Team Wheels second leg

[Unicorn 0]

Great to see that you completed the voyage successfully, under difficult conditions, and without calling for rescue. That is an achievement to be proud of.

 

I am sure you have learnt a lot along the way, and will have some impressive big wave stories to tell.

 

I have only been around East Cape a couple of times, and each time it was quite strange - totally different conditions on one side compared to the other, and a flat patch in the middle.

 

The coast from Cape Palliser to East Cape can be a nasty piece of water at times - I have 'enjoyed' one trip where the old Portland Island lighthouse was reporting 86 knots of southerly, and that was after the worst of it had passed through. But it can also be a very pleasant place to be, on the right day.

 

Take your time and pick your weather window. You are not far from home now, and once you get to Tauranga there are plenty of options for shelter and the weather is usually more gentle.

[Fogg 427]

Welcome back to terra firma wheels, I think you gave a few of us as much of a fright as yourself.

 

I think you got it right when you said leave the boat at Gisborne and wait til the next flat calm before you think of moving again. "It's better to be in here wishing you were out there than out there wishing you in here!"

[wheels 543]

This was the Hawke Bay, almost at Mahia Peninsula. As usual pics don't do it justice, but still it gives an idea. Nothing too big, about 2m, but the two differening angles of SW and W swells meant they would often stand quite high. As the one pic shows, the breaker had just gone under us and was surging away. This was fun and we were scooting along. In fact we set a new personal best of 10.6kts down the face of one of these.

[w44vi 17]

Dawn must be a very special lady to go though that sort of weather and come back to have another crack at it

[Guest]

So who got a bulk deal on red ropes???

 

To much red, it's clashing with the boat Aura. As it is known bad Arua's can upset the Sea Gods who in turn can get a tad angry due to that, I think we'll have to sort that out. Some nice calming Pastel shades I think

[wheels 543]

So that's it, red ropes. Now ya tell me. And here I just thought I couldn't read a bloody weather forcast.

[wheels 543]

Oh yeah, speaking of weather forcasts, I was told next weekend looks great. Nup! not buying it.

[PaulR 3]

What sails did you have up in the photos?

 

The main boom vang / kicker looks slack.

[PaulR 3]

A little bit of green, a nice blue and a smidgen of black fleck.

 

KM will recover the cores for you!!

[Guest]

So that's it, red ropes. Now ya tell me. And here I just thought I couldn't read a bloody weather forcast.

You and me both.... but we'll blame the ropes instead, they can't argue back

[wheels 543]

We only had the headsail out. We were plenty fast enough with just that, so I figured why use the main. We only used the headsail all the way. So teach me obeeone kenobee, would I have had better control with a reefed main perhaps?? I did wonder, but it was all too late once the runy stuff hit the fan. Anopther afterthought was I should have had the inner headsail up instead of the main headsail. That would have been able to be sheeted in harder and given me better control, but once again, after it had all gone wrong, it was too hard for me to look at doing that. Long term we have to look at a far better, safer, easier way for me to raise those things from the safety of the cockpit, because on your own, it is just too dangerous and hard for me to go forward and even worse for Dawn if she needed. All a learnign thing for us remember. We aren't like you hardened sailors that purposely go out in 50kts to have an afternoon leisurly sail. (yes there is at least on here that has done that, eh Pete W

As for all the red line, hey, I come from the backwoods and the choice was one colour in each size if I was lucky I never knew we had choice till I got to Auckland and saw a rack full of colour. Oh what opulent treasures. (hoping that's a word

[Farrari 4]

The weather is looking mighty fine on the long range weather forecasts for the tail end of this coming weekend. Your biggest concern would be carrying enough fuel

 

Too soon perhaps

[Guest]

Just a wee comment Wheels. And I wasn't there so i may be wrong. Quite often in those conditions, while you're trying to hug the coastline for shelter, you're actually not doing yourself any favours. In close the gusts can be double what they are a mile or two out to sea because of the wind rushing down valleys and over cliffs and such. Just a thought, something I had to learn on the Wairarapa Coast once. Also your genoa, might be a dumb question, but are you moving the cars forward as you furl/reef? Hard to believe you couldn't get some semblance of non flapping shape if the cars were in the right place. Well done on the Gisborne entrance, it's a bugger at night.

[Guest]

Wheels, when cruising I normally drop the main if the wind is aft the beam and anything over 25-30kn.

[Guest]

Phew!

 

Quite an adventure Wheels. Great photos. I was a bit scared when I was up to the half way from Tolaga Bay to Gisborne leg, so I can only imagien what you were feeling.

 

Glad to hear you made it into Gisborne safely... special place that. We had spectacular hospitality there when we brought TBDA up from Chch to Auckland... we got hammered by a big storm off Kaikoura and ended up 225nm due south of Napier... which felt like a LONG way out there. When we eventually scooted into Gisborne they were just marvellous.

[ScarecrowR31 8]

Hey Kiwibardy, the trip up on the BDA was legendary from all accounts. Maybe a historical write up should be made. Im sure David wont mind.

