heavy weather sailing

[bfelton]

Have any of you other than Dick Herman been out in winds of 25 knots and gusting higher?  I did a similar posting some time back.  Trying to work on my nerve to get out there on San Francisco Bay when it's howling so I can know my boat and how she'll handle.  Then perhaps I will not encounter any unpleasant surprises.  (I have added a second reef in the sail.)

Bert Felton

[frank]

yep....In the north channel (Lake Huron) Only had a single reef, both of us were up on the high side and I scandilized the gaff which effectively reduces sail substantially. It handled surprisingly well! Wasn't "fun" really, but we got to where we had to go. The suncat will begin to round up before getting into trouble. My current suncat has a 2nd set of reef points....but I haven't had to use them....yet 

[HenryC]

I sailed a MacGregor 22 for 3 years on SF bay without any casualties.  It is a good boat, but a bit flimsy for the N Bay.Although my first afternoon trip in the N Bay forced me to replace half my deck and rig fittings with sturdier hardware.  I recommend you stay S of the Bay Bridge, or only go out in the mornings until you are perfectly at home in your boat and your crew is thoroughly trained.

I also owned a San Francisco Pelican, a twelve footer designed for the N Bay, although I owned it in Florida, not California.
Read this, it's mostly about the Pelican, but will give you some idea of what to expect.


http://www.platypusboats.com/f/GOB_MJ06_Pelican.pdf

If you have a ComPac you shouldn't have any trouble.