A Sailing Skill as Good as Gold

Article by Howard Rice

Heave To: Nautical (of a boat or ship) come to a stop, esp. by turning across the wind leaving the headsail backed: in spite of the raging gale the old salt hove to, lit his pipe and brewed a cup of tea.

It was two a.m. and I was solo sailing my twenty-foot wood gaff cutter Blueberry from off soundings fast closing the coast of Maine. With twenty knots of wind from behind I faced navigating through rocky coastal islands under a moonless night sky. Tired to the bone and nodding off I knew from a youthful experience there was little future in falling asleep when closing an unknown shore.

The starry night sky bobbing above as Blueberry crested wave top after wave top was lulling me into a dangerous momentary dream state. Cracking the hatch, I gazed below into Blueberry’s cabin warmed by her stove and lit by a single gimbaled oil lamp, and that was it. Rolling in the genoa I tacked over and hove to under reefed main and backed staysail. Once below I fell into a deep sleep as my trusted cutter tended herself. Heaving to allowed me this necessity/luxury. Some landfalls are best made at first light.

I consider heaving to a basic skill small-boat sailors who sail with foresails should master. Some sailors believe heaving to is a heavy air only tactic, yet it offers the small-boat sailor much more. Heaving to can be employed across wind strengths for reefing, repairs, changing sail, retrieving a man overboard, cooking, navigating, resting and yes, parking in the middle of a blow. Heaving to can change a wild, out of control ride into a peaceful stop, the chance to get your head right.

Putting your boat “in irons” is a temporary stop. In no time your boat will want to fall off or tack over. One way or the other off you go. The solution is simple, put her into a hove-to position and do what you need or want to do.

For example, in order to heave to on starboard tack, start off on port tack. The first step in heaving to is a tack. I like to slow down as it is important to maintain just enough boat speed to carry the bow of your boat through the eye of the wind. Leave the jib sheet cleated on the starboard side and do not pull the sail across the center line to the other side. In other words, allow the jib to back onto itself, held in place by the cleated starboard sheet. It is a good idea to go to a small jib or roll in/reef your foresail before you heave to so that when the sail backs onto itself it will not be rubbing against the shrouds.

As you tack ease the mainsail out to leeward. Your boat will begin to slow to a mere jog or stop altogether, and in light air she will hardly make way. Since the jib is backed onto itself, the wind on the foresail will want to push the bow of the boat to leeward. To counter this push to leeward you want to slowly turn the bow into the wind. To accomplish this the tiller needs to be secured to leeward (rudder blade to weather) forcing the bow to windward. The concept is to stall but not tack. To achieve this will require a few subtle adjustments until your boat slows to a near stop. The countering action of the rudder, the backed foresail, and the de-powered main leaves your boat in a state of moving rest. 

Monitor this tug of war between the opposing forces of backed headsail, mainsail to leeward, and helm lashed to leeward and adjust as necessary. In heavy air a slick of smooth water will be created to weather calming breaking waves as your parked boat slowly slides off to leeward.

Ideally you want your boat lying at about a 45 to 50-degree angle to the wind and waves. Adjust the mainsail so that your boat is not surging upwind to then be knocked downwind by wind and waves. You can adjust the position of the bow by changing the position of the mainsail. Trimming the main in closer to the centerline will cause your boat to head up slightly into the wind. Easing the mainsail outboard will cause the boat to lie closer to a beam-to or across the wind position. In heavy weather you will want the bow angled more sharply into the waves to counteract the force of breaking waves.

Different boats require different adjustments to be properly positioned in a hove-to position. Heave to in light air and then practice in stronger wind conditions. Someday when caught in a blow you will be very glad you invested a little time learning how to heave to.

To get out of a hove-to position untie the tiller and begin trimming the mainsail to initiate forward movement. This forward movement will allow you to gain steerage. Once you are moving, un-cleat the backed jib allowing it to blow across the centerline completing the tack. Trim and cleat the jib sheet on the port side. Your boat is now sailing and you are no longer hove to. Another simple method for light to medium wind is to sail on to a beam reach, then pull the boom forward to the leeward shrouds with a line or preventer and then luff, roll in or drop the jib and flatten the main.

Split rigs such as yawls are superb for heaving to or simply parking. The mizzen is a marvelous sail that will keep your bow pointed into the wind when it’s time to rest, cook, navigate or repair. Not all rigs lend themselves to heaving to. A headsail is key as heaving to is a balancing act, and two sails or three balance better than one.

If you sail a standing or balance lug and need to stop, it is likely best to strike the rig as there is no forward balancing component. The lug rig offers another form of lets-take-a-break and this is what I think of as “well mannered parking” that goes like this: If I need to rest, or perform some other function sailing a lug rig (the lug rigged SCAMP is a fine example), I simply let the sheet out and crack a big toothy smile. Lug sailors are not referred to as “Lug Nuts” without reason. The lug is so well mannered because there are no stays to catch the sail, boom and yard. In addition the luff is well supported between boom and yard making for quiet parking. The rig can simply be left alone (sheeted out) to weathercock into the wind.

If you get a little spooked when out in heavy air then heave to. Once hove to everything changes. In the parked position peace and quiet can be your ally as you collect your thoughts, find your position, get some rest or heat up some food, all the while feeling like a sailor worth his salt. You then have the license to spout off, “Har, I hove to and rode it out!.•SCA•

First appeared in issue #77