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Andrew68 said..As far as angles to the wind, you might like Ed's talk on the 98 hobart at 28:30.
Another place that talks quite a lot about storm management for older boats are the interviews with skippers on the last GGR.
goldengloberace.com59 North has recently had a few good segments as well.
www.59-north.com/podcastand of course there is this book on line
www.sfbaysss.org/resource/doc/SinglehandedTipsThirdEdition2.pdfbut the one you pay for is much better and worth it.
Overall there is still much debate on whether to go into the wind on a storm jib or with the wind using a drogue. It is very boat, conditions and situational dependant.
This should keep you amused for a long time following all the posts and vids.
More important to pick a good forecast imo. You would be pretty unlucky to have a forecast 20 knots wrong.
A
Cool video Andrew, thanks!
Hipopp, lots of good advice here already, but stooging around sheltered waters getting the feel for your boat sounds fantastic. If you can practice safely, some things to try in fresh winds;
- leave too much sail up and learn how to downsize your sail plan. The most common issue is getting caught with too much sail area, and being able to down-size using reefs or smaller headsails is one of those must have skills.
- Try dropping the main and making headway with just the jib. Reverse it, and then try dropping the jib and using the main. Sailboats pivot around a point in a line with the keel and mast, so if you are lucky you might get a boat that handles this without complaint. Most boats will handle like a pig in heavy airs with only one sail up, you'll know because you'll be constantly applying an excess of weather or lee helm and the boat will handle sluggishly and fight your efforts in maintaining a path forward. Hence why reducing sail area
equally, in front and behind the mast, is such a needed skill.
- practice heaving to. Awesome technique that doesn't get practiced enough. Tack the boat and don't touch the jib sheets, ie: leaving the headsail on the 'wrong side'. Tie your tiller to the leeward stops, so the rudder is trying to drive the boat to windward. Play your mainsheet or traveller to hold the balance point and the boat will park at 50-60TWA and slide backwards and to leeward at about 1/2 a knot sedately and comfortably. You know you have it right when you look to windward and see the swell magically appear to flatten out. Go and make a cup of tea

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There is lots of practice you can and should do in sheltered waters, you need to have those fundamental skills and an awareness of your boats characteristics even if you're planning to sail in even sheltered waters. Above all, try and get a feel for your boats balance point, knowing this can be the difference between terror and complete discombobulation compared to a feeling of slight unease and discomfort. Much more fun to find this out in controlled conditions!
All the best to you!
SB