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Big Freakin' Sails

593K views 3K replies 293 participants last post by  smackdaddy 
#1 ·
Okay - this thread is for people that ACTUALLY LIKE Big Freakin' Sails (note for morons: the verb, not the noun). BFS simply means sailing that pushes limits - whatever those limits may be. And herein lies the rub...and the reason I need to explain a couple of things so people don't start foaming at the mouth right off the bat.

There has been a tremendous amount of hubbub over this "philosophy" in another thread - but that thread apparently "came with a lot of baggage" - to the point that the topic itself got lost in the fog of war. So, this is an attempt to start cleanly.

It must be understood that the love for the adventure and excitement of hard sailing is just as valid and robust in the newbie as it is in the big-sailing old salt. The gap between the two is experience and knowledge. And the goal here is not to fill that gap by quashing the spirit of adventure and excitement with a deluge of cynicism and technicality - but to help us all learn, if and when the time comes, how to better handle that moment when mother nature starts rising beyond our sailing abilities. Because if you keep sailing - it will happen, period. And as you'll see, it can get very frightening very quickly.

For an old salt, these limits will obviously be worlds beyond those of the typical newbie. That old salt will probably snicker at the point at which the newbie becomes terrified - understandably so. Yet, there will inevitably be an even more seasoned salt that will, in turn, snicker at the snickerer when he/she soils his/her own breeches in a blow. It's all subjective and un-ownable.

Therefore, the BFS factor of a newbie experiencing a hard heel and wayward helm for the very first time is just as exciting, important, and valuable (in BFS terms) as the old salt battling a 50 knot gale. It's just about the attitude with which the exploit is approached and remembered - and taken into account as they go back out for more. There are great stories and valuable lessons in both experiences - as well as great opportunities for good hearted slams on the brave posters (which is valuable as well). That's BFS.

So, to be clear this thread is JUST AS MUCH FOR THE SAILING NEWBIE (of which I am one) as it is for the old salt. It's a place to tell your story, listen to others', learn some lessons, and discuss the merits or detractions of Big Freakin' Sails.

The following inaugural BFS stories illustrate what this thread is all about. As I said, I'm a newbie - and you see my first BFS story below. You can then compare that with the other great BFS stories thereafter (sometimes edited to protect the innocent) which I think are great tales from great sailors; they cover the spectrum of "pushing the limits". Then, hopefully, you'll throw down some BFS of your own (either your own story, stories you admire, or stories that are just flat-out lies but with great BFS value - whatever).

Now, let's have some fun...shall we?
 
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#1,530 ·
I would say David, Dodenda had a BFS over the weekend. Not big hairy winds, but finished 2nd in class tied, and 4 secs handicap behind the winner! 16 yr old daughter was at the helm the whole race. WInds were light, at beginning, were doing 20'ish at times at the finish. His whole fleet finished in 6 min of ea other. the fs group on the short course finshed plu 2 to minus 2 or 10 min total, so 20 some odd boats across the finish in 10 min! got really hairy with the long course folks, 1/4 of the fleet of 50 some odd, finish between 2 and 2:15pm. rather hairy for us on the RC.

Two wicked jibes at the finish, two side by side, one jibed 100 yds out, the other just after crossing! gave us on the RC a show!

Marty
 
#1,531 ·
Ever stoood on your own keel before? That may be what kept us from going down yesterday when the top J/24 sailor in Bermuda DID sink. 20 built to 25, built to 30, okay so no spinnaker hoist once we round the offest, rounded the top mark reaching towards to offset, high 30's BAM 54 (according to the weather station maybe 1000 yards away)
 
#1,532 ·
Heh-heh, Pepto, that sounds like a typical afternoon on the water for me.

And Djode - congrats to your daughter dude! Nice racing. Did the jibes break anything Bluto?

ste - a 54 KNOT BAM??? Ouch. That'll definitely leave a mark. I thought J boats had enough reserve buoyancy to stay in top. No?
 
