Whichever Way the Wind Blows

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Apparent Wind vs. True Wind Direction

During a sailing race last week we made a couple of bad tacks to the first mark that put us back a bit in the pack. After thinking for a bit, the problem was too much steering correction to "apparent" wind changes nstead of sail tension correction. On the 40 ft Choey Lee, we couldn't adjust the sails as constantly as on a 4 meter daysailor, but we were being really lazy sailors and paid for it.

What is true-wind and apparent-wind?


The true-wind is the apparent wind which you feel when you are not moving, for example at anchor.  The apparent-wind is the wind direction and speed which you feel while the boat is moving. As you speed up the wind on your face seems to come more forward on the the boat and this is really true during gusts as the picture below shows. The best overview I have found is a http://www.answers.com/topic/apparent-wind

We were racing in light wind conditions with frequent gusts. During the gusts instead of pulling in the sails we would "fall off" (steer away from the wind). This would put us farther and farther off our desired point of sail (direction we wanted to go). We were basically making 180 degree tacks, resulting in us just going back and forth making minimal forward progress.

Proof once again that being lazy as usual only serves to create more work.

Foggy Weather Sailing Strategy

What if we did go sailing in July Gloom?  The Captain has memorized the path out of the bay so it is possible that we might try to take the boat out.  But, what if we get out there and can't see anything?

Normally, visibility is reported by the weather service and/or NOAA at various weather stations.  They would report at the airport tower visibility is currently 1 mile.  But, what does that have to do with anything?  So, you're out there and you can't see two boat lengths ahead of you, or in all directions for that matter? How do you get home?

Do you blow your fog horn?  In the harbor, there is enough water lapping on hulls and slapping halyards so you're not really going to run into a boat.  It doesn't help you from running aground.  If it was really foggy, you'd call the Harbor Master and they would bring you in.  The Harbor Master is part of the local Harbor Patrol, part of the local police.  The Coast Guard is part of Homeland Security (not a branch of the Navy).  If there was rough conditions or you were farther out in the ocean, then the Coast Guard would come to the rescue with their military stealth GPS that's accurate to within a couple inches.

Now, where does GPS fit in?  Well, we only have iphones with nautical GPS application.  We do not have any chart plotter on the boat.  What is the range of the iphone GPS app?  Hmmm?  Satellite range will cover us all the way out to Catalina! 

Our Old School Foggy Weather Tactical Approach:
1.  Go really slow.  Consider dropping Anchor.
2.  The Captain will steer. 
3.  The First Mate will look out from the bow.

Modern Fog Navigation Strategy:
1.  Use GPS.  Prevents getting lost.
2.  Use Depth Sounder.  Alarms when you get shallow.  Prevents running aground.
3.  Use Marine AIS (automatic identification system).  Tells you where other boats are around you.  Tells other boats that you are there.  Prevents getting run over.

The Million Dollar Question: When do you use a fog horn? 
Fog horns were invented so stationary objects, like lighthouses, could sound their presence.  The low tone travels farther in the fog than a high tone.  Nowadays, these horns are automated.  There is a fog horn on the buoy at the harbor entrance that is turned on for foggy days.  I think I would sound our horn until the can ran out of air!  An air horn is required safety equipment on an ocean going vessel and the Coast Guard probably has some guidelines for using it.  Any suggestions?

Sailing Season?

One thing I didn't expect living in California is a sailing season. In the Midwest and Northeast because of winter cold or even in the Southeast with huricaine season I could always imagine people all giddy at the beginning of spring with anticipation of being able to sail again. Well spring is here and I am the giddy one. Maybe it is just a result of a really bad winter for sailing.  I have mentioned in previous posts my difficulties in finding good days for sailing. It was tough to even find days that you could get out of the harbor due to large surf breaking in the harbor mouth.

The surf this year wasn't as bad as this picture shows. This picture is an anomaly.  There have only been waves of 50' plus like this breaking in the harbor mouth a couple times ever, but it was over 10' alot more than it was under this winter. This picture is still great, that bus is about a thousand yards in front of that wave and still looks tiny.

Spring is here as is smaller waves and I am ready for a long cruise.

This is the start of a couple of posts that will be planning a trip to the Catalina Islands this summer. Before I sail a couple hundred miles, I think the first step will be a trip to Avila which is 20 miles by boat. The main thing to find out is where to anchor when I get there. I am sure I will learn many more things before the planning is done. Updates to follow.

Sailing Forecasts, or lack there of!

Last week, I wrote about the difficulties I have with finding decent sailing forecasts to help plan or determine if I should go out to sail. Today's sailing adventure was a prime example.

