Heavy air, very shifty

B

bcardarella

New Member
I'm used to ocean sailing but recently I started sailing on a pond, trying to work on sailing in shifty air. Today was the first day where we had very heavy air since I began sailing there. Gusts up to 25 kts. I've never really had a problem with heavy air (I'm 6'2", 185lbs) but the heavy air with tons shifts were killing me.

I think my problem was how I had my sail set. Basically I had everything cranked. I would let me outhaul out a little but still in quite a bit. When the wind shifted windward 20 - 30 degrees I'd heel over big time (went swimming a few times) I really didn't think about my sail controls until I got off the water today, but I've always been told that in heavy air crank everything on. Obviously that doesn't work for the conditions I was sailing in today. Does anybody have any tips?
 
I find shifty, heavy air the hardest to cope with. You have to hike hard and work the main really hard - it's a lot of physical effort that will soon see a decline in your concentration, most likely leading to a swim.

I find the most important thing is your steering. If the wind is shifty, you are going to have to steer really well to keep your boat in the "groove" going upwind. You should have a wind indicator and tell tales, but you also need to keep your eye on the water and attempt to judge the angle of approaching gusts.

A windward shift (lift) will certainly increase the heel, drop the main a metre or so and let the boat head up. As it evens out, and the sail luffs pull in (this whole process may take 3 - 5 secs so you gotta work it hard). The opposite (header) shift is harder, that will require a very fast bear away, or you will go over the windward.

The hardest of all is hitting a heading lull. Going from 20kts to 5kts with a 20 degree header. They still send me over backwards.
 
In addition to what has been mentioned above concerning looking ahead and anticpating what's coming, I will also tighten my hiking strap when sailing in very puffy/shifty conditions - I give up a little bit of leverage and gain a lot in terms of being able to shift my wieght quickly.

As far as sail controls go, the differences for me between wave and flat water sailing are mostly outhaul - flat water -> bring the mid foot to approx 6" from the boom vs 8" in waves.
 
So in summary the sail was probably set fine, hard work and a sixth sense of what the wind is going to do is required.

I also find it useful to sail loose and low, letting the main go rather than luffing, this means I can sheet in and keep going when it heads rather than stopping in irons or going in bacwards, you don't have to ease much if you are quick.
 
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