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Novice in stronger wind (or not)!
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Author:  pav [ Sun May 15, 2011 9:31 am ]
Post subject:  Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

I got my kit loaded on the van this morning and had planned a fishing trip, pulling some lures under sail.

This afternoon when I got down to the estuary it felt to me like a good wind. Left the fishing gear in the van and decided to concentrate on sailing and keeping out of trouble. I managed ok, only a few times grabbing the rope to reef the sail.

Dissapointed to learn that it was only measuring 23km/hr on the beach when I landed. Equates to about 12 knots! Think I have a long way to go before I can handle the 20+knots I see in youtube clips... and some of them are still fishing :shock:

Still I have made some progress!

Author:  augaug [ Sun May 15, 2011 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

Don't worry too much about the wind speed, and your comfort level. That all comes in time. I started with zero experience, and am now quite comfortable in a much wider range of conditions.

One thing to keep in mind, sometimes that wind speed of 23 km/h is an average speed. I used to check windspeed on our weather channel, and then I was directed to a few websites that are geared towards sailing, and I was shocked at the difference. On a couple of occasions the weather channel on TV (or the internet here) would tell me the wind speed was 25km/h, and there were actually gusts above 60 km/h. So don't get discouraged, and on the flip side, don't push your boat more then it can handle. Just because the boat seems to be able to handle bigger winds, doesn't mean it was built for them. You'll get a sense of what's possible and not possible when you're out there.

The other thing that I found helpful in bigger winds is the trampolines. Some people don't like them in windy conditions because they worry that the wind will get underneath them. I treat my boat like a "real" sailboat, when it's windy, and spend most of my time out on the trampolines in higher winds to try to keep the boat level. I've found that I can get a lot more speed out of the boat this way.

Here's a video: It's hard to get a sense of the speed, but there's no way I'd sail without the sail reefed in these conditions if I didn't have the trampolines on.

(Sorry about the poor quality, it's shot using my old point and shoot still camera, and not my HD video camera)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ_P7-O4CWQ[/youtube]

Author:  ElementAI [ Sun May 15, 2011 1:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

WOW! That is freaky as I just got home from the water and If you changed the footwear that could be My video from today. I also love the Tramps and spend many higher wind days hiked out on them squeezing out as much speed as possible. I enjoy that alot more than sitting in the seat with the Ama under water.

To OP take it slow and learn the boat.. Soon you will want some more speed as your technique improves. A

Author:  chrisj [ Mon May 16, 2011 12:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

Remember, up to about 25 knots wind-speed, you can always control how much you get blown around by reefing the sail to a greater or lesser degree. Much above that and you get blown around even with the sail fully reefed. You can err on the conservative side until you get some experience.

Author:  Slaughter [ Mon May 16, 2011 2:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

augaug wrote:

Here's a video: It's hard to get a sense of the speed, but there's no way I'd sail without the sail reefed in these conditions if I didn't have the trampolines on.

(Sorry about the poor quality, it's shot using my old point and shoot still camera, and not my HD video camera)


That is about as quick as I've ever seen on a video clip for an AI. I'm guessing the wind speed was pushing 30 knots based on the spay coming off the bow.

Bet you can't wait to duplicate it on HD someday !

Author:  augaug [ Mon May 16, 2011 8:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

Slaughter wrote:

That is about as quick as I've ever seen on a video clip for an AI. I'm guessing the wind speed was pushing 30 knots based on the spay coming off the bow.

Bet you can't wait to duplicate it on HD someday !


Oh yeah, that was fun. It was tough to get video of it all though! I'd sailed in winds like that throughout the summer, but never took a camera with me. I just decided to take the camera out in that wind and see what I got. If you watch from the beginning, you'll notice that the boat was dry as I started out. One hand for the sail, a foot on the tiller handle, and another hand for the camera! Last year I was younger and more foolish!

The speed is a little addictive! I couldn't hold the boat straight using just my toes to steer, so the many edits are caused by me steering offline. My strategy was to just drop the camera (it was tethered to my life jacket) when things got out of hand, so most of what was edited out was video taken with my camera hanging from my body.

My goal this year is to learn to enjoy the boat equally in ALL wind, and not just the crazy stuff! But as the Cat guys say, "There's nothing like flying a hull!" (or ama in my case!)

Author:  JollyGreen [ Tue May 17, 2011 1:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

pav,

I agree, don't worry, it took me several months of sailing in light winds and bays to get comfortable with the boat. I would rather take my time and get comfortable before jumping in and having something happen that makes me not want to use the boat anymore. I look forward to hearing about and seeing your trips! :)

JG

Author:  KayakingBob [ Tue May 17, 2011 10:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

Just make sure you have a place to retreat to. When the wind gets too strong 30-35mph, you stop making headway and need a place downwind to scurry to. :) An off shore strong wind like that would not be fun. :o

Be safe 8)

Author:  ChaosDave [ Thu May 19, 2011 12:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

reconlon wrote:
Just make sure you have a place to retreat to. When the wind gets too strong 30-35mph, you stop making headway and need a place downwind to scurry to. :) An off shore strong wind like that would not be fun. :o

Be safe 8)



been there done that... never want to do it again. :oops:

Author:  KayakingBob [ Thu May 19, 2011 7:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

Me too Dave! :shock:

I am always trying to think 6 moves ahead (like playing chess) when out sailing, especially with a group, trying to lure others to areas where if the wind comes up too strong, we can quickly and safely get into more protected waters, or at least get blown to a good takeout point and not to another island or Tahiti!

Author:  Fly4v [ Sat May 28, 2011 12:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Novice in stronger wind (or not)!

augaug,

That's a quality video. I takes skill to control your boat and video at that speed.

Pav,

The only thing I can say is learn to roll and recover your boat. Have it fully loaded and everything lashed down so you can see what happens with the weight transfer and your preferred means of righting it with tramps on and sail deployed.
When bored with that fill your hull with water and see how long it takes to use a hand pump if you have one.
Hopefully shear bolts and rudder pins will be your only concern but it is good to try some recovery drills.

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