Heavy Weather for Beginners

[Sailor Tim]

I wrote this article for my Yacht Club's library.
It is intended to be a geard towards begginers that sail primarily on Lake Michigan in Sloop rigged production boats.

Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is welcomed.
Thanks,
TK


Heavy Weather Tactics

“Wow, that was a scary! Must have been about a 40 knot gust!”

So what do you do when the winds and seas pick up to extreme conditions?
It happens, it happens to all of us. What we do is the key. The following are a couple of tactics that we employ. I am not saying they are the only ones and I am not saying they are necessarily right. You might disagree. What I am saying is this is what I do. Right or wrong, weather you agree or not, these are some of the theories that I practice onboard our vessel.

After you have gained some experience, you too will be comfortable when the wind and seas pick up.

“So how do I get that experience?”
It’s really simple; take it all in small steps. Start slow, go on other peoples’ boats. Work your way up to the point that you feel comfortable in heavy conditions. Find out what the boat can handle (I think you will find that in most cases that boat can handle more than the crew can). If you’re a complete beginner, sail only in light air say 10 knots or so. When you are comfortable there, sail in 15, than 20, than 25, etc. Soon you will get the feel for the boat and how much she can handle.

First, try to avoid these situations as much as possible.
Just like we talked about in the “Lightening” discussion, your tactics should include avoidance if at all possible.
I know there are times when we want to be out there for special events and such, but if it’s not necessary and the conditions are questionable, than sometimes the best decision is to simply stay put securely anchored or in a harbor. Really, you have to ask yourself, “Do we need to be out there?” Often times the answer is no, there is no “Need”. Desire and want, yes. But do we really have to go out? In most occasions, it’s probably not necessary.

You can usually tell when you are going to get hit with a big punch. There will be signs.
Dark sky, cloud cover, lightening, thunder; you may even be able to detect the high winds as they make their approach on the water. Those with many years of experience will often be able to tell when a gust is coming. How? They can actually see it.

Your VHF radio can also be a big factor in predicting winds and gusts. I know we give these guys a lot of crap, and they deserve it. But sometimes they are right.

So what do we do?
For the sake of our discussion, let’s limit the talk to sloop-rigged boats with Jib and Main only. We will not talk about flying Spinnakers or racing which is a different ball game.


So, you are out sailing, it’s a nice day, the winds are not too strong and you are feeling good. You have all of the sail area up that you can possibly carry and you are sailing nicely along at about 6 knots, than the winds begin to build.

There are two things you should notice with a gradual building of the winds; one is what is referred to as “Weather Helm”, and two is that the boat will begin to heel more.

Weather Helm is the term used to describe the winds affects on the sails and hull that actually pulls the bow of the boat towards the wind.

From Wikipedia…Weather helm is the tendency of sailing vessels to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced helm that requires pulling the tiller to windward (i.e. 'to weather') in order to counteract the effect.
So the winds have begun to gradually build. The boat is heeling over more and more (this will actually depend on the point of sail you are on. But in most cases will be true, except for possible sailing dead down wind.) and you are experinceing more and more weather helm; that is to say, you have to turn the rudder away from the wind to keep the boat pointing in the dierction you desire to go.
So now what is happening on our vessel? As the winds build and you are experincing more and more weather helm and more heel, two things are going on that are actually Slowing you down.
1) As you are heeled over further and further, more drag is produced by the surface of the hull going through the water.
On some of todays high tech boats, this affect is minimal or actually the speed increases with heel, but for most of us and on our production boats, what we are doing is actually slowing us down by exposing more wetted surface to the water which in turn causes more drag.
2) To compensate for Wether Helm our rudder must be hard over to leeward. This is done to keep the boat pointed in the direction we want to go and to keep us from “Rounding Up”. “Rounding Up” is the term we use when talking about excessive weather helm. Excessive to the point that the boat will actually turn into the wind and into irons. When we have turned the boat into irons with the bow of the boat directly into the wind, we are no longer sailing and the boat will stall.
With the tiller or wheel hard over to stop from “Rounding Up” and to over come excessive “Weather Helm”, the rudder is actually acting as a brake in the water. That is to say, the water no longer has a smooth flow around the rudder and the water must be pushed out of the way before it can go past the rudder. The rudder hard over will actually slow us down. We call this “Rudder Breaking.”
“Rudder Braking” is not something we want to do, the disire is to achieve a smooth flow of water around, past, or over the rudder.

When we are sailing with the rudder dragging through the water, our tiller is hard over to the wind or the wheel is hard over to the lee; we are sailing with a term that is known as “Unbalanced” or “Unbalanced Helm”.
Our goal is bring the helm back in balance so that the rudder is centered as much as possible when maintaining a straight course through the water and only requiring slight pressure on the helm. If you are wrestling with the wheel or tiller and it feels like you are lifting 100 pounds to turn the helm, than you are not in “Balance”. You should be looking for “Fingertip Control”, not always possible, but that is the goal. Idealy a boat with properly balanced helm and properly trimed sails will sail itself. This is what we should be lookng for each and every time we step on board.
If you have ever read any books about Single Handed Circumnavigations by the great Joshua Slocum or Robin Knox-Johnston, they talk about “Lashing” the wheel or helm, balancing the sails, and sailing for days on end with out having to touch the wheel. This happened long before anybody had heard of Auto Pilots.
(Both of these Authors are great reading material and I highly recommend them for any sailing enthusist. Slocum was the first to solo circumnavigate and Knox-Johnston was the first to solo circumnavigate nonstop)
So how do we correct Weather Helm, Unbalnced Helm, and excessive heeling?
This could take a while, but I will start with the basics.
The first thing we do is move the traveller down.
Move the traveller on the main sail towards the lee or away from the wind and you should find a more balanced helm. It is amazing to me on our sailing vessel “Julianna” how much this actually works. Simply move the traveller down and the helm reacts entierly different.
Flatten the sails to depower them as much as possible. The nice curved sail shape is what gives the sail it’s power, reduce the curve and flatten them to depower them.
How?
On the main sail; Max outhaul tension, Max Halyard tension, Max boom vang tension, and Max Cunningham tension (if you have one). On the fore sail; Move the jib car leads Back on their tracks, this closes the leach of the jib and helps to depower. Also, go Max Backstay tension (If you have it) to flatten the foresail.
Not all sailboats have all of the above mentioned Running Rigging. Our boat for example does not have an adjustable backstay. But, if we had one I would use it. Use what ever means you have on your boat to try and flatten or depower the sails.
After flattening the sails and your still overpowered, next, ease the main sheet and spill some wind. Not so much that the sail is flogging, but enough that you will see small luffs in the leading edge or front half of the main sail.

Is there still too much weather helm? Try to gently ease the Genny and spill just a little bit of air from her. Just like the main, you don’t want the sail to flog but you are simply looking for little flutters in the front edge of the sail.

You can also try what is referred to as “Pinching”. That is to say, sail a little higher to the wind than you normally would. This too will help spill some air out of the Foresail.

So, we have tried everything; we moved the traveler, we flattened our sails or de-powered the sails to the best of our ability, we tried to spill some air, we even pinched our course sailing higher to the wind and we still are out of control and we still have heavy weather helm. What is next? Answer, reefing your sails.

What is reefing? Reefing your sails is a term used in sailing that simply means to reduce your sail area. Many times for the inexperience sailor or the new sailor, this seems contradictory to typical thoughts. Typically we think, “I want all the sail up I can carry to go faster”. This is not always true and in the case of sailing in extreme and high winds, the boat will often sail faster after sail area is reduced.

Remember we discussed above how the boat slows down with the rudder acting as a break in the water and how excessive healing leads to more drag through the water. Well by reducing sail area (after trying some of the above techniques) we can eliminate the excessive healing and the rudder break, which will actually allow us to sail faster with less sail area up. I know it does not sound correct, but if you try it some day, I am sure you will find it to be true.

The other advantages that reefing provides is that it gives stress relief to the crew.
Sailing through heavy seas and high winds can get very tiresome and can be very stressful. Reducing sail and heel can make the ride more comfortable and enjoyable by all, especially if you are on the water for a long period of time.

Reefing also reduces stress on the boat. Sails and running rigging are under extreme loads when sailing. Have you ever sheeted in on your sails than checked the tension on them? Often times you will find that they are as tight as a guitar string and if you were to pluck them, they will actually vibrate and make a sound like a bass guitar. Try it sometime. Reefing will reduce some of these loads that are on your running rigging.

Sails also suffer the same types of heavy loads. Seams and stitching get worn and threads become frayed. Over the life of a sail all of these will deteriorate and break down. Reefing your sails in high winds will reduce the stresses on them and prolong the life of your sails.

There are many types of reefing systems on different types of boats, slab reefing, jiffy reefing, single line reefing, double line reefing, roller reefing, etc. Your boat should be set up with some type of reefing system and you should practice reefing your sails before it becomes necessary to do it. If you have never reefed your sails before ask somebody with experience to show you how it’s done. Do this in the protection of a harbor before you go out on the lake. Do it tied up to your mooring can or in a slip or on the wall. Practice first in a stationary place, than go out on a nice day and practice it while under way. Practice until you are comfortable with your boats reefing system so that when you are required to reef, you will know how it’s done.



Some times reducing sail area is simply done by dropping one of the two sails (on a sloop rigged boat). At times I have sailed with just the main up. Other times I have sailed with just the jib up. I find that if I want to sail with one sail only that our boat sails better under the foresail. Your boat might be the exact opposite and sail better under mainsail only. Experiment and see how your boat reacts.

