Heavy Weather Helming

Talking with Paul, one of the things we both like about sailing is that it can be appreciated on so many levels and from so many persectives. A person can learn the basics—enough to have a good time sailing a dinghy—in just a few hours. One can also spend a lifetime learning about different aspects of seamanship, the finer points of sailing, and the science behind what makes a boat go.

People who sail are only expert relative to each other. The more sailing experience I get, the more true that seems. There isn't any one, no matter what their level of skill, who hasn't been schooled by Mother Nature. That's where experience comes from.

It was interesting hearing different perspectives on the trip here from sailors at dinner last night. Big boat crews have a different experience and use different tactics than small boat crews; multihull crews also have different perspectives and tactics than crews of single-hulled boats. As an example, someone told us about his terrifying round-up (where the boat makes an uncontrolled 180 into the wind) after he tried surfing down the face of a wave. His advice was to never do that.

This guy was clearly sailing a heavy-displacement boat. But in a light boat, surfing waves is part of the game. In fact it's a big part of the appeal of light-displacement boats. In heavy weather, it's going to happen whether you want to or not, so you had better be prepared.  It is exhilarating, very skill-based, and not without risk. The boat quickly reaches planing speed and it's going forward fast with a lot of power in the sails. The helmsman's skill is to keep control of the boat by not rounding up into the wind or jibing accidentally, and to avoid ramming the boat into the back of a wave. Stop the boat quickly like that and the rig tends to keep going—separately.

I've learned a lot about driving a light boat in big seas on this trip thanks to Paul and Ray, Sally, and Mother Nature. It can be terrifying and exhilarating at the same time but either way, a good skill to have—and yet another thing to appreciate about sailing.