Sailing in heavy winds

Hello

I have a hobie 16 and i have sailed it with several budies of mine last summer if fall in a local lake. This winter with rain and stuff though we haven't had the chance to get out and really sail it (we have gone out for about an hour in the last three months!). Tommorow is suppose to be really windy (16 mph which is about 14.5 knots, am i right?) and i was wondering how these things handle in heavy winds like that. The lake we sail in is small and we usually can only stay on one tack for a few minutes before we have to turn around and head to the other shore. I don't want to risk dumping the boat and getting stuck in really cold weather or running the boat aground (the shores are really rocky and would reak havoc to the boat) so do have any suggestions about sailing in heavy air in this situation (or do you think we should go out at all?). We have decent sailing experience although we haven't yet got out on a trap because we don't have time in our little lake. Oh and also it is suppose to rain, is that a big deal (i know that i sound like a annoying begginer but i have sailed big keel boats all mylife and heavy rain and wind is usually not the best time to go sailing with those). Also how much weight should we have on the boat, between me and whoever i pick for crew that is.

Alright sorry for all the questions kinda being thrown out there. Any responses would be greatly, greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

-TJ

Before a bunch of guys come on and tell you 16mph is not heavy I would say that if your a some what new that amount of wind can be a handful.
The boat can handle that and much more with no problem. It's up to you to setup the boat to the conditions. A little more mast rake, not to tight a rig and travel out the jib and main. You can always go in and power up. With practice you won't want to sail in any less than 15mph on a 16.
Where are you sailing? If the water is real cold you may want to pass.
You and crew should way around 300lbs. If you do go over you want to be able to right the boat. Do you have a righting line?
Good luck.

_________________
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204 Syracuse, NY

yep we have a righting line. it is suppose to get around freezing tonight for a brief while and the storm coming in is from the alaska so it should be cold rain (I live in the SF bay area in nor cal). I can probably get a hold of some wet suits so cold water isn't really a problem. My number one concern right now is if we are going to have to trap (or at least is the crew going to have to because we only have one harness) because we haven't really even tried it like i said earlier and heavy winds like that doesn't sound like the ideal condition to learn in. Also when you say loose rig should we loosen up the shrouds a little as well or just use the jib hailyard to adjust the rig tension?

Thanks again for the response and thank in advance to anyone else who responds. I really appreciate it!

-TJ

TJ

Unless you have wetsuit/drysuit freezing weather is VERY dangerous for a newbie. If you go over things will get bad fast. If you MUST go take it easy. Travel out and jibe when you have to turn around. And keep your weight back. I learned the hard way a few times you can go over backwards on a tack on a 16 if the jib backwinds. There will be other days, be safe rather than sorry.

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
Soon to be Nacra A2 also
www.tcdyc.com

Definitly wear a wetsuit and a rain shell. The wind can cut through the wetsuit and give youa good chill. I would reccommend that you really crank on the downhaul for the main. This will flatten the sail causing it to produce less lift, ie less power. Travel out the main and jib as mentioned earlier and don't sheet in too much until you are ready.

When tacking in strong wind, keep as much weight forward as possible. And you will almost always have to backwind the jib until you get the coordination down. When I sailed my H16 solo I backwinded the jib. It made teh tacak much easier. The biggest challenge will be the gusts, not a 15mph steady wind. You can plan ahead for steady winds, you react to the gusts.

Gybing can be interesting in heavier winds. As in larger boats it is more viloent than a tack. I would practice gybing in lighter air first so you can see how it works on your boat. I am always paranoid about not keeping my head low enough soon enough. That boom can really hurt.

As long as the temp is good, go for the sail. You will have a helluva good time and probably get spoiled with the grat perforamce and adrenaline rush.

Have a great sail!

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

If you are in winds that feel a bit on the overpowered side to you, I would not recommend a Gybe (turning away from the wind). In a Gybe everything happens very fast. I would recommend a very slow tack by backing into in until you are comfortable enought to "go for it".

Here is the plan:

When you are sailing you will be going forward allowing water to move over the boards so you can steer. Remember that the rudders do nothing if you are not moving.

Turn the tiller toward the sail until the boat is directly facing the wind or a bit more.

Move every person to the middle or the other side of the boat in preparation for backing up.