I will not get into specifics on how to reef. As stated previously, different boats are set up differently. Just make sure you know how and when to reef. When to reef is just as important as how to reef. My boat weighs just less than 14,000 lbs. I can expect to handle more winds than say a boat that weighs 8,000 lbs. Some boats are more tender than others. Tender boats as a general rule will have to reef earlier. Some boats have full-length keels with as much ballast as I have in total displacement. These guys will be fully canvassed when I am reefing sails. You need to get to know your boat. Time and experience are your best teachers. I start to reef my sails at around 18 – 20 knots and when on a beat. Our boat is a little tender for a 36-foot boat. Your point of sail will also determine when you reef. Generally on a Broad Reach you can carry more sail. When beating to wind is when you will want reduced sail area.

If you’re sitting in a harbor and there are heavy winds present and you still are going to venture out, reef your sails before leaving the harbor. It’s always easier to reef when standing still than it is to reef while under way. Also, it is always easier to shake out a reef and to raise more sail area than it is to tuck in a reef. So if you know it’s going to be dicey before you leave, reef your sails.

Another phrase that sailor use and one that we hear a lot, is “Reef Early” If you’re thinking its time to reef, it’s probably already too late. Reef Early and be prepared for the winds before they hit. There is nothing worse than trying to wrestle with a sail as you are reducing it in a big blow. “Reef Early.”

Reefing is generally started with the main sail and is most often associated with the main sail, but what about the head sail. Most of today’s production boats carry Roller Furling Gear on the headsail. This became a standard by most boat manufacturers sometime in the mid eighty’s. If your boat has Roller Furling gear on the head sail, reducing sail area in the jib is as easy as rolling in some sail with the use of your furling line. Be aware though, when reducing head sail area on a boat with Roller Furling Sails, your sail shape becomes distorted and nasty. I do it all the time and the boat sails fine, but my head sail looks like a rolled up newspaper. You should find on your headsail two marks where the sail maker wants you to fly the sail for best performance. Roll the sail to one of these marks and look for that Balanced Helm that we have been talking about.


Some boats don’t have Roller Furling Head sails. What do these sailors do to reduce headsail area? The answer for them is that they generally have to carry multiple sails and have a headsail inventory for different wind conditions. To reduce headsail area on a boat which uses hanked on headsails, the bigger sail must come down and replaced with a smaller sail. Although it is not as convenient as having roller-furling gear, many sailors swear by hanked on headsails. Hanked on headsails do not suffer from the terrible sail shape associated with rolled up furling sails. Boats that use hanked on sails generally should carry a minimum of two head sails, three would be nice; A large Genoa usually around 160 percent, a standard jib of around 110 percent, and a storm jib which will actually be about the size of a handkerchief.

By changing headsails or reducing head sail area and reefing the main sail we once again are looking for that balanced helm. A nicely balanced helm will relive stresses on the boat and rigging and make the ride more enjoyable to all crewmembers and reduce crew fatigue. Remember, when looking for a balanced helm along with reefing we also must obtain proper sail trim, just because we reduced are sail area does not mean that we can ignore our trim.

Wonderful everything is great right? What if we still cannot control the boat? There comes a time when running under Bare Poles maybe your only option. This should be done only as a last resort and only under dire circumstances.

Running under bare poles can be dangerous and the boat will be very unsteady and have a tendency to roll. It also requires plenty of open sea room. I have never resorted to such tactics myself. Running under bare poles is simply bringing all sail down and letting the boat run before the wind; drift if you will. Of course, it can only be done if the winds are going to carry you to open water and it cannot be done if the winds will be pushing you onshore. This is also what is known as a lee shore. (In extreme wind conditions it’s always best to try and avoid a lee shore)

I always believe in keeping up sail area to help steady the boat. Even if you feel the need to start your engine (which is always an option), I believe it is best to keep some sail area up; reduced as necessary, but still some sail area should be kept up to reduce the side to side rolling. The forces of the wind acting on the sail will hold the boat steady from side to side. A sailboat with no such force acting on it will roll uncomfortably. Again, if you feel the need to motor and are uncomfortable with the lake conditions, by all means, motor to where you need to go or to get off the lake, but during the time you are motoring it is my opinion that leaving a bit of sail up will make the motor more comfortable.

Those with much more experience and those that are familiar with sailing in “Blue Water” might also resort to the use of drogues and sea anchors. These devise are once again used to steady and or slow the boat. I am not familiar with their use and frankly I have never found the need for them on the Great Lakes, I therefore do not feel competent to comment on them. I only mention them so that you at least know that they exist. Many resources are available where drogues and seas anchors can be researched.

What if we are out in open water and we simply want to take a break from all this wind? Than I suggest you heave to. Heaving to is simply stopping the boat with the sails up.
Heaving to can give you a break for many reasons, but most importantly to rest the crew.
Although it may not be possible in extreme conditions, Heaving to can have the much-desired affect of relieving the crew. Heaving to is achieved by back winding the jib sail and lashing the helm. There is an excellent video dedicated to Heaving to by Alex in our library. Watching the video will do a much better job of explaining it than I can. If you’re tired and you need a break, heave to for a while till you are better rested.

I would like to now talk a bit about sail handling. At some point we are going to need to change course and come about.

Tacking is really no different in high winds, but gybing can be dangerous. When sailing down wind or broad reaching, the boom will be sheeted out to almost the spreaders, when we gybe the boat, the boom has to swing across the entire arc from one spreader to the other. This can be a very violent, especially in the high winds that we are talking about.

If we feel we can safely gybe, but are right on the edge of what might be considered safe, try the following tactic. First center the boom by sheeting in hard before turning the helm.

Repeat, Sheet in boom to center before the gybe, turn helm over bringing stern to wind on new course, sheet out the boom and trim on new course all the while tending to the jib as normal.

Just be careful when doing this as when the boat is steered through the gybe, the main sail will immediately fill on the new course, which will immediately give you heavy weather helm, and the boat will want to go to the wind. The helmsman and the sail trimmer have to work together. The helms man has to keep the boat from rounding up and the trimmer has to be ready to sheet out once the turn is completed.

If we feel it is just too dangerous to gybe, and there will be times; shorthanded, inexperienced, or simply just too much wind, try the Chicken Gybe. The Chicken Gybe is really a tack instead of a gybe. Remember I said tacking is really no different in high winds? Well if we want to gybe and we don’t feel safe, we tack.

Say we are broad reaching on a Port Reach with the wind over the Port quarter and the sails on the Starboard. In a Chicken Gybe we would turn the boat to Port all of the way through the wind so that the bow passes through the wind like on a tack, as the wind passes to the other side bring the sails over, continue to turn till we reach our new heading. Trim the sails as normal for a broad reach and we are done. It ends up being about a 270-degree turn. There you have it, The Chicken Gybe.

Another thought when out in heavy weather is to simply alter or change your course. This may not always be possible, especially if we have a destination we need to obtain. But out on a day sail with nowhere to go, it might be helpful. If you are on a beat and it is uncomfortable, fall off to a broad reach and see what happens. A beam reach is the point of sail where we have the most sail area exposed to the wind. Although it is one of the fastest points of sail, I try to avoid it in heavy conditions. I generally find that broad reaching is much more comfortable and that a broad reach is the point of sail in which the boat can handle more wind.

We have talked a bit about controlling the boat and making the sail more comfortable for the crew, but what about the waves? Let’s face it, when we are in high wind conditions we generally are going to experience high seas. I say generally because it is possible to have high winds and little seas. These you can find when sailing close to a land breeze where the wind is blowing straight off of the shoreline you are sailing. This is every sailors dream. Usually when sailing in high winds we are going to find those big waves that Lake Michigan is so famous for.

What do we do in big waves? True fully… not a lot.
Certain tactics can be employed by the helms man to adjust course, such as turning the bow down wind or away from the crest just prior to each wave. Another thing we can do is turn the boat into the trough or parallel with the waves so that the waves are more on the beam of the vessel. This will resort in more of an up and down motion as opposed to a pounding motion. But, if we need to get upwind and we have waves on the nose, if you continue to adjust your course, you are never going to reach your destination.

Big following seas are no picnic either. I have a dislike for big following seas. Following seas can give you what is best described as a corkscrew effect. As a wave approaches on the quarter; say the Port Quarter, it will first push the stern to Starboard which in turn pushes the bow to port, as the wave passes under the boat the boat falls into the trough and settles in, than as the wave continues on it pushes the bow to starboard which in turn pushed the stern to Port. With a following sea or with a sea on the quarter, the boat is always being pushed from one side to the other like a wind vane. Add to that the up and down motion from the waves and the boat feels like it is twisting; the famous Corkscrew effect. I hate it.

Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. If the waves are too uncomfortable, well than this is the time you should be thinking about getting off the lake, or you should think about staying in port safely tied up somewhere. One of the best things about sailing on Lake Michigan is that you are very rarely more than 20, 30, or 40 miles from a safe port. Although it can seem like an eternity if you are trying to sail 40 miles to reach a safe harbor, the same cannot be said of sailing on the oceans.

Coming into Port is where you may actually have some difficulties. A lot of times, open water is your best friend but we all have to get in sometime. Most of the people here sail out of Monroe Harbor. Let me tell you, Monroe Harbor is a piece of cake compared to some of the other marinas and harbors I have been in. During high winds and seas at Monroe with the outer break-wall, Navy Pier, and the Museum Peninsula it should always be possible to find some protection. If the winds are from the North, duck in behind Navy Pier; from the East; the outer Break-wall; the South, head over to the Planetarium and drop your sails in relatively protected waters to motor in the last bit to your mooring.

