GHA
Well-Known Member
Guy's proper nuts! 
Anyone here even consider doing that?
Anyone here even consider doing that?
Force 10 forecast - lets go sailing!
- Thread starter GHA
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pagoda
Well-Known Member
Guy's proper nuts!
Anyone here even consider doing that?
I have a lot of respect for Erik.
With no desire to copy him.
I worked most of 38 years in and around the Northern North Sea and know it is not a great place for yachts. Crossed 3 times up there. Often ugly in the good times - Erik shows you some of the others.
Rovaer is lovely - Utsira nearby is also superb !
dunedin
Well-Known Member
Certainly a bit nuts to go out into a Force 10 forecast in a small boat, particularly onto a rocky lee shore.
But also noticed that he had the hatch fully open and no hatch boards in. And no solid water over the deck. And no harnesses needed,
That seems very different from Fastnet 79 where boats had to have hatches fully closed, and suffered severe flooding when hatch boards were lost in knock downs. Crew being washed out by waves across the decks, mostly saved by their harnesses being clipped on the entire time.
Also, in the only full Force 10 I have experienced, we had solid water going clean over the coachroof in a 72 footer, and that was in sheltered waters of the Clyde.
Seems odd that in the video there was absolutely no breaking waves across the boat?
But also noticed that he had the hatch fully open and no hatch boards in. And no solid water over the deck. And no harnesses needed,
That seems very different from Fastnet 79 where boats had to have hatches fully closed, and suffered severe flooding when hatch boards were lost in knock downs. Crew being washed out by waves across the decks, mostly saved by their harnesses being clipped on the entire time.
Also, in the only full Force 10 I have experienced, we had solid water going clean over the coachroof in a 72 footer, and that was in sheltered waters of the Clyde.
Seems odd that in the video there was absolutely no breaking waves across the boat?
NotBirdseye
Well-Known Member
I've been waiting for this video. Thank you!
As for the lack of breaking waves, could the point of sail have had something to do with that? He was sailing primarily away from the waves. (Actually a question because I have no clue).
As for the lack of breaking waves, could the point of sail have had something to do with that? He was sailing primarily away from the waves. (Actually a question because I have no clue).
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Ohlin Karcher
N/A
I think he carefully planned a down weather F10 run for the thrill, rather than being caught out. But you do raise good questions.
Siragruunen
New Member
I registered to comment on this thread. Erik lives in the same county in Norway as I do, I live a good bit further south though ( not too far from Egersund for those of you who have sailed in Norway).
The conditions were indeed as described in the video. If you pay attention to the video you will see that he sailed west first to Røvær before the storm, that was approaching from the west. Then he basically surfed home east to Haugesund. That is why you see no breaking waves over the boat etc.
I don't know Erik, but the community is so small that if he was a blaggard, it would be known a long time ago. In these parts a good reputation, and your good word is everything. Much more important than your wallet.
Finally, at the same day another guy went out in his sailing boat. When he returned, after losing his engine, the police and the fire department was waiting. If you use Google translate you can read it here
https://baatplassen.no/i/topic/150946-er-jeg-uaktsom/
He was criticized for taking too much risk, although he was in much more sheltered waters than Erik.
Erik seems legit to me, and the weather was awful on the day That I can attest to.
The conditions were indeed as described in the video. If you pay attention to the video you will see that he sailed west first to Røvær before the storm, that was approaching from the west. Then he basically surfed home east to Haugesund. That is why you see no breaking waves over the boat etc.
I don't know Erik, but the community is so small that if he was a blaggard, it would be known a long time ago. In these parts a good reputation, and your good word is everything. Much more important than your wallet.
Finally, at the same day another guy went out in his sailing boat. When he returned, after losing his engine, the police and the fire department was waiting. If you use Google translate you can read it here
https://baatplassen.no/i/topic/150946-er-jeg-uaktsom/
He was criticized for taking too much risk, although he was in much more sheltered waters than Erik.
Erik seems legit to me, and the weather was awful on the day That I can attest to.
dolabriform
Well-Known Member
Crazy, but brilliant as always
Porthandbuoy
Well-Known Member
Great video, thanks Erik.
Contessa 32 I think. Great boat.
