Ok, I'll give it a try and tell you what I do.

Reef early, if necessary bring down all sail.
Again, reef early, don't wait until the squall is on top of you.
With proper monitoring of the weather radio and from your own weather observations, you should have adequete warning. They do come at you fast, but you should have enough warning to be properly prepaired.

Batten down all hatches, secure everything below and in the cockpit, anything that you don't need for handling of the boat gets stored and out of your way. Everything not necessary should be stowed.

If you decide to sail through it, I reef and than if you have propper searoom fall off to a reach or possibly a run. I don't try to beat through it unless absolutley necessary.

Try very hard not to get yourself into a lee shore condition, rather head for open water. My opinon is that sea room and deeper water is your friend in these situations.

I have no Idea about the Islands, but in my cruising grounds they usually move through very quickly. They can be rather violent, but usually blow through in a short time.

 

Just remember, squalls are relatively fast moving, short duration storms... and often, if you've got the searoom, heaving to or lying a hull might be good options for sitting them out.

TJK's suggestions are very good ones... and deeper water with lots of room to leeward is a good thing.

Be aware that the conditions during a really bad squall line can be truly ferocious.

 

Been sailin' the BVI since 1969. My own boat (11 years) and others, including many chartered boats.

Squalls in the BVI are typically very short-lived, as mentioned above. Not always, but usually.

They are easy to spot, moving in from the East and crossing to the West. You can guage their size (though not their ferocity, necessarily) by watching them.

You can often avoid them, by changing course.

If you're going to get hit, be prepared. Reef or reduce sail early. Easiest way on most boats is to simply drop the mainsail. Most boats will sail quite well with just a headsail, including to windward (close reach). All charter boats in the islands have roller-furling genoas. Easy to roll them in to any desired size.

Winds in squalls typically are 25-35 knots, but may be more occasionally. The seawater is warm, but you'll get a chill quickly as the rain falls and the wind blows.

If you're sailing the islands in winter time, beware of the Christmas winds which are VERY different from squalls. These are really fierce northers which can blow for a day or a week or more.

Be respectful and prepared, and don't worry about the squalls. They're relatively easy to weather.

Have fun,

Bill

 

Most of the charter boats in the BVI I have sailed don't provide much flexibility in your response. Mainsail reefs often aren't rigged. As Bill said, in that situation the best you can do is drop *and stow* the main. Tie it down, zip the sail bag, whatever. Even with the zipper type sail bag you would be well served to throw a couple of sail ties around the whole thing. Roll up some of the jib (at least to the first reef mark, perhaps the second).

Most charter trips have plenty of people. Make it someones job to walk the deck edge and check for lines over the side before starting the engine.

On my boat I triple reef the main, roll up the jib, and hoist the staysail. When a squall comes on me by surprise I do that anyway, I just get wet. <grin> I'm odd though, so YMMV.

 

All good advice here about what to do when hit by a squall. Best advice is not to get in one. Evans Starzinger wrote an excellent article in Cruising World a few months back about squall avoidance in the Trade Wind belt. Essentially it is if you see a squall heading towards you, you should head towards the Equator. This is because squalls generally take a right hook and head North (in the northern hemisphere, opposite in the southern hemisphere)
Andy

 

Reef early, get everyone into lifejackets, then head offshore on a reach, luffing as necessary.

Important point: know beforehand what compass direction takes you away from land, and stick with it as much as you can. Some squalls have rotating winds, and if you keep reaching with them, they'll carry you around in a circle. This is when to trust your compass, not your instincts, in order to have enough searoom to ride it out.

Most summer squalls have a mean front, but last no more than a couple of minutes (though it will seem longer) before dissipating.

 

I'm curious why you would run or reach when the squall hits. I would think you would want to beat into it so as to get past the heavy stuff on the leading edge quickly. You also present less area to the wind that way. Less tipping force

I can not reef on my boat. It is a C Scow. It is 20', weights only 600 lbs and has a large main sail. I also sailed E scows for 10 years which are 28', 1000 Lbs and have main and jib, no reefing. I found that I was best off sailing into the squall line, pinching up if needed to minimize tipping force.

??????????

