Did I act correctly in a gale?

[Tetepare]

Presuming one has warning, preparation is key. If no warning, same applies, it just gets a lot tougher.

1. Lash everything on deck, no loose anything. Particularly coiled lines which can wind up in the prop.

2. Shorten sail early. This took me several experiences to heed. If your main doesn’t have sufficient reefing to get it very small, have another set of reef points added.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Presuming one has warning, preparation is key. If no warning, same applies, it just gets a lot tougher....

In retrospect, I have never experienced a squall or storm where there was no warning. In my youth, whether I listened attentively is another question . Anyone can underestimate conditions. But there is always some warning.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

yeah, this was a storm. First one. We got 3m waves coming in dead calm before the storm. How would one know storm will be 60 kn, instead of say 70 kn before it hits? I do not posses that skill. In 70 kn mainsail will not be welcome after first hour passes, especially singlehanding. And there is no easy way to take it down at least on my boat. By then you will have 3-4m breakers or so.

I would venture to say that if there is no easy way to get your sail down - then you should make it a priority to rerig the boat so you can. We have been through innumerable squalls at sea and several of them have been much stronger than anticipated - we can reef and take down our sails in almost any weather, including 60+ knots (we have done so - singlehanded because the other person is sleeping.

WE generally are very conservative sailors - so we always reef down for the night and if we are expecting many squalls, our mainsail is in the third reef. That way we only have to worry about the genua - which is easy to reef one person.

But Dockhead is right - running downwind, assuming you have the searoom, will make any squall or gale much more comfortable.

[barnakiel]

Basically, if you receive a sudden punch of wind, your main interest should be how much open water you have in the lee. Once you are sure there is enough space there, you know what options you have.


At times you can simply sit there and wait it over (e.g. open water). At other times you want to get out of the spot under a protecting shore (e.g. in between islands).


The boat does not need to point into the wind, but it is more comfortable if she is not wallowing abeam to the swell. Hence one can either set small sail or start the donkey and find a comfortable angle to the swell and wait it over (or move on).


b.

[Gaia]

Well most everything has been said above. I would only add ; different strokes for different folks.

Running down wind without trailing a drogue gets you comfort at the expense of possibly a lot of miles and possibly needlessly especially if your destination is upwind. Heaving to solves most of that and should be an early learned skill. You will still lose miles but not nearly as much and you avoid staying in the not wanted weather longer. A drawback to running downwind.

Maximum wind strengths in squalls, and it is squalls that most of us are concerned with in these days of ever improving forecasts, are unknowable. A microburst likely sank the tall ship Marquesas and no doubt many others.

Complacency and Thunderstorms do not mix well.

Jim SV GAIA oh, and a day tank solves that always mentioned bugaboo, dirty fuel or better put a dirty main tank tsk tsk.. Just make sure you have one (either a clean main tank or a day tank, preferably both) and keep it full.

[waterman46]

If the squall hit suddenly, and the main was not up at all, he did the right thing. If strong winds had continued for more than about 30 minutes, and since it was a charter he was probably rather near a sheltered area, motoring to a sheltered area before attempting any action with the sails was the right call. Safety of POB is most important and sail evolutions in rough and windy conditions on an unfamiliar boat spells possible trouble.
As mentioned by Dockhead, always raise mainsail as soon as you are underway and away from traffic and if your passage will be longer than a couple hours. And practice reefing until you can do it quickly, as soon as you leave the dock and you are away from traffic.

[captmikem]

Simply shorten sail and heave to if you have the searoom. Much more comfortable and secure.
Reliance on an engine is not a good thing, to easy to lose it with a line in the prop or muck in the tank etc.

It sounds like this was a squall not a gale. I have laid hove to for a few days during a gale, can't imagine motoring into it for that long.
M

[Thumbs Up]

A storm is one thing but sailing through thunder squalls is tricky. Sometimes you can change course to avoid one. A lot of times they are over by the time you could reef. Sometimes you are sure that it will hit but it doesn't. Sometimes you can take advantage of the wind ahead of it. When you feel that cold rush of air you know you have about one minute. I think that the best strategy is to quickly drop all sail and motor the course slowly through the squall. After the squall there will be zero wind so will be easy to re hoist the sails. Squalls can produce micro bursts of any velocity and direction but are usually over in ten minutes. Also watch out for waterspouts. If you see a waterspout that doesn't seem to be moving it might be coming straight towards you so change course immediately. I have seen several in the NW Caribbean, they are not that rare.