The same is not true in other ports along the lake. The entrance to our harbor is two parallel piers that jut out from land. These pier heads have a tendency to funnel the waves into the channel. When approaching the channel you must be very careful in high seas. Again. I like to keep some sail up to keep the boat steady and to stop the roll.

Also, it is very important to watch your water depths in this type of approach or departure. If you have a 6-foot swell running and the typical water depths are 8 feet, well than the bottom of that swell is going to be around 5 feet. Please, don’t ask me how I know these things. I put us in a very dangerous situation when leaving a port under just such circumstances. We touched the bottom twice and luckily did not get stuck hard. That could have been disastrous.

One of the worst conditions I have been on the lake recently happened just last year at the conclusion of the Air and Water Show. Those of you that were out on the lake or in the harbor will remember it well. It will be one of those sails that you never forget.

(It’s the crazy nasty sails from hell that you never forget; Cold, numbing, rain soaked, spray in the face, decks awash with lake water, storm riddled, lightning, heavy weather, gusty winds. Those are the sails you never forget. The sun filled lazy summer day sails cruising along at three knots are all soon forgotten. Don’t believe me? Just ask Joey and others about the Michigan City sail from 2004. I am sure they all remember it as if it happened yesterday)

You remember last years Air Show on Sunday afternoon? The day was crazy. Wind and rain came and went all day during the Air Show. When it was over, it got real dark and nasty looking. I had guests on board that had never sailed and I was not going to let a little threatening weather spoil the day. We raised the sails after the show had concluded and began to enjoy ourselves. I knew from the sky that it was going to rain, and rain it did. It rained so hard you could not see.

I pointed the boat to open water to get away from the shoreline and North Avenue Beach. I purposely did this as I anticipated some high winds and I wanted sea room and maneuverability.

When it rained, it rained in sheets and the winds did gust a bit. I still had all sails up but was ready to reef them. I sailed a broad reach under pouring rains and gusty conditions. Every thing was under control. I than dropped the main and sailed under Genny only still broad reaching.

Suddenly I looked and I saw a gust coming that was very intense. I called out the gust to everybody and told them to prepare for some nasty stuff. Yes, after you gain some experience, you can actually see the wind on the surface of the water.

The gust hit us hard. We rounded up with a very heavy weather helm and only the Genny flying in pouring rains and very limited visibility. I believe the winds had to be 40knots or so. The Genny started flogging and the rigging was shaking violently. I asked for help and as fast as we could we rolled up the Genny to Storm size. Once we had the Genny reefed and we got everything back under control, we were able to continue sailing at around 5 knots in extremely windy conditions with only a small jib flying. The pouring rains and high winds continued for about an hour if I remember.

We sailed home and everybody was thrilled to have been able to experience it. Like I said, a sail you will never forget.

The very next weekend, we were scheduled to return back to Holland Michigan from Chicago. This trip is 85 Nautical Miles and we generally figure it will take us between 14 –18 hours; it has taken as long as 20 hours with head winds. Our departure was scheduled so that we could attend the Commodore’s Ball on Saturday evening and so that we would arrive in our home port in time to get home for work on the following Monday. All day long I was monitoring the VHF Radio regarding what type of conditions we could expect, and all day long the radio was saying strong North winds diminishing overnight.

All day long I asked other boaters that had just come off the lake what they were experiencing, and all day long each and every one of them told me it was bad out there. But on this occasion I was determined to get home and I was being very stubborn about it and the VFH was still calling for diminishing overnight.

We left that night around 10 O’clock. As soon as we cleared the outer break-wall we were on a roller coaster ride. Strong North winds sustained around 20 knots brought heavy seas of 6 –8 feet. We sailed heavily reefed and beat into wind and seas for hours. The boat speeds were extremely high for our boat.

As I said, we were on a beat and sheeted in tight. The heel was around 25 degrees or so and the helm was fairly well balanced, but we were taking the seas right on the nose. The bow was a constant wash of spray and on many occasions the bow went under the waves; I like to call this “going Submarine”. In the cockpit, sitting at the helm, which is the furthest aft place to sit, it was very uncomfortable. The combination of the speeds we were attaining and the heavy seas and the fact that we were sailing a beat had the effect of a catapult on the stern. Several times I was actually lifted out of my seat by the motion of the boat. I had to find a seat closer to the center of gravity, which was by the companionway hatch.

Down below in the cabin was no picnic either. Julie was plastered against the low side on the settee for hours on end. Moving about below was not easy. Once she found a comfortable spot to sit, she did not move.

I was excited because although we were beating, it appeared that out course was going to bring us straight home and with the speeds we were sailing, I thought we should make the trip in less than 12 hours.

That change after about 3 hours when the winds shifted to North East. Now all we could do was follow the wind and continue on our beat. Our course now was bringing us in well short of our destination and it appeared that when we approached the Michigan shoreline that we would be about in the vicinity of St. Joe’s.

We sailed like this for ten hours. Me having a fun time and proud of our little boat and what she could handle, Julie not very happy because it was impossible for her to move around.

When we reached the Michigan shore, the winds began to diminish just like the VHF forecast had said they would, only the forecast has off by about 12 hours. The winds diminished but the seas continued to roll with a heavy swell leftover from the previous 24 hours. After 10 hours of this type of sailing and another 10 to get home with the heavy swell still remaining, we decided to simply pull into St. Joe’s and try again the following weekend.

Ten hours of sailing in heavy seas and high winds. Like I said, it was a sail I will never forget.





I think it goes with out saying, but safety MUST be our number one priority. PFD’s, Jacklines, etc. whatever you have on board to make yourself safe must be utilized. Unfortunately, accidents do happen and the Great Lakes can be very dangerous.
If you don’t have to go out, don’t. Or if you feel you experience level is not up to the challenge than stay in port.

You are going to want to have good foul weather clothing. You can expect to be in boarding seas and you are going to get wet. Foulies, Gloves, Hats, and etc. you should have some and you’re going to want to be protected from the elements.

I have touched on most of the basics; don’t go out if you don’t have to go out or if your experience level is not up to the challenge, move the traveler down when the wind starts to build, reef or reduce sail area and look for good sail trim to properly balance the helm, helm balance is the key to eliminating “Rudder Breaking”, reduce heel to reduce drag, Heave to if necessary, always leave some sail area up to stop the boat from rolling especially when motoring, if gibing in heavy weather try the Chicken Gybe, look for sea room and maneuverability; get far away from other boats and boat traffic, avoid a lee shore, expect big seas, and most importantly be safe!

If you need more information regarding points of sail, irons, heaving to, gybing, tacking, etc, look in the PMYC site Library and Sailing Master’s Corner. There are wonderful contributions from various members that can be very helpful.

Sailing in heavy weather can be very exciting and you will be amazed at the boat speeds you can obtain. Start slow and work your way up the ladder. Soon you will be out in 25- knot winds and 8-foot seas getting soaked with sea spray. Really, does it get any better?

[sailingdog]

One thing I can recommend is going out in heavier weather with a friend aboard who has heavy weather experience. This is especially useful if you normally singlehand the boat, since you can have your friend just observe, and if you need help or become uncomfortable with the heavier conditions, they can always help out...

Also, practice reefing in light weather conditions until you can do so fairly reliably and quickly.

I'd also point out that moving the jib fairleads aft will OPEN the leech, since it increases tension on the foot of the sail... not close it. This allows the wind to blow off the top of the sail... while flattening the lower third of the sail, depowering it.

If the boat has an adjustable backstay, tensioning it will help flatten both the headsail, by reducing sag in the forestay, and the main sail by introducing curve into the mast, especially on a fractionally rigged boat.

On some older designs, you can reef the headsail much the same way you reef a mainsail, as the head sail will have reefing points in it. This is easier than hanking on a different sail, but not as convenient as a roller reefing sail. However, roller reefing starts to really lose shape after about 30% of the sail has been reefed. A 150% genny won't reef well much down below the 100% size or so. If you have a smaller headsail, setting it up before heading out is probably a wise idea if heavier winds are forecasted.

Also, don't cleat the mainsheet in heavy weather. A cleated mainsheet might stick long enough to knock the boat down...

One other thing to do before heavy weather hits, especially if you're on a longer passage... make some hot food and drinks and store them in vacuum insulated carafes, so that you can get something hot to eat or drink without risking cooking in heavier weather conditions.

PS. Nicely done, but you need to run spell check Tim... really....

[Sailor Tim]

Thanks for your input Dan, I thought I did discuss most of your points like going on other people's boats and to practise reefing but what did I miss on Spell Check.

[sailingdog]

My point was going out on your own boat with an experienced sailor, so that you get familiar with how your boat acts in heavy weather, which is far more practical a way to learn to sail in heavy weather... learning on other boats helps, but not as much as seeing how your own boat handles it.

Thanks for your input Dan, I thought I did discuss most of your points like going on other people's boats and to practise reefing but what did I miss on Spell Check.

As for spelling errors, here are a few corrections highlighted in context:

Heavy Weather Tactics

“Wow, that was a scary! Must have been about a 40 knot gust!”

So what do you do when the winds and seas pick up to extreme conditions?
It happens, it happens to all of us. What we do is the key. The following are a couple of tactics that we employ. I am not saying they are the only ones and I am not saying they are necessarily right. You might disagree. What I am saying is this is what I do. Right or wrong, whether you agree or not, these are some of the theories that I practice onboard our vessel.

