Max Windspeed You Would Put to Sea in ?

[MarkJ]

Hi Folks

I wanted to find out the maximum wind speed in which you will put to sea.

Answer once for each Upwind and Downwind
Public poll. Others will see what you answered

Scenario:
Passage 1,000nms
Forecast consistent for as far as can be forecast
Waves consistent with wind over 'unlimited' fetch - normal ocean waves for wind
Your own boat or the one you are most used to sailing at sea
No time consideration on when you could leave. You could wait till next week with different weather.

Do not consider:
Local conditions
Current against wind etc
Lee shores etc
time constraints.


You are welcome to put any personal rules you have in a post to elucidate your mental raving

the idea is to see some basic rules of thumb in your particular type of cruising.
Can Racers butt out please? I know Fastnet / Syd-Hobart racers will go out in whatever there is. This is for crusing solo or with the wifey and cat etc.

If the poll doesn't 'work' for you tell me quick and we can have a mod fix it, or delete it.


Mark

[donradcliffe]

A lot depends on what the average wind conditions are for the area. For instance, if you are going west along the Columbian coast, you may wait a month to find winds of less than 25-30 knots.

When I talk about wind, I mean the forecast average, not the peak gust, which is usually what gets reported after the passage. I also find that upwind, the cruisers report apparent wind, while downwind its true wind.

[Mainebristol]

Just as a matter of safety, I wouldn't sail downwind in more air than I would upwind. My boat (bristol 32) is heavily canvased, which is a good thing up here in Maine, where the breeze is usually light all summer long.

Poll worked fine for me.

[boatman61]

Downwind. F5 max... Sunny, warm.. to me the first day is very important... after that I take what comes.

Upwind. Otra cerveja por favor.... unless its a delivery

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Sunny, warm.. to me the first day is very important... after that I take what comes.

Second that.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Downwind. F5 max...

But you put 25 knots which is F6.
F5 is 17-21 knots. Which I do find much more agreeable and warmer

[imagine2frolic]

While living in northern Florida, Jax. We would wait for a northeast wind to arrive in late fall, or winter to sail south. Sometimes we would get 35knots, but be sailing 12 heavily reefed, and comfortable.

To depart when beating 20 knots would be my max. After that I take what I am given. It depends on the direction of wind that I would leave in.......i2f

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

But you put 25 knots which is F6.
F5 is 17-21 knots. Which I do find much more agreeable and warmer

Allowed 5kts for boatspeed..... F5 wind on deck

Oi.... who you calling a 'Smart Ass...?'

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

When I talk about wind, I mean the forecast average, not the peak gust, which is usually what gets reported after the passage. downwind its true wind.

Is that the Heinz 57 or the Crosse & Blackwell effect.....

[bene505]

Never made that long a journey and don't want to skew the results with what I "think" I would do. Looking forward to a post with the results.

Regards,
Brad

[capngeo]

I tempered my vote on what I would do given the option... When I was in the assistance towing business, I left the dock once in sustained 50's to chase a Mayday call. AND...Once in a full hurricane wind in an 11' Whaler to get a buddy off his moored sailboat. BTW, the Whaler flipped once headed upwind.... Thank God Whalers don't sink and we were only 100 yards to a lee shore.

[estarzinger]

Frankly, if the wind is on the nose we usually wait until it changes. So, the real answer for upwind is "not go", but if for some reason we needed to go when it was still upwind 20kts is the max we would leave with and I would really rather it be 10kts.

[MarkJ]

Just popping the concept up again for those that read the list upside down, like me:

Maximum wind speed in which you will put to sea for a normal cruise.

Answer once for each Upwind and Downwind
Public poll. Others will see what you answered

Scenario:
Passage 1,000nms
Forecast consistent for as far as can be forecast
Waves consistent with wind over 'unlimited' fetch - normal ocean waves for wind
Your own boat or the one you are most used to sailing at sea
No time consideration on when you could leave. You could wait till next week with different weather.

Do not consider:
Local conditions
Current against wind etc
Lee shores etc
time constraints.
Its not a rescue mission.


You are welcome to put any personal rules you have in a post to elucidate your mental raving

the idea is to see some basic rules of thumb in your particular type of cruising.
Can Racers butt out please? I know Fastnet / Syd-Hobart racers will go out in whatever there is. This is for crusing solo or with the wifey and cat etc.

[sailorboy1]

I marked 30 kn max for either disregarding the other items etc. I've comfortaby done this in my Cal-39 and reefed it was like being in 15 kn wind. But I would lower if the sea conditions were going to be rough at the same time. I also would rethink the number based on whether the wind was steady or gusting.

[hummingway]

I'm not voting, the longest fetch around here might be 250 nm so I haven't done a passage long enough to qualify. I do like sailing in 25-30 knots for fun sometimes.

Two nights ago it blew 30-40 knots and when the sun rose on clear skies I went out hoping to catch some stronger winds but winds were about 10 knots. Rollers were still coming though. Maybe 5 foot on a 4 second period which is isn't bad in 10 knots but at 15 knots white caps can make it a rough ride. I've made the choice, when crossing the Georgi Straight, to do it at the beginning of a storm rather then wait until after because it isn't usually as rough when the storm is threatening then immediately after. The thing is it's only a 4-5 hour scoot so I don't know if I'd apply the same logic to open ocean.

Knowledge yet to be gained. Great idea for a thread Mark.