lustyd
Well-known member
.
Last edited:
.
- Thread starter lustyd
- Start date
D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
A F6 is called a Yachtsmen's gale, so your premise stands up to further anecdotal evidence! A force 10 is dangerous, thus further reinforcing your point.
Adios
...
F6? Thats a gale in a dinghy perhaps but not sure about a storm in a yacht
capnsensible
Well-known member
This is a Baldrick cunning plan. ? The op has put me on ignore and then questioned some hard won weather lore I was told and have experienced myself. He doesn't seem to like this. However when on passage between the Windies and the Azores in April, May and into June, the likely hood is that you often get winds of fifty knots from astern during the three or so week passage. Hence MAYS in Horta doing such good repair business.
Ye canny change the laws o physics, balders.
capnsensible
Well-known member
Btw, having opencpn running on a laptop connected to iridium satellite phone can assist your routing but usually just tells you to prepare. You simply can't get a weather forecast three weeks in advance.
Or don't go anywhere.
Or don't go anywhere.
Zagato
Well-known member
Looking back at the last six months or so of this forum and the threads that just fall to negativity, knit picking semantics and finally conflict by the same member I would say some people live in their own personal storm. Shame when a forum is meant to be pleasant place to be.
steve yates
Well-known member
I thought f8 was officially a gale, force 9 a severe gale and force 10 a storm?
Perhaps they just mean two lows rather than 2 storms?
Perhaps they just mean two lows rather than 2 storms?
MystyBlue2
Active member
For me and my teenie tiny 14ft dory F3 is more than enough! Once white caps appear....I dissappear!
lustyd
Well-known member
.
Last edited:
TiggerToo
Well-known member
It is not a storm, if you don't have a tea-cup.
off to get my?
off to get my?
Graham376
Well-known member
No experience of open oceans but I've found wind speed doesn't matter so much as sea state. We had a very nasty time in a F7 against a spring tide approaching Anglesey, whereas F9 off Portuguese west coast with little tide gave much calmer seas.
RJJ
Well-known member
So I'm hopefully, fingers crossed ,doing this leaving in April 2021. Never done it myself, but chums did it this year and saw max 25 knots; the previous owner of my boat did it twice singlehanded and once had a F7.
From my research so far, it depends very heavily on the route you take and exactly when you leave. From various anecdotes and articles, it appears to me that if you leave in early April and take a somewhat northerly route, there's a decent risk of some really grown-up weather - 9s or 10s. If you head more south, you're more at risk of needing extra fuel - and it's very hard to aim for the bit in between with 15-20 knots.
If you leave in late May, it appears you can go further north with greater confidence and reasonably expect max 5 or 6. But a gale's always possible.
Still learning so I shall be glad if anyone wants to put me straight on this.
From my research so far, it depends very heavily on the route you take and exactly when you leave. From various anecdotes and articles, it appears to me that if you leave in early April and take a somewhat northerly route, there's a decent risk of some really grown-up weather - 9s or 10s. If you head more south, you're more at risk of needing extra fuel - and it's very hard to aim for the bit in between with 15-20 knots.
If you leave in late May, it appears you can go further north with greater confidence and reasonably expect max 5 or 6. But a gale's always possible.
Still learning so I shall be glad if anyone wants to put me straight on this.
RJJ
Well-known member
That's also my experience. If you read Adlard Coles "Heavy Weather Sailing" that's absolutely right, the killer ingredient isn't wind strength, but sea state. Savage seas are more likely to be associated with (1) strong currents (2) shallow or shallowing water (3) dramatic changes in wind direction causing confused seas. Not much of (1) or (2) halfway across the Atlantic. (3) can be a feature.
I've sailed the Southern Ocean where we had max 65 knots; several times over 50 knots. But only "bad" day we had was in ~40 knots when the wind blew from south for 24 hours then rapidly backed to westerly. Even then, I've had worse conditions in 30-35 knots in the Irish Sea and English Channel, wind against tide.
MystyBlue2
Active member
Storm and high winds are one thing, when a wind against tide scenario occurs and sea state is pretty bad its not just knowledge of the Beaufort scale its knowledge of how to handle the boat in those kinds of conditions.
One false move could end up catastrophic to a novice which is why i try to avoid any sort of wind/sea as when your in that position it will be alot harder than it looks to navigate the sea state and keep the boat stable.....i take my hat off to all you lot...have bigger balls than me hahaha
One false move could end up catastrophic to a novice which is why i try to avoid any sort of wind/sea as when your in that position it will be alot harder than it looks to navigate the sea state and keep the boat stable.....i take my hat off to all you lot...have bigger balls than me hahaha
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
The usernames change but the attitudes remain the same.
JumbleDuck
Well-known member
The most fun sail I ever had was rounding Ardlamont with full sail and F6 up my chuff in my Westerly Jouster. Normally that would be somewhere between "unpleasant" and "very dangerous" but there was a Biblical quantity of rain falling at time which hammered the sea absolutely flat. The old girl did the trip like a scalded cat with a bow wave on each side which reached the top of the guardwires in the cockpit. I've never had a ride like it - hang on and scream stuff.
MystyBlue2
Active member
I always thought wind strength and direction coupled with tide strength and direction dictated "sea state"?
Graham376
Well-known member
False moves can be catastrophic for anyone, no matter how big their balls. We don't plan to be out in nasty conditions and have often decided to wait for weather to improve, we have also turned back but, when on passage conditions can change so just get on with it, reef down and stay in deeper water away from lee shores.
RJJ
Well-known member
Yes, plus depth and gradient of the sea bed, plus changes in wind direction.
The point various of us are making is that 40-50 knots isn't a big deal of itself. In optimal deep water conditions conducive to long ocean swell, I'd take that any day over 25-30 knots wind against tide over a shelving sea, or one of those spiteful little depressions that arise from nowhere and generate awkward waves over whatever the original wind was kicking up just a couple of hours before.
MystyBlue2
Active member
Yeah definitely!
I'm on the east coast of Northumberland and tide floods south and ebbs north,
The flattest conditions are a flood tide with a SW wind, but in the text books this is is a wind against tide situation and results in unpredictable and steep, choppy seas.
However in a N wind and flood tide the sea grows really big and is perfect for surfing and definitely not SMALL boating. But this scenario is classed as the safest option as wind with tide "apparently" makes the sea state alot less choppy but can form HUGE rollers....thats why i choose to stay away unless wind is under 10mph and neap tides.
Im really confused... As for some reason the text book scenario's seem to contradict what i can safely boat in.
It might just be because the boat is so small.