After you have gained some experience, you too will be comfortable when the wind and seas pick up.

“So how do I get that experience?”
It’s really simple; take it all in small steps. Start slow, go on other peoples’ boats. Work your way up to the point that you feel comfortable in heavy conditions. Find out what the boat can handle (I think you will find that in most cases that boat can handle more than the crew can). If you’re a complete beginner, sail only in light air say 10 knots or so. When you are comfortable there, sail in 15, than 20, than 25, etc. Soon you will get the feel for the boat and how much she can handle.

First, try to avoid these situations as much as possible.
Just like we talked about in the “Lightning” discussion, your tactics should include avoidance if at all possible.
I know there are times when we want to be out there for special events and such, but if it’s not necessary and the conditions are questionable, than sometimes the best decision is to simply stay put securely anchored or in a harbor. Really, you have to ask yourself, “Do we need to be out there?” Often times the answer is no, there is no “Need”. Desire and want, yes. But do we really have to go out? In most occasions, it’s probably not necessary.

You can usually tell when you are going to get hit with a big punch. There will be signs.
Dark sky, cloud cover, lightning, thunder; you may even be able to detect the high winds as they make their approach on the water. Those with many years of experience will often be able to tell when a gust is coming. How? They can actually see it.

Your VHF radio can also be a big factor in predicting winds and gusts. I know we give these guys a lot of crap, and they deserve it. But sometimes they are right.

So what do we do?
For the sake of our discussion, let’s limit the talk to sloop-rigged boats with Jib and Main only. We will not talk about flying Spinnakers or racing which is a different ball game.


So, you are out sailing, it’s a nice day, the winds are not too strong and you are feeling good. You have all of the sail area up that you can possibly carry and you are sailing nicely along at about 6 knots, than the winds begin to build.

There are two things you should notice with a gradual building of the winds; one is what is referred to as “Weather Helm”, and two is that the boat will begin to heel more.

Weather Helm is the term used to describe the wind's effects on the sails and hull that actually pulls the bow of the boat towards the wind.

From Wikipedia…Weather helm is the tendency of sailing vessels to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced helm that requires pulling the tiller to windward (i.e. 'to weather') in order to counteract the effect.
So the winds have begun to gradually build. The boat is heeling over more and more (this will actually depend on the point of sail you are on. But in most cases will be true, except for possible sailing dead down wind.) and you are experiencing more and more weather helm; that is to say, you have to turn the rudder away from the wind to keep the boat pointing in the direction you desire to go.
So now what is happening on our vessel? As the winds build and you are experiencing more and more weather helm and more heel, two things are going on that are actually Slowing you down.
1) As you are heeled over further and further, more drag is produced by the surface of the hull going through the water.
On some of todays high tech boats, this effect is minimal or actually the speed increases with heel, but for most of us and on our production boats, what we are doing is actually slowing us down by exposing more wetted surface to the water which in turn causes more drag.
2) To compensate for Weather Helm our rudder must be hard over to leeward. This is done to keep the boat pointed in the direction we want to go and to keep us from “Rounding Up”. “Rounding Up” is the term we use when talking about excessive weather helm. Excessive to the point that the boat will actually turn into the wind and into irons.....

[jackdale]

A couple of quick points.

1) I agree with SD's comments so far.

2) My advise for reefing: If you ask yourself the question, "Should I reef?"; the answer is "Yes."

3) A boat with an experienced crew should be reefed sooner than you think.

4) Use Word or something else to spell check. There is a spell checker that can be downloaded for forums such as this.

5) Furling a genoa moves the centre of effort of the sail in exactly the wrong direction - up and forward. A storm jib, especially a staysail, will move the C of E down and aft.

I have some notes on heavy weather preparation. Let me know if you want them. I think some of them were posted in the the early thread about the passage to Florida. (actually that was passage planning)

Simply getting these thoughts down is of tremendous benefit to the author. The anecdotes can be really helpful to the readers.

[Bubb2]

A couple of quick points.

3) A boat with an experienced crew shoild be reefed sooner tyan you think.

4) Use Word or something else to spell check. There is I a spell checker that can be downloaded for forums such as this.

I couldn't find those in Webster's.

[jackdale]

Some notes (not all original, I cannot remember all of the sources)

Heavy Weather Preparation
Prepare early and thoroughly

• On deck
  • Turn engine on and charge batteries
  • Reduce sail and/or heave to
  • Check that the portholes and hatches are tight, and put drop boards in companionway
  • Check everything on deck is secure: tie downs, halyards, dinghy, etc.
  • Put chafing gear on windward sheets
  • Lash the mainsail to the boom, and lash boom to boom gallows
  • Turn dorades to leeward, or remove and put on covers
  • Secure cockpit lockers
  • Prepare to deploy the sea anchor
  • Bring in cockpit cushions and stow below
  • Remove bimini and dodger to reduce windage
  • If possible, check on deck for chafe, etc., periodically
• Below
  • Take seasick pills and give everyone a supply of vomit bags (ziplocks)
  • Review position, and navigation plan and hazards
  • Prepare hot food, some hand food, and hot water. Fill everyone's water bottle
  • Bring loose and unneeded items from deck/cockpit and store below
  • Eat a hot meal
  • Keep a watch, and maintain the log and plot current
  • Close all seacocks except for cockpit drains
  • Get current weather forecast and decide on strategy
  • Keep radar watch if everyone is below and there's enough power
  • Get out and have handy:
    • Vomit bags
    • 2 large buckets
    • Large plastic see-through bags and wire ties
    • Spare set of clothes for each person
    • Towels, pillows, and blankets
    • Chafing gear
    • Extra bungies and line
  • Stowage checklist
    • Remove all potentially loose items and bag them in double see-through big plastic bags. Store under table, in the shower, in sail locker, or on the V-berth
    • Close the door to the V-berth and lock it closed from the cabin
    • Stuff towels or cushions in food lockers and galley equipment spaces.
    • Put the extra bungies on all the shelves, radio equipment, etc.
    • Put positive locking (or duct tape) on all lockers, lids, floorboards, nav station desk, etc.
    • Put cockpit cushions on cabin floor for third berth if needed

[jackdale]

I couldn't find those in Webster's.

Thanks

Fixed.

[sailingdog]

You're using the wrong version...

I couldn't find those in Webster's.

I'd point out that the unlamented and missing Albert's thread on Heavy Weather has a lot of really good information in it regarding this specific subject if you ignore all the posts by Albert himself. You can find it here.

[Jade]

…if you ignore all the posts by Albert himself.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot.

With apologies to Mr. Edgar:

"Albert didn't think much of the Ocean:
The waves, they were fiddlin' and small,
There was no wrecks and nobody drownded,
Fact, nothing to laugh at at all."

[T34C]

One thought Tim, since this is geared to beginers. If they have tensioned outhaul, halyard, cunningham, vang, and backstay, moved lead cars aft and are letting sails begin to luff (fishermans reef), they have probably waited too long to start reefing. I agree with your proceedures, and realise that's the order you use on your boat (mine too), but you started out discussing tactics for beginners. I would suggest a beginner reef sooner while conditions are safer to move about on deck.

[Sailor Tim]

Great comments guys, I appreciate it. Keep them coming.

[Giulietta]

THANK YOU TIM!!

A most excellent useful write up...I think the mods should make this one a sticky!!

Excellent post...you are an asset to the community!

Thank you

Alex

[jackdale]

Hi Tim

Alex's suggestion is a great one.

Some additional comments after a more thorough read.

Become your weather forecaster

• Barometer - I have come to really on barometers to help me make forecasts. We know a rapidly falling barometer spells trouble. The rates and readings vary according to your locale. You might be able add some material specific to Lake Michigan.
• Cloud Cover - In the PNW the appearance of high cirrus is generally an indication of the approach of a low pressure system.
• Local Weather Hazards - Are there areas in which local hazards such as katabatic winds can be problematic?

Not sure about NOAA forecasts, but Environment Canada can be rather pessimistic. That being said, I have had optimistic ones that lead to fairly rough conditions..

Excellent advice about reefing before venturing out.

Great advice re: chicken gybing.

Big wave steering does take practice.

Very good local advice.

Keep up the great work. This will be a great resource for your club as well as others.

Jack

[Alchemy]

Tim, I'm busy today but I've seen a fair bit of heavy weather and make part of my living as an editor, and so might be able to render a constructive comment or two.

I'll get to this as soon as I can. Glancing at the comments of jackdale and SD, however, I agree entirely with the handling of the foresail. One of my "issues" with foresail roller furling is not only that a half-furled sail is essentially useless in terms of shape, but that it is just like holding a full bucket at arm's length in terms of moving the center of effort up and forward. I am a big fan of staysails...a staysail ALONE can move my steel boat at 7 plus knots in 30 knots true of wind...but if you can't have a fixed-stay staysail, it's possible to have a wire luff staysail rigged to an eye or Highfield lever on deck up to the pole life sheave.

If THAT isn't possible, I prefer to douse the foresail entirely (again, an argument for hank-ons, because a No. 4 or storm jib and a double-reefed main is ideal to "keep going" in high winds) and just go with a reefed main. The key is to apply wind power from the center out, so that gusts and bigger waves don't slew the boat around, and you can keep going in a lower gear.

Certainly, during races where the foresail is only changed down with reluctance, one sees the folly of keeping too much up in hopes of making headway instead of lee.

[JamesS]

The gust hit us hard. We rounded up with a very heavy weather helm and only the Genny flying...

