Sailing in the Snow Yesterday

[Steven Tunnacliffe]

As there isnt much happening on the Web site at the moment, (has everybody Hibernated for Winter) thought I would let you know that yesterday 18th November we were sailing in the Snow at Halifax all afternoon from about 1.30pm until we packed the Rescue boat away at around 4.00pm.

It wasnt just little dust type snow but full blown big flakes, during the break between races the build up of the stuff on the tramp of a sprint 15 makes for and interesting first lap of a race as you slide about over the ice rink that half an hour ago was a stable and reasuringly grippy trampoline.

When we left the club we had to clear the snow from our cars. Did any one else get the same sort of treatment from the weather, that is why we dont tend to sail all year round at Halifax because if you can get through the snow drifts the pond is probably frozen in January Feb and March.

[Martin Searle]

Hi Steve,

Well last weekend we only had mud available since the tide was out all day! but the previous weekend we had a truly wild day with a mean windspeed of about 25mph when we left the beach boy was the water cold!

After 2 laps of the race a big squall hit with winds gusting close too 40mph! the water just went white and we got totally soaked with the rain, I just went hove to and sat it out. Racing was abandoned and beaching was interesting with a dead run onto a lee shore with big waves, basically it was land on the beach on the run since turning into the wind was not possible unfortunately my starboard rudder failed to kick up and suffered a bit of damage that should be easily repairable. No one capsized though.

Our last weekend of the season is this coming weekend.

Martin S.

[Erling]

Whats snow?

[Steven Tunnacliffe]

Hi Guys

How do you come in on a lee shore (more details please) with a howling wind behind you and big waves,
eg. sail down I assume?
or up so you Keep up with the wind and waves?
Get off running is that you leaping off boat at speed and dragging it up the beach on a wave if everything goes well?

and as for Snow Earling its the same stuff that you have seen in the alps when skiing But not as picturesque.

Good to here from you both, there is someone out there then

[Martin Searle]

Hi Guys

How do you come in on a lee shore (more details please) with a howling wind behind you and big waves,
eg. sail down I assume?
or up so you Keep up with the wind and waves?
Get off running is that you leaping off boat at speed and dragging it up the beach on a wave if everything goes well?
<snip>

In the big waves it tends not to be practical too drop the sail since the waves will play havoc with you trying to stay head too wind. So I normally hit the beach with full sail.

Going head too wind at the beach also tends not too work since the waves will prevent you from reaching head to wind and then you run the risk of the boat rolling in the breakers and possibly breaking the mast.

Well my technique is too sail straight at the beach, looking for a sandy patch if there is one, pull in traveller and sheet main fully in too slow the boat as much as possible. If you have time put rudders half up, weight all the way back, try too land on a big wave so you get taken up the beach as much as possible. Leap out and turn into wind. You may have too accept some slight skeg damage.

My mistakes the other weekend were, caused mainly by concentrating on other things rather than my setup for landing:

1) I forgot too pull in the main and traveller so I came in way too fast
2) I wasn't on a dead run!
3) So I hit the beach way too fast and clunked a rudder but at least it acted as a speed brake

John Holmes also landed in a similar fashion on a broad reach, not having much experience in such conditions, and toboggand up the beach about 10ft fortunately it was on a sandy patch! and his blades kicked up.

Martin S.

[George Stephen]

Steve,

There's some "advice" on this in the Chat pages if you look up "lee shore" or "onshore wind" in the Search facility.

If there's not much wave action and if the beach doesn't shelve steeply/ is rocky, turn head to wind close inshore, flick up both rudders and retreat to the bow to lift the sterns - choose the bow that is most likely to bring the cat ashore close to right angles to the beach while keeping the cat close to right angles to the wavelets. If you can, try to surf the cat on a wave - you can slow it by dropping a leg in the water, but you will swing round a little. Just as the cat is about to beach, get as far as possible to the bows so that the cat can get as far as possble onto the beach, leap off as it grounds and sprint to the rear beam to drag the cat clear of the breaking wavelets. Effectively this is the reverse of how you should have been taught to launch with an offshore wind.

If there is significant wave action, then the method is risky because the cat may swing parallel to the waves..... The usual approach is to run ashore, trying hard to stay atop a wave so that the cat will go as far as possible onto the beach, especially if you jump off just as the cat is about to ground on the sand/shingle, keeping hold so that you can lift the rear beam and swing the cat around head to wind and out of the water.

If it's blowing hard you'll be travelling faster than the waves if the main is up; you may not be able to time your arrival on the beach with a wave but you will have some control over direction! Martin Searle hauls in the traveller and the mainsheet, which will help. If you have a wide area of beach to aim at, I'd favour partly lowering the main (you may find it unrolls and flaps, but try to avoid this) to the point where you just have enough boat speed to match the waves. Do this well clear of the inshore waves. (If you were sailing Sport you can lower the main entirely and come in using the jib alone). Then when you hit the beach you don't have the need to muscle the cat around with the main powered up and intent on capsizing the cat onto the beach.

But you do have to be prepared to sail onto the beach in such conditions - a few scratches on the gelcoat around the keels is less damaging than being capsized in the surf close to the beach because you tried coming in backwards and couldn't keep the cat at right angles to the waves.
, and especially if it's gusty,

[Robin Boardman]

What Steve did not mention in his initial post was that a Lancastrian interloper did the first race, looked at the snow on the decks and decided that the pub down the road was a better bet - and with hindsight still does.

[Robin Boardman]

I should add to the above, if Erling posts What's a pub?, I suggest no-one answers him!!

[Andrew Hannah]

Snow?

Have the polar bears moved to Halifax yet? Halifax must be the new north pole.

[Steven Tunnacliffe]

Robin also forgot to mention that he gave me a good trouncing in the first race and didnt want to stay around for a re-match.

Where no doubt he would have trounced me again, rason sassan grummp grummp grummp

Held him off for a little while last week, only because he started at the back of the Monohulls, took him a little while to get through them then the kept eating away at my lead until the last half of the last lap.

He needs to eat More Pies to sink the boat into the water as much as the rest of us in lighter winds.

[Steven Tunnacliffe]

Andrew

No Polar Bears up here we ate them

[Martin Searle]

Andrew

No Polar Bears up here we ate them

Up there in the land of ice and snow (upt' north of Watford ):

Has anyone tried to use a 15 as a sledge? I'd have thought it would work pretty well especially once a track has been worn to form a pure ice run. Perhaps even more fun (suicidal) with the sails up and on the wire!

Pity we'll have too wait until January or February before we are likely to get some snow to play with

Martin S.

[Steve Willis]

Martin,

Sounds like you are volunteering your boat as a trial sledge trial.

You could try it out down from Blean Woods (Dunkirk) down into our valley - we get all sorts of 'vehicles' there in snow once the sheep have been taken in. I would quite happily tow you up to the top with my old Land Rover, Joan can film it!!!

Now you have got me thinking - I will have to see if I can replace the wheels on my Bootsail land yacht with skids, maybe the 5.5m sail would even get me back up the slope again in a stiff breeze.........hum thinks, new winter land yacht series....

Steve

[Frank]

Did you all have a handful of gravel for lunch ?

[Steven Tunnacliffe]

Frank Wrote
Did you all have a handful of gravel for lunch ?

Skipped lunch Frank too busy using grand parents for bear bait (Mither-in-law) shes expendable then when the Bears not looking the wife jumps out and throttles it!