A point of sailing

[Jimmyt]

I'm with Boat. Confused. You're running DDW, and turn toward the wind (hopefully with the boom on the downwind side), you will pass through broad reach, then get to a beam reach. Ifyou don't touch the main sheet, the sail should be depowering as you turn. When you hit a beam reach, the sail should be de powered. Getting it pointed upwind and holding that heading while trying to drop Sail will be entertaining in 20kts.

I haven't been out in 20kt winds without significant reefing, but there may be enough windage with the sails up to heel the boat - even with the boom pointed into the wind. I've seen video of a 34 footer running bare poles DDW in 40-50kts+, and if they fell off of DDW even slightly, the boat heeled a bit more than they were comfortable with. Probably wouldn't have been enough to notice under normal circumstances, but was unnerving to them under those conditions. I guess the poster could have had a similar issue where they were a bit nervous to start with and when the wind got abeam, it leaned them over more than they expected.

First order of business if you're a rookie like me is getting reefed when the wind picks up. This is especially true if you expect it to get worse. You can get in a real jam if it blows really hard and you've got a lot of Sail up. I fire up the Etec when dowsing to hold a steady upwind heading when it's blowing hard. Certainly makes it easier.

[BOAT]

In heavy winds it's best to sail footless - remove the foot of the sail from the boom. That's what I do if I already know I am going into bad winds and I am starting with a reefed main and I don't expect to shake out the reef that day - by leaving the bottom of the sail free to bend it allows you to go even slower by letting out the outhaul a bit. Just make sure you tie up the bottom of the sail really good with those little sail ties they give you in the bag - they go through the little holes in the sail.

The thing about running footless it that it makes it easier ti get the sail down in really bad winds - I actually let loose the outhaul all the way so the sail is like a flag on a pole and then I let it down - it comes down a lot easier. If you do need to go forward to get the sail all the way down you can also take the clew with you by just holding on to the end of the outhaul line - the sail folds in half and drops pretty quick when you do that.

As for doing a jibe - I just don't do it - it's wrong to do it and I have a rule that I never jibe unless I have to because I am in a restricted turning area.
The proper way to turn it is to always rotate the boat under the boom so the end of the boom is NEVER pointing into the wind.

Sailing 101 guys. Come-on - they call it a BOOM for a reason.

I should never hear a skipper shout "JIBE HOE!" unless we are racing or he is trying to avoid hitting me or some other obstacle. Maritime law says if I make a captain jibe his boat to avoid me I am responsible for HIS crew and damage to HIS boat! That's how dangerous a jibe was in the old days.

In any other case you should rotate the boat a full 270 degrees if necessary to make your turn.

For example here for the original poster:




The Wind is coming Dead South at 180 degrees

Your sailing a course Dead North at 0 degrees - that would be an example of DDW

If your boom is on the PORT side (West) you turn to STARBOARD (East)
If your boom is on the STARBOARD side (East) you turn to PORT (West)

You have NO OTHER OPTIONS unless you want to Jibe, but the rules are your not allowed to jibe so if your traveling north with your boom to the east and you want to change course to the east you need to make a FULL 270 DEGREE TURN TO THE WEST TO GO EAST!! You ALWAYS TURN TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE THAT THE BOOM IN ON!

ALWAYS!

You jibe a wooden boat in 30 knot winds out in the ocean and your a dead man - the boat will break - you just don't do it.

[Highlander]

I can remember sailin with Rocky "Dreamer" one time & we kept sayin think we should reef the main pretty soon , anyways it got so rough 5/7ft close breakers heeled 35-45Deg we looked @ each other & said who,s volunteering to go up on deck & reef the main
no taker,s so we just roughed it out cold & hangin on untill the right opportunity came so we could make our turn , Oh he has a hank on Jib with a downhaul & I now think he has dowhaul on his main , which I should also due myself

J

[kadet]

You have NO OTHER OPTIONS unless you want to Jibe, but the rules are your not allowed to jibe so if your traveling north with your boom to the east and you want to change course to the east you need to make a FULL 270 DEGREE TURN TO THE WEST TO GO EAST!! You ALWAYS TURN TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE THAT THE BOOM IN ON!

ALWAYS!

Makes no different in a swept spreader because you cannot get the boom out enough to depower a full main enough on every point of sail in 20+ at some point you are going to be entering OH territory.

Tacking more than 180 to avoid a gybe is called a 'chicken gybe' this is normally the gybe undertaken for good reason if not running exactly 180

The OP does not want to change course he just wanted to get his sail down after realising he had to much up after the breeze had picked up. This happens quite a lot here due to our prevailing weather conditions with weaker SE trade winds or W land breezes in the morning followed by stronger E or NE afternoon sea breezes.

I have done the chicken gybe route a few times but found the old center the main at 0 and pull it down depowered on the run much easier and I did not have to bear away from my destination or wear waves on the beam

Think I might have to investigate a downhaul for the main as suggested by highlander to make my 0 depower easier

[Baha]

I do quite a bit of singlehanding and would second the "center the sail and put it down underway" approach.

The most correct answer, of course, is to reef before you need to, as has been mentioned here. Keep your eyes off the instruments and know your local weather patterns.

[sailboatmike]

Im struggling a bit with this, OK running with say the boom out over your port side, if you turn to starboard (opposite way to which the boom is out) and haul in the main as you go then the boat wont heel as you turn through the wind the main is completely depowered and will come back to center as you head up into the wind.

This is our standard maneuver before hitting the channel as the prevailing sea breeze normally means we sail home on a broad reach in winds around 15 to 20knts

We also furl in the head sail fully at this point, then pull it out a bit when actually in the channel, this gives 2 advantages,

1) the fishos think we are under sail and give us plenty of room (they have no idea what the black triangle means even if I did have it hoisted)

2) the swells in the channel hits us from the the port rear quarter, the head sail stops the boat yawing about which is very uncomfortable and nasty in a channel only 25 meters wide

[kadet]

wont heel as you turn through the wind the main is completely depowered and will come back to center as you head up into the wind.

This is the point Because the is a B&R rig it has 30-degree swept spreaders so the main cannot be completely depowered even with boom all the way out. It still generates enough power to heel the boat excessively for those not use to it.

The is probably a different kettle of fish with a more standard rig.

boom out over your port side, if you turn to starboard (opposite way to which the boom is out) and haul in the main as you go then the boat wont heel

Actually bringing in the main would cause more heeling as you are powering the main up as you bring it in as you bring the boat on a reach then close hauled . You actually leave the main fully out so it remains depowered during the turn.

[Phil M]

And using your cell phone after breakfast to check the weather network for wind information for that day's sailing is not a reliable weather source. By the mid-afternoon when all hull breaks loose ...

[kadet]

Dunno looks good to me

[Highlander]

If all that comes up on radar is cans & cans of Bean,s as far as one can see ! Yep she,s a gonna be a blowin

Just ask Ray !!

J