How slow do you sail ?

[sailaboutvic]

Well, from all this I’m going to have another go at reducing our motor-on speed from 5 to 3 knots. We have no long passages planned for well over a year so it should be fine for island hopping.

Good man , as My posting help you to decide to sail slower , can I have have half of the fuel bill you going to save

 

[Daydream believer]

Recall many years ago hearing the traditionalist saying engines would ruin the art of sailing. Were they correct ?

Actually I would tend to disagree. Engines open up the cruising grounds to people, consequently opening up sailing as a whole to a wider participating audience. I.e. more people go sailing.
That, I suspect, is regardless of the loss of the numbers of working community that relied on sail for a living.
If that is correct, can one honestly say that the art of sailing has been ruined, if the "art" is now practiced by greater numbers from those that might not otherwise have been involved?

 

[Daydream believer]

How, taking a noon site, did you arrive at the decision to "turn left" to Den Helder?

Probably saw Ijmuiden out the porthole:ambivalence::encouragement:

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

There have been many times where I don't mind standing still against the tide if the scenery is nice. But, like most of the others here, if I am on my way somewhere and the speed drops below 2.5 knots, then I will start the engine to motorsail. If the wind is against me, I would put the main up and try to motorsail very close to the wind. If all fails, I motor!!!

 

[Daydream believer]

My wife encountered them first in the bar of the club, then in a sort of prefab cabin. At 11.30 they had already celebrated their arrival a little too well and decided that it would be fun to try and guess my wife's age..

So did your wife go on the explain what she was doing with 3 drunks going from a bar to a "sort of prefab cabin" in Dieppe at 11-30.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Actually I would tend to disagree. Engines open up the cruising grounds to people, consequently opening up sailing as a whole to a wider participating audience. I.e. more people go sailing.
That, I suspect, is regardless of the loss of the numbers of working community that relied on sail for a living.
If that is correct, can one honestly say that the art of sailing has been ruined, if the "art" is now practiced by greater numbers from those that might not otherwise have been involved?

I would suggest the reason there move boats on the water now is because of all the navigation Aids ,
Take them away and there be less people on boats .

 

[scotty123]

Probably saw Ijmuiden out the porthole:ambivalence::encouragement:

Ah, so the noon sight had nothing to do with the decision.

 

[Daydream believer]

I would suggest the reason there move boats on the water now is because of all the navigation Aids ,
Take them away and there be less people on boats .

Did not stop the explosion of small sail boats in the 50's to 70's when nav aids were far less sophisticated. So i disagree with that comment. I.e. I did not make my first trip over the channel because I had a DF set. It was more a case of "inspite of" having a DF set. Apart from that it was a compass and an echo sounder.- No log.

Besides i was commenting on the effect of engines on " ruining the art of sailing". I still say that they helped attract people to sailing. Engines include outboards (like the British Seagull, the Anzani, Evinrude, Johnson etc). Not just inboards.

 

[johnalison]

So did your wife go on the explain what she was doing with 3 drunks going from a bar to a "sort of prefab cabin" in Dieppe at 11-30.

You've got me worried now. She told me that she was going in the club for a shower.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Did not stop the explosion of small sail boats in the 50's to 70's when nav aids were far less sophisticated. So i disagree with that comment. I.e. I did not make my first trip over the channel because I had a DF set. It was more a case of "inspite of" having a DF set. Apart from that it was a compass and an echo sounder.- No log.

Besides i was commenting on the effect of engines on " ruining the art of sailing". I still say that they helped attract people to sailing. Engines include outboards (like the British Seagull, the Anzani, Evinrude, Johnson etc). Not just inboards.

Don't. Know about the 50s but there thousands more boats about now then the 70s .
Edit ... hundreds of thousands more , we on a island where we I use to come has a child , in them days it was fishing boats and maybe hundred or so private sailing and motor boats , there now 15 marina all busting at the seams , over thousand boats just in one marina , it's said every family as a member somewhere in that family that has a boat .

 

[Daydream believer]

You've got me worried now. She told me that she was going in the club for a shower.

So she was not lying then. I would often describe 3 drunks as a right "shower":encouragement:

 

[Daydream believer]

Don't. Know about the 50s but there thousands more boats about now then the 70s .
.

Would be a lot less without those from the 50-early 80's & the point I was making, was that the lack of the current modern nav aids did not stop people sailing then. They were simple not available to the masses at that time.

 

[TOKOLOSHI]

You have heard of " Go with the flow?"

Currents are strong with Spring rates of upto 8 knots in the vicinity of the Second Severn Crossing. The funnel-shape of the Estuary and River produces the regular, sometimes spectacular, Severn bore. The water is deepest at High Water Springs and shallowest at Low Water Springs.
:encouragement::encouragement:

Last Saturday 14th on returning from the Holmes race we were 2 and a half hours before HW at the new Severn crossing and just by Charston rock the water was a witches cauldron , quite a sight only about 100 mtres of disturbed waters! motored through and into the Pill! Rock left to starboard, local knowledge only!

