Interesting video of how two different yachts handle heavy weather.

Both boats are reaching in an F6. Pretty well any boat will do that. My old 37ft 20,000lbs gaff cutter was brilliant at it, and romped away keeping her decks dryer than either boat here. Ask her to go to windward in the same conditions and she would sulk and pitch twice in the same hole.

I do think it illustrates a real choice; at the same speed you can either get chucked about in a lightweight or get soaked in a heavy.

I prefer to get soaked, but that may be down to having just bought a boat which is an arch exponent of the lazy boat’s route to windward; if she can’t chuck a sea to the sides, she goes straight through it. Either way, you get soaked, but she hardly slows down.
 
As others have said 25 knots is not heavy weather. My IP would barely be reefed and only just getting into her stride in those conditions. However, the point is well made. A traditional heavy displacment long keel will give a totally different ride in more windy and rough conditions. Again, I would expect very little motion in the sea state in the video whereas a typical light fin keeler would be starting to move around somewhat more. The difference would become more and more pronounced and going to windward even more obvious.

This is a helpful comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnXJv1dfyQA
 
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22 - 27 knots = F6, a strong breeze or a "yachtsman's gale". Ladybird would have one reef in the main and a couple of rolls in the jib romping along at 6 knots and a bit. Me? I'd have a grin on my face. I certainly wouldn't call it heavy weather, I'd call it SAILING!
 
It would have been nice to see both boats hard on the wind. That would have been a useful comparison. Any boat can sail in these conditions with wind on the beam. Both boats have roller furling genoas so hard on the wind they would struggle to point and would probably need some mainsail to provide more power. It would then be interesting to see how well they could drive up wind. It would actually be an interesting boat magazine test to take similar sized boats from different manufactures both new and old and sail them side by side in similar conditions up wind. Points for pointing ability, comfort, speed and angle of heal would be useful. They would have to be in cruising trim with a minimum weight of gear so they were realistic comparisons to represent actually cruising rather than striped out racers. It might but a lot of myths to bed for ever
 
ip485 said:
As others have said 25 knots is not heavy weather. My IP would barely be reefed and only just getting into her stride in those conditions. However, the point is well made. A traditional heavy displacment long keel will give a totally different ride in more windy and rough conditions. Again, I would expect very little motion in the sea state in the video whereas a typical light fin keeler would be starting to move around somewhat more. The difference would become more and more pronounced and going to windward even more obvious.

This is a helpful comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnXJv1dfyQA
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Looking at the IP in the second video, the wind is said to be 30-35kn gusting 50kn. It really doesn't look like a steady gale force wind to me, let alone 50kn. One wonders how people measure wind speed and how accurate their measurements are. Like fish caught, the actual wind seems rarely to be more than estimated?
 
garvellachs said:
Looking at the IP in the second video, the wind is said to be 30-35kn gusting 50kn. It really doesn't look like a steady gale force wind to me, let alone 50kn. One wonders how people measure wind speed and how accurate their measurements are. Like fish caught, the actual wind seems rarely to be more than estimated?
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I know the contributors who are very experienced cruisers. I agree with your assessment but equally they would be accurate with the wind speed, albeit it is one thing to have the very odd top end gust of 50Kn and another to have gusts towards 50Kn a more regular feature. In this case I expect it was mathead wind speed measured as true wind set on the display.
 
garvellachs said:
Looking at the IP in the second video, the wind is said to be 30-35kn gusting 50kn. It really doesn't look like a steady gale force wind to me, let alone 50kn. One wonders how people measure wind speed and how accurate their measurements are. Like fish caught, the actual wind seems rarely to be more than estimated?
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Agree with that, a filled in F8 is a serious proposition and that clearly isn't (except if well inshore with zero fetch)
 
As accelerometers and gyroscopes are apparently available for the Arduino at modest cost, will we perhaps one day see a YAPP to directly measure motion comfort?
 