#1,533 ·
Actually they were not jibes, IOR barrel role 80% over knock downs.....great action, nothing broke for them. My kids ie 21 and 23 yr olds took out amoretto, they finished dead last on handicap, 2nd to last on actual time, the AS coupler failed, so the spend 10 min fixing it, and being as they were the scratch boat, and the FS Short course basiclly finishing in 10 min group either side of davids group at 10 min, some boat owning upwards of 18 min on the 18 mile course, need less to say, they went for a great downwind sail in 15-20 knot winds doing 6+ happy with everything all things considering. Fastest time in the 3 yrs of doing this race by 20 min, probably would have taken 30 min off with out the spin shackle failure. Still proud of them. Boyz had our drunk PC in our club come in the kitchen where I was setup doing the final stuff, complaining about times etc, wanting to see the score sheets, as I was figureing out I had semi-colons where colons belonged, lundged at me, pushed on twin, he grabed PC, other jumps in............"NOBODY" messes with our dad!

Long weekend great racing, most fleets finished with less than 20 min handicap time.

Marty
 
#1,534 · (Edited)
One of the problems I've always had with this thread is that I can't shake the feeling that it could encourage a bit of reckless/unsafe behaviour amongst people who have just enough experience to be dangerous to themselves or others.

In this story the boat that sank has a helm and trimmer that have been sailing together on J/24s for 30 years, and regularily go to worlds events. The boat I'm on had a helm that's owned the boat for 10 years and has done at least 10 crossings to/from Bermuda and the east coast of the United States. I've done 4 of those crossings and was foredecking (usually trimmer) and the trimmer did one crossing this year and a few more years ago. So minimum 15 gulf stream crossings, 2 valid Safety at Sea certs, and we've all been at this quite a while. 2 other people on the boat are relative novices, just a bit of wednesday night 'round the cans style racing but enough to be competent crew. Names changed 'cause hey, that's the thing to do right. Anyway, here's the email that went out from us yesterday:

So, yesterday morning, pretty windy steady high 20's, gusts into the 30's. We are heading to the weather mark, several boats around us, J/24 #1 ahead and J/24 #2 just behind. Even as we got half way up the weather leg I was still considering flying the chute, and was working through the steps in my head to fly it given the wind conditions. The wind started to build further, I was dumping the main to depower and it was becoming a real handful. I that point I shouted "full name", not nickname #1, nickname #2 or nickname #3, but full name to get his attention and said "no chute" he said "no sh*t".

What happened next is best in his words:

"As we made our last tack into the top mark it was what, low 30's? Then reaching for the offset it was maybe high 30's so naturally I'm still racing and just at super max hike. The lull before the blast hits and I'm suddenly well underwater, then we get slammed and now I've still sorta got the lifeline and my feet are on something which I presume was the keel - pretty convenient place to accidentally end up given the circumstances. So I guess we round up or whatever? I dunno. Anyway, got my armpits hooked over the lifelines (facing out) which is good 'cause I'm not really going anywhere but bad 'cause I have absolutely no leverage anywhere and can't do much to help myself. Now (2 guys from crew) are trying to help me up and after doing the medieval torture rack thing for a while I'm not quite sure what happened but I guess the worst of it was over and the boat really flattened out again, letting me hook a leg up onto the rail and then I think I got hauled on by my belt. I think I was onboard for .5 seconds or less before I blew the jib halyard, got it down, and got a bungee on the thing. So then I look back at the helm to sort of say "okay, WTF do we do now?"

While full name was standing on the keel we were absolutely flat in the water, with the top of the mast and spreaders submerged. The wind was blowing the top off the waves so the entire scene was like being in a snow storm. The sails were flogging and visibility was barely the length of the boat, I had no idea which way we were being blown.

As full name was pulled back on board I noticed what I thought was a white power boat but it turned out to be J/24 #1 capsized with their crew in the water. J/24 #2 were nearby and they picked up one of the girls first, we sailed past and threw lifejackets etc at them, then J/24 #2 picked up another crew. About this time J/24 #1 started to right itself, and unfortunately the buoyancy in the upturned hull was lost and she sank pretty quickly in an upright position. We did a circle and luffed to pick one up, then did it again to pick up another while J/24 #2 picked up the last swimmer. The actual recovery of the crew was relatively straightforward as the wind had abated somewhat, and since J24's have a small freeboard, we were able to heel the boat to get them onboard.

She went down in about 60 feet if water between Kings Point and Grace Island, and I have just heard she's been located. One of my crew, was in shock, wet and cold afterwards. The VHF was all but useless in the noise, I called the Race Committee several times and all they heard was static. Hinsons Island weather station recorded 54 knots in the squall.

Totally nuts.

