Head up or head down in threatening gust?

Where is the line between cruising and racing cats where its better to head up (or head down) in reaction to an overpowering gust? For example, it is always advisable to head up to reduce healing in a Prout, but that would be disastrous in an Formula 40. Actual experience counts 20:1 over armchair theorists here, so qualify your experience please!

Is it SA/D, mast height to beam, parsecs/furlongs, or what?

 

Keeping it simple. Forget about the true wind for a minute.

What you are trying to do by luffing up or bearing off is reduce the apparent wind.

So if the wind is forward of the beam it is usually best to luff.

If it is aft of the beam it is usually better to bear off.

If you are reaching and get hit by a gust if you luff the apparent wind will probably increase, if you bear off the apparent wind will probably also increase as the boat sails faster. Thus reaching can be dangerous and the only option is to let the sheets go.

As I say, a simple answer to start the ball rolling

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

Sandy,
you are right, we must differentiate from racing cats and cruising.
Richard is also right, wind forward of the beam -> bear up, aft of the beam -> bear down.

However when I was racing my Nacra 18 Square in fresh winds, I could not do much to control it from a broad reach to a dead run.
If the wind freshened or a gust came I would pitchpole. I am lighter than most, so even if I was trapezeing as aft as possible with a foot on the rudder:

1. If I run down I'd bury both bows
2. If I beared up, the increased lift on the sail made me accelerate and bury the lee bow.
3. Letting the sheet go and keeping the course would result in 2.above.
4. Sheeting-in hard would probably save the day, but never enough time to do that in a gust .

In a beach cat you cannot reduce canvas, so you are a bit stuck.
In bigger boats the best thing is to shorten sail well in advance.
A good cat sailor should always have up only the canvas for the gusts.

 

G'day,

Except in a boat with an unstayed mast, when you can power it for the gusts, knowing that the mast will bend automatically and depower it. An unstayed mast also solves the luff up/bear away conundrum. Just keep easing the sheet and steer your course. If you are close to capsize/pitchpole dump the sheet, the sail aligns with the wind (regardless of point of sail) and there is no power at all.

I have capsized a 10.5m/35' cat hard on the wind and a 12m/40' cat on a broad reach. The first went over sideways, the second buried the lee bow when i bore away in a gust, which stopped the boat and it went over sideways. I have also sailed my unstayed rig boat with the bows immersed, on the point of a pitchpole for hundreds of metres in gusty weather and waves with the amount of bow depression precisely controlled by the sheet. I know it was on the point of pitchpole as the moment I stopped concentrating, it did.

The apparent wind angle I now use to determine luffing/bearing away to avert capsize on a stayed rig is determined by how much ease is available in the main sail. If it can be eased (either traveller or sheet), dump it and luff. If it can't be eased, then you are probably going swimming as a bear away will increase boat speed, bring the apparent forward, depress the lee bow and render the rudder useless and a luff will not depower the (oversheeted) sails quickly enough. In my experience, those who bear away with the apparent at 90 and survive probably were not in much danger to start with.

This is different to what to do when you want to depower before it gets dangerous, when turning downwind is a safe tactic as long as you can stay there for the duration of the gust (no lee shore, etc) and/or reduce sail when the main is jammed against the shrouds.


regards,

Rob

 

Fair enough Rob,
if that tickle your fancy, go for it.

When you pass me by, think about me in my saloon eating spagetti marinara and sipping red wine...