Learn to Sail in Heavy Weather - Seven Sailing Tips!
Do you know how to reduce heeling and weather helm in tough weather--without reefing? What one step can you take that's proven to boost your sailing crew's confidence in building wind and sea? Discover seven little-known secrets for heavy weather sailing safety! Most sailors are familiar with reefing sails, but you can also take several steps before or after reefing to help balance the boat, reduce heeling, and keep the helm light and easy to steer. 1. Pinch up in a gust
"Rubicon" runs before big Tradewind seas and high winds on our delivery to the Caribbean last November. Note the deep reef in the mainsail and small staysail set forward.
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Luff up a few degrees into the wind each time a gust hits. This becomes more important if your sailing crew needs to work on the foredeck. Watch the mainsail and allow the forward third of the sail to flutter. This levels the boat and keeps it driving without going into irons. 2. Push the mainsheet car downwind Move the mainsheet car to leeward (downwind) to a position near the end of the traveler track to keep the leech under control and reduce weather helm. This also reduces heeling, provides good power and maintains forward drive to punch through a stiff chop. 3. Slack the mainsheet What works in sailing dinghies works well in cruising sailboats too! If your boat still heels too much, ease the mainsheet a few inches. This twists the upper half of the sail to dump high-octane winds up high, and keeps the boat on her feet.
4. Adjust headsail blocks and sheets Move each sheet block aft to flatten the upper half of the sail. If you are still heeling too much, ease the sheet an inch or two to get your boat back on her feet. On roller furling headsails, you will need to move the blocks forward to keep leech flutter under control. 5. Heave-to before sail reefing Did you know that you can make sail reefing easier by heaving-to? This lowers the stress on your boat sails, sailing rigging--and your sailing crew's nerves! Set the helm and mainsheet so that the boat luffs up and falls off. Now you can take in the reef without pitching, heeling, or blinding spray.
6. Reduce Sail, Slow Down and Keep Control Keep control. Not many things are more hazardous than an over-canvassed vessel, sailed too fast in rough water conditions. In just about every incident where a vessel sustained damage or a crew sustained injury, the boat was carrying too much sail for the conditions or being sailed too fast.
 Never have I heard of anyone needing rescue from a vessel that was properly hove-to 
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Mario Vittone --
14 year USCG rescue swimmer
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Whether a sloop, ketch, catamaran, or trimaran, you must maintain control and keep the boat balanced. Lower your speed so that the boat sails flatter, stays dryer, and provides more comfort for your sailing crew. Heave-to in severe conditions and wait for the weather to moderate before you proceed. Go back and read the articles on this site that cover this key element to your sailing crew's safety (see the Related Articles below on how to get your boat to heave-to). You must learn how to heave to in your individual boat. What works for one boat may not work for another. But all boats can be made to heave to--even if it requires a combination of lying to bare poles with a sea anchor. In any event, spend the time to learn this vital, life-saving skill. 7. Take the Time to Teach Many of you know that I sail coastal or offshore as crew when I get the opportunity. It fulfills my passion for sailing, lets me test the techniques that I write about and pass on to you each week, and it's a perfect way to experience a variety of rigs from sloops to cutters to ketches in different sea conditions. When I have a trip coming up, I try to get to the boat a day or two early. I always ask the skipper to show me the ropes before we leave. Everything. From head operation to stove operation to sail rigging configuration to seacock locations to engine plant. I ask lots of questions. In my mind, this isn't the time or place for ego or shyness. Skippers appreciate and respect this. Indeed, they do not expect you to know their boats. Even the saltiest sailor crewing on an unfamiliar boat can have a tough time finding the location of a seacock, the right rope to pull, or how to deploy a piece of gear when conditions worsen, at nighttime in a blinding squall, or in an emergency. You must--irrelevant of the skill level of your crew--take a few hours on the first day of a cruise to go through reefing, changing to storms sails, deploying a sea anchor, man overboard, and any other drills you believe necessary. No matter whether you just have a sailing partner or a full complement of salty dogs--put this into your schedule. Make the drills fun and low stress. This single action could prove to be one of the best time investments you ever make. Give your sailing crew the confidence they need to put these sailing skills into play--when the unexpected comes your way! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a sailing skipper you need to know special techniques that you can use when caught short-handed in a blow. Put these methods and techniques into effect today to keep your sailboat under control in any sailing weather, wherever in the world you choose to sail.
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