What To Do When There's Only Zephyrs?

[CaptainGrey]

In 4 1/2 billion years, the wind has always come back. A sharp lookout at all times, and easy on the rum.

I have towed my Bristol 27 with my dinghy by tying on the the anchor and paying out a few fathoms of rode. The anchor acts as a shock absorber so the 3 tons of boat doesn't stop your dink with each stroke of the oars.

[Cheechako]

I have considered installing an electric pump on a parallel hose for emergencies like mentioned. Belt or pump failure, turn two 3-way valves and flip a switch. Never did do it though.
But an alternator bracket breaking? Pretty rare I would think. You mean the engine casting/bolted on base? Or do you mean the adjustment arm? Those break and I always had a universal one in the spares.


Another option: Carry your dingy motor on an adjustable bracket. In an emergency lower it down and go!

[zeehag]

haha ha ha my starter burned out 5 miles north of cedros island in 2011. we drifted until the light zephyry puffs of air were such that we could successfully enter and tie up on the navy wharf in cedros island village. fun. when my alternator bracket bolts sheared off just outside mazatlan old harbor entrance may 2011, we merely balanced the alternator mess on the engine and made our way into old harbor and anchored near our friends.
adversity is our friend.
got no idea what my boat or i will do once the refit is finished--we will not know how to behave with proper function......
even running low on fuel was fun..drift in ocean until time to leapfrog into the harbor after dark and anchor.....had less than an ounce of fuel left. not even a zephyr that evening...
challenges are to be met and conquered. what is life without them.

[barnakiel]

Imho nothing get done unless the driver has considerable light winds driving skills. This often means the driver is a racer, an ex-racer or someone who grew up sailing dinghies on lakes that are predominantly calm.

One cannot drive a boat in light winds without knowing how to. And a heavier cruising boat is no place to learn this.

So, I think, those of us who have the skills will try to keep on sailing no matter how light it gets, with our success depending on what the boat is all about. Some boats will not sail in less than 10kts. Some can still go in the 5-10kts bracket. Very few will move in less than 5kts.

Pigs do not fly. People who grew up sailing pigs can't sail in light winds. They will start the engine or anchor or ask for a tow. Hence the endless engine threads and very few sail threads. As if most CF were power boaters.

I 'always' try to sail but our present boat is only about 22 S/A and sub/optimised thus below 10kts she is less happy and at around 5kts it all depends on how flat the water is.

b.

[Kenomac]

Whenever our boat speed drops below 4 knots we seize the moment to charge our house batteries using the iron jib to motor sail.

The diesel burn rate is less than 1 gallon per hour and we actually get someplace nice to anchor instead of rocking around out there in one place.

[masonc]

People sailed the world before engines.

[akprb]

I get the question.

I'd say 20 years ago pre reliable GPS everyone would have said "just sail".

Today? I'm not so sure. Much of cruising has become what looks like "wet RVing". I've seen folks from Bimini to Georgetown waiting on "parts" and more to the point many just sitting in Florida forever, literally. Nothing wrong with that, just is.

So to the question, if you can tease a 40'-50' cruising monohull to ghost along in little to no breeze do it, if you have sea tow and you want to use it, use it.

No judgement here, just don't ask me for a tow!

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by DMCantor

We sail on the Lake of Lucerne (Switzerland), and if the sun is shining, the wind is rarely above 5 knots. We have learned to enjoy ghosting along at 1 knot, cheering if we briefly get to 2. Of course the scenery makes up for it.

On the other hand, when cruising in the Caribbean, we have a firm rule of being at anchor in our next destination by 3:00 pm. If that requires turning on the engine, so be it.

Ghosting is indeed one of the more pleasant experiences, often on a lake, and less frequently at sea, but when the opportunity occurs, and one has no particular place to go and no definite time to get there, it is one of the hard to beat relaxing events of sailing. But I think the discussion was to be about zephyrs, not the, to my mind, more steady form of very light air that allows what I think of as ghosting.

