I feel like a pussy after watching this!

Seven Spades said:

Even his mother thinks he is nuts!

In all seriousness this is a thrilling video but I am not convinced he wasn’t reckless. On deck in the dark no harness no life jacket. I am not convinced that a life jacket would have served any useful purpose but being clipped on would have been sensible.
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On his own his choice I suppose. Clipped on with a short tether to stop him going over would be sensible but Clipped on and getting dragged along by an unmanned boat maybe the less preferred way to go if he went over the side. He may carry a PLB and prefer that option
 
I was on the edge of my armchair..........waiting for the accidental Gybe that would knock him overboard. I hope he knows something I don't otherwise one day he will go overboard.
I would never go down below and sleep for one and a quarter hours in the North Sea. 20 minutes maybe.
Anyhow, good on him and I hope we are never stopped from doing this kind of thing by "elf and safety".
 
Seven Spades said:

Even his mother thinks he is nuts!

In all seriousness this is a thrilling video but I am not convinced he wasn’t reckless. On deck in the dark no harness no life jacket. I am not convinced that a life jacket would have served any useful purpose but being clipped on would have been sensible.
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He is crazy.

Lifejacket and tether probably useless -- just prolong the agony.

But is that any comfort??? On the foredeck of a small boat like that, in those conditions???
 
In all seriousness this is a thrilling video but I am not convinced he wasn’t reckless. On deck in the dark no harness no life jacket. I am not convinced that a life jacket would have served any useful purpose but being clipped on would have been sensible.[/QUOTE]

Not sure that he was reckless. Life jacket is useless, better to die quickly than slowly when there is no chance of survival. Clipping on in the cockpit maybe, but traditional jack stays on a boat of this size is of questionable value. I did a test with 4 mates boats in a club, all in the 28-35 foot range, and every one would have allowed someone to slip over the side and dangle from the jack stay when using a 1.5m tether if you went under the life lines. False sense of security may be worse than the caution generated by not being protected.

I think that the recent test by Yachting Monthly https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/stay-deck-avoid-mob-51411 seemed to support this view, given that the recommended jack stay configurations are not practical on many boats, certainly on mine.
 
Dutch 01527 "Not sure that he was reckless. Life jacket is useless, better to die quickly than slowly when there is no chance of survival. Clipping on in the cockpit maybe, but traditional jack stays on a boat of this size is of questionable value. I did a test with 4 mates boats in a club, all in the 28-35 foot range, and every one would have allowed someone to slip over the side and dangle from the jack stay when using a 1.5m tether if you went under the life lines. False sense of security may be worse than the caution generated by not being protected.

I think that the recent test by Yachting Monthly https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/sailing-skills/stay-deck-avoid-mob-51411 seemed to support this view, given that the recommended jack stay configurations are not practical on many boats, certainly on mine.[/QUOTE]"
+1
 
With a bigger boat than his I used to fit jackstays but have realised that using them when singlehanded would just give a false sense of security. I do clip on in rough conditions, but via a short tether attached close to the helm. That however does not allow me to reach the primary winches and I have yet to devise any method of reaching both the helm and the winches that would not also allow me to go over the side and be dragged. If I need to work at the mast I just hold on to grab rails then shrouds, and clip on when I get there. The best attachment point at the mast that I have found is to pass the safety line round the gooseneck or the mast and clip the other end back to the harness.
 
Norman_E said:
With a bigger boat than his I used to fit jackstays but have realised that using them when singlehanded would just give a false sense of security. I do clip on in rough conditions, but via a short tether attached close to the helm. That however does not allow me to reach the primary winches and I have yet to devise any method of reaching both the helm and the winches that would not also allow me to go over the side and be dragged. If I need to work at the mast I just hold on to grab rails then shrouds, and clip on when I get there. The best attachment point at the mast that I have found is to pass the safety line round the gooseneck or the mast and clip the other end back to the harness.
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I agree - when singlehanded there is no merit in anything which would allow you to be rescued from alongside the boat - it has to stop you going over or is pointless. So I have tended to have a very short tether and clip it on in the cockpit or up forward when I am doing a task that will occupy me in that spot for more than a few seconds, and that generally is being by the mast doing something with the mainsail.
. Otherwise it's quicker and safer being untethered as you move about the boat and do quick tasks. The real safety part for me is organising things to suit being singlehanded so you aren't rushing backwards and forward often - in other words if a single part of reefing or hoisting the mainsail has to be done at the mast then best to do the lot there on a short tether.

It's only putting fenders in and out that really requires me to run up and down the boat untethered and obviously mostly do that inside a harbour.
 
RupertW said:
I agree - when singlehanded there is no merit in anything which would allow you to be rescued from alongside the boat - it has to stop you going over or is pointless. So I have tended to have a very short tether and clip it on in the cockpit or up forward when I am doing a task that will occupy me in that spot for more than a few seconds, and that generally is being by the mast doing something with the mainsail.
. Otherwise it's quicker and safer being untethered as you move about the boat and do quick tasks. The real safety part for me is organising things to suit being singlehanded so you aren't rushing backwards and forward often - in other words if a single part of reefing or hoisting the mainsail has to be done at the mast then best to do the lot there on a short tether.

