Heavy Weather Sailing

blacklionboy

New Member
Hi all,

Was out sailing in an off shore force 7 the other day. Quite good. Though I had some some problems.

When broad reaching/reaching I had to go the back of the cockpit and hike out. That was all fine, however whenever a wave hit the back of the boat I got dipped in the water and the boat slowed down.

This happened constantly and got a bit annoying.

Any Suggestions?
 

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Try tightening your strap (I'm assuming you have an adjustable one...you should). That should help keep your ass out of the water.
 
Depends on the angle and depth of the trough in relation to the boat. Sometimes it's unavoidable. If your footstrap is tight and your bum isn't dragging, the other suggestion is to tighten your vang a bit more. A slightly tighter vang in a beam sea controls athwartship roll better than a standard reach setting. The waves don't look all that big in that photo, though some photos can make a sea look smaller than it is.
 
Well the picture doesn't show (obviously at least) any big rollers. Your angle, and the size of the waves in the picture, lead me to believe that, in this case, the problem could be fixed by a tighter strap. Chainsaw is right though, you can't avoid it 100% of the time.

About the vang though: If it's breezy, do NOT tighten it too much...your boom dragging in the water is the last thing you want. However, you also don't want it too loose, so as to spill all the air (and subsequently power) out of the sail. Vang setting on reaches is a tricky thing...you just gotta find the groove for that day.
 
Would recommend the rooster downwind boat whisperer DVD. Will help you lots with steering through waves. If your sailing in big waves you can't just sail a straight line, you have to learn to use the waves to your benefit (as much as possible, no one gets them all right).
 

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