Zephyrs require being alert with the sails and the rudder, and real patience since, at least in my definition and experience, they are not steady and reliable enough for ghosting. They are, in a very different way than storms, direct challenges and tests of the seamanship capabilities of the captain, including his knowledge of the boat and her abilities. By their very nature zephyrs create the temptation to set the iron sail, but if one has the will or a sufficient reason not do so, you can learn lot about your ability to sail, you boats abilities, and your character. Heck, you may even get to your intended geographical destination. Oh, you will also learn about your crew and guests if either are onboard.

[zeehag]

way too many presume that zephyrs are only sailed by racers or dink sailors. hahahahaha

seems these folks do not understand sailing before plastic and machines.
there are still some folks who were so lucky and privileged as to have learned proper sailing in a proper sailing craft without engine and with deep keel. this has been being done since long before the dinghy sailing fad was invented by bored yacht club men.

folks who have been so fortunate as to have experienced proper sailing craft are able to make pigs sing as well as fly.

there is nothing so satisfying as getting a heavy 1903 gaff rigged raceabout smoothly underway in less than 3 kts of light breeze.
having successfully done that in my youth, i find sneaking my heavy fat bottomed pig of a girl into a zephyr is most satisfying accomplishment with little effort.
donot flog the sails--it cause damages that you must finance .....

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by masonc

People sailed the world before engines.

Yes, in sailing craft that a previous poster would characterise as a "pig"

In light winds they just drifted or anchored to wait for favourable winds. In extreme, they died of thirst in the horse lattitudes, suffering in many ways.

My point is you live with what you have and while there are many tricks in seamanship to overcome problems, accepting the boats limitations in light wind performance, is often the least frustrating mindset for a sailor who does not want to live in a racing boat.

[zeehag]

rocking in one place has yet to happen any time i drift-- currents are more discernable and eddying effects are more obvious the more drifting one does.
drifting is time to catch a deeper swimming fishie or fix that thingie that has been a bother for a bit.. watch the scenery slip slowly by....more than once if you are in a tidal zone. is hard to roll uphill, so pacific coast finds one measuring the distance in feet south vs north to see how many feet per xx hours one slowly travels.
most of my pacific coast drifting has been in my boat closer to shore approaching a destination. i have a tendency to figure my fuel perfectly down to the last ounce.

[toddster8]

One of the first times out on my 30-footer, the engine failed and I had to navigate a series of narrow channels on a few zephyrs, in the dark. After the sun went down, the tiniest down-river breeze came up, which allowed steady, if excruciatingly slow, movement. It was actually kind of satisfying, at least after the fact. Not sure what I would have done if I'd run up on any of the many mud bars along the route. The dogs were not pleased, though. Of course, now I have half a dozen different options for such a situation. But that worked.

Sailing my Hobie 16, which makes pretty good time on a only a gnats' fart of a breeze, sometimes there just wasn't enough wind to make way against the current. The key thing in light winds on the river was to avoid getting flushed through the narrows, where the current doubles. Sometimes, I'd tack back and forth across the narrows for an hour, waiting for a big enough puff to break out. Sometimes I just had to make for the next down-stream destination and hitchhike back to my truck.

[zstine]

I guess I may be old school, but I bought a sail boat to sail and almost never use the engine except to get in and out of port. I watch the forecast and if it is for light air, I go to an anchorage very close by and time the tides, etc. I would certainly never call for a tow for 'convenience'... only tow if there's a possible danger to property or person IMO... I typically fill my 25 gallon tank 1 time a season.. much cheaper to sail a sail boat!

[Mike OReilly]

I recall one sail we did crossing from Michipocoten Island to White Fish Bay on Lake Superior. We left at noon and had nothing more than 5 knot of wind the whole night sail (in the fog). With wind on the beam, and flying full colours (including our large drifter), we were soon sailing at just under the wind speed. Not bad for a “pig” of a boat .

With the right sails, and some basic seamanship (I’m far from being a great sailor), it’s not hard to get a properly designed and rigged boat moving well. But it does take a little effort, some patience, and a willingness to travel on Nature’s terms.

[Wotname]

Hi Ann, here is what I do when there is no wind and no engine. Rather than waste time on CF, I go looking for Zephyrs.

Here are some I found. I like them, they are nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI0wCv3m6ZM