Jeff

 

I'm curious why you would run or reach when the squall hits. I would think you would want to beat into it so as to get past the heavy stuff on the leading edge quickly. You also present less area to the wind that way. Less tipping force.
Jeff

If you're beating into it, have the sails sheeted in hard, and you get a squirrelly puff of strong wind across the beam, you can take a knock-down. You might get headed up in a puff while reaching, but a knock-down is unlikely.

Also, you're moving perpendicular to the axis of movement of the squall when reaching, so you're going to get out of it pretty quickly.

Have one of your crew keep a sharp watch for other boats and obstructions--the rain in some squalls is so dense you can hardly see the bow of the boat.

 

If beating works best on your C-scow, then good. I find on lightweight sloops (like a Scot) you heel more, the shifts can be volatile and you could possibly get caught aback or quickly in irons if you were close-hauled before the shift

I prefer reaching (maybe close reaching) over beating or running in a squall (assuming I have a choice given the geography). It's easier to luff without losing steerageway, and easier to re-accelerate if you had to let the sails way out.
You can maneuver either up or down if you have to avoid someone/something, and in no-visibility conditions, navigation is easier if you're not tacking.

Running risks a jibe if there's an unexpected windshift, and you may be overpowered, bow digs in, you can't luff. Also, I agree that running could keep you in the squall longer.

But others' mileage may vary, obviously.

 

A couple of other suggestions:

Depending on the severity of the storm and the room between me and other objects, I usually start the engine and leave it in neutral. This saves me time should something unforeseen happen, and eliminates the chance that Murphy and his law will come into play.

Besides all the good comments above, I would consider tethering to the jack lines too.

Don't kid your self, squalls can be down right scary!!! In one last summer we hit 8.8 knots with a bare pole.

 

The rule that I live by is that the moment the thought of putting in a reef hits my mind, then that's the time to do it. No questions asked, like 'should I?' Because it may be to late or to dangerous by the time you answer that question. I personally am a real fan of trauma free sailing.

 

bkw,
Yes, it all depends on the severity of the squall. Usually, so called squall 20-30 kts I consider just another stronger wind. It requires some standard reefing and other preparations motioned early in this thread (one should make a list of it, great lectur). The stronger the squall the worst it is to deal with, some may reach hurricane force winds, but experienced sailors can manage it. Inexperience sailors should consider taking down there sails as soon as they feel strange, and start the engine, and do not try to be famous as squall fighter – almost always it will damage your equipment. At sea you will notice that something around yourself and your boat is changing/wrong (temp, wind, pressure, clouds, etc) and then just dropping down sails is the fastest way to react.
The most famous area for totally crazy squalls is in deed Great Lakes – often in excess of 40-50 knots winds, and this is really dangerous. I think squalls like that in BVI are not seen often, but you should not rule it out.
Anyway, if you just take all the info in this thread and put it together on the piece of paper you probably will have very nice Manual “How to in squalls”
Here is what happened to me:
While in Mac Race, we noticed huge vertically fast moving clouds (chimney type) about 30-40 miles aft stern. It was really beautiful seen! I never encounter one like this (monster) in such a sunny day. After few minutes of watching it, and some lecture about how the “white squall” forms, we went back to racing, and ….. trust me, we did not have time to crap our pants. When we looked back it was already blowing 80+ kts (CBS report) and our speed was over 20-25 kts. It lasted about 10 minutes, then dropped to 30-40 kts wind and after another 20 minutes was blowing only 20 kts. About 1-2 feet above the lake level was formed another layer of water. All within seconds and with full Main and #1 Genoa! We have seen boats around diving bow first, spinnakers flying ahead of the boats, flip over etc. We actually rescue crew of the racing cat which did “mushroom”. All went thru that squall and there were no fatalities, just lots of hardware damaged and one of a kind expierience.
The only way to survive it was to hold course as much downwind as possible and drop sails on the deck. Surprisingly I did not have difficulties with holding the course, accept, the force of the wind was really pushing me hard against the wheel, and this was real fight. Crew was unbelievably brave by taking down Genoa that weights about 350 pounds. It was very exhausting for them. After wind come down to 30kts we turn upwind and dropped Main (about 500 lbs) and went back to the boats behind us. Number of the racing boats where traveling at over 15 kts just on bare poles.
Here is what is important in stronger squalls.
1. They are predictable; the only guess is when they will blow with full force.
2. Observe the weather reports even if sunny day.
3. Sails down and engine slow forward on, are the best ways of waiting them to pass by.
4. Secure your crew (tethering) and mandatory lifejackets, close all hatches.
5. Make quick notes where you are and were you sailing to.
6. Always have your VHF on (many send warning of the approaching squall).
7. Make sure all loose objects are secured and remember about your kids and pets.
8. In unlikely case of boat turning over never let your boat go. Hold to it as long as the boat is surfaced – most likely it will right back.
9. Don’t panic it will last only short time, just make sure you are not sailing towards reefs or shore.
10. Fill free to add anything else that you think is important and let your crew to know all of this.

