Nervous skipper

MissFitz

MissFitz

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When crewing, I was very gung-ho & thought reefing was for sissies - now as a novice skipper of my own boat I get anxious when my deck is 10 degrees from horizontal. Am I a big scaredy-cat or is this normal? And if it is, how long does it take to get over it??
 
Would guess it is about right. Ignorance is bliss.

Whilst someone else is in charge, thinking of boat safety and crew comfort, and you do not have the understanding of the implications, harder, faster and more thrilling is in.

With the knowledge and responsibility of becoming skipper comes a greater understanding of all the things that could go wrong, setting in a sort of panic.

With further experience this eases off, then you start to get complacent, so every so often you have an incident that shakes you up a bit. Like playing chicken in the fog on the Humber and watching cabin lights pass above the mast but cant see the ship.

Re sets the ballance!

Happend to me (the new skipper bit, and the fog on the Humber), and SWMBO always says she enjoyed sailing much more before she did Coastal.
 
I thinks its normal, when i crew i am fine in all weathers but when i skipper my own boat i worry about everything, and i dont think i will change.
 
[ QUOTE ]
...how long does it take to get over it??

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't know. I'm at 2 seasons and counting! I was almost there but took a very bad day to heart.
 
If you think it is time to reef then do it, regardless of the amount of lean. The boat will lean less, maybe sail better, and you will feel safer. When you think it is safe to lose the reef, then give it 30 mins before you do. Do this a few times and you will get used to what you and your boat prefer. Gosh that was a serious answer /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you think it is time to reef then do it, regardless of the amount of lean. The boat will lean less, maybe sail better, and you will feel safer. When you think it is safe to lose the reef, then give it 30 mins before you do. Do this a few times and you will get used to what you and your boat prefer. Gosh that was a serious answer /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

All answers very welcome, serious or less so.

Actually, it's this reefing business that's made me nervous. I thought that, as you say, it could never be the wrong thing to do, but then I've got caught a couple of times in lumpy seas & gusty conditions, couldn't make any headway with reefs in, scared the pants off myself when we shook them out. On both occasions ended up bucketing around for a miserable half-hour before taking down the sails & sticking the engine on. Made for a very introspective couple of evenings wondering how I could have done it better......
 
Yep sissie is about it.

Start worrying when the water is coming in over the side ha ha ha

To be serious reefing is sensible, think about putting in the first reef at the top end of 4, then when it is mid 5's do it.

But if the wind is behind, put more sail up!!

Confidence is the word you are looking for. It will come as you do more sailing.

I won't leave harbour in anything over a 5. They call that cowardice

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good luck

mj
 
You'll develop a feel for how much power from the sails your boat needs. 10 degrees of heel is actually pretty minimal, let it go a bit further from time to time, and watch what happens to speed and direction. In my view, if there's wind & a lumpy sea, the answer is very rarely to motor. Find a sail combination that works for those conditions.
 
Hopefully never, but you get used to what the boat can do and what you can cope with.
Just watch the weather helm in the gusts and plan your reefing on that basis.
Earlier advice on lumpy seas as well as reefing in and letting out is very good
Recent experience off Cherbourg in F7 taught me that in bad seas the boat sails better reefed than she ever motors
 
I'm the same. It's easy to be gung ho in someone else's boat because, apart from maybe getting rescued, it's not you who has to pick up the pieces when something breaks. On your own boat, however new or expensive, there is always one bit you worry about. Are your rudder bearings strong enough? Is there hidden corrosion in the keel bolts? That panel seems to flex more than it should etc. etc.
 
Reefing

I didn't realise until boat No 8 which had been modified for serious racing that the number of reefs in the sail is most important and the basic cruiser package of three slabs is far from ideal. We had four reefs and a flattener so there were effectively five gears to go thro - labour-intensive of course, but each one could be reached from the cockpit, a safety consideration. And whether pulling down or shaking out, the jumps never came as a shock.
Think about it.
 
Re: Reefing

Last winter i brought all lines back to the cockpit,so when i need to reef(slab reefing) i can do it without having to go to the mast,it takes seconds to put a reef in now, and i feel much more in control of things.i tend to reef very early before things get bumpy,and if it doesnt get bumpy its easy to shake em out. you get to know your boat and how she handles in a seaway,mine doesnt like too much heel,about 15degs and she goes like a train, any more heel and im pulling on the tiller, and swmbo starts going white and throwing things.
 