Why would a gust with only the genny up give weather helm? I'd think the tendency would be to lee helm. Am I mistaken or did I misread?

[knuterikt]

Hi Tim

Nice work & lots og good comments already.

When writing about "gradual building of the winds", should you mention that when sailing on broad reach or running it's easy to underestimate the increase in wind speed because the relative wind can play trics with the feel of the wind.

This can give a nasty surprise when heading up-wind again.

Knut

[sailingdog]

If the boat was heeled over, that might explain the severe weather helm with only a headsail up.

Why would a gust with only the genny up give weather helm? I'd think the tendency would be to lee helm. Am I mistaken or did I misread?

[jackdale]

If the boat was heeled over, that might explain the severe weather helm with only a headsail up.

Exactly.

That is not the theory in most sailing courses. But I agree with SD on this one.

As the boat heels, the leeward side gets longer than the windward side, giving the leeward side a higher theoretical hull speed. Hence the rounding up.

[S&S]

Nicely done, Tim. The only thing I'd add is traveller position for higher winds. It may differ by boat but for us, the steps are flatten the main with the outhaul, then induce twist by moving the traveller to windward and slacking the mainsheet, (apparently the opposite of yours )then consider reefing. I'ts similar to moving the jibcars aft as mentioned previously. Twisting the main spills air at the top of the sail and helps reduce heeling. I'd say it's worth experimenting to see which traveller position works best.

I'd also add that it's good practice (too seldom seen) to have the reef lines strung. I'ts bad enough putting in a reef when all you have to do is pull it in- trying to reeve the lines on a pitching deck is pure suckage.

[Giulietta]

The only thing I'd add is traveller position for higher winds. It may differ by boat but for us, the steps are flatten the main with the outhaul, then induce twist by moving the traveller to windward and slacking the mainsheet, (apparently the opposite of yours )t

S&S

OK..must be my English, sorry

but how inducing twist by moving the traveler to windward will help reduce heel?

Its exactly the opposite. Even if you release the main..doing so you only slow down the boat...making it worse. Makes the boat accelerate less, more unstable and more prone to excessive heel in puffs.

with higher wind speeds, the apparent winds aloft being stronger, tend to move forward, so you NEED to move the traveler to lee, not windward, to maintain the sail at the right angle of attack with the wind, and its teh opposite, one wants to reduce twist, to spill the wind, not catch it..that is how you spill the wind, not the opposite, and that is applicable to ALL boats.

Its better to spill the wind up high where its strong and has more arm and momentum on the boat than as you do, by spilling it on the lower section of the sail, by releasing the main. weird technique.

maybe I did not understand what you meant, or you are confused, if that is the case, I am sorry

In any case, to clear any confusions, no boat I know sails with less heel with increased twist by moving the traveler to windward.

traveler to windward is only done in light winds and specially downwind conditions..

here...this may help,

respectfully

Alex

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0wfGzhlRhI[/YOUTUBE]

[Bubb2]

Alex, wouldn't moving the traveler to windward induce heel. Not what you would want to do with building winds

[Giulietta]

Alex, wouldn't moving the traveler to windward induce heel. Not what you would want to do with building winds

yes, for many reasons, but the most imprtant, winds aloft are stronger due to less friction from the Earths surface, and as a consequence, apparent wind travels further forward in the mast top, than at the mas bottom.

So by inducing twist, (by moving the traveler to windward) you will be catching more wind aloft, where it is stronger and has all the mast height as arm, causing the boat to heel even more..(even if, to compensate, one releases the main sheet as suggested - by doing so, one makes the sail less effective and the boat sails slower, with a lot less power and more prone to gusts, puffs and instabilities).

It is preferable to spill wind up high than lower in the sail..

Alternatively BOTH can be done, but not one without the other.

1st traveler to lee, - spill above, then if not sufficient, should the sheet be released...

Also releasing the main will upset the wind corridor created by the Genoa and main, making the boat sail like a shoe..but that's another story

that is why race boats have big roaches and huge travelers..to catch every drop of wind...

[S&S]

S&S

OK..must be my English, sorry

but how inducing twist by moving the traveler to windward will help reduce heel?

Its exactly the opposite. Even if you release the main..doing so you only slow down the boat...making it worse. Makes the boat accelerate less, more unstable and more prone to excessive heel in puffs.

with higher wind speeds, the apparent winds aloft being stronger, tend to move forward, so you NEED to move the traveler to lee, not windward, to maintain the sail at the right angle of attack with the wind, and its teh opposite, one wants to reduce twist, to spill the wind, not catch it..that is how you spill the wind, not the opposite, and that is applicable to ALL boats.

Its better to spill the wind up high where its strong and has more arm and momentum on the boat than as you do, by spilling it on the lower section of the sail, by releasing the main. weird technique.

maybe I did not understand what you meant, or you are confused, if that is the case, I am sorry

In any case, to clear any confusions, no boat I know sails with less heel with increased twist by moving the traveler to windward.

traveler to windward is only done in light winds and specially downwind conditions..

here...this may help,

respectfully

Alex

Alex, your English is fine.

Can't explain it, but it works that way for us. We add twist by moving the traveller to windward (which as I said is the opposite of what I guess everyone else does). Go figure. Power (and heel) drops by spilling air at the top of the sail. If i put the traveller to lee (more under the boom) the leech is straighter and the sail catches more wind aloft. YMMV.

[Giulietta]

S&S, you're probably staling the sail aloft.

oh well..if it works for you, its good..but it's like someone telling you that you brake a car by stepping on the gas...

My only concern is that someone with less knowledge of sailing may pick that up, and one day go in bad weather and make it worse..that is all



Cool if you found an orthodox way of killing rabbits!

Alex

[jackdale]

Alex, your English is fine.

Can't explain it, but it works that way for us. We add twist by moving the traveller to windward (which as I said is the opposite of what I guess everyone else does). Go figure. Power (and heel) drops by spilling air at the top of the sail. If i put the traveller to lee (more under the boom) the leech is straighter and the sail catches more wind aloft. YMMV.

I am having trouble picturing this.

On any boat that I have sailed, moving the traveler does not affect its relationship to the boom; nor does it affect the twist. That is whole point moving the traveler only. You ease the traveler to change the angle of attack of the sail without changing the twist. Easing the traveler will cause the sail to luff. When you move the traveler back to windward there is no need to readjust the the twist, You change the twist with the mainsheet until you running out of traveler, then you use the vang to adjust twist.

[T34C]

Nicely done, Tim. The only thing I'd add is traveller position for higher winds. It may differ by boat but for us, the steps are flatten the main with the outhaul, then induce twist by moving the traveller to windward and slacking the mainsheet, (apparently the opposite of yours )then consider reefing. I'ts similar to moving the jibcars aft as mentioned previously. Twisting the main spills air at the top of the sail and helps reduce heeling. I'd say it's worth experimenting to see which traveller position works best.

I'd also add that it's good practice (too seldom seen) to have the reef lines strung. I'ts bad enough putting in a reef when all you have to do is pull it in- trying to reeve the lines on a pitching deck is pure suckage.

Jack- While I don't agree with S&S's technique he did not suggest that he could induce twist by simply moving the traveler alone as I noted in his original post. Sounds to me like he is adding the twist by easing the main sheet then keeping some power in the lower portion of the sail by moving the traveler to windward to get the boom back near the position it would normally be in.

[S&S]

S&S, you're probably staling the sail aloft.

oh well..if it works for you, its good..but it's like someone telling you that you brake a car by stepping on the gas...

My only concern is that someone with less knowledge of sailing may pick that up, and one day go in bad weather and make it worse..that is all



Cool if you found an orthodox way of killing rabbits!

Alex

I'm not recommending this for the novice. ( so it probably souldn't be here)But it does work on our boat.

I am having trouble picturing this.

On any boat that I have sailed, moving the traveler does not affect its relationship to the boom; nor does it affect the twist. That is whole point moving the traveler only. You ease the traveler to change the angle of attack of the sail without changing the twist. Easing the traveler will cause the sail to luff. When you move the traveler back to windward there is no need to readjust the the twist, You change the twist with the mainsheet until you running out of traveler, then you use the vang to adjust twist.

I agree with your analysis if we were running a vang at the time. Be that as it may, the angle the sheet makes with the boom changes the relation between the downward and sideways components of force applied by the mainsheet. Moving the traveller to windward diminishes the downward component and opens the leech (adds twist as the boom lifts). I've never tried it on someone else's boat so I make no claims that this would apply elsewhere. I think that it may be that the aspect ratio of our main is very low (2:1) and the boom is very heavy.

[jackdale]

Jack- While I don't agree with S&S's technique he did not suggest that he could induce twist by simply moving the traveler alone as I noted in his original post. Sounds to me like he is adding the twist by easing the main sheet then keeping some power in the lower portion of the sail by moving the traveler to windward to get the boom back near the position it would normally be in.

Thanks for that. That will induce twist. Generally that is done to power up a boat in light winds, unless you really let off on the mainsheet which may flog the the top of the leech. With the outhaul and cunningham hardened, that would depower the mainsail.

[S&S]

Jack- While I don't agree with S&S's technique he did not suggest that he could induce twist by simply moving the traveler alone as I noted in his original post. Sounds to me like he is adding the twist by easing the main sheet then keeping some power in the lower portion of the sail by moving the traveler to windward to get the boom back near the position it would normally be in.

Exactly. Sorry if I didn't explain it well. The lower part if the sail is drawing and the upper edge is "feathered".

[jackdale]

Exactly. Sorry if I didn't explain it well. The lower part if the sail is drawing and the upper edge is "feathered".

