[Rhodes22-list] How to Handle Gusty Winds

[David Culp]

John:

I am no expert, relatively new to the boat and had the same experiences as
you in the beginning learning how the boat behaves.  Stan has a very good
discussion in the owner's manual concerning light vs. heavy air which you
may have already read but you might want to go over it again.   He also
recommends 10 knots max wind until you get some experience in the boat.
That's very good advice since I'm sure he knew we would all go right out and
roll out all the sails on the first day.  As you said "all hell can break
loose" in short order with the lapper hanging out; been there and done it.
At any rate, what happened to you was a good experience to have not
withstanding your wife being tossed around.  The reason I say that is that
the rail was in the water, but remember... you weren't.  This means that
unless things are really bad, you can worry a little less about going for a
swim and concentrate more on watching the changing conditions around you
which others have pointed out and either plan ahead and/or react more
quickly.  The Rhodes tends to heel faster then I was used to on my previous
boat, but once I experienced how stiff she'll get once over, now I'm more
proactive then reactive with far better results.  In other words, a little
less apprehension and standing on the opposite coaming can be fun once you
get a little experience in the boat and confidence in your abilities
handling it; because the design of this boat will protect you from most acts
of stupidity.  I know because I'm guilty of putting on too much sail from
time to time and other things.

My advice to you is to at least get jiffy reefing installed on your main as
soon as possible (with lazy jacks even better) and forget roller reefing
unless you roll it up before you leave the dock.  I had the same system on a
previous boat and it is really tough to roll it up once you are out in the
wind and need to.  It is somewhat easier to drop the main and jiffy reef but
that still doesn't beat reefing to begin with.  Remember, if somebody
forecasts 0 to 20 knots with your roller setup,  then unfortunately, you
have to plan on 20 and reef accordingly in the beginning.  You can always
let it out if you are confident based on the conditions you actually see
that the forecast was way off.  Also, if there is a way to use a boom-vang
with roller reefing, I would like to hear about it.  Jiffy reefing makes a
vang possible.  If you have a vang and can tighten down a smaller sail, the
results will be better.  Also jib cars on the inside tracks and back to take
the draft out of the jib helps.  Positioning the traveler properly helps
too, I tend to be lazy and tie it up centered most of the time but it is
another good tool in the kit.

My method in 20 kts steady or gusty single-handed is about 1/2 main on the
IMF, lowered boom and a working jib only (inside the main mast) enough to
balance the rig if possible-no matter how tempted I am to let it out in the
lulls.  It's conservative but heck, the boat is still plenty fast with those
sails in that rate of wind and I'm not out to prove anything, just here to
have fun.  If you have a deck hand, you can make quick changes but with no
help, better to be planning for the worst.  I keep the centerboard up, the
traveler free to tighten the main on some points as necessary since I have
no vang and try to sail as flat as possible.   If the wind quits and I just
have to be somewhere, then I use the motor otherwise... it's Miller time or
Mt. Gay time.   A forecast above 20 knots, I don't go because that probably
means 25 or worse.  I single-hand mostly and I just don't believe I should
be out without any other live ballast or deck hands in that kind of wind.
In high wind, things can happen fast and go wrong faster.  Nice to have
another experienced hand to handle the jib, go forward and untangle
something which invariably will tangle (don't forget Murphy) or to handle
the tiller and/or motor while I go forward.  Asking my wife to go forward on
a heeled or pitching deck or taking over the tiller in my absence ain't
going to happen.   I haven't had the opportunity to put a lot of ballast on
the boat yet.  I am betting that if you put 3 experienced people on the
rails with you that the boat is safely capable of much more then I should
try by myself.  The more experienced Rhodies can address that and I would
like to know as well.  This is a good time of year to talk about wind
techniques as some of us are not as experienced as others or been sailing
the Rhodes for that long a time.  I told you what I do, I'm not saying it's
best, but so far the results speak for themselves... The rails have been wet
on occasion, but I haven't been and I haven't shipped any water in the
cockpit yet.

Have fun!

David Culp



From: John Lock <jlock at relevantarts.com>
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] How to handle gusty winds?
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Message-ID: <200704201824.l3KIO8mk059089 at relevantarts.com>
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Hi folks,

Had another (mostly) good sail in Pandion yesterday.  Weather report
said winds would be NW at 10-20.  What I experienced was more like
0-20.  At this stage in my learning experience I found it very
difficult to judge how much sail to have up.  The wind speed varied
so widely and quickly, that I got caught at one end of the extreme or
the other at various times.

At first the wind was very light, so I pulled out most of the
genoa.  The main was always fully set because I haven't mastered
roller reefing it yet.  As the wind picked up everything would work
quite nicely.  My course put me on a close- or beam-reach depending
on what direction the wind was coming from.  Got zipping along at
6.2kts at one point.  A new record for us!  :-)

Then the wind would suddenly gust into the 15-20 range and all hell
broke loose.  We heeled over hard putting the rail in the
water.  Stuff was flying everywhere (including my wife, who did not
wish to be flying anywhere).  I thought we were going to lay it right
down on the side, but I managed to let the main sheet go and the gust
passed as quickly as it had arrived.

Whew!  We sorted things out and got back on course.  I left the main
hanging out wide just to catch less air.  Pulled the genoa back to
about 1/3 and got things back under control.  Then the wind died to
less than 5.  Barely a puff.  <sigh> Our speed reduce to about
0.5.  Crap, not even enough to maintain my heading.

So, I pulled the genoa back out most of the way and started trimming
the main back in until the wind decided to pick up again in a few
minutes.  Got nicely under way again for a little while until I could
see/feel another gust coming.  This time I just released the main
sheet quickly and let it go.  We still grabbed a lot of air in the
genoa and heeled over pretty hard again, but more in control this
time and with less hysterics.

And of course, the breeze died away again after that gust and we were
back to just floating.

Needless to say this was getting frustrating.  We were either
becalmed or bepanicked!  So... how does one cope with winds that
variable?  Especially you Hartwell sailors, you're probably
experiencing much the same thing right now.

Cheers!

John Lock
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
Lake Sinclair, GA