Cactus Cowboy
Well-Known Member
Got a little time on my hands after receiving good news on the job front, so I reckon I'll bring up a topic which doesn't seem to get much "airplay" here: heaving to aboard small craft. The best example I can give regarding the usefulness of this maneuver is an incident which occurred on San Diego Bay long ago. A friend of mine had recently purchased a boat but he didn't know much about sailing, so we were on an "instructional voyage" when this incident occurred. Those of you who've sailed on San Diego Bay know that it can get quite crowded, full-on buster-@$$ marine traffic (especially on weekends & holidays), the 405 at rush hour in L.A. has NOTHIN' on it, LOL.
This wasn't a holiday, might even have been a weekday, I can't really remember, but I was trying to teach my friend to show courtesy to skippers of working craft, in this case the bay ferry operated by the Star & Crescent Line back in the day. We had just sailed past the Ferry Landing in Coronado, and we were headed toward shoal water at the foot of Orange Avenue (the main drag in that burg), so we were preparing to tack when I noticed the ferry leaving the dock on yet another voyage to the foot of Broadway in San Diego, aye? I saw the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to my friend the usefulness of heaving to in certain situations...
I told my friend to leave the jib sheet cleated on the port side (we were on the starboard tack at the time), then I gently rounded up into irons to take way off the boat... once enough boat speed was lost, I simply fell off a bit on the port tack till the jib backed, put the tiller down to leeward with my foot on it, and "VOILA!!!" We were momentarily "parked"---drifting at a snail's pace while I explained my reasons to this friend. Of course, while heaving to one is still subject to the vagaries of wind and tide, but it's a slow drift as opposed to making headway while close-hauled (or on any other point of sail). So, there we were, just momentarily parked or hovering in the sunshine as my friend grabbed a couple more beers, LOL.
Well, that ferry skipper left the dock, then looked over to see me and he backed down a bit, thinking that I was gonna come roaring back on port tack in a crossing situation... but he looked again to see me casually cracking a beer while holding the tiller down to leeward with my foot, one arm extended toward the ferry with my fingers giving the "go ahead" sign, LOL. A perfect act of nautical courtesy, and a good lesson to my friend... heaving to can be very useful, while nautical cred (and good karma) can be earned by showing courtesy to skippers of working craft who ply the same waters. Racers don't have much need for this maneuver, but it still pays for recreational sailors to know it and use it when it serves a purpose.
Now, once that ferry skipper realized that I was yielding all right of way to his craft, he laid the throttles on the dash and surged forward... he didn't really need to do this, as my friend & I were in no great hurry, but the ferry was small enough to fall into that gray area concerning right of way for commercial vessels. I can imagine that skipper, who probably dealt with countless ignorant or arrogant @$$holes (standing on their right of way), and whose job as a commercial skipper was on the line in every crossing situation, thinking to himself: "HOLY CR@P, WE GOTS NAUTICAL COURTESY!!!" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn. But it was all good, he even waved his thanks as he departed, and my friend learned something.
Where else might heaving to come in handy, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya... imagine standing off a crowded fuel dock, waiting for dock space to open up, aye? You don't need fuel, you just wanna buy more beer and get the f#% on down the road, LOL. But if you sail too far away from the dock, some inconsiderate and possibly clueless wank aboard a powerboat will undoubtedly snake you and keep you waiting even longer... so whaddya do? Ya heave to in a good spot, out of the way of traffic but close to the dock, and as soon as dock space opens up, ya charge in and make your beer purchase, LOL. See how useful heaving to can be? It shortens the distance to the dock on crowded days, and lets you take your rightful place in line.
Okay, I'm done here, I just wanted to touch upon a topic which I haven't seen addressed here yet... heaving to can be very useful when ya just wanna momentarily hold your position as you wait for developments to unfold. Best use I can think of, allowing large commercial craft or warships to proceed upon their way, though there are other uses for this maneuver. With enough sea room, one can heave to for hours or days, but I always viewed it as a temporary maneuver to be used under just the right circumstances... showing courtesy and allowing those skippers to assume the right of way when they need it most. Remember, Poseidon favors those with good nautical cred & karma, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
THUS ENDETH THE SERMON, TIME FOR ANOTHER COLD BEER & SOME ENTERTAINMENT, LOL. Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'M OUTTA HERE... "HASTA LUEGO!!!"
