Trouble in Gusty Winds

I got a '72 Hobie 16 for free last fall and took it out a hand full times. I had no sailing experience prior. I sail on Lake Tahoe where there are unpredictable gusts (speed & direction). I had 5-8 awesome days out. I was able to occasionally fly a hull and get my friend on the trapeze all the time. One day the winds out in the lake were much higher than forecasted and we pitchpoled on a wire. It was pretty scary. After that humbling experience, I am struggling to sail with any confidence. I am looking for recommendations on books or ways to learn more safely as well as recommendations/tips for sailing in gusty conditions. Thanks in advance.

I'm a new cat sailor also, and so far have spent all my time sailing on a lake with unpredictable winds. One thing that has helped a lot is I've spent a lot of time on a small monohull, and flipped it a bunch. It is not very intimidating to flip a boat with an 8' mast. I'll take the small boat out in crazy winds and it gives me good experience, and it's fun also. Otherwise, Joyrider TV! Best youtube channel out there.

Here is a video my kid did with the foam monuhull, including a flip.
https://youtu.be/s8xkTyNqb4w

We have not capsized the hobie yet, either for real or practice. A key thing is to be quick on letting the mainsheet out. When in doubt, keep it uncleated so you can depower quickly.

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Bryan
Poplar Grove, IL
1977 Hobie 16 (died a spectacular death https://youtu.be/Y7O22bp2MVA)
1978 Hobie 16

When it’s gusty, don’t cleat the main sheet, hold it by hand. Travel out the main and jib to give yourself some leeway when a big puff hits. If you’re “joyriding” you can manage big gusts by steering more into the wind (you’ll need to start paying attention to the water surface to see when the gust is gonna hit).

As butters said, you can let go the main sheet when a big gust hits but I will add the H16 jib is powerful on its own and merely dropping the main sheet may not save you from a REALLY big gust if you don’t also head up into the wind a bit. As you get more experience you’ll figure out how to handle it.

The H16 is super fun because it’s got a ton of sail relative to its size and weight. The downside is that it can be a handful when it’s 15+ kts and it’s REALLY a handful when it’s over 20kts. At some point you should consider if it’s safe enough to head out in the first place. Personally it’s my practice not to head out when it’s over 15kts and gusty but everyone has their own measure of discretion vs valor.

Hope that helps.

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H16 2002 "Islands" Sail No. 107432

The best advice I can give you, especially when sailing in gusty winds, is to learn how to read the wind gusts (and lulls) on the water. You will notice that the gusts produce dark patches on the water, the stronger the gust, the darker the patch. When you’re sailing, your line of sight should constantly be switching from straight ahead (watching where you’re going) to over your upwind shoulder (looking at the wind that’s approaching).

You should be watching for those wind gusts so you are prepared ahead of time before they hit, not reacting after the boat is already on its way over (of course this is not always possible). As you get better at reading the wind, it will become second nature that when you see those dark patches approaching, you will uncleat your mainsheet and also be prepared to turn the boat to depower.

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I'll also add, search the forum on how to depower, as a course adjustment, this will calm the boat down. Mast rake, tight downhaul/outhaul (6:1 downhaul makes a big difference), travel out, etc. You are a bit limited on the older boat as the mast is limited on how far back you can go and no rudder adjustment. Also, the deeper you go downwind (the more you head away from the wind), the more force is going to push the leeward bow down, and that's where you get into pitchpole territory. Keep an eye on the bow, and instruct your crew to move back as far as possible as you bear away and go farther down. when I'm one up on the wire, sometimes I'll need to sit so I'm nearly falling off the back, while the guy on the trap is as far back as possible without stepping on me. Flattening the sail & more mast rake will slightly help with the force on the bows, but it's not a fix, you still need to be careful, that's just the way the H16 is. If your boat is setup properly, sailing close hauled/reach, you shouldn't need to be sitting back that far, it will cut through the water fairly level with your weight moved forward a good amount. The more you bear away, the more speed can be achieved (and fun), the more you should be moving the weight back. As others have said, don't cleat the main, use gloves with rubberized grip to avoid fatiguing your hands. I'd be willing to bet you were not aware of how far off-wind you were heading when you pitchpoled. Shifty wind doesn't help, just be prepared to let the sheet out in an (censored) moment, and have fun!

I'll add one thing to all the good advice on being uncleated and watching for gusts, keep your weight to the back so that the bows don't dive into the chop and waves. Keep adjusting to gusts with weight forward and back as necessary to keep the cat balanced.

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'89 H14 'Jaws'
'85 H16