How slow do you sail

[sailaboutvic]

Started this thread to take my mind off gearbox problem .
We having to sail 65 miles to haul out wind is very light and bang on the nose , it took an hour just to sail off the anchor and move half mile .
Our top Speed this morning as been 1.4 kts slowest 0.5 ,
This 13.5 ton boat don't go very well in light winds ,
We hoping the wind will pick up later but still very much south which is where we off to .
Would you give in and wait for another day or just plod on ?
I will say It's painfull to see an hour pass and you not moved much ..
Oh oh one min we just touching 1.8 , thinks are looking up .

 

[NotBirdseye]

I think if I got to 0.5 I might be tempted to get the sculling oar out... but as long as you're still heading in the right way what does it matter? Grab a book, watch a tv-show, make something to eat.

 

[jordanbasset]

How is it going now Vic

 

[sailaboutvic]

How is it going now Vic

We start just under 3 hours ago , covered 4.2 miles only another 51 to go . It's going to be a long day any night .

 

[geem]

Whats the true wind speed?

 

[sailaboutvic]

Do you really want to know ? Just now it's 2.7 and we've almost stopped

 

[mikegunn]

It is what it is Vic. It’s a bit like being anchored really. So what would you be doing if you were anchored? There’s always something that needs doing on a boat. An opportunity to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run!
I just looked at your local weather. 30°C, unbroken Sunshine. Lay back and enjoy it ?
Mike

 

[dunedin]

At least you have no tide (presumably). I was off Berneray yesterday in light winds trying to sail, but on the West side where we met Atlantic swell and when the tide started sweeping us towards some very sharp rocks with breakers on, I was happy to know I could put the engine on if necessary. Must have got scary sometimes in days of pure sail, getting slowly sucked to disaster.

But re the original point, we like sailing on light wind days so we specifically chose a boat that (in flat water) would be powered up and sailing efficiently in 5 knots true wind speed upwind or across. Make faster VMG upwind than down in 5 knots breeze! Reefing in 15 knots true upwind is a good sign - a boat that needs 15 knots to get powered is under canvassed.

Enjoy your sail, and enjoy a good book whilst doing so

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Makes one appreciate the skills of our ancestors in the days before the infernal combustion engine.

Have you tried a water sail, or drabbler (?) lashed under the boom? Moving weight to leeward to induce a list and help the sails fall into shape? As a last resort you could jettison your cannon, shot, chain and pump out your water to lighten the ship.

 

[sailaboutvic]

It is what it is Vic. It’s a bit like being anchored really. So what would you be doing if you were anchored? There’s always something that needs doing on a boat. An opportunity to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run!
I just looked at your local weather. 30°C, unbroken Sunshine. Lay back and enjoy it ?
Mike

I think I found the problem with the drive how bad it's going to be I sure another question , I email you .

 

[mainsail1]

That's why having a Stuart Turner as your auxiliary engine was so good in days gone by. You knew that you had many happy hours trying to get it started and when it did you had many happy hours trying to keep it going. By then, the wind had got up and all was well...................

 

[mjcoon]

That's why having a Stuart Turner as your auxiliary engine was so good in days gone by. You knew that you had many happy hours trying to get it started and when it did you had many happy hours trying to keep it going. By then, the wind had got up and all was well...................

Why was it called that if it was so rarely a "turner"?

 

[Tam Lin]

Sometimes I go backwards!

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Makes one appreciate the skills of our ancestors in the days before the infernal combustion engine

Exactly. Treat it as a reenactment of how life was.

Go the whole hog. Flog somebody perhaps. Start rationing food, get the dinghy out and start rowing for a wind.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

This season my record was 6nm in 12hrs and 27nm in 24hrs.
Last season 2nm in 12hrs and 15nm in 24hrs.

I don't carry an abundance of fuel and I sail longish distances so it's part of the game for me. The secret is to do something else but keep a lookout. You can spend hours trying all sorts of things to try and go faster but the energy you will expend and the disappointment you will feel make it a fools errand.

 

[johnalison]

Years ago we met three blokes in Dieppe who had taken three days to get there from Rye. My record was about five miles in four hours to Ven when trying to save engine hours.

 

[capnsensible]

Modern minds are tuned for rush, rush. Things like failed engines show us that we aren't always masters of our own destinies. Why is going slow so bad? Does it matter if you arrive in Neptune time? Let's face it, if there really was a hurry, people wouldn't go sailing in the first place!

 

[Neeves]

Vic,

Good Morning to you

You pose an interesting problem.

The whole 'raison d'etre' of a yacht is....

To go sailing.

Its not the destination but the journey.

I know that with a catamaran there is an adrelin rush when you hit teens and fear when you reach speeds with a 2 at the front - but the reality is - sometimes you go slowly, Bake bread, do the laundry, wash the deck, clean the tuna.

Strangely yachts are sold, or some of them, on how quickly they will go, sail (and reach their destination) but you actually buy them because you want to sail. If you wanted to get there quickly you would have bought a MoBo, or a bicycle.

Relax, take your time, have a snooze (with other half keeping their eyes open) - make the most of it.

When you get 'there' - rush about then, not many have the luxury of sitting still ....

Stop worrying, act you (and my), age

Jonathan

PS, I still like the adrenalin rush and don't reduce the sails when everything is singing (but the other half of me is wishing I did not like the adrenaline rush).

 

[RichardS]

Before we set off to anywhere, I have to give my Wife an estimate of how long it will take ....... but I have to keep the estimate as low as possible otherwise she would demand to go somewhere closer.

Ergo, I have to start the engine as soon as our average drops as she will small a rat and start to fret.

In short, if "Er" says "go", we go.

Richard

 

[cherod]

“ what is this life so full of care , we have no time to stand and stare , no time to stand upon the bows , and stare as long as gulls or cows “