I'm "full name" ;)

Forecast was high teens gust to 25. In those conditions a J/24 has the 100% jib and full main (nobody has reefing points anyway) with the rig cranked on reasonably tight. I've only had the keel out of the water once before, massive but entertaining spinnaker broach. According to the IMS measurements, a J/24 is stable to barely over 90 degrees. Our masthead was apparently in the water, give that one a thought (I wouldn't know, standing on the keel and all that, which in the end probably saved us). A J/24 has no positive flotation and will go down, just needs sufficient water inside (hint: nobody races with the companionway washboard in) - of course if we'd know it was going to be 54 the board would be there but we only had about 30 seconds warning on the squall as it came over the land and then water right at us and even then only looked like the usual +10 ones we get, not a +20. Not that 40-45 is a picnic but at those speeds just turn and run, the boat will plane away and drop the apparent wind to 25 or so - not exactly trivial but not much of a big deal either, just plane off in a hurry
 
#1,535 · (Edited)
One of the problems I've always had with this thread is that I can't shake the feeling that it could encourage a bit of reckless/unsafe behaviour amongst people who have just enough experience to be dangerous to themselves or others.
Ste - great write up and analysis. Thanks dude.

As to whether this thread encourages reckless/unsafe behavior in inexperienced sailors - I think it's definitely a valid point. I'm one of those sailors.

To me there are three basic ways to look at BFS:

1. You can be someone who is totally unprepared who takes a boat into dangerous situations just to cop a thrill and say you BFS'd. You might survive it - you might not. All you have at that point is luck.

2. You can be someone who ALWAYS avoids hairy conditions at ALL COSTS and prays for calm during every passage so you can call yourself a "prudent sailor" who's "always in control".

or

3. You can be someone who ENJOYS edgier sailing and pushing some limits - knowing that you're going to get hit at some point - one way or another. And that the best possible thing to do is prepare for it.

This last one requires that you learn everything you absolutely can from every source you can as you go. You seek out others' experiences and knowledge so you can better know what to do if/when the situation gets dangerous. And you work your way up to bigger winds and seas slowly to prep yourself and your boat.

The goal is still BFS (unlike #2) - but now you're training for it (unlike #1). And even so, just like that very experienced J24 skipper in your story, you very well might still get caught. That's sailing.

The whole point of BFS, in my mind, has always been to enjoy and celebrate the adventurous side of sailing. And typically that has to do with heavy weather, racing, long passages, screwing up, first time under full sail, etc. - or a combination of the above. That's exciting and it's educational. That's cool.

If a newbie sailor reads these stories and decides to be a #1 homey - that's not real smart on his/her part. Just look at the stories.

At the same time, who wants to be a #2 drifter? Not me. If you think about it - that sailor is just as unprepared as #1. That's why I never bought into the whole "chest-beating" thing some people try to put on BFS. That's not it.

I guarantee you that there are many non-racing sailors on this site that would say flying a chute in 25 knots is insane and full sail in 30+ is "irresponsible". I'm not one of those BTW.

It's all just a balance. That BFS edge is relative. And the best you can do is learn and prepare for where you personally want to ride it.

Anyway, as a learning sailor with no certs and very few miles under his keel - I appreciate your story. I've learned a lot. I saw 50 knots in a squall a few weeks ago while I was working on my boat in the slip. I have no desire to be out on a boat in that. Scary freakin' stuff. But I also want to learn to be ready for it...because I don't enjoy the slip that much.

The only question I have is - what will you do differently now? (e.g. - hatchboards in racing? more buoyancy?).

PS - Which newbs out there read this stuff and think that the #1 route is the way to go? C'mon - out yourselves!
 
#1,536 ·
Smack, I guess we all have our different perspectives. I believe in getting from the boat what the conditions allow, but that does not require reckless behavior. Max speeds are not attained with your rail in the water. I am going to exclude racing from my remarks because one has to "push the envelope" in a competition. I certainly ski differently in a Nastar race than I do just skiing for the day. I think the same applies to sailing. I think most of us have been out there in rough conditions, the difference is how much you are going to push the boat and yourselves.

Once you are at max speed, the extra heeling is unnecessary risk taking. I am one of those people who adjusts their sail plan based on the expected winds. That is hardly being a "drifter". I'm all for having fun on sails, enjoying sailing in windy conditions, and even sometimes being at risk of more rough weather than intended. Can't do long term cruising without running that risk. However, I do think safety comes first, and appropriate planning and adjusting just makes sense. I think we all need to find the balance that works for us, but be cognizant of the risks we are taking on - and reduce them where possible.

Happy sailing!
 