[PaulR 3]

We only had the headsail out. . .

would I have had better control with a reefed main perhaps?? . . .

should have had the inner headsail up instead of the main headsail.

 

That would have been able to be sheeted in harder and given me better control

 

For this trip on your boat, safety is the major concern.

Speed is not essential, and your 10.6kts personal best means with your displacement, you were pushing aside a lot of water indeed.

 

Further you sail wardrobe dictates the alternatives you have.

 

In the photo, there is no innerstaysail already hanked on but still in its bag, ready to if required. This is one limitation to your 8 to 10 alternative actions immediately available.

 

Do you have a trysail? If the main was too much for you to easily handle, having a trysail ready to set immediately opens another choice. It's smaller, no big heavy boom flying around. So boats of your size have a separate trysail track and halyard set up so the trysail can be in its track, but again still bagged but ready to go.

 

Headsail choice. Your furler is not being used in the photos. Perhaps at this stage you were happy with control, speed, heeling, wave surges etc.

Alternatively a smaller headsail area (by furling or originally putting a smaller headsail on the furler before leaving Napier) would help control, but reduce speed.

 

Moving the leads forward has been suggested already.

If this is not easy to do from the cockpit, setting up a barber hauler on the headsail sheets before the gale would allow you to safely alter the sheeting angles, without leaving the cockpit and possibly kneeling on the leeward deck, half to "fully" submerged trying to move a fixed pin type fairlead, with the sheet flogging wildly.

 

Was the headsail poled out? (Spinnaker, running (twin) headsail pole or shorter whisker pole?) Poling out reduces the flapping and movement of the headsail, reduces the slam loadings & depowerings. The centre of effort of the headsail remains relatively fixed, the leech can be held tighter by loading the pole's downhaul, which will reduce the flappy, noisy and bouncing around headsail. Further, when poled out, you can get a better furled headsail, when you reduce the area, giving better overall control.

 

What would of happened if you were incapaciated? Could Dawn have reduced the sail area on her own? Traditionally splitting up the sail area into smaller sails was designed to allow shorthanded yachts options for different sail combinations and easier handling.

 

I can't remember if you have a mizzen. If yes, then a deep reefed mizzen and inner staysail would give a much smaller overall sail area, sails spread over the length of the boat with a very big slot.

 

Alternatively a deep reefed mainsail and inner staysail, would give more sail forward in the boat, especially is the mizzen was tending to push the stern around as you lifted up over the waves, whilst the headsail depowered a bit from the trough of the wave.

 

So there is no easy answer. I was not there. I do not know your alternatives and deck gear, sheeting options etc.

 

All I can suggest is that next time try a different combination and see how it goes, and try another option after that.

 

So more learning to be done, but you are not alone in this world. With sailing we are all still learning stuff

[wheels 543]

barber hauler. That's the thing I was trying to remember. I was telling Shanson on our way home tonight, that you had suggested something once (couldn't remember what you called it) but I did not really understand at the time what you were on about. In reasonable air, we can point to 60derg with headsail only. Almost 30deg with main and headsail. This is the first time we have ever had the Headsail up and been hit so hard. It was when I had the problem that the suggestion suddenly became clear as to what you were suggesting. Never experienced a situation where we were sailing in 50 to 60 kt winds. As I said to Shanson, we are still not to the point iof being blue water sailors yet. There is a lot of gear and set up to get and do. It all takes time and money and can only be doine as we can. So "certain wind conditions" are never considered by us.

After thinking about it and from what Shanson had told me of the weather going through Auckland, I was wondering if we got hit by a squal from a thunderstorm. Did I say this before??? it was still Dark and all was well and I did expect the cape to be a little unsettled due to tidal races. The Headsail suddenly lit up as if someone shone a spot light on it.I could not work out what was going on. Was a big ship behind me?? or could the light house light me up like that??? of course all in nano seconds of thought and suddenly the entire sky lit up and a bolt of lightening hit the sea out in front of us. How far out in front I am not sure. But I vividly remember thinking about the big shiny metal stick thing that was waving about 17m up in the air and thinking of great. And right about then WHAM!!!

[wheels 543]

we got hammered by a big storm off Kaikoura and ended up 225nm due south of Napier.

A good friend of mine and experienced sailor told me of a similar story and it was East Cape. They enbded up turning and sailed for a day toward the Chatamns before turning again and aiming at Auckland. Another yacht out there with them kept going. My friend arrived in Auckland a day ahead of the boat that kept going and had a nightmare of a trip. But for us, doing that kind of thing isn't in our bag of skills or wants yet. One thing I tend to be good at is understanding our limits, both boat and personal wise.

[wheels 543]

Oh yeah, and the reason we were keeping in clpose was not so much for Wind, but more for the fact the sea was biulding so high so fast but very steeply and close together, just making it plain uncomfortable. Certainly getting further out, which we had to on a few occasions, the conditions were just unbelievable.