MacGregorSailors.com

Rob said:

I wish I could remember who posted it, but one of the best tricks I have learned from this site was to heave to by tacking and leaving the headsail tacked on the original winch. The wheel will be locked with a bungee or line hard over to the original side. Now the main will be as tame as it would be if you were pointing to windward and you can reef it, douse it or whatever you want. Even if the wind is high, you will be able to calmly go on deck and deal with it. heaving-to is the best weapon in the world. Refer to Lin and Larry Pardy's "storm Tactics" book or video for how to do this in 100 kt winds and waves

It sounded interesting enough, but I need more visualization, so I Wikipedia'd it This illustration made it far easier for me to understand. Most important, see which side of the boat the head sail is on, and where the rudder is positioned.

Thanks Rob.

Ray



P.S. I have a Kelley Hanson MuscleHead sail on my . There is so much more cloth on the main now, that I have to reef at lower winds than I did with the original Doyle sail, or roll out the Genny to balance out the boat, again in much lower winds. I have had Nice Aft spun on me like a top if I don't do this. The advantage of the MuscleHead is that where we sail, the wind is more often not strong, so the extra cloth is appreciated, but watch out when the wind picks up woohoo

Photo by Matt Kress

Excellent diagram. Seeing it reminds me to mention one other thing. If you can, heave-to on a starboard tack (opposite side of Ray's diagram). If other sailboats are around, you have priority so everyone will stay away while you are doing what you need to do.

The technique works really well for a lunch or bathroom break also. When you are ready to resume sailing, just jet the headsail finish it's tack by uncleating the windward sheet and cleat it to leeward and your off.

Rob

NIce advice robby...and for the truly wondering...the tack is defined,for COLREGS purposes, by the position of the boom, not the headsail...its buried in there somwhere IIRC....

On edit...Fail....corrected below...

Not only that , but I think it says something about the MAIN boom , or you largest sail, or something ..... the definition accounts for multi-masted boat, that might be flying wing on wing, with missen masts, or fore- mast ect.

oh and in respect to head sail VS mail sail. I use the premise always that you can "let a head sail go" , but you can't always do that with the main. Same with docking undersail , i fI have to , I would always do that under head sail so I can "take my foot off the gas", you can't do that with the main.

robbarnes1965 wrote:Excellent diagram. Seeing it reminds me to mention one other thing. If you can, heave-to on a starboard tack (opposite side of Ray's diagram). If other sailboats are around, you have priority so everyone will stay away while you are doing what you need to do.

The technique works really well for a lunch or bathroom break also. When you are ready to resume sailing, just jet the headsail finish it's tack by uncleating the windward sheet and cleat it to leeward and your off.

Rob

X2--excellent point, stbd is much handier for right handed crew.

Bob

I've always assumed starboard tack for right-of-way was determined by wind over the deck. I'm going out this weekend and plan to modify my routine to drop the sails based on the comments here, but I'd really appreciate some help with this interepretation. I know she's not a Mac, but my boat, Dwen, was and once you've had a Mac you never forget her.

Both my sail's luff length and boom length are the same. The boat has been described as a cat ketch so that the main is the forward mast and and the mizzen is the aft. As rigged the aft mast is some 6 inches taller than the forward so I've been told she's more properly a cat schooner and the main is the aft mast. When I heave to the forward sail is backwinded and pulled to starboard with wind loading from starboard. The aft sail is generally blanketed swinging free and unloaded.

Do you have a link to the wording that would sort this out by position of the boom(s)? And really, out on the water, how's the average sailor going to interpret the rules?



Your daily knoggin boogler courtesy of:
Kevin

I scanned the COLREGS and Kevin is correct....wind side over deck defines tack for purposes of stand on and giveaway...

That being said, his other point that this means the 20% who actually know the regs means to you still have to. Watch out for the other 80 %.......

vizwhiz has it right . Based on sailing a D 1988 -2000 and an X 2001 to date. Ron