#1,537 ·
I sailed in the 1981 Chicago to Mackinaw race in a Heritage One-Ton. We had a fair start and a nice first day. This was followed by many hours totally becalmed in dense fog. We were within a few boat-lengths of the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw an listened to his deafening fog horn for many hours. When the system finally cleared mid morning, the wind built steadily all day. We reduced sail to the 3rd reef in the main and alternated between the 2 and 3 jib. Eventually, winds peaked on the nose at 70 and held 65 to 70+ for seven and a half hours. We saw seas to 30 feet and crests running about 100 to 120 feet apart. The mast lights on near boats disappeared in the troughs. By this time we were running overpowered by the 3 and underpowered with the storm blade. Two boats were dismasted and 1/4 of the fleet dropped out. We finished 5th in fleet. In Mackinaw, we took a hose on board to wash the puke off the headliner. This was the race where Dennis Conner famously mouthed off before hand about day-sailing on the Michigan puddle and publicly appologized later after the physical beating handed to him. It was the only time I can remember being really thrilled to walk off a boat.

If you sail long enough, anything will eventually happen. We lost a rudder in a race where we were totally clobering everyone including boats that owed us time. It was a close reach in high wind and sloppy quartering waves. The 4" diameter stainless rudder post fatigued off just outside the seal (thank you boat gods!) and we watched the fleet pass us. It took a hour for the first boat to pass. Coast guard hauled us in. They missed meal call so we fed the lot of them.

We started a simple club race off Cleveland. Last race of the season. Our afterguard noted black water on the horizon so we quietly dumped the kite below and brought the 3 on deck. We pulled the 2 and started the race on the main alone doing 12 knots on a broad reach. Several boats had former kites up and two boats lost mainsails. We watched waterspouts less than a hundred yards behind us. We were first to finish and everyone owed us time. Most fun I've ever had.
 
#1,538 · (Edited)
In Mackinaw, we took a hose on board to wash the puke off the headliner.
One word Nich...wow.

Your sentence there pretty much sums it up.

Several boats had former kites up and two boats lost mainsails. We watched waterspouts less than a hundred yards behind us. We were first to finish and everyone owed us time. Most fun I've ever had.
See - that's exactly what I mean. What is that mysterious thing right there? Chaos and mayhem all around you. And it was freakin' fun. Fun. I relate to that.

So, as a dude that has some very serious racing under his belt - where do you see the balance between balls out racing and "prudent" cruising? I'm utterly convinced there's a whole world of incredible sailing in that space - but the conversation always goes to the extremes. I don't get that. There's definitely something more.

Sailing itself is just too damn fun to ONLY be one or the other. That much I do know.
 
#1,539 ·
BUBB2 IS THE MAN!!! A killer BFS from one of the absolute best dudes I know. And he's another freakin' Eastie!

Smacky, today was the Day.

We had gusts over 40 knots here today. Smack, you have been on my boat and seen her hit 7.3 knots in what I would call a fresh breeze. Today I hit 9.1. I was surfing the Hudson, man!

It was rail down, hell bent to break 9 knots for the first time. This summer has been cooler than most so the bottom growth has not been as heavy as most years. So with a slick bottom and big wind, today was the day.

The boat was acting like my first car. The one with the bad alignment. When she got up to 8.6 she started shaking from stem to stern. But what fun we were having. I had to press on. I eased the sheets a little more and she gave me another 2/10's. She was shaking so much, I was beginning to think something was coming lose. But I was going to press on. I ease the sheets more and she pops up over 9. What a day!

The above may not sound like much until you know I have only 25 feet of water line. My theoretical hull speed is 6.7 knots and my boat is not designed to plane.
 
#1,540 ·
Smack - You have to know your boat and crew. We had absolute faith that everyone aboard would perform faultlessly without even a word. That was the best bunch of sailors I've ever been with. Its been over 20 years since we last sailed together but most of us are still in touch, scattered over the US. Most have our own boats. We get together whenever possible. The collective list of boats we own(ed) is: Prindle cat, Hobbie cat, Tornado, Cape Dorey, Sunfish, Laser, Stiletto, Hobbie Tri-foil, 505, 470, Heritage One-Ton, Cal-40, Acadia Yawl, and our Camper 58. I'd gladly take any of them as crew anywhere - any time. We pushed the P out of the Heritage and won a lot of flags and pickle platters even against light weight throw-away sleds. Our crew included engineers, navy meteorologist, pilot, computer geek and two nurses. We surfed the thing once hitting 18 knots with way too much sail up and the bow running submerged to the mast. All crew sitting on the aft pulpit and all loose items crammed into the aft berths. You never forget rides like that.

