[Rhodes22-list] Sailing with waves

[David Bradley]

Andrew - sounds like an interesting ride.  I've heard it called the
"dishpan effect" when the sound gets so rough, bouncing from shore to
shore.  Got stuck once coming back from Port Washington in a 14'
Boston Whaler in similar condidtions and thought of each wave as a
surfing encounter.  Your technique is what worked for me that day -
take each wave and ride its contour.

You said "I fell off to broad reach and headed straighter down the
wave (closer to the fall line)..."   Is fall line actually a nautical
term, or had you started skiing already?  You could probably use a
slow trip down a bump slope in place of the surfing anology.

Best,

Dave




On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 9:33 PM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
> Andrew,
>
> I've sailed in the same place under the same conditions.
>
> I find I can control the boat up into 20-25 mph wind conditions.
>
> I sail with far less than 50% of both sails, and can maintain sustained
> over ground speeds between 7 and 11 kts--exceeding theoretical hull
> speed by planing on the waves.  I try not to heel at all, and roll up my
> 175 to storm sail size--tiny just for balance.
>
> The main drives the boat, and I set it at any size that will not cause
> heeling.
>
> It is almost impossible to come about under these conditions factoring
> in the waves.  I always jibe...carefully, with a very small main, and
> just a small "pop" when I change tacks.  I generally sail with the boom
> up so I don't have to worry about getting killed by a small mistake.  My
> main is so small, the higher boom does not create heeling.
>
> Heaving to under these conditions is a kick, and definitely what I would
> do if I found myself in a storm not on purpose. If you didn't try it
> when you were out there, you should next time.  You bob like a cork in
> complete calm.  I had lunch, then released the jib in such a way that I
> headed on the opposite tack and came home.
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
>
> Andrew Collins wrote:
>> Question for blue water and Great Lakes (maybe) sailors:
>>
>> The day before Hanna, the one before Ike, was due to roll in, I took a sail
>> to try the boat out in unusual conditions. The wind was steady out of the
>> east at about 15-20 mph with rolling 5-6' swells 20' apart once out of port.
>> On LI Sound waves are uncommon, as it is usually only choppy. So going out
>> the tack was port on a reach and crossing the swells at less than 90 deg.
>> This was sailing into, up and over the swells, which was controllable, the
>> sails reefed to 50% area. Boom down, life jacket on, pulse up. The boat
>> behaved well. Upon approaching Payee Reach which gets more air and having to
>> cross a more shallow area the swells got larger as the bottom pushed them
>> up. So this got a little too exciting sooo, it was time to tack and turn
>> back. The wind was too stiff and the the swells enough so she wouldn't come
>> around, and I fell off to the former port tack.
>>
>> Keeping a weather eye on the swells a quick jibe got me on a starboard tack
>> headed back towards port. So now we are sailing across and with 'down' the
>> swells, where before we were sailing 'up'. The boat is heeling to port and
>> when sailing down, the heeling is being accentuated by going downhill on an
>> angle across the swell, a new experience. This I did not like, so whenever
>> the boat started to head down a wave I fell off to brad reach and headed
>> straighter down the wave (closer to the fall line) and headed up again,
>> describing a zig-zag course. This I liked as there was a bit of surfing
>> involved. Having had my fun I headed home, where the first mate observed
>> that I looked a mite piqued.
>>
>> What have other R22 sailors done in these circumstances, besides avoiding
>> them? In how much wind are you able to tack? My boat will tack up to about
>> 20 mph, depending on the seas.
>>
>> Andrew
>> s/v Carmen
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-- 
David Bradley
+1.206.234.3977
dwbrad at gmail.com