downwind in 2-3 ft seas

Gary Hannan

New Member
On Lake Huron, it is not unusual, with a N to SE wind, to get 2+ foot seas. We recently had to make a dash from our beach (where we keep the boat beached while we are in residence) to the harbor about 3/4 miles to the south. We had a north wind (about 10+ knots, I would estimate), with about 2 foot following seas. We raised the jib (only) and sailed almost straight downwind. A bit of a rollercoaster ride (fun, though!), and we kept the bow pretty much straight downwind, athough the seas did attempt to turn us on occasion. Were we just lucky, or is this the best way to handle such a situation. Any advice for the next time this happens? The harbor is the only place we can really get back on the trailer.
 
I'd have run main only myself... 10 knots is not really terrible heavy for the capri... and the extra forward momentum would allow you to pull over the waves and surf down them... More control is the key in heavy surf.

Centerboard down, and "pitch and roll." It is a balancing act in such a small boat, but can be a helluva lot of fun too.

Surfed a thunderstorm or 2 with my capri. The one that was most noteable was 20 knot winds with gusts to god knows... white caps, and spray, and surfing and smoking to hull speed centerboard vibrating, shaking the innards of the boat. She planed several times with just the main up... With seas any higher than 3 feet though, it could get real dicey. Trying to jibe is a nightmare in that.. so I "chicken-jibed," or literally turned 270 degrees spilling wind the whole way to work around it. The nice part about that is at least you can count on the wind direction in a blow... Seems like very little to count on, but my take is, if you give me a steady direction, I can trim to make the boat work in it at whatever speed (up to a point of course).

Oh well, I guess that is just me.

PS: I don't like sailing on just jib on anything... it throws the balance off of the boat too much... the jib alone really puts too much power forward for me. You ARE right though that it is MUCH less sail area... Reef points would be better though.
 
On Lake Huron, it is not unusual, with a N to SE wind, to get 2+ foot seas. We recently had to make a dash from our beach (where we keep the boat beached while we are in residence) to the harbor about 3/4 miles to the south. We had a north wind (about 10+ knots, I would estimate), with about 2 foot following seas. We raised the jib (only) and sailed almost straight downwind. A bit of a rollercoaster ride (fun, though!), and we kept the bow pretty much straight downwind, athough the seas did attempt to turn us on occasion. Were we just lucky, or is this the best way to handle such a situation. Any advice for the next time this happens? The harbor is the only place we can really get back on the trailer.

If it worked and you made it there dry, nice work! Board down and crew weight low and centered to make the boat more stable. If its too choppy, don't sail too dead down wind, instead reach up 10 or 20 degrees.
 

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