We have to choose a new #1 jib to replace the one lost by the previous owners to negligence in Ivan. I know I should buy a Yankee with high cut clew. - best on the roller furler and easy to see under. My gut tells me to get a deck sweeper. Forestay is a Profurl 52 with two tracks. If we race the Mackinaw in 2011 I'll wish for the BFS.
 
#1,542 ·
It was blowing some stink in the northeast this past weekend.

While I can't compete with 30' waves on the Mackinac race the Hudson offered us some interesting wind last Saturday Oct. 11th.
Plan A was to cruise (krooze, if you prefer) the 35nm up the Hudson to Chelsea Yacht club. We had a Plan B & C in mind before we left just in case. We left Nyack at 0930 with a building north wind and sailed past Croton Point by around 1130 at which point we decided to motor as we had only covered about 5 nm. I should point out that our boat is a center board model but our board had become stuck in the trunk and would not deploy, hence we made a lot of leeway while tacking.
Reluctantly we motored straight into the wind which was gusting just over 20 at this point and the surface of the river had 'white horses' aplenty. There are a few doglegs in the river and at the first one by the Indian Point nuke plant we tried setting the sails as our course would be more NE. The only problem was that the shackle connected to the head of the sail decided to wriggle free and the main halyard went up to the top of the mast without the main sail. Ooops! We motored on to the next bend which brings a section where there are mountains on either side (Bear Mtn & Anthony's Nose) which also happens to be aligned longitudinally (n/s). The wind was whipping through here funneled by the mountains where I'd guess we had 30 knot gusts. It is also a very pretty part of the river so my crew got out their fancy digi SLR cameras and had fun while I motored us steadily on at just under 4 knots. This section was brutal as our speed would drop with each gust.
Once under the Bear Mtn. Bridge another change in direction of the river gave us flatter water to motor on. We had lunch and discussed our options. We were a bit crestfallen at losing the main halyard and ultimately decided to turn around at 1430 or so after covering about 20 nm., just short of World's End and West Point.
Heading south we unfurled our 150 genoa and made our way back to the wind tunnel by Bear Mtn. What a ride we had! With just our full genny up our GPS hit 6 knots and the boat behaved more like a dinghy sailor as each gust caught it full she would lurch forward and try to round up. What a view too. We passed other boaters from our club who were still heading north as we screamed along with the wind.
The next leg we had to motor a bit until Haverstraw Bay when our engine (A4) began to complain. We were able to keep going at 5 knots while we changed the sparks and checked over the engine. Engine back and running smoothly at all RPMs we continued sailing under jib alone as the sun got lower and lower. We also found that the center board was now free. Yay!
We pulled into the dock and tied up at about 1900. We had covered about 40 nm in 10 hours averaging 4 knots/hour which does not make it a BFS based on speed alone. We had a great dinner to celebrate our returning safely. I got to sleep on our boat for 2 nights and sailed virtually all of Saturday.
On Sunday we hauled a friends young son up our mast (he offered) and we got our halyard back. We sailed over to Tarrytown to use the pump out and I was on the lookout for a 29' Bene but no dice. We did put the first reef in the main for the trip back and furled out most of the jib. The wind was still up around 20 knots and gusty but we quickly crossed the river and found our mooring.
Although I am a bit disappointed we did not hang on the hook somewhere else it was really sweet to be on our own boat and using it as the kroozer she really is. I had provisioned enough food for several days and had the fun of packing it all in and most of it back out.
The leaves were nowhere near peak as you can see in the photos I hope are attached.
Bedford Fire Department, or BFD, right?
Cheers.
 
#1,545 ·
Fantastic! I was just there a couple months ago for my nephew's graduation from West Point. It looked like a venue we'd like to check out in a few years. I love the Bear Mt Bridge views along the SE approach road and scenic turn-outs. The wind in a litle narrow crack like that has to be totally unpredictable - local knowledge highly critical. I don't suppose they just let you cruise up to the camp and dock?
 
