Oh Lordy me, what a difference a day can make.
North easterlies force 4 and rising to force 5. Straight down the fairway and nowhere to hide from it given the orientation of the Kingsbridge estuary. Little wavelets and white horses everywhere and an incoming tide against a strong northerly wind made life .........well let’s say difficult and leave it at that!
It started so well. An early rise and I was on the slipway 20 miles away for 8am. No wind, fog burning off, the sun a pale orange disc in the sky slowly rising upwards from behind Tonos point.
Arwen took a bit longer to rig than normal. I’d made some alterations, forgotten the order of other procedures and so it was a good 45 minutes. I was also not rushing because I wanted to make sure everything was OK.
She launched easily, sliding off the rollers despite having rested on them all winter. I was able to ‘rope walk’ her around the mooring pontoon to the port side, where you can then tie up and moor for 30 minutes. Zipped the car up the ramp and around the corner into a parking bay (wonderful when Salcombe is so empty ‘pre season start’; an absolute nightmare as soon as the Easter Holidays begin).
Outboard started after three pulls, having been recently serviced, and off we chugged to the Whitestrands pontoon outside the harbour office, where I was going to pay my harbour dues....but hey they were closed....so......! It was then I noticed the stiffening breeze. It kept me very nicely pinned against the Whitestrands pontoon which requires some moving the boat back to the corner where I could swing her around and then warp her off on a bow spring. It’s note helped by not having a reverse on the outboard.
On entering the main fairway, I knew I was in trouble, the wind came scudding around the corner in huge gusts. I shot off towards Salcombe bar and when in the middle of the fairway, turned head to wind, quickly raising the mizzen. It became obvious straight away that wind was winning over tide. I was going backwards at a rate of knots and it wasn’t safe to get her mainsail up in conditions like this. Arwen is very sensitive to the slightest shift in balance and she will turn broadside to wind pretty quickly, mizzen or no mizzen. So I chugged past a mooring buoy, took a look and then turned in a big sweeping circle and very slowly motored up to it. Down the starboard side it came so that I could grasp it with a hand whilst quickly slipping a prepared mooring warp through the eye. We dropped back 5’ on the mooring and I tied it off at the Samson post.
It was clear, if I was going to attempt sailing in these conditions a reef (or two) would be required and so another first, I reefed Arwen whilst she was moored at a buoy.
After which a cup of hot chocolate to steady the nerves and I raised the main sail. It obediently flapped straight down the centre line but it was obvious even with two reefs, I was going to be overpowered. The Kingsbridge estuary is not the place to be overpowered in. Things happen quickly; you tack and are immediately across to the other side before you know it and she narrows rapidly. At the other end, Wolf rock is very inconveniently blocking part of the harbour entrance, either preventing you from tacking across or more dangerously, waiting for you to be blown down broadsides on to the rocks!
The mainsail came down. Well, everyone says she sails well in these conditions under jib and mizzen. So another first, I actually slipped a mooring under jib and mizzen only. Wow, did we reach across that estuary or what – she shot across. Which then presented another set of dangers because she wouldn’t tack. I tried everything, releasing the mizzen, tightening the mizzen. Taking it right off.....but she would not tack through the wind and so in imminent danger of hitting rocks on the east side, I furled the jib (with alacrity I might add), started the motor and just managed to turn her with 15’ to the rocks....far too close for comfort as far as I was concerned.
I did try jib and mizzen a couple of times more with the same end result and so self preservation took over and I gave up. If any readers know what I was doing wrong, please enlighten me!
I did pootle up estuary to see if it was more sheltered and had to take sanctuary on a mooring behind a larger vessel such was the wind. The newer sporty plastic zippy dinghies coped with no problem although one or two made some spectacular capsizes.
After two hours of to-ing and fro-ing, I’d had enough. There wasn’t going to be any sailing in these conditions within the confines of the moorings and small fairway.
It was worth going out. It was a shake down and testing of rigging systems, reminding oneself of procedures and what went were and so on. I did feel slightly guilty but I came home early and I’ve been able to sort out admin and do some letters to parents etc.
Lesson learned? Next time, check the forecast a bit more closely!
Steve
North easterlies force 4 and rising to force 5. Straight down the fairway and nowhere to hide from it given the orientation of the Kingsbridge estuary. Little wavelets and white horses everywhere and an incoming tide against a strong northerly wind made life .........well let’s say difficult and leave it at that!
It started so well. An early rise and I was on the slipway 20 miles away for 8am. No wind, fog burning off, the sun a pale orange disc in the sky slowly rising upwards from behind Tonos point.
Arwen took a bit longer to rig than normal. I’d made some alterations, forgotten the order of other procedures and so it was a good 45 minutes. I was also not rushing because I wanted to make sure everything was OK.
She launched easily, sliding off the rollers despite having rested on them all winter. I was able to ‘rope walk’ her around the mooring pontoon to the port side, where you can then tie up and moor for 30 minutes. Zipped the car up the ramp and around the corner into a parking bay (wonderful when Salcombe is so empty ‘pre season start’; an absolute nightmare as soon as the Easter Holidays begin).
