Beating or Heaving To

Optimal weather to exit an inlet isn't always optimal weather to make it to your destination. When we left the Fort Pierce Inlet, the winds were light and we were able to slip out with the current. Once out there, the winds were blowing from the South, directly where we wanted to go.

That night, the winds were forecasted to switch and start blowing out of the North, allowing us to run towards our destination.

We started out tacking close to the shore, but the Gulf Stream is pretty close to shore in this area, so we were forced to hang out near the shoreline. Short tacking proved pointless, as we were working hard to make any windward progress and still in sight of the inlet from which we started. This is the little zig zag that we did when we first exited.

So instead of fighting the wind, we just hove to and let it drift us along to the North. We made dinner, relaxed, and took it easy as we drifted through the water. When the winds shifted, we covered all the miles we had lost in about an hour! This means that we could have fought and started the voyage tired when the winds arrived, or relax and wait for the right winds to take us where we need to go. 

Monitor Wheel Adapter Unspooling

Monitor windvanes are remarkable machines. They will steer you on your course with only a whisper of wind! 

They perform this magic without question, but only ask that you balance the helm perfectly! If you do not, the force of the rudder may cause the ropes to unspool from the adapter and the whole system fails. 

If you seem to have just a wee bit of weather helm that you can't trim away, try using a clothes pin to hold the rope on the adapter. If the rudder turns the wheel, the clothes pin will keep the rope from lifting up and coming off. 

This is not a replacement for proper sail trim, simply a crutch to get you through a time when perfect sail balance seems to elude you. 

Keeping the Sun Off

It's a gorgeous day, so why be inside?

We at inside often when the weather turns on us, so when the warm bright sun comes out to shine, we enjoy being in its presence as we enjoy the splendor it brings. The issue is we are both very pale and burn to a crisp in a few minutes!

Maddie has found a lovely solution to keep the sun off of here while still enjoying the light it brings as she reads her book in the cockpit. She has make a tent out of a blanket. The blanket casts a shadow on her while not laying on her. This lets the breeze flow through the setup and keeps her cool and shaded! 

Sail Balance when Running

The goal with sail balance is to have your sails steer the boat, and the rudder simply help hold the course. 

In balanced sails will pull the yacht hard upwind or down, meaning that if the sails are not set to the course, your rudder will have to fight them the whole way there. 

When running, it feels pretty tempting to ease the mainsail all the way out. This will present the most sail area to the wind, pushing you downwind, but it also does something unwanted.  

The mainsail will become a large area of sail to one side of the boat, and will try to act as a lever arm, pushing the boat to turn in the opposite direction. If the main is on the port side, the boat will try to turn to starboard. If the main is to starboard, the boat will twist to port. 

This problem is called weather helm, and usually corrected by easing the main, or reducing its area. Since the main has been eased as much as possible at this point, the only option left is to reduce its area.  

As the main comes down, the desire for the yacht to veer upwind will minimize and the downwind pull of the headsail will keep the yacht right on course.  

Yes, this yacht could go faster if it were also flying the mainsail, but it would have to work on keeping the helm straight as it traveled. Sometimes, slowing down and reducing sail area will make the entire journey easier and more pleasant. 

Next time you are setting your sails, consider which direction you want to go and set the sails that would be most advantageous in reaching that goal, strike any sail that will make your life harder and enjoy your voyage! 

Heaving To (For Convenience)

There are many reasons to heave to, usually all related to stopping the boat to fix something that has gone wrong.  

It could be that the weather has become too powerful to safely navigate, or that your gear broke and you need to stop and tend to repairs. It could also be that someone fell overboard and you need to recover them! 

All of these situations involve something that is not good happening, and heaving to to let you fix it.  

There is one pleasant reason to heave to: because you want to. 

If you are granted a weather window to leave an inlet but are faced with an upwind destination, you could either tack forever and work like a dog; or heave to and wait for the right winds. 

Heaving to will pretty much stop you in the water, making you slowly slip sideways through the sea. This means that you will move slower than if you ran, or lay a hull (which would be the equivalent of running under bare poles). 

Heaving to also keeps your sails ready should you drift into something and need to get away from it. If you were laying a hull, you would need to hoist the sails and set them, whereas heaving to would only require that you set the sails. 

Once the weather you want comes around, you will then scoot right along without having to work very hard. This will put you further along and makeup for the day you sat waiting still in the water.