While you are backing up cross the rudders the other way so you will come out of the tack on the other side. The wind will be pushing your mast and the rest of your boat pushing you backwards so the rudders will work in reverse. It will be a bit easier to hold the jib on the other side allowing more wind to be caught, but save this technique until you have a couple of the very slow tacks under your belt.

Be patient you will have all the fun of speed going straight on the new tack making up for the slow tack. This is not a racing tack it is a first timer tack in heavy winds.

Later,
Dan

We consider ourselves "Cold Water Sailors" in the Norhteast, but using the word "Alaska" while talking about sailing doesn't seem right. As mentioned, going into real cold water can get dangerous real fast no matter what you are wearing. Safety First, as they say.
Hope all goes well.

_________________
Pat Bisesi
Fleet 204 Syracuse, NY

If you're sailing the SF bay, then you need patience. California has so many good weather days that you don't need to sail in the few bad ones. Besides, unless there's a storm blowing, the winds this time of year are pretty light. There will be plenty of good days from April through October. Also, mark you calendar for the Hobe Tiger & 17 North American Championships held at the St. Francis YC near Crissy Field in SF this August 7 - 11. Sailing just inside the Golden Gate Bridge is pretty intense.

Say, you guys are scaring me. Last year was my first year sailing and I learned to sail my 16 in 15 mph winds. Do you mean to tell me that all this time sailing in 15 mph winds was dangerous? Of course I understand the limited sailing area that TJ is referring to. That can be a problem. Other than that, if you have a defence for the teperature, have a blast. Please TJ, let us know how it went.

Sailing in 15mph (13Knots) dangerous? Only if you don't know what you are doing. I have single handed in 15mph and 15knot winds with no problems.

Fully crewed I have sailed in up to 40 knots of wind Thats 47 MPH...

So as long as you have experiance and are with an experienced crew.


If it ain't blowin, I ain't goin!

Guys:

Wind is not what bothers me. Newbie in freezing water is what scares me. You don't have a long of time before hypothermia sets in at that temp if you go over.

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
Soon to be Nacra A2
www.tcdyc.com

Hey guys thatnks for all the great tips! Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go out last friday. There were reports of lightning strikes around 30 miles or so away from us and we thought better of going out. However this latest rain storm has dumped tons of water on our area and our local resivoir is almost full to the brim. We are planning to go out this friday, with winds in the 12 to 15 knot range (a storm is coming in later this weekend). It is going to be heck of chilly though but we are going to get a hold of some wetsuits (one of my buds has a two pair) and we are going to go and kick some hobie butt (well whatever sailing hard and fast is called). I will deffinetly let you guys know how it goes! Oh and quick Q, should the mast be racked backward or forward in heavier winds?

thanks again!
TJ

Rake back in heavy winds.

Find out what the water temperature is. Hypothermia can start in 45 minutes of exposure to 70 degree water. We use the NROTC sailing team rule of below 150 degrees (combination of air and water temperature) use a wet suit, and in their case a FULL wet suit, w/boots. It's not about how "tough" you are, what you can handle, it's about what humans can survive in case something goes wrong.

Make sure you know how to right the boat. If you have never righted, prepare yourself for the conditions with proper attire and purposely go and dump the boat. Practice righting, so when the enevitable mistake happens you'll know what to do to get the boat back up before you're pushed in to those nasty rocks.

Oh yea, and have a blast

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297

Just thought you'd think this was funny: My son is 15 and a pretty well traveled Hobie 16 sailor, anyway, last year it was like 50 degrees out with the water about the same. Blowing 10-15 kts and he goes out solo (He didn't ask me, he just went ) I am out on my jet ski to check on him as he's out in front of the house about 200 yards flying a hull as he always does. Anyway, right in front of me he goes over. He's sitting on top of the high hull meowing like a stranded cat. I tell him I'll pull him over with the line I have in the jetski and he's waves me off. He does NOT want to get wet at all, so he and his 175lbs self jump down on the low hull, hooks up the righting line to his butt bucket, tosses another rope around the pylon and pulls the boat over. Now most of you know its pretty amazing to right a 16 solo anyway, but the best part is when the boat was just about over and he was just about to dip in the icy water, he scampered forward and made it around the front cross bar and onto the tramp WITHOUT EVER GETTING A DROP ON HIM. I guess you had to be there.
Cold water sucks. Big wind does not.

Heh. I've righted the boat only getting wet below the waist, but never remaining totally dry.

_________________
Warm regards,

Jim