How to sail a dinghy in very strong breezes.

[Marcellus]

Ok, confession time, I'm an ILCA sailor... yes I know at 58 I should know better but there you are I've said it.

I'm not bad at it either and getting better.

Last weekend down at Weymouth in winds of 25 gusting 30 I did ok, in 3.5hours of sailing (2.25 racing) i got my sail wet once... on a gybe, caught by a gust and wave

This weekend at my home club 30 gusting 37 I was terrible... retired half way up the 1st beat as I'd already been swimming half a dozen times.

I had cuningham (10:1) absolutely cranked on to the max, outhaul on to flatten the sail, kicker on closing the leech... so basically everything on to depower, hiking as hard as I could playing the main well.

But, I just kept getting knocked flat... as the gust hit, released the main fully, hike even harder but still the boat flipped.

What am I doing wrong??

What can I try so I can handle these conditions better?

Or do I just have to admit that there are conditions I should just accept they're too much for Me?

[Simpo Two]

Get a bigger boat

[Beggarall]

Set a personal limit for conditions you are prepared to go out in - 30Kn gusting 37 is really for the brave and not single handed in a dinghy!

edited to add - the Olympic ILCA limit is 25Kn!

Edited by Beggarall on Sunday 25th October 19:10

[Huntsman]

A sustained 30knots and gusts in the high 30's is a lot of wind for dinghy sailing.

[sawman]

Simpo Two said:

Get a bigger boat

Or a smaller sail.

Personally I wouldnt be taking the cover off in 30. -37knts

Theres a big difference between 25 and 35

[OutInTheShed]

Huntsman said:

A sustained 30knots and gusts in the high 30's is a lot of wind for dinghy sailing.

Indeed.
We stayed ashore this weekend.

There comes a point where the boat will tip over, even with the sail feathering. And sometimes the sail won't feather all the way because the wind is sheared at the top of the mast relative to part way up. Near the limit. you can try raising the board a bit, works in some classes. Proper boats, you can rake the rig more.

Be heavier, use a smaller sail. A sailboard may be a better bet. Or a keelboat.
I realised about 45 years ago, I wasn't in the top tier of dinghy sailing talent.
There comes a point where even Fireball sailors sit in the bar and watch the olympic wannabes from a safe distance.
Just as they say dinghy racers make the best yacht racers, board sailing is good for improving your dinghy sailing, the windsurfing guys punch above their weight when it's windy.

I sail on the sea, so anything above about 20 knots normally raises enough waves to stop a Laser dead. Inland or in the harbour at Weymouth, good sailors will cope with more, but they are down there every windy weekend. The wind at Weymouth/Portland is relatively 'clean' compared to many inland places where you get turbulence from stuff on the bank, multiple winds coming down different valleys etc. But inland the wind at the level where your sail is, is often much less than on the clubhouse roof.

Buy an RC Laser.

[OutInTheShed]

sawman said:

Simpo Two said:

Get a bigger boat

Or a smaller sail.

Personally I wouldnt be taking the cover off in 30. -37knts

Theres a big difference between 25 and 35

And a fair difference between knots and mph....

Properly, wind speed is measured 10m above the surface, a Laser mast is more like 6m to the top. 4m to the centre of area?

[tvrolet]

Bigger boat? It’s a windsurfer you want for decent winds. I think I’d be rigging a 4.5m sail on my wee board for that. Some of the guys were out today storm chasing but a bit too cold for me. Plus I’m 69 (and don’t know any better) but in fairness I don’t go out in survival stuff any more.

Can’t help with dinghy technique, but 58 isn’t that old. In windsurf land most of us (that I know) that are still sailing took it up in the early 80s as 20-something’s so we’re all pensioners now.

[hidetheelephants]

There comes a point at which there's just too much wind, you've found it. Keelboats can sometimes carry on a bit longer but even then you get to a point where you're spilling everything with the sail detuned and you're still overpowered. If you need to reef it's probably time to adjourn to the bar.

[DonkeyApple]

Marcellus said:

Ok, confession time, I'm an ILCA sailor... yes I know at 58 I should know better but there you are I've said it.

I'm not bad at it either and getting better.

Last weekend down at Weymouth in winds of 25 gusting 30 I did ok, in 3.5hours of sailing (2.25 racing) i got my sail wet once... on a gybe, caught by a gust and wave

This weekend at my home club 30 gusting 37 I was terrible... retired half way up the 1st beat as I'd already been swimming half a dozen times.

I had cuningham (10:1) absolutely cranked on to the max, outhaul on to flatten the sail, kicker on closing the leech... so basically everything on to depower, hiking as hard as I could playing the main well.

But, I just kept getting knocked flat... as the gust hit, released the main fully, hike even harder but still the boat flipped.

What am I doing wrong??

What can I try so I can handle these conditions better?

Or do I just have to admit that there are conditions I should just accept they're too much for Me?

Happy days!

You're out in pretty borderline conditions for a Laser. You ought to be pretty chuffed.

You've got to see the gust coming and shift your weight outboard, which then tends to be tricky as you're letting the sheet out to compensate but need to start that after moving your weight.

The key was to monitor the water on the windward side at least 50m out to see the squall on the water (easier on a lake than open water), time your weight shift and let the mainsail out.

That said, I used to love the fun of skipping over to the centreboard and bringing it back up before the sail got wet but I learned taking a Topper across the Solent to buy ice cream in Cowes as a kid. Absolute hats off for having this fun at 58, nothing but respect. When I migrated to Lasers I sank one off Gurnard after a couple of hours of wave jumping and the top section parted company from the lower hull. And snapped the mast of a 505 in Weymouth Harbour. My sister was a very serious racer and did the Fastnet for years but I was just a cowboy who loved learning what broke first.

[Landlubber]

Before I came ashore it was reef down and raise the centre board a bit. In a galaxy far, far away. God its been a while.

[happygoron]

Marcellus said:

Ok, confession time, I'm an ILCA sailor... yes I know at 58 I should know better but there you are I've said it.

I'm not bad at it either and getting better.

Last weekend down at Weymouth in winds of 25 gusting 30 I did ok, in 3.5hours of sailing (2.25 racing) i got my sail wet once... on a gybe, caught by a gust and wave

This weekend at my home club 30 gusting 37 I was terrible... retired half way up the 1st beat as I'd already been swimming half a dozen times.

I had cuningham (10:1) absolutely cranked on to the max, outhaul on to flatten the sail, kicker on closing the leech... so basically everything on to depower, hiking as hard as I could playing the main well.

But, I just kept getting knocked flat... as the gust hit, released the main fully, hike even harder but still the boat flipped.

What am I doing wrong??

What can I try so I can handle these conditions better?

Or do I just have to admit that there are conditions I should just accept they're too much for Me?

Put an ILCA 6 sail up!

Joking aside, that a lot of wind for an ILCA. I'm suprised you didn't break anything (on the boat i mean!).

You did the right things trying to depower, flattening the sail. Ive heard of people lifting the centreboard a bit to allow some sideslip but I never liked doing it. Fundamentally it a lot of wind with a big sail area, and you need to be dumping sail well before a gust hits in that wind, but that happens pretty quick!

If im sailing an ilca in 30+ knots when nearly 60 i'll be a happy man, good effort!