#1,547 ·
West Point



Before 9/11 you could actually dock at West Point, or so I have heard. Since you have a family member who is a Cadet there you might be able to pull it off going through the proper/improper channels to get permission to do so. I just don't know about the arrangements there.
I do know that sensitive areas like the UN (on the East River) and Indian Point nuke plant are guarded by the CG and I would expect the same at West Point Academy.
It really is very beautiful up there and I wish we had made it up to World's End, West Point and Cold Spring, NY. Given the wind that day if we did not turn around when we did we would have been docking back at our home port in quite dark conditions.
I urge you to check it out as it is well worth the trip. I saw a 2' Sturgeon leap out of the water and was just amazed by a large swale on the waters surface that could only have been made by a larger version of what I saw.
 
#1,546 ·
I can attest to the big winds on Oct 11th. Sadly, took my boat in for winter storage - but what a great last sail. The main was all you needed in LIS. The kids had a great time. May have been the last sail on this boat as I get the new boat for next season. Very hard to let go of a boat I have had for 15 years, with many great times. There's always next year, the new boat, and new adventures! Any way it was a great send off!
 
#1,548 ·
We were actually doing that trip on Oct. 10th which was a Saturday. I checked the winds on sailflow.com tonight that showed 30 knot gusts down by Nyack that afternoon. A fellow racer actually bent the boom of his Catalina 30' tall rig on an accidental jibe - they had mid boom sheeting. The winds in that section of the river were likely a little higher because of the funnel effect of the mountains on either side.
The next day (11th) had pretty consistent 20 knot winds as well.
Glad to hear you go in a nice last sail on a sunny day on your boat. The LIS can get a bit boisterous as the winds pick up - so good call on using the main only.
It has got to be a little bittersweet to be moving on and up to a newer, bigger boat. I love my old Tartan 27' even if it is a scow by PHRF ratings. It looks good and does most of the things I want it to do even if we rarely finish first when racing it.
Good luck with your move.
 
#1,549 ·
It just stole this story from BarryL. I did so because, for me, this is pretty much what BFS is all about.

Sometimes it's easy just to focus on the near-disaster stories - but there's so much more to BFS than that. And this story really exemplifies it. Great BFS Barry...

October Night Sail, 2009

In the north east, the sailing season is coming to an all-to-rapid close. The weather this past weekend was great if you like heavy air (and I do) but I had too many other items on my to-do list to get out on the water. But, at 6:00PM Sunday I was irritated and cranky at having done other things all day, so I (mentally) said "the Hell with it" and went sailing.

Sunset was at 6:17Pm, so I would be sailing at night. No problem, I like sailing at night. It was supposed to get chilly. No problem, I have enough warm clothes. It was supposed to be windy. OK, I'll start with a reefed main and take it from there.

I arrived at the marina around 6:30 and was on the boat soon after. The sun had set and the sky was a brilliant orange color that was soon fading. In the harbor the wind was 15kts from the WNW, dropping to 10 and gusting higher than 15. Fortunately, the tide was ebbing, so the wind and tide were in the same direction and this would keep the waves down.

On the boat I mentally reviewed everything I needed to do. Sailing solo, at night, in a decent breeze, requires some care. I don't believe it is dangerous, but it can be if you are not careful. I was sure to wear my inflatable vest, with a handheld radio attached. I had a flashlight in my pocket and my sailing knife in another. I started the engine and let it idle while I uncovered the mainsail, placed winch handles in the cockpit, moved the dingy from the rear of the boat to the mooring pendant, connected the electronics, and otherwise prepared.

Since the wind was going to be above 15 kts I put in the first reef at the mooring and raised the mainsail. Since it was getting dark I turned on the nav lights before I left the cabin. It was now or never so I dropped the mooring lines, and I was off.

The water in the harbor was calm, but the wind was not. Motorsailing with the main up, headed close hauled, the wind meter was showing 20 kts. Oh boy, this was going to be interesting. I motorsailed close hauled due west for a short time, easily going 5 kts with the engine just idling, turned the corner in the harbor to head north and then I was out to sea. Once clear of the fishing pier I shut the engine down. The wind was 15-20 kts and I was going 3-4 kts with just the main up. I wanted more sail, so I unrolled the headsail to the first reef, making it about a 100% jib. Sailing close to due north I was zooming along at over 6 kts. I had no destination in mind, I just wanted to sail.

There was not another boat in sight as I headed out. The conditions were not too bad: 20 kts of wind, 3 - 5ft waves (not closely spaced), not too cold, and no other boat traffic to worry about. I trimmed the headsail as best I could. Since the headsail was reefed I needed to move the jib lead forward, but that was not going to be possible with the block under load, and I didn't feel like tacking over to change it. I did lock the wheel and move forward to adjust the other block, which would be helpful for the trip home.