Outboard started after three pulls, having been recently serviced, and off we chugged to the Whitestrands pontoon outside the harbour office, where I was going to pay my harbour dues....but hey they were closed....so......! It was then I noticed the stiffening breeze. It kept me very nicely pinned against the Whitestrands pontoon which requires some moving the boat back to the corner where I could swing her around and then warp her off on a bow spring. It’s note helped by not having a reverse on the outboard.
On entering the main fairway, I knew I was in trouble, the wind came scudding around the corner in huge gusts. I shot off towards Salcombe bar and when in the middle of the fairway, turned head to wind, quickly raising the mizzen. It became obvious straight away that wind was winning over tide. I was going backwards at a rate of knots and it wasn’t safe to get her mainsail up in conditions like this. Arwen is very sensitive to the slightest shift in balance and she will turn broadside to wind pretty quickly, mizzen or no mizzen. So I chugged past a mooring buoy, took a look and then turned in a big sweeping circle and very slowly motored up to it. Down the starboard side it came so that I could grasp it with a hand whilst quickly slipping a prepared mooring warp through the eye. We dropped back 5’ on the mooring and I tied it off at the Samson post.
It was clear, if I was going to attempt sailing in these conditions a reef (or two) would be required and so another first, I reefed Arwen whilst she was moored at a buoy.
After which a cup of hot chocolate to steady the nerves and I raised the main sail. It obediently flapped straight down the centre line but it was obvious even with two reefs, I was going to be overpowered. The Kingsbridge estuary is not the place to be overpowered in. Things happen quickly; you tack and are immediately across to the other side before you know it and she narrows rapidly. At the other end, Wolf rock is very inconveniently blocking part of the harbour entrance, either preventing you from tacking across or more dangerously, waiting for you to be blown down broadsides on to the rocks!
The mainsail came down. Well, everyone says she sails well in these conditions under jib and mizzen. So another first, I actually slipped a mooring under jib and mizzen only. Wow, did we reach across that estuary or what – she shot across. Which then presented another set of dangers because she wouldn’t tack. I tried everything, releasing the mizzen, tightening the mizzen. Taking it right off.....but she would not tack through the wind and so in imminent danger of hitting rocks on the east side, I furled the jib (with alacrity I might add), started the motor and just managed to turn her with 15’ to the rocks....far too close for comfort as far as I was concerned.
I did try jib and mizzen a couple of times more with the same end result and so self preservation took over and I gave up. If any readers know what I was doing wrong, please enlighten me!
I did pootle up estuary to see if it was more sheltered and had to take sanctuary on a mooring behind a larger vessel such was the wind. The newer sporty plastic zippy dinghies coped with no problem although one or two made some spectacular capsizes.
After two hours of to-ing and fro-ing, I’d had enough. There wasn’t going to be any sailing in these conditions within the confines of the moorings and small fairway.
It was worth going out. It was a shake down and testing of rigging systems, reminding oneself of procedures and what went were and so on. I did feel slightly guilty but I came home early and I’ve been able to sort out admin and do some letters to parents etc.
Lesson learned? Next time, check the forecast a bit more closely!
Steve
Pity the guilt couldn't have been off-set by a more happy and enjoyable sail.
ReplyDeleteInability to tack under those conditions must have been scary! I can't work that out...Do you build up a bit of speed before pushing away the helm, and then keep the jib backed until you are through the eye? I guess that a flagging jib won't carry you through. But I assume you've tried all that, you are much more experienced than I am in a yawl.
We really appreciate sharing your experiences Steve. Keep up the great work.
Rob
It was hairy on occasions. The narrow kingsbridge estuary isn't the place to find out you can't do things!
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I turned into the wind to tack, the jib started flapping violently and depowered itself. I did try every combination of releasing mizzen, tightening mizzen, backing jib etc - she just would not go around. i did wonder, and it is stupid I know, at one point whether wind opposed against tide on her hull were actually cancelling each other out so she was sort of in a limbo.....silly I know...but at one point it really did feel like that - tide trying to push her into estuary and wind doing its damnest to push her out!
sadly I'm not that experienced ina yawl and there in may lie the problem!
good to hear from you rob - stay in touch and let me know when you launch annie - really looking ofrward to it and your views on sailing a navigator yawl
steve
Hi Steve,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you were beam reaching instead of beating into the wind just before you were tacking. That would explain the jib de-powering the moment you initiate the tack. The boat then also has a long way to swing through the eye of the wind. In choppy conditions you may not have sufficient momentum to take you all the way around. Maybe you should try hardening up the jib and heading up into the wind a bit more before the tack.
Just speculating...
Regards
Marius
Strange, jib and jigger should be quite handy. You'd want the mizzen sheeted in coming up into the wind with the jib eased, then backing the jib and slacking the mizzen as she comes through the eye.
ReplyDeleteFailing that, next time you might try gybing around (wearing) rather than frantically dousing sail and firing the engine.
marius, dave
ReplyDeletewhat you both say makes a lot of sense now!
didn't think about gybing Dave - had me hands full as it was but it makes sense as an alternative. Marius, i think you may be right about the beam reach. The jib was as hard as I could get it but actually the wind and tide combined probably did mean I was beam reaching more than beating
good points Gents and thanks for your help and advice. Marius - good to hear from you again.
steve