It's only putting fenders in and out that really requires me to run up and down the boat untethered and obviously mostly do that inside a harbour.
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In conditions like that, I can understand the Blondie Hasler/Roger Taylor carpet slipper school of junk rig sailing. Manage the whole rig from the hatch, and stay dry and secure with most of your body still in the cabin.
 
michael_w said:
Contessa 35 aka Ganbare.

Ganbare+1.jpg


Early Doug Peterson One tonner. When races were won and lost upwind.
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That is a different cockpit to the one in the video & the wheel steering would be unlikely to fit in with the plans shown earlier
 
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Bathdave said:
I was slightly puzzled by his rig set up through the night ...he mentioned several accidental gybes.,


He's obviously a very experinced sailor (more so than me) but on that course off the wind and those wind strengths and sea states I would have been sailing under Genoa alone...

Am I misssing something ?
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As Capn Fantastic says it is to keep the rig balanced.

If you only have your genoa in action the centre of effort/drive of the sail is well forward of the leading edge of the keel ( centre of lateral resistance ) the further forward it is, the more turning moment force you create. Put both sails up, reefed, and you instantly bring the centre of drive back towards the keel.

I would not do that trip single handed, not that distance at that time of year and I would certainly be clipped on ! But it was a great video, some of them are very samey, bikinis, sunshine, white sand beaches :sleeping:
 
chrishscorp said:
As Capn Fantastic says it is to keep the rig balanced.

If you only have your genoa in action the centre of effort/drive of the sail is well forward of the leading edge of the keel ( centre of lateral resistance ) the further forward it is, the more turning moment force you create. Put both sails up, reefed, and you instantly bring the centre of drive back towards the keel.:
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But the first half of the crossing was downwind. Much better balanced with genoa only and no mainsail, as boat virtually self steers and no risk of boom gybing. Reefed main and genoa flapping from side to side much less balanced.
And looked like the vane steering struggling downwind - one situation where a good modern autopilot would probably have coped better, but used more power.

Clearly a tough cookie. And makes his own calls. But I too was a bit surprised by the standing up in the arc of the boom, and walking around on snow covered decks without fully clearing them and no tether in icy decks.
Am surprised he didn’t through a few buckets of sea water over the decks to wash away and melt the snow. With Gulf Stream sea water generally warm enough to melt it. We often need to do the bucket of sea water over decks to clear frost/ice, rather than snow, before going for a winter sail.
 
Forget all this sailing technique makarky... total kudos for having a Nespresso machine available whilst sailing (inverter?)
Perfect pick me up after a nap. I figure the reason he's so gung ho is the caffeine and cigarettes!
 
dunedin said:
But the first half of the crossing was downwind. Much better balanced with genoa only and no mainsail, as boat virtually self steers and no risk of boom gybing. Reefed main and genoa flapping from side to side much less balanced.
And looked like the vane steering struggling downwind - one situation where a good modern autopilot would probably have coped better, but used more power.

Clearly a tough cookie. And makes his own calls. But I too was a bit surprised by the standing up in the arc of the boom, and walking around on snow covered decks without fully clearing them and no tether in icy decks.
Am surprised he didn’t through a few buckets of sea water over the decks to wash away and melt the snow. With Gulf Stream sea water generally warm enough to melt it. We often need to do the bucket of sea water over decks to clear frost/ice, rather than snow, before going for a winter sail.
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If we are set in for a long downwind leg i tend to goosewing, pole out the genoa and put a preventer on the boom I have found that to be a better motion for SWMBO, dont think i would go below decks for a sleep with it set like that though

I did see the snow sloshing around in the water in the cockpit :cold: at least he had the head gear for it
 
dolabriform said:
Forget all this sailing technique makarky... total kudos for having a Nespresso machine available whilst sailing (inverter?)
Perfect pick me up after a nap. I figure the reason he's so gung ho is the caffeine and cigarettes!
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I am considering sending Erik a tea pot and some decent tea for his trip to the Faroe Islands in April, nothing quite like a good brew. ;)
 
RupertW said:
I agree - when singlehanded there is no merit in anything which would allow you to be rescued from alongside the boat - it has to stop you going over or is pointless. So I have tended to have a very short tether and clip it on in the cockpit or up forward when I am doing a task that will occupy me in that spot for more than a few seconds, and that generally is being by the mast doing something with the mainsail.
. Otherwise it's quicker and safer being untethered as you move about the boat and do quick tasks. The real safety part for me is organising things to suit being singlehanded so you aren't rushing backwards and forward often - in other words if a single part of reefing or hoisting the mainsail has to be done at the mast then best to do the lot there on a short tether.

It's only putting fenders in and out that really requires me to run up and down the boat untethered and obviously mostly do that inside a harbour.
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I am glad you said this.

For years I tried to follow the advice and stay tethered up at all times, moving like a crab around the boat. Long tethers, jack ropes, short tethers, duel tethers, webbing stays, the lot. After a long while I concluded that I creating deck hazards for myself and making difficult work almost impossible.
I now operate exactly as you do.
 
Personally, I don't like long tethers. I sail singlehanded and I have all lines to the cockpit. If I have to go at the front for any reason in chopy seas, I use a short tether to clip on at various points on the deck. I have installed "eye bolts" on the deck spaced out along the centre line of the boat. Falling off and dragged by the boat alongside on a long tether must be agony.
 
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