This wasn't a holiday, might even have been a weekday, I can't really remember, but I was trying to teach my friend to show courtesy to skippers of working craft, in this case the bay ferry operated by the Star & Crescent Line back in the day. We had just sailed past the Ferry Landing in Coronado, and we were headed toward shoal water at the foot of Orange Avenue (the main drag in that burg), so we were preparing to tack when I noticed the ferry leaving the dock on yet another voyage to the foot of Broadway in San Diego, aye? I saw the perfect opportunity to demonstrate to my friend the usefulness of heaving to in certain situations...
I told my friend to leave the jib sheet cleated on the port side (we were on the starboard tack at the time), then I gently rounded up into irons to take way off the boat... once enough boat speed was lost, I simply fell off a bit on the port tack till the jib backed, put the tiller down to leeward with my foot on it, and "VOILA!!!" We were momentarily "parked"---drifting at a snail's pace while I explained my reasons to this friend. Of course, while heaving to one is still subject to the vagaries of wind and tide, but it's a slow drift as opposed to making headway while close-hauled (or on any other point of sail). So, there we were, just momentarily parked or hovering in the sunshine as my friend grabbed a couple more beers, LOL.
Well, that ferry skipper left the dock, then looked over to see me and he backed down a bit, thinking that I was gonna come roaring back on port tack in a crossing situation... but he looked again to see me casually cracking a beer while holding the tiller down to leeward with my foot, one arm extended toward the ferry with my fingers giving the "go ahead" sign, LOL. A perfect act of nautical courtesy, and a good lesson to my friend... heaving to can be very useful, while nautical cred (and good karma) can be earned by showing courtesy to skippers of working craft who ply the same waters. Racers don't have much need for this maneuver, but it still pays for recreational sailors to know it and use it when it serves a purpose.
Now, once that ferry skipper realized that I was yielding all right of way to his craft, he laid the throttles on the dash and surged forward... he didn't really need to do this, as my friend & I were in no great hurry, but the ferry was small enough to fall into that gray area concerning right of way for commercial vessels. I can imagine that skipper, who probably dealt with countless ignorant or arrogant @$$holes (standing on their right of way), and whose job as a commercial skipper was on the line in every crossing situation, thinking to himself: "HOLY CR@P, WE GOTS NAUTICAL COURTESY!!!" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn. But it was all good, he even waved his thanks as he departed, and my friend learned something.
Where else might heaving to come in handy, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya... imagine standing off a crowded fuel dock, waiting for dock space to open up, aye? You don't need fuel, you just wanna buy more beer and get the f#% on down the road, LOL. But if you sail too far away from the dock, some inconsiderate and possibly clueless wank aboard a powerboat will undoubtedly snake you and keep you waiting even longer... so whaddya do? Ya heave to in a good spot, out of the way of traffic but close to the dock, and as soon as dock space opens up, ya charge in and make your beer purchase, LOL. See how useful heaving to can be? It shortens the distance to the dock on crowded days, and lets you take your rightful place in line.
Okay, I'm done here, I just wanted to touch upon a topic which I haven't seen addressed here yet... heaving to can be very useful when ya just wanna momentarily hold your position as you wait for developments to unfold. Best use I can think of, allowing large commercial craft or warships to proceed upon their way, though there are other uses for this maneuver. With enough sea room, one can heave to for hours or days, but I always viewed it as a temporary maneuver to be used under just the right circumstances... showing courtesy and allowing those skippers to assume the right of way when they need it most. Remember, Poseidon favors those with good nautical cred & karma, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
THUS ENDETH THE SERMON, TIME FOR ANOTHER COLD BEER & SOME ENTERTAINMENT, LOL. Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'M OUTTA HERE... "HASTA LUEGO!!!"
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