Strong Wind Tactics on Your Small Boat

Strong Wind Tactics on Your Small Boat

For most of us, sailing is mainly day-sailing or weekend sailing where we sail from and back to our home marina… or sail to a destination for overnight on Saturday evening and return to our home marina on Sunday.  The best (and often most fun) winds for this are breezes between four and sixteen knots.  There is enough wind to propel the boat nicely… but not too much to make sailing difficult for a single hander or family.

With winds of seventeen knots or more though, things get tougher for a single hander or short-handed family.  Often the skipper has to do all of the sail changing jobs while someone in the crew steers the boat.  The person steering is often the skipper’s wife and she is very worried that something might happen to her husband (he falls overboard) and she won’t be able to rescue him.  She ends up watching the skipper and loses track of the wind.  An accidental tack or jibe happens.  The skipper raises his voice (because he’s just been surprised or scared); and the whole situation deteriorates……

Of course, practicing the various sail handling moves in lighter breezes is the answer; so that everyone knows their job and the jobs of others too.  But all too often, practice doesn’t happen in lighter breezes because it is so much fun sailing and no one thinks to practice. 

What are the sail handling and boat handling jobs?  Here are a few – although not necessarily an all-encompassing list - -

Changing from a large genoa jib to a working jib, or to a storm jib.  Don’t forget to move the sheet leads…

Tucking in a flattening reef in the mainsail.

Tucking in a full reef in the mainsail.

Shaking out a reef in the mainsail.

Taking in all sail and then sailing under bare poles (standing rigging only)

Steering the boat, tacking and jibing when that isn’t normally “your job”…

Securing lines so that they don’t get blown overboard.

Rigging jacklines so that the safety harness’ tether can be clipped on and you can move 

Remember that the sail-plan needs to be kept in balance.  The boat’s designer drew the lines so that the Center of Effort (CE) from the sales was slightly ahead of the boat’s Center of Lateral Plane (CLP).  If you make the jib sail smaller, the CE moves aft - - resulting in more weather helm and the tendency for the boat to round up suddenly and uncontrollably – possibly inadvertently tacking the boat.  When this happens, the jib is backwinded and pushes the bow strongly and quickly downwind to the point where an inadvertent jibe occurs.  This scares the daylights out of just about everyone on board.

If the mainsail area is shortened the CE moves farther forward, creating a lee helm situation, and the boat becomes almost impossible to keep close hauled or on a close reach.  In a strong gust, the bow may get pushed by the wind downwind - - again leading to an inadvertent jibe… scaring everyone aboard.

The answer – of course – is to shorten both the mainsail and the jib sail so as to maintain the balance between the two sail areas.

On Snickerdoodle, I have several options to choose between as the wind comes up.  The mainsail has a Cunningham and clew outhaul that are easily adjusted from the cockpit.  The mainsail also has three reefing options – a flattening reef, a first full reef, and a second full reef.  There are also six jib sails aboard – a 150% drifter made of 1.5 oz spinnaker nylon; a 150% genoa made of 3.5 oz Dacron; a 135% genoa made of 5 oz Dacron; a 105% working jib made of 5.5 oz Dacron; a 97% blade jib made of 6 oz Dacron; and a storm jib made of 7 oz Dacron.  I also have a cruising (asymmetrical) spinnaker… but I don’t use that sail in anything stronger than 9 or 10 knots of breeze.  Here’s how I configure the sail-plan as the breeze increases.

1 to 7 knots of breeze = full main and drifter

8 to 10 knots of breeze = full main and 150% genoa

11 knots of breeze = main with flattening reef and 150% genoa

12 to 17 knots of breeze = main with flattening reef and 135% genoa

18 knots of breeze = main with first full reef and 135% genoa

19 to 24 knots of breeze = main with first full reef and either the 105% working jib or the 97% blade (working jib for reaching and running; blade for close hauled and close reaching)

25 to 30 knots of breeze = main with second full reef and either the working jib or the blade jib.

31 to 36 knots of breeze = main with second full reef and storm jib.

Above 37 knots of breeze = Take in all sails and head for shelter as fast as I can. 

The above wind ranges are for steady breeze velocities.  There will almost always be puffs and gusts that are stronger than the steady breeze.  Playing the traveler control line or the mainsheet – or feathering up in the gust – helps keep the boat under control.

Make sure that you keep a “weather eye” out.  This means to watch the weather and the wind for changes.  I remember once in a race that the wind went from around 6 or 7 knots from the NE to 15 to 20 knots from the SW almost without warning.  We were broad reaching under full main and spinnaker when I noticed one of the lead boats suddenly be thrown aback with her spinnaker wrapped around the rigging - - and then she was broached hard over with side decks awash.  Seconds later the second place boat experienced the same thing.  We quickly doused the spinnaker and hoisted the 110% working jib.  Less than fifteen seconds after the sail change, the wind switched 180 degrees and went from ~7 to +20.  We were ready and surged around the boats in front of us to a first place finish.

Sailing in strengthening winds shouldn’t be a problem… but you do need to practice and be prepared.  If you want to read more, pick up a copy of “The Annapolis Book of Sailing” by John Rousemaniere.  There is a fount of knowledge in that book.  Maybe a copy should be on your presents list……  Enjoy!!!

barnaclebillholcomb@gmail.com

 

Beaufort	Description of Wind		What You Would Sea	Wind
Number			or Experience	Speed Kts
0	Calm		Calm - Smoke rises vertically	Less than 1
1	Light air		Direction of the wind can be seen	1 to 3
			by smoke drifting; but wind vanes
			don't work well; sail with full main
			and large light weight genoa
2	Light breeze		Wind fills the sails; boats sail at one	4 to 6
			or two knots; wind is felt on one's
			face; wind vanes move by the wind;
			sail with full main and large light
			weight genoa
3	Gentle breeze		Boat begins to heel and move nicely	7 to 10
			through the water;  wind extends
			light flags;  change jib to a large
			medium weight (3.5 oz) genoa
4	Moderate breeze		Excellent sailing; boat may heel to	11 to 16
			20+ degrees;  a flattening reef for
			the mainsail may be advised; maybe
			shift down to a 135 genoa
5	Fresh breeze		Time to reef the mainsail and maybe	17 to 21
			shift down to a working jib; frequent
			white capped waves
6	Strong breeze		Whistling heard by wind in the rigging;	22 to 27
			There are many white caps and the
			waves are building in size; single reef
			in the main and a small working sail
			(smaller than 100% likely)
7	Moderate gale		Sailing becomes difficult; the boat	28 to 33
			heels far over and may often wash
			the decks; time to tuck in the second
			reef in the mainsail and shift down to
			a small working jib or storm jib
8	Fresh gale		Why are you out in this???  Double	34 to 40
			reefed mainsail or storm trysail and
			storm jib are warrented.  Waves are
			becoming large; there is a lot of spray
			in the air; steering is difficult.  Heaving
			to may be a good choice; or running
			before the wind under bare poles.
9	Strong gale		Running before the wind under bare	41 to 47
			poles and a sea anchor to control
			boatspeed and surging
10	Whole gale			48 to 55
11	Storm			56 to 65
12	Hurricane		Typhoon in Western Pacific	66 +
			Cyclone in Indian Ocean