Years ago I had an offshore sailing program called Adventure Sailing that was dedicated to teaching people how to sail offshore successfully. (Will, from US Watercraft, who chimes in here occasionally was helping me for many of those trips.) One of the main objectives was stopping people from calling the Coasties to pull them off their boats when the wind topped 35 knots and they got tired, scared, and seasick. One of the best way to do that is to stop and wait for bad weather to go away...as it always does. And one of the best ways to stop is to heave to.
You don't need to be in extreme conditions for this to work. And in the delivery business, where the object is to get your clients' boats to their destination with a minimum of wear and tear, heaving to is often the better part of valour. here's an article I wrote on the subject: http://www.cruisingworld.com/how-to/seamanship/smart-times-for-heaving-to And another by Andy Schell: http://www.sailmagazine.com/boat-handling/cruising-tips-heaving Lin Pardy has a good article in her book, Storm Tactics, about heaving to using a storm trysail and a sea anchor. I am not a fan of trailing a sea anchor off the bow on boats like ours due to the strain on the rudder as the boat is hurled backwards by the seas. It is certainly possible and practical to heave to in lighter airs. When you're singlehanded or with a non sailor, it is a good way to stop and use the head or make a cuppa, or well, I remember sailing in 10 knots of breeze off Victoria with a lovely red-haired girl on my Dad's C&C 27... Anyway, take a look at the articles and if you still have questions, let me know. Andy C&C 40 Peregrine On Wed, Feb 5, 2014 at 9:19 AM, David Knecht <davidakne...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Andy- I have never been in a situation where I feel the need to heave > to, but I feel like I want to practice it in less than extreme conditions > next summer. Can you describe the details of getting into this state and > staying there? What I have read sounds simple, but I doubt anything is > simple in high winds and 12 foot seas and that detail devil is always > lurking nearby. Thanks- Dave > > On Feb 5, 2014, at 9:06 AM, Andrew Burton <a.burton.sai...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > I once took a Swan 651 to weather in 12 foot seas. It wasn't comfortable, > either. I think you'd need a pretty big boat... > Usually, if I have 12 foot seas on the nose (and I'm not racing), I'm hove > to, relaxing and waiting for the wind to shift, while I have a cuppa tea > under the dodger, watching the scenery roll by. Life at sea doesn't have to > be an overly (physically) strenuous endeavor. > > Andy > C&C 40 > Peregrine > > > > David Knecht > Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > > -- Andrew Burton 61 W Narragansett Ave Newport, RI USA 02840 http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ phone +401 965 5260
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