Tips for running

Hey everyone,
I got a Wave late last summer and have a dozen or so hours accumulated at the rutters since then. I don’t have to tell y’all, but I dream about being on the water every night.
That being said, I have “capsized” 4 times to date! And every time it’s because I'm running, get a gust of win from the stern, my bow plunges into the water, and I get cat-apulted toward the mast.
These experiences have given me a healthy fear of sailing with the wind.
Unfortunately, in order to get back into my harbor, I have to sail through a sandbar and have limited options in terms of sailing direction. It’s in this sandbar that the wind is most unpredictable. Fortunately, the water is only a few feet deep.
This past weekend forecasted 20mph gust, so I Zipped off the bottom part of my sail. Is there a term for only sailing with the puny top portion? This worked well, but I looked like an idiot. Still, when coming back through the sandbar on Saturday, I took down the puny sail and paddled through.
Any advice?
I have a jib sail, but don’t use it yet.
I weigh ~190lbs.
I think my boat is from the 1980s


https://photos.app.goo.gl/t6y2p9mfiGaD5A9K9

Also, extra points for advice on posting an image here. Haha

Reducing sail (either by rolling up or zipping off a portion) is called “reefing.”

Part of the problem is that you did not reef the sail properly. If you zip off thr bottom portion of the sail, it should not be hoisted all the way up. Only hoist until the foot (bottom) of the reefed sail is at the same height as the foot of the full size sail. This will keep the sail lower on the mast and greatly reduce the sail’s tendency to cause the boat to heel over or pitchpole.

Other ways to prevent pitchpoling are to move your body weight as far aft as possible. Also bear off (turn downwind) in the gusts. This allows the boat to use the bouyancy of both bows to prevent pitchpoling. You just have to be careful not to jibe unexpectedly when turning downwind (use some streamers or a bridle fly on your forestay to watch the wind direction).

sm

Thanks for the reply SRM! Loads of good info. I will likely incorporate reefing (properly) into my sailing strategy on gusty days. With hope that one day i will be better at reading the wind and can add more sail.

Do folks intentionally add water to the hulls in an attempt to increase stability? I assume this would help with capsizing, but less so with pitchpoleing.

Intentionally adding water to the hulls would not be recommended....

sm

This is a BIG NO! That would make the boat VERY unstable as the water shifts from aft to bow and back.

Lower the sail as noted... That will be a huge help.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)