CaptainBob
regular
Reged: 07/11/2007
Posts: 253
Loc: Devon
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I've been out sailing a few times with friends, keeping in mind that I intend to do some single-handing in the future, and thinking about how I'd deal with situations alone.
Was out yesterday under full sail in glorious weather off Plymouth - it was lovely! But as we began to head back up river, the wind started to seriously pick up, and was changing direction on occasion - and was gusty.
We made a hash of it but got the sails down in the end by starting the engine and heading into the wind as best we could. This didn't stop us heeling over almost all the way at one point! Eeek!
If I'd been alone, I guess I could have done the same, and used the auto-helm - but the wind was pretty shifty, so I'd have to keep tweaking the auto-helm.... and I'd prefer not to always have to resort to starting the engine if possible - or at least would like to know how to deal with things if the engine wouldn't start.
But with no engine, if I point into the wind so I can go forward to reef the main, I'll lose steerage speed, turn off the wind, and end up with the wind from the side again surely.
Any suggestions on how I could better approach this situation?
I've a feeling we had the main sheet in tight so boom in nice place to stow the sail - but that was probably the cause of a lot of the problems maybe.
Thanks!
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dukes4monny
regular
Reged: 04/02/2008
Posts: 134
Loc: Devon, England
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I think that if you are single handed, you do need to think ahead a little more about what you are going to do, and what could go wrong.
In the situation you described, you had other crew on board, so it wasn't a major issue, but if you were on your own you might well have struggled...........
If you stop and think about what happened, you were entering an estuary with an offshore wind, this would tell you that the wind is likely to increase because it's funneled into a smaller area and become fluky because it is off the land.........in this situation either single or short handed, I personaly would aim to get everything down well before you enter the estuary / river.
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I came into this world with nothing..........so far I've managed to hang on to most of it
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Hardley
regular
Reged: 07/01/2003
Posts: 236
Loc: Norfolk Broads
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I ease the main halyard enough to ensure that I can get cringle on rams horn hook quickly. Let sails fly, go to mast secure cringle onto rams horn hook.
Back to cockpit, hoist main, tighten reefing line.
Sheet in both sails.
In strong winds, ease traveller down to leeward.
If fractional rig, tighten back stay.
First action when you notice that wind is picking up, should be to tighten luff down haul which helps to flatten the sail.
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CaptainBob
regular
Reged: 07/11/2007
Posts: 253
Loc: Devon
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Thanks for your reply!
Wind was ever so light - onshore. We sailed very sedately all the way up to Cargreen before it was an issue. And it became one very quickly.
Take your point that if alone I'd have been a lot more cautious and pre-empted the situation and reefed - or got everything down and started the engine.
But I'd still like to know what to do if I found myself unexpectedly in this situation, just in case... and if I couldn't get the engine going for whatever reason.
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Devon Pictures
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Flipper_K6354
regular
Reged: 20/09/2001
Posts: 1522
Loc: Boat in Brightlingsea, Essex. ...
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I do a lot of singlehanded sailing and planning ahead is the main thing you have to be ready to do! Everything else is easy - just you are doing it on your own so it can take a bit longer etc and you need to multi task!
Keep an eye on the weather - what is happening to the clouds etc. Often you can see the wind is increasing from how other boats are heeling so I would reef earlier and be slightly undercanvassed rather than over stretched.
Do you have a furling jib? If so reducing that is easy and if get caught in a bit of a blow out of nowhere you can alawys roll up of drop the jib, sheet the main in hard and motor (slowly) into the wind to keep steerage way whilst you decide what to do next.
Also rather than drop sail totally, play the mainsail like you would in a dinghy - let it flap a bit in a gust so you don't heel over so much. It takes quite a lot to put a keel boat on its side so don't worry too much about a bit of heel!
Have a good time learning - we all still are!
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graham
regular
Reged: 16/05/2001
Posts: 6062
Loc: South Wales
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Some times on a rising tide in rivers I nose into the mud on the windward bank. The mud holds the keel long enough to stow sails etc then the tide floats us off and the wind blows us back into deep water.
A roller genoa is great for singlehanding The autohelm should cope for a few minutes to do a quick stow of the main.Have the engine running just fast enough to have steerage way so you will have more time to stow the main roll a fag etc 
To reef the main some boats will lie hove to with the jib backed and tiller tied to leeward slacken the mainsheet a bit but not so much that the boom can swing around too much.
You need to practice it on your own to find out what works for you.
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http://banjocoronado25.blogspot.com/
All Hardwood used in Banjos restoration comes from sustainable sources. Usually the Boat Club Skip :-)
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maxi77
regular
Reged: 11/11/2007
Posts: 637
Loc: Kingdom of Fife
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The key to singlehanded sailing is planning ahead. You reef early, run for shelter early, and so on. Certainly the auto pilot is your friend, and is invaluable and it gives you time to do things like reefing and making coffee.
Certainly if I was doing a lot of singlehanding I would want to be able to reef from the cockpit, it is so much safer.
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Peter
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MoodySabre
regular
Reged: 24/10/2006
Posts: 3692
Loc: Bradwell and Leigh-on-Sea
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It can also depend on how your boat behaves. My boat is quite happy sailing to windward on just the jib so I can put the tiller pilot on and drop or reef the main in the shadow of the jib. My previous boat was very good at heaving to so that was useful to get things sorted.
I followed an idea here which is to put a cable tie round the fixed end the reefing hook and across the hook so that it acts as a gate. When I go forward and hook the cringle on then it doesn't fall off again before I get back to the cockpit.
Having lazyjacks and a stackpack makes all this much easier single-handed.
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Don't believe everything you think.
Interesting old books
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Conachair
regular
Reged: 24/01/2004
Posts: 465
Loc: Canaries
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Quote:
I think that if you are single handed, you do need to think ahead a little more about what you are going to do, and what could go wrong.
Completly agree there. I usually get the main down while I've still got plenty of searoom. If you have a roller reefing genoa then you'll still have some control if the engine dies and it's easy to get rid of. Single handing is great, though. Really makes you think ahead and plan every move beforehand. Good practice and you learn a lot. Was reading a Bernard Moitesier book last night & he suggests heaving to for reefing the main, seems so obvious now, I'll give a go next time I'm out.
Enjoy
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Flipper_K6354
regular
Reged: 20/09/2001
Posts: 1522
Loc: Boat in Brightlingsea, Essex. ...
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Quote:
Certainly if I was doing a lot of singlehanding I would want to be able to reef from the cockpit, it is so much safer.
Each to his own. I prefer to reef at the mast - Let off mainsheet in cockpit, clip onto jackstay & go to mast. Let off kicking strap off / take up weight on topping lift. Ease halyard, new clew onto book horn, haul in on reef line. Tighten halyard (and make up & tidy up all ropes), ease topping lift, tighten kicking strap. Back to cockpit, sheet in, pour tea!
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