Interesting observations, no storm jib, just a scrap of rolled out jib. Although he didn’t put any main up it looked as though he had ‘at the mast slab reefing’, though I’m not sure what all these winches are for either side of the coachroof.
Contessa 32 I think. Great boat.
Interesting observations, no storm jib, just a scrap of rolled out jib. Although he didn’t put any main up it looked as though he had ‘at the mast slab reefing’, though I’m not sure what all these winches are for either side of the coachroof.
dom
Well-Known Member
I guess F10 is just a label and depending on duration, fetch, cross currents, opposing wave trains, etc. I can certainly think of some super-fun F10 open sleigh rides and also some truly nasty F8s.
Subject to those caveats, I think you’re right, those images really doesn’t represent an open-ocean F10 or the seas associated with the passing front. As for being downhill, true, but as you suggest one often gets errant waves over the quarter and, when welcomed aboard by an open hatchway, many greenies will happily make themselves at home down below !
Edit: personally I found his derring-do voiceover a bit childish and ‘mediaee’, most definitely not great seamanship IMHO.
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Miken
Well-Known Member
It’s a contessa 35 not a 32, different designer (Doug Peterson) but still a tough seaworthy boat
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Couple of points i would make.
i crossed the dover straits from boulogne to Ramsgate in the last couple of days and that was F8 & more than enough for me in a 31 ft boat.
I notice that he used his auto pilot and it worked well, or seemed to. I could not trust my raymarine AV100 untill past south foreland and in the lea of the land.
he did not even have the vane set in his Hydrovane wind steering so obviously had no intention of using it. I used my aeries and it worked. Albeit with difficulty as the boat was being slung all over the place. Ii struggled to even hand steer. It was made worse by both Cap Griz Nez cg and Dover cg insisting that I cross the shipping lane in accordance with the colregs. Cap griz nex gave me quite a lecture. That gave me a close beam reach as the wind moved a bit to the west for a while from the sw, which it has been blowing.
i wonder if a Hydrovane would have worked because setting the rudder to one position in the first instance would have been difficult. Perhaps that is why it was not even considered.
As for sailing in heavy weather- i was sheltering in Peterhead when a guy came in in a beneteau 35 ft. He had sailed through the Pentland Firth in F10 ( confirmed by an oilrig supply vessel) and had actually cat napped on the way because he was able to rely on his autopilot ( forgot to ask the make but not Raymarine) he moored up, went to sleep for 12 hours, then left for the Netherlands and it was still blowing F8 and did so for the next day.
It is almost unbelievable that such small boats can actually survive those conditions, let alone the crew
But if Rustler 36s can girdle the world!!( well some of them)
i crossed the dover straits from boulogne to Ramsgate in the last couple of days and that was F8 & more than enough for me in a 31 ft boat.
I notice that he used his auto pilot and it worked well, or seemed to. I could not trust my raymarine AV100 untill past south foreland and in the lea of the land.
he did not even have the vane set in his Hydrovane wind steering so obviously had no intention of using it. I used my aeries and it worked. Albeit with difficulty as the boat was being slung all over the place. Ii struggled to even hand steer. It was made worse by both Cap Griz Nez cg and Dover cg insisting that I cross the shipping lane in accordance with the colregs. Cap griz nex gave me quite a lecture. That gave me a close beam reach as the wind moved a bit to the west for a while from the sw, which it has been blowing.
i wonder if a Hydrovane would have worked because setting the rudder to one position in the first instance would have been difficult. Perhaps that is why it was not even considered.
As for sailing in heavy weather- i was sheltering in Peterhead when a guy came in in a beneteau 35 ft. He had sailed through the Pentland Firth in F10 ( confirmed by an oilrig supply vessel) and had actually cat napped on the way because he was able to rely on his autopilot ( forgot to ask the make but not Raymarine) he moored up, went to sleep for 12 hours, then left for the Netherlands and it was still blowing F8 and did so for the next day.
It is almost unbelievable that such small boats can actually survive those conditions, let alone the crew
But if Rustler 36s can girdle the world!!( well some of them)
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doris
Well-Known Member
I have to say that all the talk about F10 is slightly meaningless, IMHO.
