Poor conditions at sea

[BlueSkyNick]

Some people dont mind it rough, but hate when its cold. Others will go out in dense fog, others wouldnt get out of bed. Its Ok when its windy, if the seastate is moderate. Rain in hot climates is quite welcome, but not when its freezing cold!

There are up to 60 combinations of the five below. eg, rain makes it cold and reduces vis.
Unfortunately, the poll doesnt enable a ranking of 1-5 or whatever, so you can only choose one.

Which of these do you dislike the most, ie in terms of concern for safety, ability to cope, personal comfort, enjoyment etc.

 

[savageseadog]

Sods law says it's all of them at the same time. What you prefer or want doesn't seem to matter too much.

 

[BlueSkyNick]

I am a little surprised that so few are bothered by strong winds. I guess we are just a load of very strong sailors, or at least to make out that we are.

Personally, I can cope with rain, fog, cold or wind on their own, but it is always the seastate which spoils things.

On Saturday we went from StVaast to Cherbourg in NW4/5 and although I timed it perfectly to off Barfleur at slack tide, it changed pretty quickly into wind against tide. Whilst it was a dry, clear relatively warm day, it became a challenge to find the balance between being comfortable, especially with SWMBO on board, and making sensible progress towards the destination - managed to avoid using the engine though!

 

[pyrojames]

Perhaps it is the split between rough seas and strong winds, as they do rather tend t go hand in hand, and if choosing between them, it is really the seas that are annoying. Coming from Oz, it is the rain that gets to me, followed by the vis. Seas, wind and cold I can enjoy.

 

[ccscott49]

Poor visibilty, I guess it depends whether you have radar/AIS/whatever or not?

 

[rwoofer]

For me it was a toss up between rain and sea state. If everything is perfect (sun, reasonable wind, warm), then a poor seastate is easier to cope with. When it rains it means there is no sun and given the UK it is likely to be cold as well, so that's why rain won it in the end for me.

Strong winds and flat seas are ideal sailing conditions, just reef down to what is comfortable and enjoy the ride!!

 

[webcraft]

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps it is the split between rough seas and strong winds, as they do rather tend t go hand in hand, and if choosing between them, it is really the seas that are annoying.

[/ QUOTE ] Too true. We are happy to beat into a F7 locally in the very sheltered waters of Loch Melfort and Loch Shuna, whereas a F5-6 in the Sea of the Hebrides can cause pretty unpleasant sea conditions and may be almost impossible to beat into.

I put 'poor visibility'though as this is the one that renders me powerless. I can do things to ameliorate all the others, but with no radar there is nothing I can do to help myself in poor vis.

- W

 

[Blueboatman]

Dear Sir,

As a long standing member of the force 4 club I am dismayed to read the words 'rough, 'poor visibility' and 'rain' in your post. These will undoubtedly cause distress to sensitive souls such as myself...
Perhaps a more appropriate use of language might include the words 'Zephyr','balmy' and 'all weather anchorage' ?
Yours,
Becalmed of Bosworth.

 

[snowleopard]

Normally big winds mean big seas but if you're in sheltered water you can have the wind without the seas. I have sailed in the Solent with 45 knots gusting to 55 but waves no more than 4 ft hight. It was a bit wet and hard work steering upwind but non-threatening. A F7 out in the open sea is far worse than that.

 

[LadyInBed]

You can do something about Strong Winds, but can't do much about Rough Seas, unless they are localised overfalls and the like.

But having said that, one doesn't often come without the other. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[pyrojames]

That reminds me of having rough seas and little wind, quite possibly worse than all the other put together! 36 hours post F9 at sea. Wind light, sea state bloody horrible.