geem said:
It would actually be an interesting boat magazine test to take similar sized boats from different manufactures both new and old and sail them side by side in similar conditions up wind. Points for pointing ability, comfort, speed and angle of heal would be useful. They would have to be in cruising trim with a minimum weight of gear so they were realistic comparisons to represent actually cruising rather than striped out racers. It might but a lot of myths to bed for ever
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Brilliant idea. If done in F 6/7 which to many sailors is heavy weather ( yes i know about all those that claim it is nothing but to many family sailors it is a big hurdle) Especially in a choppy sea. That would be a series of articles i would read with interest. Might put a few of the "slamming" myths to bed as well
 
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geem said:
It would have been nice to see both boats hard on the wind. That would have been a useful comparison. Any boat can sail in these conditions with wind on the beam. Both boats have roller furling genoas so hard on the wind they would struggle to point and would probably need some mainsail to provide more power. It would then be interesting to see how well they could drive up wind. It would actually be an interesting boat magazine test to take similar sized boats from different manufactures both new and old and sail them side by side in similar conditions up wind. Points for pointing ability, comfort, speed and angle of heal would be useful. They would have to be in cruising trim with a minimum weight of gear so they were realistic comparisons to represent actually cruising rather than striped out racers. It might but a lot of myths to bed for ever
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+2. What a good idea.
 
Daydream believer said:
Brilliant idea. If done in F 6/7 which to many sailors is heavy weather ( yes i know about all those that claim it is nothing but to many family sailors it is a big hurdle) Especially in a choppy sea. That would be a series of articles i would read with interest. Might put a few of the "slamming" myths to bed as well
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I very much agree.

F6 is unlikely to bother the boat, but it will be starting to bother the crew, and for most of us, cruising with a weak crew, that is rally what matters. I wonder how many lifeboat shouts are really due to seasickness and cold progressively incapacitating the crew?
 
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Daydream believer said:
Brilliant idea. If done in F 6/7 which to many sailors is heavy weather ( yes i know about all those that claim it is nothing but to many family sailors it is a big hurdle) Especially in a choppy sea. That would be a series of articles i would read with interest. Might put a few of the "slamming" myths to bed as well
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So, suggesting some boats to go head to head.
From the old boat camp how about a Rival 38 and a Moody 376 and from the new boat camp a Bavaria 37 and a Jeanneau 379. Also add in a Ben 381. Suggest F6 up wind. Most U.K. Sailors with these kinds of boats wouldn't normally set off in a F6 but many sailors have been caught out in these conditions or need to get home for work after a couple of weeks annual holiday and they have either to press for home or leave the boat in a marina to return another weekend to collect it. Well here's the test we would all buy the magazine for.....
 
geem said:
So, suggesting some boats to go head to head.
From the old boat camp how about a Rival 38 and a Moody 376 and from the new boat camp a Bavaria 37 and a Jeanneau 379. Also add in a Ben 381. Suggest F6 up wind. Most U.K. Sailors with these kinds of boats wouldn't normally set off in a F6 but many sailors have been caught out in these conditions or need to get home for work after a couple of weeks annual holiday and they have either to press for home or leave the boat in a marina to return another weekend to collect it. Well here's the test we would all buy the magazine for.....
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Lets not have an afternoon in the Solent either. Take them out of L'AberWrach and into a SW breeze.
 
doug748 said:
Lets not have an afternoon in the Solent either. Take them out of L'AberWrach and into a SW breeze.
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Agreed. Proper English Channel or Irish Sea conditions with unlimited fetch. The point is to see how they go in proper waves that relate to wind speed. I get tired of people telling me how well their boat goes in 30 kts of wind when they are sailing in off shore wind conditions and flat water. In my experience most of these boats will find it tough going in 25 knots true wind and 2metre seas. They are going to be seeing circa 30 kts over the deck. They will be stopped by the seas and unless they have an inner furler with a good blade type staysail they will struggle to point up to windward with a well furled genoa. They are likely to need 2 or 3 reefs in the main to give power needed to punch through the seas and they will have considerable leeway. The boats with the lower ballast ratio will struggle to carry enough canvas to drive forward but hey, this is only my prediction. Over to YBW to set up the test and sell some magazines.....
 
Or one could simply enter one's chosen boat in a race and see how one got on? To save even the bother of that, why not just look at elapsed times in an exposed water race with a weather of one's choosing? At least a statistically meaningful sample could be taken that way!
 
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