You put the boat at a very slight angle to the blowing wind and pull the sails in as tight as you can. Twist your sails even more, and sail as free as is necessary to keep the boat moving forward, with rig and foils working. This will minimise stall and maximise drive. Terms & Conditions |
From time to time we were able to get our headsail out but it was often short-lived. The only time I felt good enough to get up was due to the massive amounts of adrenaline in my body after the boat got knocked down. Double Olympic medallist Simon Hiscocks says: ‘Don’t chase a wave unless you are certain that you are going to catch it.’ When running in nonplaning conditions in both symmetric and asymmetric boats; the focus downwind is on soaking as much as possible without stalling the spinnaker: sailing higher than this to try to catch an impossible wave will simply result in extra distance sailed. Sadly, we used up an entire 1000-liter tank of fuel. There is now no danger from the waves, and if you get the wind shifts right the gains will be enormous! As Garry Hoyt writes, ‘There’s gold in them thar hills!’, Read the Digital Edition today on your PC, Mac or Mobile, Subscribe to the Print Edition from our online shop. Furthermore, I didn’t think we’d run out of fuel before getting to Charleston! The problem with this situation is that the wave speed is potentially limiting your downwind speed: it feels great to be surfing the wave behind but all you do is run into and get held up by the one in front. This, rather than bad steering, may be the cause of your height problem. To avoid this, sail with deeper, more twisted sails than you would in flat water: the boom as close as possible to the centreline, but top telltale streaming most of the time: jib twisted to match with a nice parallel slot. I loved watching it! Once a traditional performance boat runs into the wave in front in a breeze, the result is usually wet! Hey Karen. When we did sail, we’d head towards the Bahamas knowing that stronger winds were north of us. If the waves are irregular, it’s also unlikely that you will get any assistance: the objective in these conditions as with steering upwind is to aim for the obvious low spots and avoid the ‘mountains’. Receive the latest news, practical advice, videos and competitions in a monthly email put together by the magazine’s editorial team. For the bulk of our trip, we had to use our engine. Again, it’s a damage limitation exercise. The bright white light is fantastic – the best we’ve had yet (and this is our fifth head torch). In medium winds, power up the rig as much as possible: ease the outhaul, use moderate vang. As you luff, step into the centreline of the boat and sheet on to keep the main driving. Use any extra speed to steer further downwind, getting closer to the mark, rather than just pushing water. ‘What about when I am sailing faster than the waves?’. The water in the waves is moving in a circular motion: downwind at the top, upwind at the bottom.
Even when I feel rough I can look out to the sea and get excited by its magic. In a keelboat or Sportsboat, a couple of pumps of the tiller may turn the boat then unload the rudder at the critical moment of acceleration. If you have any comments or questions please leave them below or email me at Kim@SailingBritican.com and when I’m not sailing I’ll work hard to respond. To drive the boat upwind through the waves you need extra power. Steer to surf down the bigger sets of waves: sail higher between the big sets to keep speed on and maintain direction. Turn so the boat slides along the face of the wave, upwind or downwind of the wave perpendicular, to maximise the ride. ‘What about when I’m going downwind at about the same speed as the waves — should I be trying to surf them?’. So, the plan is to still leave America in November and head to the Caribbean for the season. Watch it here: Sailing The Atlantic Ocean Video (Part 1). The best steering technique depends on the relative directions of wind and waves, the wind and wave speed, and the type of boat. Luff as you climb the face of the wave so that you spend as little time as possible in the peak: bear off as you cross the peak onto the back of the wave. There is no point steering down the wave just to put the nose straight into the wave in front. Regardless, I expected our tank to last months – not days. Curious what logbook you use. Once surfing, don’t steer straight down the wave: you’ll hit the one in front, stop, and the wave will roll past. Practising in waves is fun, and the rewards from getting it right are huge. It has two white light settings, one red light and there’s a blinking option too. We had mostly sunny conditions with several squalls, or small storms, thrown in several times a day. The bigger the waves, the more extreme the motion needs to be. But as soon as we are sailing in waves, I struggle for height upwind. I wouldn’t call rough seas the perfect storm, but losing a ship in rough seas is certainly not unheard of. Looking forward to seeing you soon . Whether we’re looking at the engine, trying to find a leak, writing a log entry at night or lifting anchor in the early hours of the morning this head lap does the trick. Powering up by pulling extra hard on the leeches will not work when the rig is bouncing around: the sails will just stall. In a dinghy, the steering can once again be done by moving body weight. When the waves are not regular there are always high and low spots. With the extra strap over your head, you don’t have to pull the around-your-head strap so tight that you lose circulation! It’s easy to understand, no sailor jargon…hard-hitting and will give you what you need to know to hit the sea successfully. The video shows preparation, sightseeing, and squalls! I’m not sure what part of the world you’re in but we got it in England. For the most part, we sail shorter passages – day sails from one tropical island to another. We use this awesome piece of kit every day. Just as the stern begins to lift, accelerate the boat by luffing to a reach. your privacy. Instead of seasickness, however, I felt fear. I wanted to get off but I knew I had several days to endure. But keep an eye out for any low spots in the wave crests ahead: every time you find one low enough to break through you will make a gain on the boats around by sailing high and finding enough reaching speed to do just that. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB
Now you are set up to luff to accelerate in the next trough. The bigger and faster the wave, the earlier and more extreme an angle change is required to get you boat speed close to that of the wave. It’s the darn Atlantic swell that makes me sick. I’m still not sure what is better?! To bear away, hike harder and if necessary, ease a click of main. Keep a good eye out for larger patches of flatter water: it may be possible to gybe or sail high for a short period to find a more helpful part of the race track. Cookie Policy. Fortunately, we fuelled up with Duty-Free Diesel before leaving Bermuda so the cost of fuel was around $500 rather than $1500. That is the basis of sailing upwind in regular waves: take every opportunity you can to watch the fast sailors in the conditions of the day, and practice getting ‘in phase’. But read Rule 42 carefully before getting too enthusiastic about using kinetics in waves. On the run, the gains are made by using the steering technique described above. Therefore, set the rake, rig controls, etc for the minimums, not the maximums, and work harder to keep the boat flat through the peaks. Make sure to watch the video I created about our last few days in Bermuda and sailing the Atlantic Ocean. Depending on the speed of the waves, your boat, and its manoeuvrability, there is always a lower limit where it is simply not possible to steer around the waves in the way described above. For most of our journey, we had high winds making it difficult to sail with full sails. Sailing in rough seas isn’t fun. Give up on pointing at the leeward mark, luff up to a broad reach with the crew trapezing as high as possible and the helm perching on the windward side deck. Sailing, Liveaboard Life, Guides, Checklists, Vlog & More! With the weather against us, we experienced 16 squalls in four days. ‘Are there any special steering techniques for cross-wave sailing?’. Steer for the obvious low spots as they appear, and avoid the biggest highs: the larger the differences between highs and lows, the further it will be worth deviating from the mean course to minimise the effect of this obstacle course. For example, a sixty-foot sailing catamaran will waters that are too rough for a …