Now I tried to relax and enjoy the sail. It was scary at first as the wind would gust over 20, hitting 23 kts a number of times. During the gusts the boat would heel over to 40 degrees and try to round up. The main was in too tight and I had too much weather helm. I went forward and lowered the traveler half way and the weather helm got better. I also eased my course off the wind a little more. Boat speed was pretty fast - over 6 kts for most of the time.

It got completely dark and the stars came out. It was a very clear night and I could easily see the Big Dipper sitting low on the horizon. The two pointer stars led me to the Polaris, the North Star, which has guided mariners for centuries. I could see the Milky Way pass through the Summer Triangle, the Great Square, Pegasus, and many other constellations. Looking at the stars got me thinking about that poem: "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by?" [as I was writing this I looked it up:

Sea Fever by John Masefield - published 1913

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Anyway, I had the ship (although not so tall, but tall enough for me) and I had the star. So I ignored my glowing chartplotter, equipped with GPS sensor that could place me within 10 feet anywhere on the globe. I stopped looking at the compass, and I even tried to ignore the wind meter (which seemed like it just kept climbing), and sat down on the low side of the cockpit, and placed Polaris just to port of the mast, and tried to keep it there.

The tension of the day had melted away. Wedged securely into the low side of the cockpit, I concentrated on keeping the boat going in the right direction. I also was looking for large waves, trying to spot other boats, listening to the VHF (report of a boat taking on water in Jones Beach inlet, any mariners in the vicinity keep a close watch), and enjoyed myself. The Yankees were playing the Twins in game 3 of the ALDS, but I would catch up later. I thought of turning on the radio to listen, but it was too rough in the cockpit and too windy to hear anyway. So I continued sailing. The wind was moving north, so I moved more north east to keep the same wind angle. To the west I could see the lighthouse at Middle Ground. To the southwest the 4 stacks at Northport were easily seen. To the northwest was Bridgeport, and I saw an inbound ferry, lit up like a small cruise ship. To the North east was some other CT city, maybe New Haven? I didn't know and I didn't really care.

It was now around 7:30 and I needed to think about turning around. I looked at my fancy chartplotter, looked at the where I was in the Sound, and decided to turn around at 7:45. I was about 6 nm north of Mt. Sinai, around 1 hour from port. That would put me at the channel entrance around 8:45, off the boat around 9, and home by 9:30. So I reviewed the steps to tack the boat: Ease the leeward traveler line so the main would self tack down, move the winch handle from the loaded winch to the unloaded winch, and then one last look around. After a mental "Ready About, Hard Alee" I slowly turned the wheel and then freed the jib sheet when the boat was head to wind. As the helm fell off on the new tack the mainsail blew across, then the jib. I threw a few turns of the jib sheet on the new winch and started to grind the line in.

Wait a minute, something is wrong - the jib did not tack over to the correct position. What was wrong? Was the lazy sheet stuck? No, I freed it from the winch and it was slack. Something was wrong though because the sail was backwinded. Something was holding it to windward. I would have to go forward and find out what was wrong. Fortunately, with the sail backwinded, the boat was almost in a heave too position, and was quite stable. Still, I was very careful as I moved forward; one hand for the boat, one hand for me, do not fall overboard in these conditions. The problem was easy to find, somehow, the sheet had gotten looped over the main halyard winch on the mast and then led back to the sail. The loop was holding the sail to close to the wind (difficult to describe but easy to see). The sheet was loaded so there was no way I could just pull it free. Now I needed to figure out how to free it. I thought about jibing, as the sail blew over I figured the sheet would get blown off the winch at the mast and then I could pull it in. However, there was no way I was going to jibe in 20ts of wind. I thought about just removing the sheet from the primary winch, letting the sail flog while I moved forward and freed the sheet from the mast. However I didn't want the sail to flog that much. What if I used the laszy sheet to take all the strain off of the loaded sheet? That would allow me to free the line from the mast. So that's what I did, I threw some wraps of the lazy sheet on the other winch, brought the line in until it was tight, moved forward, took the loop off the mast winch, and then freed the sheet. When I released the lazy sheet the sail inflated with a loud pop and the boat took off.

