Lessons learned from (sort of) running aground
The other day I was planning on going for a short and relaxing evening sail. Making my way out of the marina, I noticed the wind was a bit too breezy for it to be relaxing, so I opted for jib only, which has often served me well.
The wind direction was very unusual for this spot. Normally you'd motor out of the marina perpendicular to the shore and then continue in this direction after hoisting the sails. With this wind though, after leaving the marina, I'd immediately go on a close reach more or less parallel to the shoreline and later tack at some point.
So far so good, I went along the shore for a bit, but I noticed I was going to lee a lot, so the beach was coming closer and closer. I was already close hauled at that point. The boat was also conspicuously slow and while I was still wondering about the reason for that, I felt a jolt as the centerboard touched the ground. I was still moving, so I quickly tried to make that tack, but it didn't work out due to the slow speed and lee helm (remember, I only had the jib up).
Now a casual 17 knots were pushing the boat onto the shore and the centerboard was starting to work itself into the ground. It took a second or two for the realisation to set in that this would, in fact, not be the quick relaxing sail I had intended.
I hastily pulled up the centerboard, lowered the Torqeedo and went full speed astern. Luckily with the centerboard up, the boat only has about a 30 cm draft, but I was worried of the rudder or propeller getting stuck. Oh damn, the jib was still up too, so I rolled it in. It took surprisingly long to get a comfortable distance away from shore, as I think this Torqeedo is a bit underpowered for the boat's size.
But I did make it, and when I was back to safety, finally sailing smoothly, I figured that the centerboard had probably not been lowered all the way. It has a habit of getting stuck halfway down, and this must have caused the slow boat speed and heavy lee helm.
So, what I learned:
* Before going out, have a plan and think it through. Take into account current conditions and possible risks specific to the location.
* Jib only is often fine, but keep in mind that upwind ability and tacking angle are much worse.
* Don't get too close to a lee shore when it's breezy.
* Check that centerboard!
* Maybe get a bigger motor.
Anything else I might have missed?
https://redd.it/1v0lru3
@SailingX
The other day I was planning on going for a short and relaxing evening sail. Making my way out of the marina, I noticed the wind was a bit too breezy for it to be relaxing, so I opted for jib only, which has often served me well.
The wind direction was very unusual for this spot. Normally you'd motor out of the marina perpendicular to the shore and then continue in this direction after hoisting the sails. With this wind though, after leaving the marina, I'd immediately go on a close reach more or less parallel to the shoreline and later tack at some point.
So far so good, I went along the shore for a bit, but I noticed I was going to lee a lot, so the beach was coming closer and closer. I was already close hauled at that point. The boat was also conspicuously slow and while I was still wondering about the reason for that, I felt a jolt as the centerboard touched the ground. I was still moving, so I quickly tried to make that tack, but it didn't work out due to the slow speed and lee helm (remember, I only had the jib up).
Now a casual 17 knots were pushing the boat onto the shore and the centerboard was starting to work itself into the ground. It took a second or two for the realisation to set in that this would, in fact, not be the quick relaxing sail I had intended.
I hastily pulled up the centerboard, lowered the Torqeedo and went full speed astern. Luckily with the centerboard up, the boat only has about a 30 cm draft, but I was worried of the rudder or propeller getting stuck. Oh damn, the jib was still up too, so I rolled it in. It took surprisingly long to get a comfortable distance away from shore, as I think this Torqeedo is a bit underpowered for the boat's size.
But I did make it, and when I was back to safety, finally sailing smoothly, I figured that the centerboard had probably not been lowered all the way. It has a habit of getting stuck halfway down, and this must have caused the slow boat speed and heavy lee helm.
So, what I learned:
* Before going out, have a plan and think it through. Take into account current conditions and possible risks specific to the location.
* Jib only is often fine, but keep in mind that upwind ability and tacking angle are much worse.
* Don't get too close to a lee shore when it's breezy.
* Check that centerboard!
* Maybe get a bigger motor.
Anything else I might have missed?
https://redd.it/1v0lru3
@SailingX
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Felt pretty good about my decision to stay in on today’s blustery day until these kings showed up, full sail.
https://redd.it/1v12jxt
@SailingX
https://redd.it/1v12jxt
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I love a good Trimaran. Meeting friends on the Chesapeake is always a good thing.
https://redd.it/1v1568i
@SailingX
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Accidentally let epoxy cure on nonskid deck - anyway I can get this off without damaging the deck?
https://redd.it/1v1795l
@SailingX
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Boat Trolling can be hilarious
So a friend of mine is a VERY experienced sailor. 30+ years of sailing the great lakes. He recently went on a vacation to Charleston. He was with a group that had very little sailing experience that chartered a day sail. In his words, the captain was among the very worst cliche of a bad captain who told outlandish stories before they even made it 20 yards into the channel. So he preceded to play dumb and literally called every line a rope, every piece of gear a thingy. His wife was turning red trying not to laugh withing minutes, everyone else was clueless. After 4 hours they had a inconsistent winds and the captain couldn't jib to save his life. Finally he doused sails and started the engine. You can guess what happened.....yup, died. Mysteriously his vhf didnt seem to be working properly.
