Sailing today

My wife took these from shore. Loads of fun today but gusting to 30. Ugh!

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

Preparing for A jibe.

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

completing the jibe and headed back out away from the boat launch.

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

blowing 30 and your out there solo?? your a crazy man!

_________________
1971 H16 (sail #1768)

To all of you on the Hobie Forum... I love you guys!!!
thanks for all the help!

Stupid is more like it. I was still drooling from the night before.

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

It looks like you had a great time on the water (that's what it's about after all, isn't it?), but I call shenanigans on the wind speed.

Wind speeds are like fish tales - they get bigger & stronger the more times they're told.

In my 36 years of sailing and racing experience, the vast majority of people cannot judge the windspeed accurately once it gets over 15 kts.

This is what gusts to 30 looks like (verified):


Mind you, in that photo - it's probably only blowing 25 sustained. That bridge in the background is about 2 miles upwind; that's the fetch on those waves. Notice the whitecaps go nearly all the way back to the bridge.

A Hobie 16 in those conditions is in total survival mode - with two people on the trapeze. There were 63 boats registered in that regatta. Only 8 finished that race in those conditions.

I wanted to say it. 30mph will kick up white caps on a puddle.

I was going to say it also. 30 mph most all sailboats and kiteboarders are off the water with tails between their legs and the only thing left are windsurfers. At 40mph it goes nuclear and liquid smoke from the whitecaps being blown off the tops of waves.

Also looks like your mainsail isn't up all the way. Getting it hoisted and locked all the way up will allow you to actually get some downhaul and mainsheet tension on to help flatten the sail and make the boat more manageable in higher wind.

sm

weather underground has a lot of local report sites. this one is at Sugar Hill, East Wallingford, VT
http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KVTEASTW2&month=7&day=11&year=2009
If you scroll down you will see the wind graph. Av wind speed appears to be about 8 mph. But you can see it was really gusty. The max gust looks to be about 13mph. The max gust for the month is 24.2 mph and looking at 7/12 it may have happened the next day.

Another VT Hobie Sailer
I am in Brattleboro, vt and sail on Spofford Lake in NH. It does look like you were having a great time. The sailing on 7/11 on Spofford was great too. Lower av. but less gusty or gusts were more sustained. My boat was down, but I was out crewing on a H18 Tiger. I was trapped out and we easily flew a hull.

_________________
Alfred
'87 H16 Sail 89907
If you aren't sailing on the edge, you're taking up too much room.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KVTBOMOS1&month=7&day=11&year=2009

If you looked at the first pick in the thread you'd notice I said "gusting to 30". Above is the history from that day at Crystal Beach weather station on Lake Bomoseen (where I was sailing). Notice winds gusting to 27 mph. That station is at lake level and protected (on the east shore) from a direct gust from that wind direction ENE. Gusts in the open water were probably higher but I think the sustained wind was around 5-10. I have spent over 700 hours per year since 1997 fishing the waters from Watch Hill RI to Southwest Ledge off of Block Island to Montauk Point in everything you can imagine. Yes, even in approaching hurricane's in a 19 foot center console. I know wind! I would drop into the trough and couldn't see anything but water around me many, many times. I almost wrecked the boat one year on the south face of Providence Island in Lake Champlain in a sustained 35knot blow out of the south. Waves were rolling 6-8 feet high. I just wish I had someone to go with me so we could really push it in those conditions. There's just not enough weight with me alone

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KVTBOMOS1&month=7&day=4&year=2009

This is the report from July 4'th. I was out that day too but with the wife. We had fun but was a little much still for a newbie!

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

I was wondering how long it was gonna take for someone to notce that. Well done! I was getting my arse kicked trying to get it locked with it being that gusty and finally gave up.

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KVTBOMOS1&day=30&year=2009&month=6

That's the report from the day that I flopped it at Lake Bomoseen(first time). Downright Fugly I tell ya!

_________________
"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0