by nmelby » Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:13 pm
Hi Gary,
I'm sure that others here will chime in regarding their experiences... but I thought that I'd share my thoughts.
The Race Committee did a good job of balancing the conditions that we had. I thought that for the entire fleet to sail a regatta in winds like that, with only one boat that capsized completely, showed the skill of some of the sailors that participated. There were stories of small equipment failures, and one boat had broken a rudder.
I didn't see any reefing of the mainsails though. We did decide to keep the spinnaker in its bag on our boat in the later races (the heaviest air of the regatta), and when the gusts were heavy we were very careful when gybing. After one of the races, when the winds continued to build, we did tack going downwind- a "chicken gybe". For the most part though, I was very impressed with the DS- even in winds that heavy, with the right sail trim the boat could handle well and be balanced. The key is to keep the sails venting, and keep the boat balanced between crew weight and position. It made for a few roaring reaches!
Both skipper and crew would hike in the big puffs, and in my DSII we would be forward against the bulkhead. As I'd mentioned above, with the right trim, we worked hard to hike, but the boat was balanced and powered up. It could drive forward instead of being knocked down.
My advice to you in a single handed situation would be this (anyone else feel free to agree/disagree). If you can reef, there's no shame in it! But, if you don't want to or can't, you can vent the sails with proper trim, crank on the vang, halyards, cunninghams, to flatten and depower, and get your weight on the rail as far forward as you can. Make sure that you always have the sheets in your hand so that you can dump them if you get in trouble. That's the key- if you start to lose control, you can just let them out, and if you go over, you would uncleat them right away. Use a hiking stick for the tiller, and feet in the hiking straps, and go fast!
I haven't sailed a lot in these kinds of winds in a DS, but it was a great experience for me. I learned a lot about the boat that week, and a little bit about myself too. Hope that helps!
-Nate
Maelstrom- DS 4836
DS Fleet 132