It took maybe a minute to free the sheet and complete the tack but I was now disoriented. I looked at the shores and I didn't know if I was looking at the north or south shore of the sound. I looked at the instruments and saw that I was headed west. OK, turn to port to head south and home. Visually, the shore seemed to be way too close but that must be right because all the instruments agree and make sense. OK, then turn to port. I turned the wheel, but the boat did not obey and continued west. I turned the wheel some more, no difference. What was going on? Then I realized that the sails were trimmed way too right and the rudder was overpowered. I lowered the traveler more and eased the sheet. The rudder magically worked and the boat turned to the correct heading. Now I used my chartplotter to direct me to the harbor entrance. Disance: 5.5 nm, course: 212M, Bearing 212M, Speed: 6.5 kts, ET 39 minutes, etc. Modern electronics are wonderful!

Since I had tacked and the wind had turned more North, my heading was a deep reach and quite fast. With the wind and waves on the rear quarter the ride was much easier. The wind was down to 13 kts (apparent and I was able to relax. With the sails trimmed as best as I could guess (it was too dark to see the tell tails) the boat speed was over 7 kts for most of the time with some runs over 8 kts as I surfed down waves. At this rate I would be back at the harbor in 30 minutes. I tried to stop looking at the instruments and paid attention to the shore. I spotted the red and green lights that mark the entrance to Mt. Sinai harbor and headed there. Soon (really too soon for me, but enough was enough) it was time to furl the headsail and drop the main. It took a lot of effort but I was able to furl the headsail without using a winch. I started the engine and headed into the wind. With the wheel locked I quickly dropped the main and put one sail tie on it. I motored into the harbor, picked up the mooring without problems and properly put everything away. With the boat closed, I got in the dink and rowed to shore. As I rowed away I thanked Day To Remember for being a good boat.

I was very glad I went sailing.

Barry
 
#1,550 ·
Bfsails don't always end back at the bar with bragging rights. Sometimes they end with 16 hours in the drink, hypothermia, and an appreciation for having filed a floatplan.See KINGFISHER CREW RESCUE ST. AUGUSTINE MAN FROM CAPSIZED VESSEL . The boat was a Gemini 34, not a 28 as recorded. The spout lifted the boat about 25 ft in the air and rotated it almost 360 degrees before slamming it down. Sure is easier to be found when you stay with the boat.
 
#1,552 ·
Where'd you get the additional info (25 ft in the air, etc.)? Do you know the crew? Sounds like quite an experience.

And it sounds like they almost made it to Oz! :)

Now it's time for some of the multi-hull aficionados to brag about the inherent safety of a catamaran inverted on the surface! :D
 
#1,551 ·
I think Barry L might want to consider dropping the main sail at the mooring. It is a lot easier (don't have to worry about the steering or headway) and safer since you only have to focus on the sail. I do this all the time - and have found solo sailing a lot more pleasant because of it.
 
#1,554 · (Edited)
Woah, woah, WOAH!!!! XS - THAT'S YOU??? The Gulfies HAVE JUST SCORED IN A BIIIIIIG WAY!!!!

KINGFISHER CREW RESCUE ST. AUGUSTINE MAN FROM CAPSIZED VESSEL





JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher, an 87-foot patrol boat stationed in Jacksonville, has found a man this morning that was reported missing by his wife at midnight.

Scott XXXXX a resident of St. Augustine was taking a 28-foot catamaran from Jacksonville to St. Augustine, Fla., yesterday evening when it capsized because of a waterspout from the heavy storms along the first coast. Upon notification, Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville requested assistance from a Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah, Ga., a C-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and the Cutter Kingfisher.

The crew of the Kingfisher found XXXXX in fair condition on top of his capsized boat at approximately 8:40 this morning waving his arms approximately four miles south-east of the St. Johns Inlet.

"It's very rewarding to find and rescue someone so we can bring him back to their family," said Lt.j.g. Matthew Baker, commading officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Kingfisher. "This is why many of us joined the Coast Guard, to save lives."

XXXXXX was picked up and taken back to Sector Jacksonville for awaiting EMS crews and family. The Coast Guard recommends that you wear your lifejacket, file a float plan and know the limitations of yourself and your vessel before heading out to sea.
 
#1,558 ·
Dude - that is seriously incredible. Cut and paste that story here so it doesn't get lost to history.

So what did it feel like flying a 32' cat 25 ASL?

And, one of the scariest things any sailor thinks about is swimming through the main hatch after a capsize. Yours sounded pretty frightening - but very well done. What tips do you have for this?
 
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