[bumpman]

1. What does the incoming weather appear to be? What might be the worst that could happen with the weather (visual, forecast, radar, etc.)?
2. What is your sea room for all points of the compass, as the wind direction will change. Any lee shores, other traffic, fishing gear, closest harbor for emergency? Crew competency?
3. Based on #1 and #2 decide best action and sail plan. If worried call charterer. E.g. On a chartered vessel, reef main immediately, shorten rolling reef headsail. Use the headsail as your main sail power as it's the easiest to be adjusted, but keep the reefed main up.
4. Turn motor on as back-up to assist sails or getting hove-to if needed. In a real blow the motor might be near useless depending on its power (on a 46' it might be strong enough).
5. Assign crew responsibilities as needed. Keep everyone warm and dry. Prepare a pot of hot tea or coffee if it looks like a long blow.
6. Smile and prepare to be impressed by the might of Mother Nature.

[Hudson Force]

A couple of people mentioned the good advice of lashing down things on the deck; however, there might not be extra time for this along with the preparation of sails. I always found it best to have all items on the deck secured in calm weather as well as things like anchors stored on the bow locked in place. This is a good practice in preparation for surprising wakes or changes that come with those big steep and short period waves that are often met at an inlet or wind and current events at a narrow passage. Coastal cruising can expose you to more sudden changes than might occur well offshore. I would suggest keeping the deck secure so that need is off the list.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by arsenelupiga

if front is coming and you have enough room why would you have sails on (mainsail) and risk to get say 60 kn steady, would not that get tricky as cant take down sail if thing goes on and on?

Isnt better to wait out so winds settle down before pulling sails back up ?

that is what i have done and seemed reasonable.

I think that when Dockhead said he prefers to have sails up, he was talking about having the appropriate sails up, and not implying that you should keep whatever you are currently using up.

Stormsails or reefed sails are most likely what he is talking about.

[Differentroads]

You managed the situation successfully and, it seems to me, with proper prudent seamanship.

The only way to learn what strong wind will do to a boat, and what you will do in a strong wind, is to encounter it. I've spent 40 years sailing trying to do just that. I've been caught out only in one Force 8 gale and a couple of Force 7s in all that time. They were nothing like as terrifying as I built myself up to expect. Challenging. Exhausting. Uncomfortable. Exhillarating. But with a fairly ordinary 40 year old 10m sailing cruiser, not terrifying.

Partly thats down to having a boat that I've got a lot of confidence in. Partly down to learning loads from books and more recently people sharing experiences on forums. And partly being lucky enough to avoid sheets wrapping up in my prop or halyards breaking or a crew member getting hurt in a fall or the hundred other things that can make life suddenly more dangerous.

So congratulations on passing your first examination by the sea!

[Cadence]

Squalls can generally be seen on the horizon, reef.

[MicHughV]

unless you are in the open ocean, sometimes you might have the option to run downwind to another anchorage or safe harbor, not the one you were intending to go to, but a place of refuge until the weather returns to normal, especially true, if you lose an engine and have to rely on sail power alone.
that's sailing....to go from A to B, sometimes requires going to C first....
don't get " get-there-itis"...!!! live to fight another day...!!!!

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

unless you are in the open ocean, sometimes you might have the option to run downwind to another anchorage or safe harbor, not the one you were intending to go to, but a place of refuge until the weather returns to normal, especially true, if you lose an engine and have to rely on sail power alone.
that's sailing....to go from A to B, sometimes requires going to C first....
don't get " get-there-itis"...!!! live to fight another day...!!!!

You have a very good point there!


It is good then to have a plan B (and also plan C perhaps) whenever we get out.


What if?


What is I get a bad squall that lats and lasts and I cannot get to the intended destination?


Questions we all should ask ourselves well in advance of casting the lines, whether the trip is 5 or 5000 miles!


barnakiel