Flash Poll: Your Heavy Weather Techniques
What have you tried and how well did it work?
Let us know which of the following windy or heavy-weather techniques you’ve personally employed as skipper of your boat by choosing “yes” or “no” in each poll. And please feel free to comment on the particular situation or conditions and relative effectiveness of each strategy.
If you’ve used a technique not mentioned, please let us know below—Eds
•SCA•
What about capsize and swim to shore?
We have several boats in our fleet, a SCAMP, a Long Steps and an H28 sloop, each one needs quite different handling in heavy weather the ability to reef down, the SCAMP, three reefs then run off dragging a drogue, we've not had to do that for real but have tested it in 25 plus knots of wind and metre high seas, the Long Steps has three reefs in the main and the ability to furl the mizzen, then also run off with a drogue over the stern, both of these boats have high transoms which helps, but the LS can be hove to head to wind with the mizzen sheeted in.
The long keeled heavy displacement H28 has three reefs in the main, and a furling genoa jib, she will heave to with the third reef in and a tiny corner of the jib showing, about 60 deg to the wind and rides quite comfortably like that, we've done that in open ocean in 40 knots plus, and were still able to cook on the swing stove. So each one is very different and I'd encourage owners to try different tactics in moderate conditions so when it gets serious they'd know how to handle it.