Comfortable sailing wind?

[greg988]

Hi all,
I had my first scare with a near blowdown in my cp16-3 while single sailing.  I was cruising along enjoying a brisk 10-15 mph wind when all of a sudden a strong 25+ mph gust hit me and took my side rail into the water.  Everything in my cabin and cockpit flew towards one side and I found myself nearly in a standing position while my butt was still in the seat and my feet were on the opposite side rail.  Thankfully the gust let up just as a bit of water flowed into the cockpit over the rail.  The keel righted the boat quickly and the water ran out.  I doused the main sail quickly and motored back to assess damage.   I got a bit of water in the cabin, as the door was open, but not much more than it took a towel to mop up. 

Has anyone else experienced this?  I assumed the boat could handle 20+ mph winds given the weight of the keel.  It wasn't storming or terribly high waves.  It sure did give me a scare though.  Any suggestions on how to avoid this or pointers on how to douse things quickly when your struggling to keep your body in the boat would be greatly appreciated.

[Salty19]

The proper form in this situation is to release the tiller, then curl up in the fetal position in the cockpit footwell.  Suck your thumb to keep your hand off the tiller, then in a moment the boat will self right, and you can then change your shorts!

Sure, this happened a lot when I owned a 16, and for the same reasons.  Especially unreefed, sheeted for speed and tiller locked!  The best thing to do is just keep an eye out for gusts and be ready for them,  sail like it might gust that much (ie reefed and no tiller lock, and with a hand on the main sheet ready to uncleat).

Curious if you have a foiled rudder.  It helps with stability at all points of sail and extends the time from "fun" to "oh no" to give you a little extra time to react.  It just seemed to roll a little slower, or that could have been my hopeful imagination, but regardless worth having.

[greg988]

Lol.  Yes, I added a new foil rudder in the spring and I love it.  I do have a tiller tamer but I was manually steering at the time of the gust.  I did attempt to turn into the wind, but I was not quick enough, nor was the tiller responsive, possibly because of my angle.

[Mas]

Hey Greg, Know the feeling as almost everyone who has sailed does as well. Can't speak to your particular situation as don't know wave action, what point of sail, etc. but as a rule the shoal draft keel on these boats when healed over that far simply starts to slide sideways in the water. It's really hard to knock down a 16. I do know many years ago with an older 16 that had the roller boom style furling, we got caught out in small craft warning conditions with it blowing a steady20+ and gusting higher with no motor and a jammed furling system. The two of us sat on the windward rail and looked at green water through the leeward ports. A few waves slopped aboard (we had already closed up the companionway) but she remained upright, though it was white knuckles on the tiller until in the lee of a shore and diminished wind. We became a bit more confident in her ability to handle such afterwards. My wife also insisted on two things, one: we fix that "rolly boom thingy" and two: "we are getting a motor". Soon to be married 40 years cuz learned the power of the words "yes dear"!

Head up into the wind to depower the main and reef or as you did douse it. We had no motor so had to sail her. Any boat is more sable under sail rather than motor alone so is wise to keep at least diminished sail up even when motoring if much wave or swell action. Also make sure your out haul is tight and flatten the sail as much as possible.
Learn to spot the gusts coming as they generally betray themselves on other boats upwind and across the surface of the water. Finally as mentioned close up the boat when it gets salty out there. These are seaworthy little boats, but they are little boats!

Just noticed Salty's reply as i typed mine. Certainly releasing the main sheets will help, just be careful if much wave action and healed pretty far you don't dp you boom into the water/waves an/ord your boom starts to bang around once uncleated. The boat will instantly become less stable until the main starts to fill again. Besides sitting in a fetal position, we have found closing our eyes and pretending it is not happening works pretty well too!

[greg988]

Thanks Mas!

[Bramble]

Two kinds of sailors,
1.  the ones that have had this happen
2.  the ones who are going to have it happen

Just what everyone else said, loose the mainsheet, let go of the tiller & round up, keep a hatchboard in place.  I'd add, wear a PFD.

I'd guess that the biggest problem you had was getting surprised.  If you get the opportunity to sail in heavy steady wind, play around with sailing over-canvased.  Getting more comfortable with what the boat & her skipper can do will make a difference.
mike

[zonefour]

I know this is an old post, but it is always relevant.  When the wind is up, unlock the tiller and mainsheet.  Spend some time dinghy sailing and you will get the idea in a hurry.