Big wind gybing

Rob_Webb

Rob_Webb

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So how dya do it?

Sat pm enjoying 10kts+ sleigh-ride in AC, broad reach in 30-40kts, full rag out, started to wind in main for controlled gybe, act of sheeting main caused too much rounding effect... ended up tacking through anyway. No drama but I thort "if we'd had a spinny up we would have HAD to gybe" so how do the big boys do that then?

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You probably just needed to make sure that you bore away onto a run before pulling the main in, on a run pulling it in shouldn't effect you.


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Don't know; we would have had a reef or 2 in long before then. But would gybing the genoa first (to goose winged) help? Perhaps a spinaker would have a similar effect by putting some of the sail area on the other side of the centreline.

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Personally I would'nt gybe deliberately in 40 knots of wind think its a recipe for disaster, bearing away onto a run IMHO is asking for an accidental gybe, I'd wear round and certainly doot if I'd be carrying a spinnie or much more than a storm jib in the fore triangle!

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Full main in this sort of wind is gung-ho beyond the bounds of white-knicker sailing.

Even the big boys whould do it with great caution and probably because they had been caught out by a sudden increase in wind on a down wind leg when they couldn't drop in a reef. Think what would happen if you suddenly had to come on to the wind.

You do it the same as teh big boys:
1) steer a safe downwind course with the best helmsman on the wheel.
2) put your least valuable crew on the mainsheet cos you may damage him/her
3) centre the traveller
4) haul in the mainsheet making sure the mainsheet trimmer is hauling the tail through a jammer and a) has his fingers well clear of the jaws and b) is quick witted enough to throw off the jammer quickly immediately after the gybe. As it nears the centreline call gybe-ho and put up the helm.
5) genny sheet hand one frees sheet and genny sheet hand two hauls in fast.
6) Main comes across with a bit of a bang - not too much if most of the main sheet is in. Main trimmer immediately eases the sheet FAST to prevfent boat rounding up.
7) Steady on new course trim sheets, mop up blood.

Or
1) Come on to a close reach
2) Reef main
3) Tack

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Re: Percentage game

James is spot on with method. I'd try to do the job with the boat at best speed as you can reduce the pressure by reducing the apparent wind. The whole thing needs to be done with a bit of attack. The boat and the wind will know if your wimping and they'll bite you. You need the main very flat to.

On a big boat, say 60ft or so, with a crew who can do this sort of thing, your likely to have the complication of runners as well. Nothing like the chance to loose the mast to focus the crew. Your main will be on a winch which should keep the trimmer out of the way. Be very cautious about the traveler. It can add a whole new world of pain if it's not secured at both ends. Any slack in the mainsheet, as it sweeps across the cockpit, can collect a body and fling them a startling distance. A mate of mine, sailing a 65ft boat a long way from home, was lucky to just get bruised when it happened to him. The bruise, a real horror from the photo's, went from his neck to his knees.

When I raced we didn't carry a kite in over 30knots. Most, that you'd carry for round the cans racing, blow out at about that anyway. This was because the percentages showed that it was more trouble than it was worth. We wouldn't have gybed it in big winds either. We'd drop it and fire it up on the next gybe. I've sailed boats that had, what we called, storm kites. Built like a mail sack and quite small their main purpose is, in open water, to give lift to the bow when you're surfing. Never got to fly one though.

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we have twin mainsheets, one to either side of the coachroof. we simply winch in on the weather sheet and ease it round the lee winch keeping the boom firmly pinned down throughout.

in less estreme conditions we haul the boom part way in using the weather sheet only, then sail by the lee till it gybes. the boom whips across then lies quietly off to leeward until we take in the slack of the sheet and bear away to fill the sail on the new gybe. it helps that we don't have any shrouds for the boom to hit.

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Don\'t try this at home...

When I went sailing with some serious racing-type friends in a Sigma 38 the technique was:
1) get her runnning dead downwind
2) gybe the spinnaker (same technique as in light winds only more scary)
3) haul the main flat then let it gybe
4) do an uncontrolled chinese broach and put the masthead in the water
5) sit on the rail fifteen feet from the water with the spinnaker as a big drogue, scratching heads
6) duck as the boom whistles past under the influence of gravity
6) man up to his waist in water on the "downhill" rail releases halyard clutch gently
7) try not to get the spinnaker round the spade rudder
8) Man in the pulpit comes up for air
9) sober up and put the spinnaker pole away as its broken now.