Do you have an adjustable backstay (fractional rig) or an adjustable baby stay (masthead rig)? That would permit you to depower the top of the main.

If not, why not reef?

[S&S]

Do you have an adjustable backstay (fractional rig) or an adjustable baby stay (masthead rig)? That would permit you to depower the top of the main.

If not, why not reef?

No adjustable stays. If you saw the mast- visualize an aluminum tree trunk- you'd know why.

There's a band where this "trick" works that would be prior to putting in a reef. And often we can go quite a while without having to put one in.

Chalk it up to "inherent lazyness".

[jackdale]

No adjustable stays. If you saw the mast- visualize an aluminum tree trunk- you'd know why.

There's a band where this "trick" works that would be prior to putting in a reef. And often we can go quite a while without having to put one in.

Chalk it up to "inherent lazyness".

OK - I understand. I would not call it "lazyness." As a fix for a particular wind speed, it works.

I like the bend the mast "trick", because it saves a reef, unless the wind continues to build.

[S&S]

OK - I understand. I would not call it "lazyness." As a fix for a particular wind speed, it works.

I like the bend the mast "trick", because it saves a reef, unless the wind continues to build.

Unfortunately that option is not open to me (absent a giant hydraulic press). This works though.

[Alchemy]

Heavy Weather Tactics

“Wow, that was a scary! Must have been about a 40-knot gust!” (Hyphen 40-knot which modifies gusts)

So what do you do when the winds and seas pick up to extreme conditions?
It happens, it happens to all of us. What we do is the key. The following are a couple of tactics that we employ. I am not saying they are the only ones and I am not saying they are necessarily right. You might disagree. What I am saying is this is what I do. Right or wrong, weather (whether) you agree or not, these are some of the theories that I practice onboard (on board) our vessel.

After you have gained some experience, you too will be comfortable when the wind and seas pick up.

“So how do I get that experience?”
It’s really simple; (Prefer colon over semi-colon here) take it all in small steps. Start slow, go on other peoples’ boats. Work your way up to the point that you feel comfortable in heavy conditions. Find out what the boat can handle (I think you will find that in most cases that boat can handle more than the crew can). If you’re a complete beginner, sail only in light air (insert comma) say 10 knots or so. When you are comfortable there, sail in 15, than 20, than 25, etc. Soon you will get the feel for the boat and how much she can handle.

First, try to avoid these situations as much as possible.
Just like we talked about in the “Lightening” (sp: lightning) discussion, your tactics should include avoidance if at all possible.
I know there are times when we want to be out there for special events and such, but if it’s not necessary and the conditions are questionable, than sometimes the best decision is to simply stay put (insert "either") securely anchored or in a harbor. Really, you have to ask yourself, “do we need to be out there?” Often times the answer is no, there is no need. Desire and want, yes. But do we really have to go out? In most occasions, it’s probably not necessary.

You can usually tell when you are going to get hit with a big punch. There will be signs.
Dark sky, cloud cover, lightning, thunder; you may even be able to detect the high winds as they make their approach on the water. Those with many years of experience will often be able to tell when a gust is coming. How? They can actually see it.

Your VHF radio can also be a big factor in predicting winds and gusts. I know we give these guys a lot of crap, and they deserve it. But sometimes they are right. *Clarify which guys...you mean the weather service, right?

So what do we do?
For the sake of our discussion, let’s limit the talk to sloop-rigged boats with Jib and Main only. We will not talk about flying Spinnakers or racing (comma) which is a different ball game.


So, you are out sailing, it’s a nice day, the winds are not too strong and you are feeling good. You have all of the sail area up that you can possibly carry and you are sailing nicely along at about 6 knots. (Then) the winds begin to build.

There are two things you should notice with a gradual building of the winds; one is what is referred to as “Weather Helm”, and two (prefer "second") is that the boat will begin to heel more.

Weather Helm is the term used to describe the winds affects on the sails and hull that actually pulls the bow of the boat towards the wind.

From Wikipedia…Weather helm is the tendency of sailing vessels to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced helm that requires pulling the tiller to windward (i.e. 'to weather') in order to counteract the effect.
So the winds have begun to gradually build. The boat is heeling over more and more (this will actually depend on the point of sail you are on (comma),. but in most cases (it) will be true, except for possible (possibly) sailing dead down wind. *downwind) and you are experinceing *experiencing more and more weather helm; that is to say, you have to turn the rudder away from the wind to keep the boat pointing in the dierction you desire to go.
So now what is happening on our vessel? As the winds build and you are experincing *experiencing more and more weather helm and more heel, two things are going on that are actually Slowing (no need to capitalize "slowing")you down.
1) As you are heeled over further and further, more drag is produced by the surface of the hull going through the water.
On some of todays (today's) high tech (high-tech) boats, this affect is minimal or the speed actually increases with heel, but for most of us and *omit and on our production boats, what we are doing is actually slowing us *omit us down by exposing more wetted surface to the water *comma) which in turn causes more drag.
2) To compensate for Wether Weather Helm (comma) our rudder must be hard over to leeward. This is done to keep the boat pointed in the direction we want to go and to keep us from “Rounding Up”. “Rounding Up” is the term we use when talking about excessive weather helm (comma), excessive to the point that the boat will actually turn into the wind and into irons. When we have turned the boat into irons with the bow of the boat directly into the wind, we are no longer sailing and the boat will stall.
With the tiller or wheel hard over to stop from “Rounding Up” and to over come excessive “Weather Helm”, the rudder is actually acting as a brake in the water. That is to say, the water no longer has a smooth flow around the rudder and the water must be pushed out of the way before it can go past the rudder. The rudder hard over will actually slow us down. We call this “Rudder Breaking.” (Braking)
“Rudder Braking” is not something we want to do, the disire (desire) is to achieve a smooth flow of water around, past, or over the rudder.

When we are sailing with the rudder dragging through the water, our tiller is hard over to the wind or the wheel is hard over to the lee; we are sailing with a term that is known as “Unbalanced” or “Unbalanced Helm”.
Our goal is bring the helm back in balance so that the rudder is centered as much as possible when maintaining a straight course through the water and (is) only requiring slight pressure on the helm. If you are wrestling with the wheel or tiller and it feels like you are lifting 100 pounds to turn the helm, than you are not in “Balance”. You should be looking for “Fingertip Control”, (which) is not always possible, but that is the goal. Idealy (Ideally,) a boat with properly balanced helm and properly trimed (trimmed) sails will sail itself. This is what we should be lookng (looking)for each and every time we step on board.
If you have ever read any books about Single Handed Circumnavigations by the great Joshua Slocum or Robin Knox-Johnston, they talk about “Lashing” the wheel or helm, balancing the sails, and sailing for days on end with out having to touch the wheel. This happened long before anybody had heard of Auto Pilots.
(Both of these Authors are great reading material and I highly recommend them for any sailing enthusist (enthusiast). Slocum was the first to solo circumnavigate and Knox-Johnston was the first to solo circumnavigate nonstop).
So how do we correct Weather Helm, Unbalanced Helm, and excessive heeling?
This could take a while, but I will start with the basics.
The first thing we do is move the traveller down.
Move the traveller on the main sail towards the lee or away from the wind and you should find a more balanced helm. It is amazing to me on our sailing vessel “Julianna” how much this actually works. Simply move the traveller down and the helm reacts entierly (entirely differently) different.
Flatten the sails to depower them as much as possible. The nice curved sail shape is what gives the sail it’s (its) power: Reduce the curve and flatten them to depower them.
How?
On the main sail; Max outhaul tension, Max Halyard tension, Max boom vang tension, and Max Cunningham tension (if you have one). On the fore sail; Move the jib car leads back on their tracks; This closes the leach of the jib and helps to depower (it). Also, go Max Backstay tension (If you have it) to flatten the foresail.
Not all sailboats have all of the above(-)mentioned Running Rigging. Our boat, for example, does not have an adjustable backstay. But if we had one I would use it. Use what ever means you have on your boat to try and flatten or depower the sails.
After flattening the sails, if you are still overpowered, next, ease the main sheet and spill some wind. Not so much that the sail is flogging, but enough that you will see small luffs in the leading edge or front half of the main sail.

Is there still too much weather helm? Try to gently ease the Genny and spill just a little bit of air from her. Just like the main, you don’t want the sail to flog but you are simply looking for little flutters in the front edge of the sail.

You can also try what is referred to as “Pinching”. That is to say, sail a little higher to the wind than you normally would. This, too, will help spill some air out of the Foresail.

So, we have tried everything: We have moved the traveler, we have flattened our sails or de-powered the sails to the best of our ability, we have tried to spill some air, we have even pinched our course sailing higher to the wind and we still are out of control and we still have heavy weather helm. What is next? Answer: Reefing our sails.

What is reefing? Reefing your sails is a term used in sailing that simply means to reduce your sail area. Many times for the inexperienced sailor or the new sailor, this seems contradictory to typical thoughts. Typically we think, “I want all the sail up I can carry to go faster”. This is not always true and in the case of sailing in extreme and high winds, the boat will often sail faster after sail area is reduced.

Remember we discussed above how the boat slows down with the rudder acting as a break brake in the water and how excessive healing (heeling) leads to more drag through the water? Well, by reducing sail area (after trying some of the above techniques), we can eliminate the excessive heeling and the rudder braking, which will actually allow us to sail faster with less sail area up. I know it does not sound correct, but if you try it some day, I am sure you will find it to be true.