Re: Reefing

Bless you, all you kind people, have made me feel much better. Will proceed with caution, as per instructions! And will try not to feel inadequate when reading posts along the lines of "Can't imagine why everyone wasn't out yesterday in that nice bracing F8......." /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
How much to reef upwind in a lumpy sea is an interesting question. I find that in say 25-30kts on the nose a blade jib and triple reefed main works well on flat water. In a big sea I often find the need for more main. Boat speed then ratchets from 3.5-4 kts with an unresponsive helm, to 7+kts and a really wet, bouncy but responsive ride! I am not sure if a happy medium exists. More reefing points as have been suggested might make sense.
 
In a bygone age when I used to use sails to get about I always put the first reef in about 15 knts, several times I have been told it's too early........... but for what! SWMBO was never put off sailing because I wanted to look good, which of course, well lets not go there.

At that the boat sits up the crew find it more comfortable and the rigging is'nt being stressed. Second reef about 25knts then it was down to the sea state as to what we did next.

If you racing thats a different matter, but general cruising, stick a reef in, loose about 1knt and have a happy crew......... and Skipper.

These days I push a stick forward. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Tom
 
[ QUOTE ]
When crewing, I was very gung-ho & thought reefing was for sissies - now as a novice skipper of my own boat I get anxious when my deck is 10 degrees from horizontal. Am I a big scaredy-cat or is this normal? And if it is, how long does it take to get over it??

[/ QUOTE ]
This year has been my second as skipper (and I wasn't much experienced as crew beforehand). Starting off extremely cautiously, I've been surprised how incrementally I've begun to relax a bit, now able to take completely normal, seamanlike decisions which I wasn't previously ready for.

For example, I'm now happy sailing up familiar rivers with appropriate sail-plan, instead of timidly always dropping all sail well out from the mouth and using engine.

I also found angle of heel very alarming at first: a heavy displacement long keeler, she heels over pretty quickly but then suddenly stiffens up and stays there. Now I reef (usually in good time) not because I fear a broach, let alone any kind of capsize, but to keep her sailing comfortably without excessive weather helm, etc.

My most testing experience as a novice skipper so far was three weekends ago. I left SWMBO and the nipper snug at home and set off with an experienced mate trying to beat from Hamble to Yarmouth in SW F6 (increasing F8, as forecast!) wind against tide conditions, heavy rain and a fouled bottom! By decidedly attempting this to stretch myself, I learnt the following:
(i) we could have got there (instead of turning and running for the shelter of Cowes as we sensibly did), but it would have taken us a long, hard time;
(ii) motor-sailing with double-reefed main only wasn't the best option - we should have hoisted the stays'l (cutter rigged) and turned the engine off, which would have both more efficient (especially as the prop was also badly fouled) and less unpleasant;
(iii) the boat is designed to handle those conditions and did so - and despite the heavy duty she was performing I was in no way alarmed for her or for her crew.

As I think everyone must do, I quietly and hopefully honestly debrief myself after every passage.

Wishing you the greatest of good skippering!
 
Re: Reefing

I have been skippering my boat for two years now and i have noticed a huge difference in my confidence with the boat. I do have the boat heeled over a lot more but i also reef a lot sooner than i probably should. I enjoy going fast but i certainly do reef in sooner rather than later. It does not really affect the speed of my boat that much in F4 conditions. The comfort levels are greatly increased though and you can see it in the faces of the people who are out with you.

I do feel sometimes that others that are out on their boats must be shaking their heads when i have two reefs in when it is a F2 /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

There was also the feeling at the start that i did not want to overpower the boat as i knew it is a 26 year old boat with many parts that are not in brand spanking new condition. So i was very cautious of putting too much load on them. Much more confident in the boats ability now. (apart from the engine)

The key is to get out and enjoy sailing as much as possible. Happy Sailing!!!

maybe we should start a reef sailing club.......

charge £10 membership.......

then we would be known as the Tenner Reef Sailing Club /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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