Went out for a little excitement yesterday as it was a pretty windy (20-25mph) day and I wanted to get in a little end of season fun. Took the wife, daughter and her boyfriend along, which proved to add to the challenge. The two teens are pretty small so probably around 220-230lbs total on the tramps. It was evening time so I anticipated the winds calming as the sun started setting.
Launched on the calm side of the lake with about 8-10mph winds and headed out under full sail. Cruising along about 5 mph before getting into the heavier wind area. I noticed I had about an inch of water at my feet so I knew we were setting a little low in the water with the 2 extra's aboard, but we've done this plenty of times in calmer wind, and we've been out with only 2 aboard in wind like this so it shouldn't be too much of an issue (Ha!). We get out in the heavier wind area and it's gusting heavily (25ish mph) dipping an ama under for a second or so at a time. Speeds still not exceeding 6-7mph but all going smooth. Get to the other side of the lake and turn around to come back and we are nearing the end of a peak where the wind is coming down both channels at different angles. I thought I was set up pretty good, had the boy on the upwind side near the ama, and my daughter on the downwind side sitting in tight to the hull. We was only moving about 5-6mph at the time and got a strong gust of wind that submerged the downwind ama. At first I didn't think too much of it but the gust remained and that ama started going deeper and the upwind ama was now about 2ft off the water and still climbing! The bow started to sink and it was trying to submarine! Best i could see, it looked like the bow was submerged with water up to the mast base and pouring over. I'm not sure how deep the ama went but I held out as long as i thought the gust would sustain, but as things were looking bad I released the sail and everything popped back up although plenty of noise from the sail flopping. I added a little tension back on the sail and turned up wind so I could furl the sail about half way. Everyone's eyes were quite large and we assessed exactly what had happened then cruised on. Having the sail in my hand ready to release was the thing that saved us, but I must say, that sail grabs a LOT of wind and you won't furl it while it's loaded, so be prepared.
Lessons: Don't sail heavy wind while heavily loaded, there is too much drag in the water and the sail will push you over. Keep as much weight to the rear as possible. Keep the sail partially furled in extremely high winds.
Questions: 1. Has anyone capsized from wind only, not from a wave pushing them over? I would think as the sail starts to lay over horizontally it would lose it's pull meaning it might tip you up on your side a ways, but wouldn't actually pull you far enough to capsize without the help of a wave.
2. How strong is the mast? I've had it bent over pretty good, but never had wind strong enough to completely sink an ama like that.
3. I've always wondered if there was only a single person on board in the back seat in high winds, if it could lift the bow and flip you over? Like lift the upwind ama and bow, then catch wind underneath while the stern and trailing edge of the downwind ama act as the only parts of the boat still in the water? Or is there enough weight that it would remain stable? My thoughts are the front seat might be better in that situation, but most say the rear is best?
We had fun, we didn't break anything or loose anything so it was a successful trip that taught us a few things.