[Public-List] Elderly Persons Thank You:

[Daniel Swords]

Thank you to those who read my blithering essay on elderly persons sailing. And especially thanks for the responses. As I am writing this I am (of course) sailing on Lake Pontchartrain with my minimal available sail area, which initially this morning consisted of no sail at all. I call it “trawlering.”  The  wind and the seas were calm, my tiller was lashed and I was peacefully drifting on a broad reach, which happened to be the exact apparent wind direction (away from shore) I wanted to go. Just some final points I will like to make:

Yes, I suppose I am more fore-reaching than heaving-to. But in my situation that is generally an advantage. My main objective is to be able to lash and abandon the helm in foul weather conditions without any worries that the boat will tack, luff or jibe. A double reefed mainsail trimmed tight to the center line with the tiller lashed hard over to leeward and abandoned and the jib furled, accomplishes that one hundred percent of the time in winds above 18 knots and even in winds gusting well over 35 knots. And it is not an uneasy balance. It is a very secure and reasonably comfortable balance.

I think the balance occurs because the sail is small and flat and stalled and the wind and waves striking the forward quarter of the hull and the windage of the furled jib with no additional headsail needed is enough to securely prevent the boat, even with a weather helm, from tacking through the eye of the wind. Further I feel that singlehanded in a storm situation, the last thing I would want is even a partially unfurled genoa. Not likely, but if the furling system failed for any reason and the genoa filled in 35 knots of wind, I believe that would even be a potentially hazardous situation. Not to mention otherwise having the windward sheet chafing hard against the windward shroud for the duration of the storm.

The double reefed mainsail keeps the bow securely positioned enough into the wind that the waves are striking on the forward quarter of the hull instead of lying perpendicular to the wind and waves, and it acts as a steadying sail calming the rolling motion.

Yes, the boat heels over and fore-reaches generally between 0.75 and 1.5 knots and tracking between 60 and 80 degrees into the wind. Enough to avoid drifting directly downwind onto a lee hazard and to even gain some slight upwind advantage.

My last point, and then I will cease to haunt the site with my dementia, is a true and very recent story about the enjoyment and benefits of learning to sail with just a double reefed mainsail, a furled headsail, and a lashed tiller:

Just this last Friday while I was practicing my usual sailing with only a double reefed mainsail, the wind increased unpredictedly and very quickly from about 12 knots to 18 plus knots gusting to 35 knots. Another sailor on a slightly larger boat was sailing single handed with just his large, overlapping genoa (a fairly common practice around here on pleasant days). For some reason I don’t yet know, as the wind rapidly increased he was unable to furl his genoa and during his struggles his sheets and his sail became entangled in his shrouds (and was subsequently destroyed) and while he was struggling singlehanded with this, his boat drifted aground onto the lee shore and eventually he had to be towed off. Meanwhile, my boat was sailing along with a lashed helm on a close reach, fully under control, with no concerns for a flogging and difficult to trim or to furl headsail and sheets, like I was sailing a Sunfish on a balmy and pleasant day.

And as a last example, as I am drafting and preparing to post this: I am out on the open water and was enjoying a calm sunrise sail, but now I can see the approaching rain on the horizon and there are white streaks of spume on the rapidly increasing waves. But no bother, my mainsail was already double reefed, I have just now trimmed it in tight and lashed my tiller hard over to leeward and I have retreated below to comfortably ride out the passing squall. My AquaMaps GPS says I am making 0.8 - 1.2  knots at about 60 degrees upwind pointing toward the open horizon and I would rather be out here enjoying the beauty of the approaching weather than sitting in my slip.



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