Sail Inventory for Caribbean Cruising

[Highland Fling]

Originally Posted by gjordan

It is interesting to be called dumb, when I didnt turn around in the dark and head back towards mostly unlit islands and hope to find the pass to get in to sheltered water. This was pre GPS days and I was doing an overnighter, so that I could arrive safely in the daytime. It would have been suicidal to run down wind. So much for well thought out internet advice. I stand by what I said about the op rigging some type of inner forestay and having a small sail for when things get bad. I would not say that you cant cruise the Caribbean with 2 sails, but it doesnt leave you much in the way of options. It is sort of like saying you can cruise with just one anchor. Yes you can, UNLESS SOMETHING GOES WRONG. Have a nice day. _____Grant.

Flying Scot like my lovely Concorde is NOW grounded forever Nigel has kindly merged my two accounts...so onwards.

The entrance into North Sound Virgin Goda is buoyed and lit getting down Necker Sound is quite easy even without a GPS or even go round the north side Necker Island then into the Sir Frances Drake Channel. Or lay off and duck under VG and the BVI's as St John and St Thomas are beacons of light at night...... and it is very rarely pitch black.

IF you could not find you way back into sheltered water after making a very bad choice about crossing to SXM in the wrong weather window well what can I say to that .

We have cruised the Caribbean two up for 11 years now with ONLY two white sails and a cruising chute.

Yes I would love a removable Solent stay with a hanked on non overlapping blade sail BUT that would be a nice to have feature.....how often used is obviously impossible to say as we don't have one, doubly so as we don't go out sailing to get beaten up. Even more so as my partner The Admiral is not a heavy weather sailor.

We will replace our 12 year old 135% Genoa in a few years with a slightly smaller one prob full hoist and 120% overlap ( we will talk to Bob at Doyle in Tortola re this ) so we get a better shape in winds of above 22 knots app when we tend to have about four, five or six rolls in the genoa ( just so the Doyle LOGO is on the foil or half hidden ) when going to windward.

Highland Fling just loves 20/24 knots app when she really does get a move on even in the horrible Caribbean washing machine seas.

[Nicholson58]

I think there is rarely a time I haven't wished I had just the right sail for the current situation. Racing an IOR boat in the 70's we carried 5 #1 genoas, #2,3,4, blade, 3 staysails, 4 spinnakers and a blooper. It was heaven.


Now, on the Camper, 135 genoa; 2/3 fractional cutter staysail (storm weight), main & Mizzen in-mast roller furling, mizzen staysail, spinnaker, code zero, storm trysail, fractional #2. That covers both extremes pretty well. We are so heavy that the code zero was almost a must. Sailing the Great Lakes in summer doldrums requires some light air inventory to outrun the flies.

[SakPase]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

I think there is rarely a time I haven't wished I had just the right sail for the current situation. Racing an IOR boat in the 70's we carried 5 #1 genoas, #2,3,4, blade, 3 staysails, 4 spinnakers and a blooper. It was heaven.


Now, on the Camper, 135 genoa; 2/3 fractional cutter staysail (storm weight), main & Mizzen in-mast roller furling, mizzen staysail, spinnaker, code zero, storm trysail, fractional #2. That covers both extremes pretty well. We are so heavy that the code zero was almost a must. Sailing the Great Lakes in summer doldrums requires some light air inventory to outrun the flies.

My kinda sailor. I really like having the option to get places, quickly and efficiently in light or heavy weather. YES you can do it with just two sails, but it's a lot more fun when you have the right tools for the job.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

We are totally ready with the light air inventory. Leaving Michigan in the spring. See you all on the east coast - Carib in the fall.

GO BLUE

When you have cruised the Caribbean for a season, please give us an update on
the sails you actually used down there.

[Sandero]

Fully battened main, 135 RF genny, assym chute with sock, storm trysail and storm jib were never used by carried.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

When you have cruised the Caribbean for a season, please give us an update on
the sails you actually used down there.

Great post!




Mark

[robgrant1]

Will do. I appreciate everyone's advice and realize we're not always going to agree. At this point, I'm probably going to take a chance on the two, practically brand new sails and engine. To boot, who knows, I may not ever make it out of Narragansett Bay. No disrespect to those of you who recommended adding cloth, but I have to consider my budget. I'm not even going to ask how people feel about the need for a life raft...oops! Thanks again and pray for me as I go whistling past the boat yards

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

When you have cruised the Caribbean for a season, please give us an update on
the sails you actually used down there.

[sailcrazy]

You asked about Caribb sailing, so if that's your planned sailing grounds-equip yourself for it.....remember the trades are not a light summer breeze! Rarely are the winds under 10-15. If your going easterly, you're hard on the wind. We converted our sloop rig to a cutter, put roller refer's on both headsails, and except for tacking (a real PITA because of the babystay) it has worked very very well for us. Our m/s is on an in-mast furler-not the most efficient, but really easy to use in ALL wind conditions. We're using a 135% headsail-and it's to big! I'd suggest a 100%-110% with a high clew(so you can see other boats under it when you're heeled over), a high-cut staysail(same reason), your main with reefing points installed and rigged (unless you've got a in-mast or in-boom furler), and maybe....maybe a Code 0 or assym spinaker in a sock(read last choice and you've got $$ to spend). Unless the winds are ddw, we usually go downwind with the headsail only-so the gusts don't get the better of us. Poling it out can certainly help, but setting our spinaker pole is, again, a PITA. But then we're cruising, not racing, only 2 of us onboard, and saving 10 minutes sailing time on the leg just isn't that big a deal! FWIW.