 

[sailaboutvic]

Would be a lot less without those from the 50-early 80's & the point I was making, was that the lack of the current modern nav aids did not stop people sailing then. They were simple not available to the masses at that time.

Good morning .
I don't dis agree the different is in them days you had to learn how to navigate so anyone doing and distance sailing , not up and down local river learned ,
now many haven't got a clue what a set of dividers look like , any idiot can get on a boat and start a motor and drive it from A to B looking at the plotter . With power full engine most of the time you haven't got to worry about currents .
Most of us started with dinghy and work our way up learning skills has we go ,
Now as long as you can buy a boat with the lastest Aid , your an expert over night .
You only got to read question ask here and on other sailing forum to see how little knowledge some people have .
.
Re you comment on boats of the 50s to 70s that help to make up the boat of to day , sorry can't agree , maybe there on the east coast but in Europe there very little old boats still about more then 90 present are newest boats ,
Has I look around me this morning other then some old tubs the rest are within 10 years old .
When I say rest I talking in hundreds , the marina opposite I am anchor hold 400 hundred boats .

 

[RichardS]

Has I look around me this morning other then some old tubs the rest are within 10 years old .

I had a look around the bay we're in on Hvar last night and there are 15 buoys owned by two restaurants (so free for us!) and all were occupied by new boats. Ours was probably the oldest. What is also interesting is that 7 of those boats were catamarans. That is a massive change, even from 5 years ago, so it looks like monohulls will soon be a dying breed in the Med, much like the Caribbean.

Richard

 

[oldmanofthehills]

You have heard of " Go with the flow?" Currents are strong with Spring rates of upto 8 knots in the vicinity of the Second Severn Crossing. The funnel-shape of the Estuary and River produces the regular, sometimes spectacular, Severn bore. The water is deepest at High Water Springs and shallowest at Low Water Springs.
:encouragement::encouragement:

Last Saturday 14th on returning from the Holmes race we were 2 and a half hours before HW at the new Severn crossing and just by Charston rock the water was a witches cauldron , quite a sight only about 100 mtres of disturbed waters! motored through and into the Pill! Rock left to starboard, local knowledge only!View attachment 80439

Seeing as St Pierre Pill was a major Roman port long long ago those old sailors must have had nerves of steel if they came through the gap under sail. Even today if in doubt I go round the top of Charlton Rock to the still water before cutting in to the creek.

And as for going faster than the wind in the Shoots and sailing backwards to keep steerage! Very few Bristol Channel sailors sneer at engines, and engine problems caused major issues for a recent forumite trying to get into Lydney

 

[sailaboutvic]

I had a look around the bay we're in on Hvar last night and there are 15 buoys owned by two restaurants (so free for us!) and all were occupied by new boats. Ours was probably the oldest. What is also interesting is that 7 of those boats were catamarans. That is a massive change, even from 5 years ago, so it looks like monohulls will soon be a dying breed in the Med, much like the Caribbean.

Richard

Not sure if there ever be a dying breed ,
but very much agree there many more cat , the charter market seen to be replacing a lot of there mono with cats .
This is going to cause another problem ,
Spaces in marinas ,

 

[sailaboutvic]

@ Richard S
Just out of interest Richard , how many boats would you say is in the marina your base in ?
How many from say from the 80s and what proportion are within say 10 / 15 years old ?

 

[chriss999]

FWIW, in a 20-footer my average speed this year on recorded (day) passages is usually 3.5 to 4 kts. Almost all under sail.
Best sustained speed was 4.7 kts from Scilly to Falmouth in ideal conditions.

I sail 95% of the time once out of harbour as I don’t like to bother the (transom-mounted) engine and it is so much nicer to sail.

It isn’t surprising that most yachts overtake me, but it is surprising how many yachts do so under engine on good sailing days. Admittedly often hugging the coast for short hops. Maybe to a lunch stop then back home in time for tea?

Top speed is about 6, ignoring the weird numbers I sometimes get from Navionics.

 

[Daydream believer]

Good morning .
I don't dis agree the different is in them days you had to learn how to navigate so anyone doing and distance sailing , not up and down local river learned ,
now many haven't got a clue what a set of dividers look like , any idiot can get on a boat and start a motor and drive it from A to B looking at the plotter . With power full engine most of the time you haven't got to worry about currents .
Most of us started with dinghy and work our way up learning skills has we go ,
Now as long as you can buy a boat with the lastest Aid , your an expert over night .
You only got to read question ask here and on other sailing forum to see how little knowledge some people have .
.
Re you comment on boats of the 50s to 70s that help to make up the boat of to day , sorry can't agree , maybe there on the east coast but in Europe there very little old boats still about more then 90 present are newest boats ,
Has I look around me this morning other then some old tubs the rest are within 10 years old .
When I say rest I talking in hundreds , the marina opposite I am anchor hold 400 hundred boats .

How many of those are second boat (or more) owners though?