[Rhodes22-list] High Seas Sailing

Thu Sep 9 10:28:19 EDT 2010

Chris,

Sounds like you were doing pretty well to me.  Like Ben I usually start
motoring if the wind gets around 20 knots.  Even if you don't need to
make headway everything becomes such a hassle.  Keeping the boat pointed
into the wind long enough to furl in the main frequently becomes a chore
for me.  When I don't feel like drinking anymore it's a sure sign to
head back to port.

You asked "I am curious to hear how others have managed trying to sail
close hauled, broad reach and run in winds between 15-20kts and with an
angry breaking sea in the 3-4 foot range."  

One of the few times I consistently sailed above hull speed (6 to 6.5
knots) was on a run with no headsail.  The boom was up and the main was
full but it was leaning against the shrouds and unshapely.  Wind was
probably about 20 to 25 knots.  In about a 30 to 35 knot wind I was
doing over 3 knots with no sails out and the motor dragging in the
water.  Don't know how much was due to the waves/current or the wind
pushing against the transom and bulkhead.

On beam and broad reaches it doesn't seem to take much wind, sail, or
skill to get the boat moving above 5 knots.  The problem is normally the
angle of the waves making life uncomfortable on a beam reach and
uncontrollable (for tiller locking) on a broad reach.

In a 20 knot wind I'm almost always close-hauled because I need to make
headway.  That gives me lots of practice and that's good because I need
it.  I hate to give advice on sailing close-hauled in high winds with
angry seas because there are so many variables.  It makes such a
difference in a 20 knot wind if the angry sea is just slightly peeved or
really pissed off.  I will tell you that it's unlikely that you'll make
any headway in a 20 knot wind if your Genoa sheets are run outside the
shrouds.  A lot of it has to do with that angry sea pushing you away
from the wind, but even if you have your Genoa reefed down to the size
of bikini top (one boob), the wind is hitting your sail more from the
side than the front and it will easily push our light bows away from the
wind.  If the wind is strong enough that you need to reef your Genoa to
less than 110%, you'll probably need to run your sheets between the
shrouds if you want to make much headway.

Here's a post from 2007.  The wind was "only" 12 knots and the sheets
were run between the mast and the inner shroud.
____________________________________________
Jack,

I stand corrected.  I actually can point that high.  And I'm not that
good
of a sailor.

Went sailing this afternoon.  True wind was exactly 12 knots from the
south
just before I put the sails up and exactly 12 knots from the south just
after I furled them in.  Apparent wind fluctuated between 10 and 15
knots. 
Small craft advisory due to the chop, which was about 3 feet in most
areas.

Boom down.  Full main.  Genoa sheets ran across the cabin top which
brought
the tip of the clew to the forward shrouds (about 85% reefed).  Board
down. 
Traveler centered but pulled so tight the end of the boom was less than
12"
from the traveler.

Port tack on a close reach at 240 degrees with a 10 to 15 degree heel
going
about 3.5 to 4 knots with the tiller locked at about 3 degrees to the
leeward side.  Starboard tack at on a close reach at 150 degrees with a
15
to 20 degree heel (stupid 130 lb. outboard) going about 3.5 to 4 knots
with
the tiller locked at about 3 degrees to the leeward side.  240 minus 150
equals 90 divided by 2 would be 45 degrees into the wind, but that was
on a
close reach, not on a beat, close-hauled.  I easily got another 5
degrees
without luffing the sails on a beat.

Considering the amount of wind and chop, I think the Rhodes22 will point
better than 40 degrees with a little less wind and a lot less chop.

One other minor factor.  I was single-handling so I only had 180 lbs. of
human ballast.  Okay, maybe 190 lbs., but I was standing most of the
time as
opposed to sitting or hiking-out.

We really do have a well-designed sailboat.

Lee
____________________________________________________

Chris--I'm not in to extreme sailing as much as you are but I'm willing
to make an exception.  Just give me a call when you're ready to go out.

Lee
1986 Rhodes22  AT EASE
Kent Island, MD
202.476.5369

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of cowie
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 5:49 PM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] High Seas Sailing

I went sailing this past Monday from Herrington Harbor to Thomas Point
light
and back.  The wind was blowing pretty steady and over 10 kts the entire
time.  At about 10 kts I found I could reasonably manage a full main
with
the boom down and the 175 Genoa out about 1/3 of the way.  Between a
close
haul and broad reach I was easily running over 5 kts pushing the gps
beyond
6 as I raced down the following sea.  My sail back from Thomas Point
Light
required tacking several times on as close haul as I could get.  At this
point the wind was kicking up to at least 15 kts gust closer to 20.
This
much wind out of the South and an outgoing tide made for some pretty
significant sea action.  I found the best I could sail with that much
wind
was about 130-140 degrees.  I did position the jib sheets betwen the
outer
and inner shrouds back to the winch and cleat and this helped some.  At
a
130 degree tack I was able to manage between 2.8 and 3.5 kts pounding
into
the building seas.  I began to fall off the wind as I made my approach
to
Herring Bay and the shallows of Long Bar aggrivated the seas even more.
A
couple of waves came crashing over the cockpit as I experimented trying
to
head up, broadside or run with the increasingly angry sea.  I am curious
to
hear how others have managed trying to sail close hauled, broad reach
and
run in winds between 15-20kts and with an angry breaking sea in the 3-4
foot
range.  I think I could manage to handle a little more wind than this
but
not in an aggitated sea state.

-- 
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