IS THE PROBLEM THE SAILS OR THE SAILOR?

[rick retiree]

My and I just back from a harrowing sail out of Calumet Harbor in the south basin of Lake Michigan. But before I begin my narrative let me apologize for not knowing sailing terminology so well(Im the fellow who thought it was a WHISKEY pole). Departed with 10 knot offshore breezes and 2 footers but within a few hours winds increased to 25 knots and gust to 30 knots IMHO and waves increased to 5+feet as NOAA predicted. Time to drop the sails and power in, unfortunately my Yammy 50 decided to lock up in the up position Since I am a senior citizen and sail singlehanded I was leary about climbing on deck to reef. Tried to close haul/close reach but she kept rounding up into wind & beam reach brought her over to 30+degrees. Mainsail took on parachute shape ahead of battens. Engaged genoa 10% for airfoill, little effect. So after 2 hours of floundering, dropped hook from cockpit(Modified to run anchor line lead from anchor roller to cockpit cleat). 4 hours later with same conditions called for rescue. I'm a newbie and glad 4 your advice.

[bscott]

Practice the Hove To maneuver. This will settle the boat down and release the pressure on the main so you can douse it. While in hove to you can get to the engine and figure out why it would not release

It's a good idea to drop the engine when it becomes apparent that conditions require a reef.

[eric3a]

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[tangentair]

There are several of us that sail on the big lake and what I have learned is the waves and their periodicity as well as the wind will be working to make things go from bad to just awful very quickly. That said, rounding up, hove to, or pointing the nose into the wind and letting the sails depower is great when you have crew, but my mac doesn't like to keep its nose into the wind without aux power and forward motion and someone at the helm. You might consider, along with running your lines aft (see mods) adding down hauls (lines tied to the top of the sail to help pull it down and sail slugs - again see mods and other threads for detailed explanations). Now for some other suggestions, this just my opinion not necessarily best for you, Michigan is just now getting warm, so if you are not using a short tether when single handling, you might want to consider it. At the same time it might give you more confidence about going forward in rough conditions. You mentioned you knew the NOAA forecast, I think the manual recommends sailing with the motor down at first in case you need it quickly and you might have started sailing reefed. The is different from my but I believe your foresail is better in high winds than the :macm:s so you might have hove to, centered you boom with the traveler and dropped the main then tacked home that way. An owner can comment better on that point.

[Gerald Gordon]

If you're going to sail with any safety you need to be able to reef, so you either get confortable up on deck, or you rig the boat so you don't have to go up.

Truer words have not been spoken.

This kind of event was the main reason I converted my rig to roller main and roller jib. There are times when letting go of the helm and going up on deck is the very last thing on the brain.

By the way...it's a lesson, learn.

[tangentair]

whose roller main are you using - is it the new one from the west coast experiments?

[Richard O'Brien]

If it makes you feel better , I'll bet all of us have had a similar experience. One suggestion is to locate that emergency motor release . Yamaha has a switch on the starboard side of the cowling, and a pressure release screw further down near the pump. I've found myself unable to keep the bow into the wind when going up to reef, and have thought about tying a line to the middle of the wheel, and then running two ends out thru the genoa blocks, and then forward. That way I could tug on the appropriate line without going back to the wheel every 1/2 minute. Hmm? anyone else have a solution to that problem beside self-steering?

[Gerald Gordon]

tangentair,
I made my own furler mount. It's in the mod section. I have to say it works well. I also modified my standard main sail but when I get some dough, I'll have the local tailor make me a better version.

[delevi]

Please don't take offense, but my advice is that if you receive a weather forecast in advance on conditions you know you're uncomfortable with, don't go out. That said, if you would like to sail in 25 kts wind, I would agree with others about getting the reefing thing down. Practice in calm conditions. A single or two line reefing system is very helpful an can be deployed from the cockpit. This would be a huge asset to you when single handing or even with crew aboard. Going back to my first point. Conditions of 20kts or higher will require a reasonable physical effort on your part in order to keep your boat under control, sailing safety and efficiency. Make sure you're up to the task physically. If not, don't go out when such conditions are forecast. Again, please don't take offense to these statements. I am just responding based on your initial post. If I am incorrect in any assumptions I made, please disregard and my apologies in advance.

Fair Winds,
Leon

[Scott]

but my advice is that if you receive a weather forecast in advance on conditions you know you're uncomfortable with, don't go out.

I agree with this. A Mac can handle these conditions with full sails and easily in proper trim but with all your canvas up it will get hairy.

Walk before you run then If you like an elevated heart rate you will probably pray for days like this!!

[bastonjock]

hi guys

im intending to mod my for single handed sailing,the plan is to have all lines led aft,fit my main sail with slugs and sliders and a downhaul plus lazy jacks

so what would be the safe way to reef if you find the wind climbing above 15mph?

[tangentair]

There have been some posts in the last year or so discussing adding reefing points and how many to have or what is needed in the way of lines and mods for the boom. They might make a good refresher if you search for them. But one of the issues here is doing it safely, Lake Michigan waves, especially with a northerly wind when sailing around Chicago can not only get steep, but very closely spaced, making going up on the cabin to tie off the reefing lines something for moneys or young men like them. I would imaging you also experience some rock’en and roll’en when things roll down from the North Sea. So being able to reef safely when underway single handedly might require a deadman’s switch on the motor, an autopilot or some way to keep the nose into the wind, certainly a tether and MOB considerations, short lead or long lead with lines in the water, ( I prefer to short but I can’t swim) and practice under better conditions -------- nah, no practice.

[Frank C]

Pineapple's head sailmaker (linked below) suggests that 2-point reefing is best. There's a forward reef line for the tack, and a separate aft reef line for the clew.

I believe an improved boom can make these lines much easier to manage, so wish I'd have just invested $400 in a better boom that supports internal reefing lines. Then too, that investment gains a boom that's much stronger, a big benefit IMO for heavy winds.

But that's not essential, you can rig for one mainreef and spend less than a hundred bucks for lines, blocks and cleats. I'd say your best strategy might be to learn heaving-to, and then reefing while hove. Many different ways to skin the reefing cat, so reading is necessary. A simple search on the word reefing, will provide hours of reading. But try reading here, first.

[bastonjock]

thanks for the replys,ill read the previous threads on reefing,ill never go forward in the North Sea without a safety line attached,i did a survival course when i worked on the oil rigs and we were told it was 20 minutes before you die of hypothermia,i have jumped into the water in a 15ft swell,once was enough believe me

[eric3a]

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