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It also helps that you have a wide stable base to perform the gybe on a cat.

None of this broaching stuff.....

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But jimi lad, you ARE gybing its not going to be accidental! (i'm talking about a smooth maneouver here, not head go onto a run, then gybe).

As someone else said there are a number of things you can do to make it easier that most people learn in dinghies where you tend to try crazy stuff like this:

You should be going abosultely flat out white spray everywhere keel singing halfway down the front of a huge wave as you initiate the gybe. It is even a good idea to head up slightly to pick up speed (as long as you're not on the edge already), before carving away onto the run.

This may seem like a stupid idea but if you can plane at 15 knots (optimistic for most but I've done it in an MG335) then you're gybing in 25 knots of wind and not 40.

Its also very important that you're less than halfway down the wave so you have time to get the main over completely out on the other side before you slam to a halt as you hit the wave in front. In strong wind you actually don't have to worry *too* much about the kite as you can keep it tight to control it without worrying about it collapsing, the main is much more important.

Disclaimer: This should of course only be attempted with people who know what they're doing, not with the mother in law out for a jolly.
<hr width=100% size=1><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by BustinAround on 29/11/2004 15:52 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
Dream on, on 40knots of wind there's going to be a sea running going onto a run to pull the main in will stand a high change of a full all standing accidental gybe as the arse of the boat gets lifted by a wave.

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"This should of course only be attempted with people who know what they're doing, not with the mother in law out for a jolly."

Surely you mean. This should only be attempted with the mother in law on the foredeck!


<hr width=100% size=1>Think I'll draw some little rabbits on my head, from a distance they might be mistaken for hairs.
 
If

the boat starts rounding up when you tighten the main ready to gybe you needed a reef in.

Tho' difficult I manage it without coming up to the wind and this with a fully-battened main.
Main halyard slack - reef pennant part in - tail from reefing ring to reefing winch - haul down using leech pennant and tail alternately.

Mind you 40 knots apparent off wind means a F10, which even the most inattentive go-faster lad would have noticed and had at least 2 tucks in - somehow something doesn't add up.

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James. In my experience having the main sheet going through a jammer as it is pulled in means that as the sail flips, the load on the jammer is so heavy that the trimmer is always too slow letting it out and round we come. Lots of crashing and banging, have to blow the spin haliard, chaos etc....Keeping the sheet out of the jammer means it flies straight out and the only blood is the trimmers but if he too stupid to keep his hands clear..well he'll learn for next time won't he.
best regards

<hr width=100% size=1>Real men do it 2handed.
 
errr managed a controlled jibe when sailing a 60ft gaff schooner under full sail in about a force 5.. this is a guesstimate as no wind speed instrument.. going thro the Pentland.. from very Port very broad reach to Starboard (funnily enuf)..

We had 2 bods working the mainsheets and traveller line another on the foresail (foremast about the same position as todays burmudan rig with a boom and traveller too..) another bod on the Jibs and yet another lookout for shipping / fishing boats etc.. effectively had to co-ordinate very carefully edging thro the wind and hauling in and letting out very gradually.. It was fine but I wouldn't want to try it much more than a 6 .. that was quiet exciting enuf. Really it comes down to having enuf hands and everyone working together..

Generally speaking gaffs are scarey to gibe than bermudans

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Good stuff

Loads of good debate and suggestions below. Cheers.

Think that key lessons are that if conditions look ok for gybe then steer onto flat run, harden main quickly on winch (not jammer) and then steer through gybe and ease quickly. Otherwise do as I did and tack through quickly.

Seriously, it was 30-40kts and it was a broad reach with full sails on - speed never below 9kts, high-score 10.3. Occassionally rounding moment when biggest gusts combined with twisting sea but mostly catered for by anticipating this and steering down towards flat run before it got out of hand. Certainly required 100% concentration but for an hour or so it was exhilarating fun - one of those memorable trips for the right reasons! But certainly wouldn't have retained this sail combo into the night and also not singlehanded - on this occassion I had two other guys aboard. Would have stayed purely under full main if singlehanded.

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Re: Good stuff

Why would you've stayed under full main if SH ? I would've thought that Genoa was more controllable and pulls the boat along rather than push it.

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