Having been out in that stuff a few times, its not the wind that is a problem, its the sea state. The channel is always brutal because of the tides. A few hours of wind over tide all changes with the tide. Offshore
a ten be a horror if the waves are crossing each other but if spaced and orderly its actually quite fun, even if one is going uphill.
In this video I would have had no problem doing it with a heavy weather/storm jib but with his furled genoa, wow! WTF would have happened had the furling line gone? Barely merits thinking about.
ProDave
Well-Known Member
The roughest weather I have been in was earlier this year when we set out in a forecast F4 that turned out to be F6 gusting F7. And we were in a much smaller boat.
And where we were the waves were not as high as that, but very short and very steep, stopping the boat dead each time you hit a wave and it was a very wet and rough ride.
On that occasion 2 other boats out suffered torn sails, and a third lost a window to a breaking wave. We were congratulated by the other crews for getting back to the harbour with no damage.
And where we were the waves were not as high as that, but very short and very steep, stopping the boat dead each time you hit a wave and it was a very wet and rough ride.
On that occasion 2 other boats out suffered torn sails, and a third lost a window to a breaking wave. We were congratulated by the other crews for getting back to the harbour with no damage.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I think another point that people tend to miss is that a 35kt gust is not a gale. A gale is when the winds are consistently over 34 kts and up to 40 kts. In that situation one could sometimes expect gusts of 45 kts ( which is not by themselves f9)
There is a massive difference between gusts and consistent winds
There is a massive difference between gusts and consistent winds
Robert Wilson
Well-Known Member
capnsensible
Well-Known Member
Was delivering a Fontain Pajot Lavezzi (40 foot) eastwards across the Atlantic some years ago. We had a couple of days of 50 plus knot winds west of the Azores. Very noisy but the boat and crew coped well.
Howver, I got the chance to use a line Id been saving for ages.
Crew 'How often do these things turn over?'
Me 'Just the once.'
Howver, I got the chance to use a line Id been saving for ages.
Crew 'How often do these things turn over?'
Me 'Just the once.'
boomerangben
Well-Known Member
Fantastic video and great opportunity to see someone who knows their boat and capabilities play with the “envelope” of what they will sail in.
But it was only a few miles, down wind In familiar waters and after a good rest. He give himself an uncomfortable moment too shooting the gap between skerries. Had things gone wrong, dealing with it single handed without searoom would have been properly character forming (for him or the rescue services or both). But good on him. He went into marginal weather in a controlled manner and shared his experience with us.
But it was only a few miles, down wind In familiar waters and after a good rest. He give himself an uncomfortable moment too shooting the gap between skerries. Had things gone wrong, dealing with it single handed without searoom would have been properly character forming (for him or the rescue services or both). But good on him. He went into marginal weather in a controlled manner and shared his experience with us.
LadyInBed
Well-Known Member
I can see where the guy is coming from, he had calculated the risk on a down wind passage in known (to him) waters.
After I had installed an inner forestay and bought a used hank on foresail which I had recut to a Yankee and tested it in 'normal' conditions I wanted to try it with stronger winds so when there was a SW 6 gusting 7 I went out from Poole under Yankee and mizzen to see how it performed.
I now know that when beating the angle of heel is just about manageable but for only a short period and on gusts the boat luffs up, it doesn't luff on a close reach and is quite comfortable on a broad reach.
Job done, I don't need to deliberately do it again
After I had installed an inner forestay and bought a used hank on foresail which I had recut to a Yankee and tested it in 'normal' conditions I wanted to try it with stronger winds so when there was a SW 6 gusting 7 I went out from Poole under Yankee and mizzen to see how it performed.
I now know that when beating the angle of heel is just about manageable but for only a short period and on gusts the boat luffs up, it doesn't luff on a close reach and is quite comfortable on a broad reach.
Job done, I don't need to deliberately do it again
glynd
Well-Known Member
Was interesting that he didn't opt for any orange sails
Wonder what would cause him to dig them out (assuming he carries them!)
Wonder what would cause him to dig them out (assuming he carries them!)
NotBirdseye
Well-Known Member
The guy is a certified nut, I'm pretty sure he considers a hurricane to be a slight breeze...
