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Old 01-12-2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnshasteen View Post
Paulo, for the average sailor in the typical boat on this thread, and not just 20-foot boats, 40 knots of wind is a lot of wind and can be dangerous. I've sailed Paloma through two force 10 storms (one in which we kept racing)exciting rides, with experienced, bluewater sailors. But far from sheltered waters, when the wind pipes above 40 knots and the seas start to build, you have to become a much more careful sailor if you don't shift your mindset, you will get in serious trouble.
I fully agree, but there is a difference in what you are saying and survival tactics. Or perhaps the problem is what survival tactics means to each sailor.

I don't want to incentive (by any means) people to go over their limits and I agree with you that 40K of wind is a lot of wind. But I think that you agree with me that an experienced sailor with an adequate boat will not have problems with 40k winds or with the seas normally associated with them.

I would also say that I have been in force 10 winds on non sheltered waters on my former boat, a Bavaria 36. Even if I had no necessity to take refuge in survival tactics, I would say that what you could do with the boat was limited by the conditions and that I would not chose to go to sea with that weather on that boat.

If I have remained with good memories of that day I will say that at the time, I was, as you have put it "on a different mind set". I was worried, very careful and afraid of worsening conditions.

There is a huge difference between the Bavaria 36 and the 15M steel boat that I was talking about and also, probably, Armand, the skipper of that boat was at the time, a more experienced sailor than I am now.

Regards

Paulo

Last edited by PCP; 01-12-2010 at 04:22 PM.
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