I hope this will help a bit.
Ahoy,

 

The parallel for squalls here in the PNW are the outflow/katabatic winds that start high in the mountain snow fields and glaciers and roar out the inlets along the coast. The cold air can be moving very fast. The are dealt with like any wind, they just require you to do it more quickly. The great fear is one finding you in the dark because then you can't see them coming. Fortunately, the weather guys know the conditions that create them and are pretty good at forecasting them.

Gaz

 

I've been in a number of squalls on smaller lakes, the Great Lakes, and Pamlico Sound on a Catalina 22 swing keel. Winds up to the 40's and gusts in the 50's on the small lakes and wind up to the 30's with gusts to the 40's on the bigger waters. My first tactic is to shorten sail, next is to reach, then heave to. I've never been in anything that warranted further actions, but I could also run under bare poles, or in places like Lake Erie or Pamlico Sound drop the hook (20-30' deep, little traffic, no land for miles).

Great information from everyone else, except I question the reference to sail under headsail only. I have never done this and have seen several discussions regarding unusual stresses placed upon the mast which could result in damage, perhaps even dismasting. Also, I have seen references to poor handling with headsail only. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks to all, Michael

 

As long as your mast is properly stayed I don't think sailing under a headsail alone is a problem. Of course I'm not saying keep a 150% genoa up in 50 knots with the main down. Appropriate sails for the weather must be used. I might be concerned in a Bergstrom & Ridder rigged boat with no backstay.

My boat is fine with a small sail on the inner stay in wild weather.

Gaz

 

Know your surrounding area-Don't rely on radar

Don't rely on your radar in a storm/squall. Often the radar will pick up "returns" and the storm will look like a large island. This scared the heck out of me the first time it happened. It blanked out my forward route, and blocked the returns of the small islands around me. Fortunately, I knew the area and where to run, but felt really uncomfortable until I got a proper return and visuals again.

 

Squalls in Multihulls

I have only been multihull for a year, but aside from Sailingdog, all the squall advice seem to be monohull-oriented. My weather experience to date does not justify lashing down everything, and preparing to abandon ship. Securing hatches, clearing the deck, and reducing sail seem appropriate, as does running or reaching. What about heaving to or just hauling everything down and waiting in the salon? I would love to hear something from a multihull owner with squall expertise.

 

Part of the problem is that the wind direction from a squall can change rather quickly and drastically, so heaving-to can be a bit difficult. Reducing windage, and taking down all of the sail, is really key, especially on a multihull, which won't heel with the brutal winds you'll experience in a squall.

Moving off on a broad reach is probably a good idea, if you can keep the boat down to a safe speed, since it will help get you out of the storm's path. You'd be amazed at how fast a multihull with bare poles can get moving in a squall.

I have only been multihull for a year, but aside from Sailingdog, all the squall advice seem to be monohull-oriented. My weather experience to date does not justify lashing down everything, and preparing to abandon ship. Securing hatches, clearing the deck, and reducing sail seem appropriate, as does running or reaching. What about heaving to or just hauling everything down and waiting in the salon? I would love to hear something from a multihull owner with squall expertise.

 

If I was a multihull guy, I would put a VHF radio in my pocket too. Then when it does flip you can call for help.

 

Cruising multihulls are pretty difficult to flip.

You should probably do the same thing if you're on a monohull, because it may downflood and sink when it is rolled by the storm that capsizes the multihull. The multihull will still be floating.

 

Upside down.

 

Thanks Rockter... I hope Nessie bites you the next time you're out saiilng.

