway has to be experienced to be believed. Noise and motion 
are promptly much reduced and there is no longer a need for a 
helmsman. Thus heaving-to is an expedient to adopt, for example, 
for having a meal in comfort or when an uncertain pilotage situeation 
demands time for thought. Unfortunately not all fin-keeled yachts 
will heave-to untended in a sea. Yachts that can do so will 
continue to fore reach at a knot or two and make nearly as much 
way to leeward. On no account should one try to back an overlapping 
headsail in order to heave-to as there is a high chance of 
bursting the sail on the spreaders. Besides, most yachts will 
not heave-to comfortably under large headsails.

Storm jibs and trysails are sometimes employed on their own, for 
example ... in the 1979 Fastnet. In these instances it is 
probable that a helmsman will be necessary.... Given the choice, 
there appears to be a balance in favor of a trysail set on its 
own rather than storm jib set on its own. This seems particularly 
likely to be so when the storm jib is set on the forestay rather 
than the preferable inner stay positions.

Heaving-to is a seamanlike tactic to employ up to moderately 
severe conditions, say force seven to eight, but, when wind and 
wave increase above gale force a time will come when any hoisted 
sail will flog so violently that something has to break, or cause 
a boat to be repeatedly thrown upon her beam ends. These 
situations are neither comfortable nor safe and again another 
tactic must be sought."

	During the trip described in 2141.28, I tried
	heaving-to under storm jib and double reefed main.

	To my surprise the boat travelled quite fast when
	hove-to, maybe 2 knots. However this was clearly
	the better than 4 - 5 knots close-hauled.
	(Note the CD-25 has LWL of under 19').
	The course was straight with no alternate
	heading up and bearing off as described in text books.

	The problem is due to the storm jib being more-or-less
	near the center line of the boat when sheeted to windward. 
	The storm jib has a short high foot 
	and the sheet has a long way to go to the nearest fairlead. 

	Seems I need a fairlead further forward or maybe
	a tackle to hold the jib *out* to windward.

	Mike 

From Heavy Weather Sailing   ISBN: 0-87742-336-9   pp. 393-4
Coles and Bruce

" When heaving-to is no longer sensible it may be possible to resort 
to lying a-hull, i.e., taking off all sail, lashing the helm -- usually 
slightly to leeward, closing all hatches securely and letting nature 
take her course. The ease with which types of yachts will lie a-hull 
is variable. Broadly speaking old-fashoned narrow beam heavy displacement 
yachts often lie a-hull well whilst light displacement beamy yachts 
do not. Nevertheless lying a-hull was the most popular survival tactic 
in the generally lightish displacement 1979 Fastnet fleet; Harry Whale 
lay a-hull off Ushant abord 'Muddle Through' in the great English 
Channel storm of 1987 and one could cite many other instances. 
It is a tactic employed by many yachtsmen -- and not always of dire 
necesity. In a sufficient force of wind the windage of the mast 
alone provides stability, like a steadying sail. As an illustration 
of a vessel's ability to look after herself during a storm, one can 
recall that most of the vessels abandoned in the Fastnet race were 
later found bobbing about in the swell with hatches left wide open.

Thus when survival of human life is involved, the practice of lying 
a-hull can be preferable to remedies involving any high risk activity. 
The problem, of course, is that the boat is vulnerable to breaking waves 
from broadside-on, and to paraphrase Andrew Claughton ... 'breaking 
waves do not have to be very big to roll any sort of small craft 
right over, whatever her hull features.' ...

Having pointed out the dangers of lying a-hull, to try to put matters 
into perspective it should be mentioned that world girdlers such as Sir 
Alec Rose, Dr Nicholas Davies and Alan and Kathy Webb, albeit with 
heavy displacement boats, have found the proctice of lying a-hull 
entirely satisfactory for weathering the gales  of a normal world 
circumnavigation. For such solidly-built vessles it is quite a rare 
event to encounter the sort of weather that does not allow lying a-hull 
without a high risk of capsize, but there are enough examples of 
yachts being rolled over whilst lying a-hull in this book to show 
that the tactic may not always be wise."

    In the Cruising World that I am reading (could be Sept or OCT) there is
    an account of the big storm last may that caused 7 boats to be
    abandoned in the New Zealand to Fiji cruise.  There is a sidebar by a
    skipper who rode out the stomr by running ahead of it although he had 7
    persons on board so could steer all of the time.  Steering down the
    face of the waves is very exacting in those conditions.  This skipper
    said that he does not believe in lying ahull and avoids it if at all
    possible, however by running downwind, he stayed fro 8 days in the area
    of the storm that was Beaufort force 8 and above.
    
    I still think that lying ahull is a good tactic, however he did make
    the point that he felt that running beofre the wind puts less strain on
    the boat and therefore is safer.

    Ever laid ahull in waves above 8 feet or wind avove 30-40 knots?
    Especially if the waves have a choppy characteristic? The rolling
    motion is pretty drastic (and ours is a 54,000 ketch with plenty of
    windage to provide the mythical "stabiizing" effect of the wind!), and
    if left for long makes the crew feel that the masts are about to roll
    overboard, it can be as violent as that.
    
    I've spoken to a number of offshore sailors over the past year of
    sailing and living aboard, and have yet to find one who advocates lying
    ahull in severe conditions. However, the characteristics of the boat
    are important in the storm tactics you might choose, and in any storm
    you might find yourself trying two or even three methods to reduce the
    misery.
    
    After weathering quite a few storms, we found that bearing off and
    running under bare poles, even in quite severe (but fortunately not
    "phenominal") conditions, was like a magic formula and apart from the
    slow roll afforded by the large following seas, relatively
    comfortable....if there's sea room to run to!

    The following input is from Frank Alla, a former Digit and long time
    sailor...
    
    One technique for heavy seas is to always carry an auto tire, make it
    up to a 100' of line and stream it over the stern, does keep you
    straight and knocks a bit of speed off.
    
    And you can use it as a fender when along stone quays.
     

While my practical experience with heavy weather is (fortunately) 
limited, my impression is that what is effective and workable for one
boat and crew may not be so for another boat and crew. Much depends on
the boat and crew size. In general, it appears that all one can do is
experiment. Most of the experiences reported in the literature (eg, 
"Heavy Weather Sailing") are anecdotal and while helpful and valuable, 
should be carefully evaluated in the light of more recent research, I
think. 

I think it is generally agreed that there is some combination of wind 
and waves that will capsize and/or pitchpole any vessel. What is 
important is to minimize the chances of such disaster. 

Donald Jordan has published some articles in SAIL magazine in which he 
reports the results of his investigations into capsizing. He contends 
that a properly designed series drogue will greatly minimize the chances 
of capsizing. He also coauthored a US Coast Guard report titled 
"Investigation of the Use of Drogues to Improve the Safety of Sailing 
Yachts", report CG-D-20-87. This report includes sufficent design 
information to build such a series drogue. The report may be obtained 
from the US Department of Commerce, National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, VA, report number AD-A188598, cost $19.50. Worth
the expense. Use of such a drogue would minimize the need for crew to
actively manage the boat during very heavy weather. I would build/buy
such a drogue before going way offshore again, especially since I mostly
sail with a small crew. 

These series drogues are available from at least two commercial vendors. 
One, Sailrite, sells a kit with all the pieces and you do the sewing and 
other laborious work. 'Taint anything like cheap, especially since the 
design loads are very large (about 10000 pounds for my boat). 

See also the discussion in Marchaj, "Seaworthiness, the Forgotten 
Factor", an excellent though rather difficult book.

Alan