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I am thinking of docking my Mac 22 Sunday-Monday at the hammond marina just south of Chicago. I have had 3 sailing lessons through their program and feel pretty confident in my knowledge to sail my own boat to get more experience. My question is, they are forecasting wind at anywhere from 10-20 mph out of the north, would that be a bit much of wind for me to be starting to get my bearing under me? Should I just dock and enjoy the day beig at the marina? If I were to sail I would only be sailing within a few miles of the marina.

Thank you for the advice
Ryan

I think you should. You're only going to gain confidence by doing. Be sure your motor is working well and that you've got it as a backup in case you decide the winds are too much. Consider going main-only as well--tacking is much simpler. Also you should sail with a buddy until you're confident you can handle everything single handedly.

Also, get a boat hook--they're a new sailor's best friend when coming back in to dock.

10 to 20 mph wind forecast sounds reasonable. The biggest problem in sailing at the high end of that forecast would be overpowering the boat with more sail up than you're comfortable handling. You may not like the degree of heel. Be sure you know how to reef your main, and if it is breezy out there, with whitecaps beginning to show, it would be a good idea to reef before leaving the dock. It's easier to shake out a reef if the wind eases up, than to put one in under strong wind conditions.

You need a sailing companion for 20 knots on a V22. Thats 4x more forces and trouble than 10 knots btw...

Catigale wrote:You need a sailing companion for 20 knots on a V22. Thats 4x more forces and trouble than 10 knots btw...

Are you referring to an item on or for the boat or are you referring to bringing along someone to help in those conditions? Sorry for my ignorance but I'm still new to this hobby.
Thanks

Ryan

I would sail but put a reef in it ....once you get out there see how comfortable you are and take the reef out if you want. Also remember 10-20 could end up being 15-25 or 5-15... much easier to take a reef out of the sail then to put one in when you are out there

I would recommend going out under power and practicing coming back in to the mooring - preferably with somebody friendly standing on the pontoon/dock to help you

That way you can get to experience how the boat handles, and get to assess the conditions away from the shore/harbour. Once you are confident - or not - you can always go back out and sail (or not) - and I would strongly endorse the recommendation to go out on heavily reefed main only. What's the worst that can happen to you if you are carrying too little sail?

Get used to the motion of the boat, the heel, and how responsive she is/isn't to the helm on different points of sail; you'll learn far more about that in a F4 than you ever would with a mild breeze, but there's no point in scaring yourself silly in the process.

Have fun and let us know how you get on.

FYI- Recomendations of mainsail only may lead to troubles & frustration. Remember, these boats need some foresail to come around. Inability to come about in strong winds can lead to a stall that allows the boat to be pushed in an undesired direction.

yes, but at least using only the main will induce weather helm and cause the boat to tend to round up, rather than the Genny which induces lee helm and can be an absolute pig to hard up on the wind

Like the Nike commercials say "Just Do it".

Winds out of the north in Hammond can produce some big waves quickly. Check the waves outside the breakwater before venturing out. Check wunderground marine forcast also....(keep in mind it is a "forcast" and can go either way). West to south winds would favor better conditions. You won't have much fun crashing through waves and getting all wet. A sailing partner would be a good idea until you build confidence. A reefed main is sage advice....a harness is probably a good idea if you singlehand.....that water is COLD even in summer. It won't be long before you look forward to days like that.....be safe.
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/lmm.html

Make sure you lock that keel down before leaving the harbor entrance.

Ditto on the sailing partner - even if she's blonde! Too early for solo IMHO, but that'll happen soon enough.

Thanks all. My sailing buddy (my dad) said on the radio they posted a small craft advisory for the area till 6am. My brother is a life gaurd there at the marina and he said it doesnt look like a good idea to try getting out there today. very bummed. Been looking forward to getting out there all week.

BELIEVE the small craft advisory.

cub21rak wrote:Thanks all. My sailing buddy (my dad) said on the radio they posted a small craft advisory for the area till 6am. My brother is a life gaurd there at the marina and he said it doesnt look like a good idea to try getting out there today. very bummed. Been looking forward to getting out there all week.

dlandersson wrote:BELIEVE the small craft advisory.

cub21rak wrote:Thanks all. My sailing buddy (my dad) said on the radio they posted a small craft advisory for the area till 6am. My brother is a life gaurd there at the marina and he said it doesnt look like a good idea to try getting out there today. very bummed. Been looking forward to getting out there all week.

I do believe. I'm not ready to test out my skills on those conditions yet