So here we are on a “downwind” passage with 25 knots+ blowing straight from St Lucia. There is a steep two to occasional three meter (six to ten foot) sea running, close coupled of course. Nothing like two waves per boat length to help with digestion (and diet). You might say we are just paying our dues since we have been able to avoid slogging to weather this entire cruising season.
Of course this is what Wind Horse is designed to do, slice dead to windward at cruising speed. When she was new to us, five years and close to 50,000 miles ago, we marveled at the ease at which she got us to weather. Hard beating on our FPB oould always be compared to something a lot worse under sail, like Panama to Curacao in 30 to 40 knots aboard Beowulf.
But our standards have changed, or you could say we have grown soft, and as nice as it is to be able to head straight into the wind at speed, we don’t like it. We could heave to, which on Wind Horse means jogging slowly into the waves, until the weather passes. But more of this is in the offing and the wind will probably strengthen here and behind us. By pressing on we get past this trough when it is relatively easy, with the promise of high pressure and easterly quadrant winds a few days down the track. Besides, we don’t like sitting.
A motion has been tabled to delay Thanksgiving if adverse conditions persist. The Wind Horse executive committee will consider this in due course.
Position: 22 27’41.06 N, 029 19’47.53 W
Posted by Steve Dashew (November 25, 2010)
November 25th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Look at it this way, Steve: at least you have a 400-mile lead on the sailboats.
On the Great Lakes, where I cruise, we get this sort of steep, short-wavelength conditions quite often. In our case it’s more commonly 1 to 1.5 m waves spaced perhaps 6 m apart- about half the wave height that you have to contend with out there today, but with boats averaging less than half the length and 10-20 times lighter than an FPB.
For as long as I’ve been around, the solution to this has been simply “run for shelter”. Nobody goes out (or stays out, if they can avoid it) when the waves start getting tall and steep. With so many harbours close at hand (and with marina fees so high), this area doesn’t really see the sort of long, efficient hulls that can comfortably cut through high-amplitude, short-wavelength seas. So for me, it’s quite interesting to hear about how the FPB handles in such conditions- there are some interesting concepts in her design that ought to be applicable, with some adjustment, at the smaller scale we deal with on the lakes.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Steve and Linda
Happy Thanksgiving. I ended up not looking further for a ride in the ARC after visiting with you in Las Palmas but instead travelled through France, Holland and Spain looking at alloy boats. There are a lot of choices out there but none exactly what I want. Will keep looking.
In the meantime I hope the wind changes for you shortly. There are a few boats just hugging the African coast. I will be interested to see how it all turns out.
Above all have fun and play safe.