Suddenly the guy who was absolutely clueless about anything sailing related knew EVERYTHING needed sailing related to get them back safely to the marina, although they needed a few dingys to get them back to the slip.
Turns out the "captain" had just gained access to his trust fund, had exactly 4 hours of instruction and a million dollars worth of boat and was doing the charter as a favor to a bro.
Not naming names or even the marina, but I havent laughed so hard in years. Also, I grew up on lake superior, ive got maybe 200 hours total of sailing time and I still consider myself a total amateur. Im land-locked here but still have dreams so I lurk in this sub.
Edit: his vhf was fine, he just apparently didnt really know how to use it.
Not sure if this kind of silly post is allowed here, but figured it might get a chuckle.
https://redd.it/1v1a9c1
@SailingX
So a friend of mine is a VERY experienced sailor. 30+ years of sailing the great lakes. He recently went on a vacation to Charleston. He was with a group that had very little sailing experience that chartered a day sail. In his words, the captain was among the very worst cliche of a bad captain who told outlandish stories before they even made it 20 yards into the channel. So he preceded to play dumb and literally called every line a rope, every piece of gear a thingy. His wife was turning red trying not to laugh withing minutes, everyone else was clueless. After 4 hours they had a inconsistent winds and the captain couldn't jib to save his life. Finally he doused sails and started the engine. You can guess what happened.....yup, died. Mysteriously his vhf didnt seem to be working properly.
Suddenly the guy who was absolutely clueless about anything sailing related knew EVERYTHING needed sailing related to get them back safely to the marina, although they needed a few dingys to get them back to the slip.
Turns out the "captain" had just gained access to his trust fund, had exactly 4 hours of instruction and a million dollars worth of boat and was doing the charter as a favor to a bro.
Not naming names or even the marina, but I havent laughed so hard in years. Also, I grew up on lake superior, ive got maybe 200 hours total of sailing time and I still consider myself a total amateur. Im land-locked here but still have dreams so I lurk in this sub.
Edit: his vhf was fine, he just apparently didnt really know how to use it.
Not sure if this kind of silly post is allowed here, but figured it might get a chuckle.
https://redd.it/1v1a9c1
@SailingX
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Fatal sailing accident at Split - one question
Hi guys. Most of you heard about the accident at Splitska vrata two months earlier that took 4 lives. In very short, a catamaran commercial line ran over from behind a sailboat under sails in a very tight and very busy channel. I don't want to reopen the discussion of who's fault it was, but recently I read an interview with one of the skippers on the boat. And he said something that perplexed me a bit.
He said that the moment he understood they are in the danger he yelled to Peter the skipper to turn, and since their sails were on starboard side, Peter instinctively turned to starboard, making their position even worse. He implies that if they tacked to port they might have lived. He said the skipper turned to starboard because he wouldn't have time to move the jib to port.
Now, I am a dinghy sailor and the largest vessel I sailed is a micro-toner class which is around 7m. I never sailed it alone, but I am quite confident that I could tack single handedly (maybe i did tried it once, can't remember). My question is: how complicated is to tack on a charter vessel? Does the skipper really have no access to jib sheets from his helm? Charters are usually sailed by one skipper, the rest are mostly guests. In this case, there were to qualified skippers, wouldn't be sane to have them both at the controls, especially at that infamous tight spot (the interviewed skipper said he was on a lookout).
Much appreciated.
https://redd.it/1v1f719
@SailingX
Hi guys. Most of you heard about the accident at Splitska vrata two months earlier that took 4 lives. In very short, a catamaran commercial line ran over from behind a sailboat under sails in a very tight and very busy channel. I don't want to reopen the discussion of who's fault it was, but recently I read an interview with one of the skippers on the boat. And he said something that perplexed me a bit.
He said that the moment he understood they are in the danger he yelled to Peter the skipper to turn, and since their sails were on starboard side, Peter instinctively turned to starboard, making their position even worse. He implies that if they tacked to port they might have lived. He said the skipper turned to starboard because he wouldn't have time to move the jib to port.
Now, I am a dinghy sailor and the largest vessel I sailed is a micro-toner class which is around 7m. I never sailed it alone, but I am quite confident that I could tack single handedly (maybe i did tried it once, can't remember). My question is: how complicated is to tack on a charter vessel? Does the skipper really have no access to jib sheets from his helm? Charters are usually sailed by one skipper, the rest are mostly guests. In this case, there were to qualified skippers, wouldn't be sane to have them both at the controls, especially at that infamous tight spot (the interviewed skipper said he was on a lookout).
Much appreciated.
https://redd.it/1v1f719
@SailingX
Reddit
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