12 knots in a Sadler 29

[Graham376]

I can well believe that
My mate reckoned that he broached at 11 kts in his Centaur, but it turned out that he was towing it round the North Circular & skidded on the roundabout at the junction with the A10

I wish we'd been on the north circular! Early days, very low on experience, left Isle of Man in flat calm on engine, tiller pilot steering, no washboards in, no life jackets on. Half way back to Conwy it started blowing and built up to F7/8 from astern and suddenly we were surfing. When we broached with just a handkerchief of genoa out, I ended up lying on the dodger with wife on my seat back. Fortunately, we righted almost immediately but an unexpected and frightening experience, if the dodger hadn't been there, I would have been swimming. Spent the last five or six hours hand steering, looking mainly over my shoulder.

 

[capnsensible]

You know its properly windy when you have to put a reef in your courtesy flag.

 

[Daydream believer]

You know its properly windy when you have to put a reef in your courtesy flag.

J D Sleightholme wrote in one of his articles about old Harry with a scraper getting the barnacles off the cabin roof because the boat had been heeled over so long.They were going to windward on the peak of his hat & the headboard

 

[Concerto]

I'm beginning to understand your very impressive passage speeds on your current trip......!

You may not know that I used to own from new a Hunter Formula 1. A Stephen Jones 22ft light weight overgrown dinghy with a bolt down keel. That boat hummed on the plane due to the turbulence from the keel under the flat run aft. Never knew what speed she did, but once had a digital trailing log out and that only read to 10 knots, as I found out. Quick little boat and dangerous in the wrong hands as we found out one day when a crew who sailed a flying fifteen wanted a ride. During a gybe in heavy winds he did not do as he was told and tipped the boat over with the mast in the water. I quickly stood on the keel and the 3 in the cockpit suddenly found themselves back in the cockpit, whilst I made my way to the stern and was hauled out over the transom. Once sorted, we continued racing, but 2 other boats retired seeing our mishap.

Also racing, I have experienced a broken mast (manufacturing fault), broken rudder, weakened tiller, broaches galore, broken genoa sheet, regularly getting soaked changing headsails and spinnakers, shinned up a mast to retrieve a loose halyard whilst under spinnaker, running aground at 6+ knots, etc. Oh, I also have my name in the RYA list of racing appeals as I won against someone not abiding by their rules and knobbling my rating illegally. About the only thing I have never done is sink a boat. In all of these instances, we never had any assistance to get the boat back to safety. Maybe now you understand how I can push Concerto and do it safely. Yes, I have moaned about a few minor bits breaking, but the main structure of Concerto is very sound.