Pointing in heavy weather

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FlyMeAway
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Pointing in heavy weather

A few weeks ago I was out for Thursday Night Racing and we had a nice little squall come up on the upwind leg. In 18-20 knots gusting to 25, with my genoa roller-reefed to about 1/2 to 2/3 full area, we were heeled over 15+ degrees, moving along at 5-6 knots -- and sailing at 20-25 degrees apparent. No reef in the main. We outpointed nearly every other production boat in the field. There were even times when we'd get a gust and I'd just head up into the wind (15-20 degrees apparent) without losing speed. We made our way to the mark without tacking and without ever dropping below 5 1/2 knots.

Is this normal? How close (apparent) can you usually sail in heavy weather? What are some other folks' strategies for upwind sailing?

David
s/v Portmanteau
Hull #2133 -- 2003 MKII
Seattle, WA

knotdoneyet
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Joined: 7/27/12
Posts: 253

He who is not over canvassed wins in heavy weather! :)

2000 C36 MKII 1825

BudStreet
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Posts: 1127

My strategy for upwind sailing (or even broad reaching) when it gets windy is to reef the main first because if I tried to do what you did (reef genny, full main), the first 25 knot gust that came along we would have uncontrollable rounding up into the wind. We've had that happen several times and its ugly. For some reason our boat has too much force aft, which I am still trying to figure out.

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TomSoko
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Posts: 978

David,
I'm with Bud. Reef the main first, and she goes like a scalded cat.

Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT

knotdoneyet
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Posts: 253

Exactly what I did sailing my boat from Anna Maria to Clearwater, rolled the the main some. It stood up and took off.

Winds were forecast 15-18 with some gusts just over 20 knots.

Man, I love a roller furling main! :)

2000 C36 MKII 1825

FlyMeAway
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Posts: 241

Interesting. My problem with reefing the main first (I don't have roller furl, so goes to one reef point) is that I start to get lee helm (unless I also reef the genny) which is heavy weather is (I think) *bad*. Reefing the genny gets me more weather helm (than usual) but honestly in the conditions I mentioned I'm pointing so close to the wind it doesn't really matter. Rounding up in gusts doesn't happen because I'm already so close -- would happen if I were sailing 35 or 40 degrees apparent but not at 25 degrees...

David
s/v Portmanteau
Hull #2133 -- 2003 MKII
Seattle, WA

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SailorJackson
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[QUOTE=FlyMeAway;18805] There were even times when we'd get a gust and I'd just head up into the wind (15-20 degrees apparent) without losing speed. We made our way to the mark without tacking and without ever dropping below 5 1/2 knots.

Is this normal? How close (apparent) can you usually sail in heavy weather? What are some other folks' strategies for upwind sailing?[/QUOTE]

I'd agree with the earlier comment that the winning boat will be under less sail. Another factor is that the C36 has far less freeboard than most cruising boats of a similar size. Overall though, don't get too excited about the apparent wind. My Windex is on the back end of the mast, while my wind instrument is forward on the mast. They're at the same elevation, just 16" away from each other. I've had conditions where the two pointers differ by 15 to 20 degrees. The best reference is COG on the GPS during a tack.

Greg Jackson
SV Jacqui Marie
2004 C36, MKII
tall rig, wing keel,

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deising
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Joined: 11/3/08
Posts: 1351

It is almost comical to read how differently our boats behave. I sail with just the 135% Genoa quite a lot, even in 20 kts, and I don't experience lee helm. Sure, it has less weather helm, but still handles very nicely.

Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/

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Steve Frost
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Posts: 788

I often find I can point very high even in high winds on SF Bay. It requires pinching very high. Off the wind I use a fishermans reef to avoid a real reef. A fishermans reef is bringing the head sail in very tight so it backwinds and depowers the main often easing the main to further depower it. Not the fastest but often gets me to a course that allows me to fall off to a power reach where the boat can handle higher winds. This technique also takes its toll on battens and sail slugs.

I will put a reef in the main depending on who is on board. Me and the boys enjoy the bone in the teeth rail down experience. If my wife is aboard or uneasy passengers a reef is in order. As the saying goes "gentlemen do no go to weather, or as my mother told me "it is not polite to point".

As for heavy helm and spins, I experienced these on my old Erikson 32 and my Santana 20, I have pushed the Catalina very hard many times and only once had the rudder stall. My boat does amazingly well in heavy conditions, problably due to the fact that my main looks like the belly of a woman that has had six or seven children. Even at that I find I can out point and out run many boats on the bay in heavy conditions often with them reefed and me not.

Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas

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