The other advantages that reefing provides is that it gives stress relief to the crew.
Sailing through heavy seas and high winds can get very tiresome and can be very stressful. Reducing sail and heel can make the ride more comfortable and enjoyable by all, especially if you are on the water for a long period of time.

Reefing also reduces stress on the boat. Sails and running rigging are under extreme loads when sailing. Have you ever sheeted in on your sails than checked the tension on them? Often times you will find that they are as tight as a guitar string and if you were to pluck them, they will actually vibrate and make a sound like a bass guitar. Try it sometime. Reefing will reduce some of these loads that are on your running rigging.

Sails also suffer the same types of heavy loads. Seams and stitching get worn and threads become frayed. Over the life of a sail all of these will deteriorate and break down. Reefing your sails in high winds will reduce the stresses on them and prolong the life of your sails.

There are many types of reefing systems on different types of boats, slab reefing, jiffy reefing, single-line reefing, double-line reefing, roller reefing, etc. Your boat should be set up with some type of reefing system and you should practise reefing your sails before it becomes necessary to do it. If you have never reefed your sails before, ask somebody with experience to show you how it’s done. Do this in the protection of a harbor before you go out on the lake. Do it tied up to your mooring can or in a slip or on the wall. Practice first in a stationary place, than go out on a nice day and practice it while under way. Practice until you are comfortable with your boats reefing system so that when you are required to reef, you will know how it’s done.



Some times reducing sail area is simply done by dropping one of the two sails (on a sloop-rigged boat). At times, I have sailed with just the main up. Other times. I have sailed with just the jib up. I find that if I want to sail with one sail only that our boat sails better under the foresail. Your boat might be the exact opposite and sail better under mainsail only. Experiment and see how your boat reacts.

I will not get into specifics on how to reef. As stated previously, (as) different boats are set up differently. Just make sure you know how and when to reef. When to reef is just as important as how to reef. My boat weighs just less than 14,000 lbs. I can expect to handle more winds than, say, a boat that weighs 8,000 lbs. Some boats are more tender than others. Tender boats as a general rule will have to reef earlier. Some boats have full-length keels with as much ballast as I have in total displacement. These guys will be fully canvassed when I am reefing sails. You need to get to know your boat. Time and experience are your best teachers. I start to reef my sails at around 18 – 20 knots and when on a beat. Our boat is a little tender for a 36-foot boat. Your point of sail will also determine when you reef. Generally on a Broad Reach you can carry more sail. When beating to wind is when you will want reduced sail area.

If you’re sitting in a harbor and there are heavy winds present and you still are going to venture out, reef your sails before leaving the harbor. It’s always easier to reef when standing still than it is to reef while under way. Also, it is always easier to shake out a reef and to raise more sail area than it is to tuck in a reef. So if you know it’s going to be dicey before you leave, reef your sails.

Another phrase that sailor use and one that we hear a lot, is “Reef Early” If you’re thinking its time to reef, it’s probably already too late. Reef Early and be prepared for the winds before they hit. There is nothing worse than trying to wrestle with a sail as you are reducing it in a big blow. “Reef Early.”

Reefing is generally started with the main sail and is most often associated with the main sail, but what about the head sail? Most of today’s production boats carry Roller Furling Gear on the headsail. This became a standard by most boat manufacturers sometime in the mid-80s. If your boat has Roller Furling gear on the head sail, reducing sail area in the jib is as easy as rolling in some sail with the use of your furling line. Be aware, though, when reducing head sail area on a boat with Roller Furling Sails, your sail shape becomes distorted and nasty. I do it all the time and the boat sails fine, but my head sail looks like a rolled up newspaper. You should find on your headsail two marks where the sail maker wants you to fly the sail for best performance. Roll the sail to one of these marks and look for that Balanced Helm that we have been talking about.


Some boats don’t have Roller Furling Head sails. What do these sailors do to reduce headsail area? The answer for them is that they generally have to carry multiple sails and have a headsail inventory for different wind conditions. To reduce headsail area on a boat which uses hanked-on headsails, the bigger sail must come down and replaced with a smaller sail. Although it is not as convenient as having roller-furling gear, many sailors swear by hanked-on headsails. Hanked-on headsails do not suffer from the terrible sail shape associated with rolled up furling sails. Boats that use hanked-on sails generally should carry a minimum of two head sails, three would be nice. A large Genoa, usually around 160 percent, and a standard jib of around 110 percent, and a storm jib which will by comparison be about the size of a handkerchief.

By changing headsails or reducing head sail area and reefing the main sail, we once again are looking for that balanced helm. A nicely balanced helm will relive stresses on the boat and rigging and make the ride more enjoyable to all crewmembers and reduce crew fatigue. Remember, when looking for a balanced helm along with reefing, we also must obtain proper sail trim, Just because we reduced are sail area does not mean that we can ignore our trim.

Wonderful! Everything is great, right? What if we still cannot control the boat? There comes a time when running under Bare Poles may be your only option. This should be done only as a last resort and only under dire circumstances.

Running under bare poles can be dangerous and the boat will be very unsteady and will have a tendency to roll. It also requires plenty of open sea room. I have never resorted to such tactics myself. Running under bare poles is simply bringing all sail down and letting the boat run before the wind; drifting, if you will. Of course, it can only be done if the winds are going to carry you to open water and it cannot be done if the winds will be pushing you onshore. This is also what is known as a lee shore. (In extreme wind conditions, it’s always best to try and avoid a lee shore)

I always believe in keeping up sail area to help steady the boat. Even if you feel the need to start your engine (which is always an option), I believe it is best to keep some sail area up; reduced as necessary, but still some sail area should be kept up to reduce the side-to-side rolling. The forces of the wind acting on the sail will hold the boat steady from side-to-side. A sailboat with no such force acting on it will roll uncomfortably. Again, if you feel the need to motor and are uncomfortable with the lake conditions, by all means, motor to where you need to go or to get off the lake, but during the time you are motoring it is my opinion that leaving a bit of sail up will make the motor more comfortable.

Those with much more experience and those that are familiar with sailing in “Blue Water” might also resort to the use of drogues and sea anchors. These devise (devices) are once again used to steady and or slow the boat. I am not familiar with their use and frankly I have never found the need for them on the Great Lakes, I therefore do not feel competent to comment on them. I only mention them so that you at least know that they exist. Many resources are available where drogues and seas anchors can be researched.

What if we are out in open water and we simply want to take a break from all this wind? Than I suggest you heave to. Heaving to is simply stopping the boat with the sails up.
Heaving to can give you a break for many reasons, but most importantly to rest the crew.
Although it may not be possible in extreme conditions, Heaving to can have the much-desired affect of relieving the crew. Heaving to is achieved by back-winding the jib sail and lashing the helm. There is an excellent video dedicated to Heaving to by Alex in our library. Watching the video will do a much better job of explaining it than I can. If you’re tired and you need a break, heave to for a while till you are better rested.

I would like to now talk a bit about sail handling. At some point we are going to need to change course and come about.

Tacking is really no different in high winds, but gybing can be dangerous. When sailing down wind or broad reaching, the boom will be sheeted out to almost the spreaders, when we gybe the boat, the boom has to swing across the entire arc from one spreader to the other. This can be a very violent, especially in the high winds that we are talking about.

If we feel we can safely gybe, but are right on the edge of what might be considered safe, try the following tactic. First center the boom by sheeting in hard before turning the helm.

Repeat, Sheet in boom to center before the gybe, turn helm over bringing stern to wind on new course, sheet out the boom and trim on new course all the while tending to the jib as normal.

Just be careful when doing this as when the boat is steered through the gybe, the main sail will immediately fill on the new course, which will immediately give you heavy weather helm, and the boat will want to go to the wind. The helmsman and the sail trimmer have to work together. The helms man has to keep the boat from rounding up and the trimmer has to be ready to sheet out once the turn is completed.

If we feel it is just too dangerous to gybe, and there will be times; shorthanded, inexperienced, or simply just too much wind, try the Chicken Gybe. The Chicken Gybe is really a tack instead of a gybe. Remember I said tacking is really no different in high winds? Well, if we want to gybe and we don’t feel safe, we tack.

Say we are broad reaching on a Port Reach with the wind over the Port quarter and the sails on the Starboard. In a Chicken Gybe, we would turn the boat to Port all of the way through the wind so that the bow passes through the wind like on a tack. As the wind passes to the other side, bring the sails over, and continue to turn until we reach our new heading. Trim the sails as normal for a broad reach and we are done. It ends up being about a 270-degree turn. There you have it, The Chicken Gybe.

Another thought when out in heavy weather is to simply alter or change your course. This may not always be possible, especially if we have a destination we need to obtain. But out on a day sail with nowhere to go, it might be helpful. If you are on a beat and it is uncomfortable, fall off to a broad reach and see what happens. A beam reach is the point of sail where we have the most sail area exposed to the wind. Although it is one of the fastest points of sail, I try to avoid it in heavy conditions. I generally find that broad reaching is much more comfortable and that a broad reach is the point of sail in which the boat can handle more wind.

We have talked a bit about controlling the boat and making the sail more comfortable for the crew, but what about the waves? Let’s face it: When we are in high wind conditions, we generally are going to experience high seas. I say generally because it is possible to have high winds and little seas. These you can find when sailing close to a land breeze where the wind is blowing straight off of the shoreline you are sailing. This is every sailor's dream. Usually. when we are sailing in high winds.we are going to find those big waves that Lake Michigan is so famous for.

