That's pretty much how I single-handedly gybe on the non-raucous St Johns (no apostrophe) River in North Florida, except that I like to bring in the main as often and much as possible while gybing. A third arm would help a lot.
Ox 33-1 Jax, FL On Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 5:30 PM, Wally Bryant <w...@wbryant.com> wrote: > You wrote: >> >> There is an extra one at the bottom (10 to 12 fathoms) of Puget Sound near >> Blakely Rocks. I last saw it as it flew off Calypso at high speed in the >> middle of a gybe. <snip> > > > > Martin - Well, that would put a new spin on the term "Chinese Gype," as I'm > sure the Chinese Navy had a submarine in the area, which retrieved the part > and copied the design. <BG> > > I actually just told Ron that my 'tuba horns' are screwed in, thus I have > never lost one. I guess one can. > > To date, I've only wrapped the main sheet around it a few times, mainly when > sailing in light air (i.e. not paying attention) or with crew on board who > are busy telling me how to sail my own boat and creating a distraction. > There are a bunch of ways to handle a gybe, depending on breeze and sea > state. > > In moderate to heavy air, my preferred 'single handed' method of handling a > gybe is to head up safely enough to take pressure off the main, tighten the > main sheet enough to make sure it won't swing too far and break something if > I screw up, then loop the main sheet over the windward cleat and make sure > both traveler lines are ready to grab at a moments notice. Then I turn the > wheel where I feel it needs to be, holding it in place with my body in case > I need to make an adjustment, while holding the main in one hand and the > traveler lines in the other two hands. <VBG> I let the traveler handle the > gybe, but keep the main in hand to set it free to reduce shock on the rig > when the traveler hits the end. I use my hands as brakes on the main, don't > wear gloves, and haven't lost skin on my hands yet as I have the biggest cam > cleat Harken made ready to slam the sheet into. > > Wal > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album http://www.cncphotoalbum.com CnC-List@cnc-list.com