For the first time in a month, the swells have gotten below 10 ft and I was a little exited to get off the surf board and onto the boat. Even though the swell had been tolerable, the winds for the last two days were gusting up to 50 Mph. Way more than I want to deal with!  But always the optimist, I keep thinking any day now it will be perfect. And waking up this morning, I knew today was that day.

The surf forecasts on http://www.surfline.com/ were for 4-5 feet at 12 seconds. Swell is good, now onto wind. http://www.weather.com/ listed the wind at 10-15 Mph.  Bingo, I am on!  But before I left, I decided to look at the bouy reports themselves, it showed a gradualy increasing 12 ft swell at 20 seconds. Not great, but 20 seconds is long enough to make these Pacific rollers a non-issue. I also decided to check a surf spot on the way to the boat and the wind seemed lighter than 10 Mph and waves looked barely 4 ft. Once again, I am stoked and good to go.

So, I am on the boat heading out of the slip and I am calling some bros to come out and experience this perfect day with me. Then I notice the wind seems a lot more than 10 Mph. I would have actually guessed more than 20 Mph. No way this is going to ruin my perfect day!  I needed some practice reefing and handling in stronger winds anyways.  My first view of the harbor mouth is pretty calm but as I get closer I start to see the waves are a little bigger than 4-5. They actually look more like 8 -9 feet. Not perfect but I usually put my limit at 10 feet so I am still good to go.  I decide to get my sails ready before I get out of the breakwater's protection. I unfurl the jib but only to about 40% original size and imediately take off hitting the boat's top speed, so I skip the Main altogether. A gentlemen I met at a bar said he owned a 1969 Coronado 25 and it handled better in heavy wind with Jib alone, so I decided to put it to the test.

Moments later, I have almost reached the breakwater at the harbor entrance and a swell comes in that is bigger than the 8 feet I saw earlier. These were more like 11-12 feet. Morro Bay's harbor is notorious for having large waves in the harbor mouth and they usually calm down about a half mile out. I charge on. The swells are making it slow going and just outside the harbor another set comes through bigger than the last. The first two waves were bit of a rush but the third wave of the set was 16 feet or larger and looked like it was going to crash right on the bow. Not having a lifeline yet, I wraped the jib sheet (rope from the front sail) around my arm, griped the tiller tighter and crouched down bracing for impact while thinking "is this auto-inflat life vest going to blow up if I am hit by a wave?". I hit the bottom of the wave trough and started to climb the wave. Yep about 16 feet, the 25 foot boat easily fit on the face of the wave. (waves are measured from the midline up, so the total face of the wave was about 30 feet.) The wave never broke and I easily made it over. Being by myself I decided to head in and declared my perfect day officially a bust.

What did I learn?  First, I should have checked the NOAA automated reports on the VHF radio, they probably would have given a clearer picture of the actual conditions.  I also needed to pay more attention to the bouy's live feeds than surfline's report which is specifically for near shore predictions.  I knew this, but I really wanted to go so wasn't going to let a bouy rain on my parade.

Next, I need to get a lifeline. A lifeline is just a rope that ties you to somewhere secure on the boat like the mast. It keeps you from going overboard. I had this as a lower priority item on my purchase/project list because I didn't really envision sailing by myself that often. I don't really want to, but I have come to the conclusion that I will solo sail from time to time.

Finally, I need to find a frakk'n better way to get surf forecasts at home so I can avoid these type of let downs. The day was a bust, but at least fitting in the Battlestar Galacticaism means I can end the day with a smile.

Over and out.
~Captain

The Search for Sailing Forecasts

I have had difficulty finding good or even decent sailing forecasts to help in planning out upcoming sailing outings. I am not looking for much, just an easy way to quickly read if the winds are between 3 mph and 20 mph and the swell is under 10 feet at an interval greater that 7 seconds. Is this too much to ask?

Maybe this is a product of the "want-it-now" generation, but I am a little amazed nothing is done on the internet (at least that I have found) for such a generally cash rich pasttime as sailing. For the most part, I have fought the desire to techno-ize my sailing experience.  I prefer "old school" sailing with no electronics on board except for the VHF radio required by the Coast Guard. This traditional Old Man And The Sea stance not only has saved a ton of money, but I hope will give me a firm foundation of all-things-sailing.

The best forecast I have found so far is a prerecorded telephone message done by a gentleman at a nearby power plant. He's actually very good . . . . but how 80's is that?  Online, I sometimes use a mix of http://www.weather.com/ for wind and storm info and http://www.surfline.com/ for swell height and period and sometimes wind that is not always that accurate (especially off-shore).