[alberg30] White Squall

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

From: FINNUS505 at aol.com

Hi Dick,
Sounds like fun!! Sorry  I missed it!
You only have to worry when the water is pouring into the cockpit, or really, 
into the main hatch.  Sounds like you got hit with a 25-30  knot wall of 
wind-more,and you would have been heeling more. With a 9000 lb. Alberg 30 
under you, wind alone is not going to capasize her. You would need the action 
of big confused waves in addition to wind to turn a semi-knockdown as you 
describe into something realy dangerous, and in the protected water you 
describe, that is not likely.  Wind knockdowns did test your boats individual 
strength, though, Dick, and it sounds like everything- chainplates, 
shrouds,tangs, sails, etc, held, so that is good.
You have to develop some thoughts for immidiate action in these situations.
First and foremost,
-release mainsheet to get the old girl back on her feet
-then, assess if you have room to leeward to manuever, or is there land or 
shallow water or other boats/ships that makes a dangerous situation?
-make an assesment as to whether or not this is a temporary  increase in wind 
that will be over in less than a minute, or will you be dealing with this 
increased wind for longer.
-make a quick assesment-run forward and drop the sails? Or 
let the main luff, and power through with the headsail if the puff looks 
temporary, and you aren't carrying too big a headsail. If the wind is going 
to be persistant, reef quickly.
-keep in mind that flailing sails in the wind are being destroyed.  You want 
to keep beating up of the material to a minimum.
Actualy, this is a big topic, and hard to cover effectively in just an email.
In the future, when you see threatening weather coming, think ahead, and have 
a plan all ready.  I love to singlehand too, so I have been in a similar 
situation often.  Usualy I reef down way ahead of time, so when the weather 
hits, I am ready.  I don't have roller furling on the headsails, so I'll 
change to a smaller headsail ahead of time, then use the headsail to keep the 
boat going while I reef the main.  Of course, if conditions continue to 
worsen, further sail rduction can be done with water flying and the boat 
bucking, if necessary, but it is so much easier and safer to be proactive. 
I've rigged a take-down line for the jib- a line that goes from the head of 
the sail, to a block at the tack, and then  aft. This way, you can release 
the halyard, and pull down the jib, and pull back on the sheet, and the jib 
is secure on the deck, so you can concentrate on other things.
Slab reefing on the main is the way to go.  With practice,it is easy and 
fast, and thus safe.
Of course, dropping both sails and turning on the engine (probably not in 
THAT order) is totaly acceptable, too, for saftey sake.
Youve picked a good boat to learn on-she will take care of you.  I would 
reccomend some reading-Blue Water sailing by Dashew, Heavy Weather Sailing by 
Adlard Coles.  these are intended for voyaging situations, but sift through 
the information for stuff you can use as you learn. It's when the wind gets 
above 15 that this sailing stuff realy becomes fun!!
Enjoy, 
Lee
Stargazer #255

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