What do we do in big waves? Trufully… not a lot.
Certain tactics can be employed by the helmsman to adjust course, such as turning the bow down wind or away from the crest just prior to each wave. Another thing we can do is turn the boat into the trough or parallel with the waves so that the waves are more on the beam of the vessel. This will resort in more of an up and down motion as opposed to a pounding motion. But, if we need to get upwind and we have waves on the nose, if you continue to adjust your course, you are never going to reach your destination.

Big following seas are no picnic either. I have a dislike for big following seas. Following seas can give you what is best described as a corkscrew effect. As a wave approaches on the quarter; say the Port Quarter, it will first push the stern to Starboard which in turn pushes the bow to port, as the wave passes under the boat the boat falls into the trough and settles in, than as the wave continues on it pushes the bow to starboard which in turn pushed the stern to Port. With a following sea or with a sea on the quarter, the boat is always being pushed from one side to the other like a wind vane. Add to that the up and down motion from the waves and the boat feels like it is twisting; the famous Corkscrew effect. I hate it.

Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. If the waves are too uncomfortable, well, then this is the time you should be thinking about getting off the lake, or you should think about staying in port safely tied up somewhere. One of the best things about sailing on Lake Michigan is that you are very rarely more than 20, 30, or 40 miles from a safe port. Although it can seem like an eternity if you are trying to sail 40 miles to reach a safe harbor, the same cannot be said of sailing on the oceans.

Coming into Port is where you may actually have some difficulties. A lot of times, open water is your best friend, but we all have to get in sometime. Most of the people here sail out of Monroe Harbor. Let me tell you, Monroe Harbor is a piece of cake compared to some of the other marinas and harbors I have been in. During high winds and seas at Monroe with the outer break-wall, Navy Pier, and the Museum Peninsula, it should always be possible to find some protection. If the winds are from the North, duck in behind Navy Pier; from the East; the outer breakwall; the South, head over to the Planetarium and drop your sails in relatively protected waters to motor in the last bit to your mooring.

The same is not true in other ports along the lake. The entrance to our harbor is two parallel piers that jut out from land. These pier heads have a tendency to funnel the waves into the channel. When approaching the channel you must be very careful in high seas. Again. I like to keep some sail up to keep the boat steady and to stop the roll.

Also, it is very important to watch your water depths in this type of approach or departure. If you have a 6-foot swell running and the typical water depths are 8 feet, well than the bottom of that swell is going to be around 5 feet. Please, don’t ask me how I know these things. I put us in a very dangerous situation when leaving a port under just such circumstances. We touched the bottom twice and luckily did not get stuck hard. That could have been disastrous.

One of the worst conditions I have been on the lake recently happened just last year at the conclusion of the Air and Water Show. Those of you that were out on the lake or in the harbor will remember it well. It will be one of those sails that you never forget.

(It’s the crazy nasty sails from hell that you never forget; Cold, numbing, rain-soaked, spray in the face, decks awash with lake water, storm-riddled, lightning, heavy weather, gusty winds. Those are the sails you never forget. The sun-filled lazy summer day sails cruising along at three knots are all soon forgotten. Don’t believe me? Just ask Joey and others about the Michigan City sail from 2004. I am sure they all remember it as if it happened yesterday)

You remember last year's Air Show on Sunday afternoon? The day was crazy. Wind and rain came and went all day during the Air Show. When it was over, it got real dark and nasty-looking. I had guests on board that had never sailed and I was not going to let a little threatening weather spoil the day. We raised the sails after the show had concluded and began to enjoy ourselves. I knew from the sky that it was going to rain, and rain it did. It rained so hard you could not see.

I pointed the boat to open water to get away from the shoreline and North Avenue Beach. I purposely did this as I anticipated some high winds and I wanted sea room and maneuverability.

When it rained, it rained in sheets and the winds did gust a bit. I still had all sails up but was ready to reef them. I sailed a broad reach under pouring rains and gusty conditions. Every thing was under control. I than dropped the main and sailed under Genny only still broad reaching.

Suddenly I looked and I saw a gust coming that was very intense. I called out the gust to everybody and told them to prepare for some nasty stuff. Yes, after you gain some experience, you can actually see the wind on the surface of the water.

The gust hit us hard. We rounded up with a very heavy weather helm and only the Genny flying in pouring rains and very limited visibility. I believe the winds had to be 40knots or so. The Genny started flogging and the rigging was shaking violently. I asked for help and as fast as we could we rolled up the Genny to Storm size. Once we had the Genny reefed and we got everything back under control, we were able to continue sailing at around 5 knots in extremely windy conditions with only a small jib flying. The pouring rains and high winds continued for about an hour if I remember.

We sailed home and everybody was thrilled to have been able to experience it. Like I said, a sail you will never forget.

The very next weekend, we were scheduled to return back to Holland Michigan from Chicago. This trip is 85 Nautical Miles and we generally figure it will take us between 14 –18 hours; it has taken as long as 20 hours with head winds. Our departure was scheduled so that we could attend the Commodore’s Ball on Saturday evening and so that we would arrive in our home port in time to get home for work on the following Monday. All day long I was monitoring the VHF Radio regarding what type of conditions we could expect, and all day long the radio was saying strong North winds diminishing overnight.

All day long I asked other boaters that had just come off the lake what they were experiencing, and all day long each and every one of them told me it was bad out there. But on this occasion I was determined to get home and I was being very stubborn about it and the VHF was still calling for winds to diminish overnight.

We left that night around 10 O’clock. As soon as we cleared the outer breakwall, we were on a roller coaster ride. Strong North winds sustaining around 20 knots brought heavy seas of 6 –8 feet. We sailed heavily reefed and beat into wind and seas for hours. The boat speeds were extremely high for our boat.

As I said, we were on a beat and sheeted in tight. The heel was around 25 degrees or so and the helm was fairly well balanced, but we were taking the seas right on the nose. The bow was a constant wash of spray and on many occasions the bow went under the waves; I like to call this “going Submarine”. In the cockpit, sitting at the helm, which is the furthest aft place to sit, it was very uncomfortable. The combination of the speeds we were attaining and the heavy seas and the fact that we were sailing a beat had the effect of a catapult on the stern. Several times I was actually lifted out of my seat by the motion of the boat. I had to find a seat closer to the center of gravity, which was by the companionway hatch.

Down below in the cabin was no picnic either. Julie was plastered against the low side on the settee for hours on end. Moving about below was not easy. Once she found a comfortable spot to sit, she did not move.

I was excited because although we were beating, it appeared that out course was going to bring us straight home and with the speeds we were sailing, I thought we should make the trip in less than 12 hours.

That change after about 3 hours when the winds shifted to North East. Now all we could do was follow the wind and continue on our beat. Our course now was bringing us in well short of our destination and it appeared that when we approached the Michigan shoreline that we would be about in the vicinity of St. Joe’s.

We sailed like this for ten hours. Me having a fun time and proud of our little boat and what she could handle, Julie not very happy because it was impossible for her to move around.

When we reached the Michigan shore, the winds began to diminish just like the VHF forecast had said they would, only the forecast has off by about 12 hours. The winds diminished, but the seas continued to roll with a heavy swell leftover from the previous 24 hours. After 10 hours of this type of sailing and another 10 to get home with the heavy swell still remaining, we decided to simply pull into St. Joe’s and try again the following weekend.

Ten hours of sailing in heavy seas and high winds. Like I said, it was a sail I will never forget.





I think it goes with out saying, but safety MUST be our number one priority. PFDs, Jacklines, etc. whatever you have on board to make yourself safe must be utilized. Unfortunately, accidents do happen and the Great Lakes can be very dangerous.
If you don’t have to go out, don’t. Or if you feel you experience level is not up to the challenge than stay in port.

You are going to want to have good foul weather clothing. You can expect to be in boarding seas and you are going to get wet. Foulies, Gloves, Hats, and etc. You should have some and you’re going to want to be protected from the elements.

I have touched on most of the basics: Don’t go out if you don’t have to go out or if your experience level is not up to the challenge; move the traveler down when the wind starts to build; reef or reduce sail area and look for good sail trim to properly balance the helm; helm balance is the key to eliminating “Rudder Braking”', reduce heel to reduce drag; heave to if necessary; always leave some sail area up to stop the boat from rolling especially when motoring' if gibing in heavy weather, try the Chicken Gybe' look for sea room and maneuverability; get far away from other boats and boat traffic; avoid a lee shore, expect big seas, and most importantly be safe!

If you need more information regarding points of sail, irons, heaving to, gybing, tacking, etc, look in the PMYC site Library and Sailing Master’s Corner. There are wonderful contributions from various members that can be very helpful.

Sailing in heavy weather can be very exciting and you will be amazed at the boat speeds you can obtain. Start slow and work your way up the ladder. Soon you will be out in 25- knot winds and eight-foot seas getting soaked with sea spray. Really, does it get any better?


There you go! Good story.

[ChucklesR]

Tim,

when done editing can you post this as a article in our (AS) library

[Sailor Tim]

Tim,

when done editing can you post this as a article in our (AS) library

If everybody thinks it's worthy, yes. I would be honored.

[Sailor Tim]

There you go! Good story.

Val,
Thank you very much for taking the time to edit.
It is sincerely appreciated. I will work on editing my file for use on the PMYC Library and here as well. Thanks again.

[sailingdog]

Tim—

If you want to fire the file off for review to me via e-mail, I'd be happy to look over it for you.

[Giulietta]

If everybody thinks it's worthy, yes. I would be honored.

yes its worth it

how do we put things in a library?

do we have a library??
where is it??

CHRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!