 

Sailingdog,

I have heard all the arguments. I have sailed in multihulls. Regardless of why they flip (end for end or side to side), they do. End of story. Prudence dictates, keep a VHF radio in your pocket and keep your ditch bag where it is accessible when the boat is upside down. (as required on multihulls in offshore races)

 

Just watched Storm Tactics - Cape Horn Tested - Lin and Larry Pardey

Borrowed free from public library. Made me much more relaxed and gave me some processes for dealing in bad weather.

 

RE: Sqaulls - Multihull safety debate

Thanks for the info Sailingdog. A retort to our monohull detractors. I recall reading a story probably by Charles Kanter. He responded to somebody expressing concern about inverted multihulls, because they had seen lots of pictures of people waiting for rescue sitting on the inverted hulls, but could not recall seeing any pictures of people hanging on to inverted monohulls. The response was sobering. It went something like this: "That is because if a monohull goes inverted and floods, it sinks like a stone; whereas the multihull's positive bouyancy can keep them afloat inverted for days." According to the Yahoo Gemini owners group, there have been about 6 known inversions, and all were salvagable. Not bad for a fleet of 1000+ boats and 15+ years at sea.

 

There are a few monohulls which have positive buoyancy, but they tend to be fairly cramped inside, due to the space taken up by the foam used to make them buoyant.

The risk of capsize on a cruising multihull is miniscule, provided the boat is sailed reasonably. Any idiot can capsize a mulithull. Just because a multihull can do 18 knots doesn't mean that it should be doing 18 knots in a given set of conditions. Your car is probably capable of going 100 mph, but I don't think that you'd be wise to do that on a icy winding country road at night in a snowstorm...

The monohull view on it is that multihulls have a position of ultimate stability-upside down with the rig in the water... well, monohulls also have a position of ultimate stability... sitting upright on the bottom of the ocean. I know which I'd rather be on.

One other thing to consider-most boats that go out to sea are not self-righting. The monohull sailors almost irrational fear of capsize is probably due to the fact that monohulls, when they capsize, run a serious risk of downflooding and sinking.

I've seen monohulls get nearly knocked down at anchor because there were some swells coming in...they just started rolling, and kept rolling more, and more and more... they finally left the anchorage, probably to find someplace without the swells that were causing them problems. My boat, my friend's trimaran and another catamaran didn't have any problems at all. It was fun to watch the guys on the monohull scurry around on a rocking boat, like ants in a kicked anthill though.

I've sailed on a lot of monohulls...and there are some I really like.. but I like multihulls better.

 

I've seen monohulls get nearly knocked down at anchor because there were some swells coming in...they just started rolling, and kept rolling more, and more and more... they finally left the anchorage, probably to find someplace without the swells that were causing them problems. My boat, my friend's trimaran and another catamaran didn't have any problems at all. It was fun to watch the guys on the monohull scurry around on a rocking boat, like ants in a kicked anthill though.

I'm calling you on this line. Any anchorage that is lumpy enough to put a monohulls beam ends in the water is also miserable for a multihull. Either that, or the story is complete BS. When the waves are coming in, both types of hulls roll. Monohulls probably roll less because the great chunk of lead wants to stay pointed down. The multihulls want to sit flat on the water, so when the water is tilted (like on the side of a wave) so is the multihull. Think of a weighted log in the water versus a sheet of plywood. The log moves up and down on the wave, the plywood tilts with the surface of the water.

 

Flame away, multilhull guys, but in a bad pinch I'd rather be on a boat that (assuming hull, hatches, and keel intact) naturally wants to roll back upright form a 180-degree roll or a pitchpole, than one that doesn't.

I have no personal experience in either (thank God) but that's my unenlightened opinion.

 

Plumper, hate to break it to you, but monohulls, especially narrow older style ones, will tend to start rolling if the wave period is right...kind of like a kid pumping his legs on a swing... and they'll start to roll more and more..

Yes, multihulls want to sit flat on the water, but if the wave period isn't too short and the wave height too tall...it really doesn't bother the multihulls...since they are just moving to with the water, not exaggerating it as a monohull rolling can.

The weighted log analogy pretty well sucks, since it doesn't have a keel and a righting moment, the way a keelboat does, so it won't start to build up rolling momentum the way a keelboat can.

It doesn't happen all that often, but it does happen.