Storm Tactics: for Inland Sailors

[@saabtech3510]

Having been in several severe thunder storms out in the lake in my youth, as well as a full gale, I have great respect for potential problems at sea. What I do now, especially since my wife usually accompanies me, is use the weather band forecast and grab the days with basically zero chance of a thunder storm. Another point, on the radar issue, is that some storms one can observe progressing/traveling toward your area. Other storms are "pop up" due to conditions in the atmosphere. Those can actually pop up and "park" in a spot and dump inches of rain over an hour or so. Just continually regenerating itself in place. Not passing through in a few minutes. Always take preparation steps immediately at first evidence of a possible storm. Don't procrastinate. I once experienced, from shore, at my son's home on the shore of Lake Erie, a storm was across the lake in Canada. A good distance away. We wanted to go down to the beach and gather some stones. No sooner did I tell everyone I judged we had 5-10 minutes, when we saw we had to immediately run to the house. It turned out this storm itself was traveling at 60 mph! That was how fast the storm was approaching, not just the wind speed! We looked at the radar on the TV and watched as it raced over the house and was gone in just a few very intense minutes. I say all this to make the point to immediately do what you need to do with sails etc. and not get trapped like the man in Alabama. (I saw that video. Scary.)

[@saabtech3510]

Here is an example of the chances I would not take with my family. The "forecast" is not always precise. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5unln1-ecx2j7c

[@ColoradoSailing]

@@saabtech3510 the forecasting where I am is really terrible. The lake gets at least one big squall every day…sometimes several. Those are never in the forecast. If the forecast does predict big wind…then it’s usually even bigger than what’s forecast. I don’t usually sail if the gust forecast is over 16 knots…

[@DADGAD_Rick]

I liked your suggested strategies to dealing with inland stormy conditions. But I would add to your list the following: 1. Slow down the boat by either putting the outboard engine down and/or deploying a “warp” line (or a drogue) behind the boat. Part of the reason for capsizes in the boat is going too fast. Therefore, slowing the boat down can be an effective strategy to stabilize the boat’s dynamics through the water. 2. Tension the backstay if it’s adjustable to depower the mainsail. 3. Move jib cars aftwards to effectively depower the jib. 4. Tension the vanguard, mainsail outhaul and Cunningham to depower the mainsail.

[@ColoradoSailing]

@@DADGAD_Rick technically, items 2, 3 and 4 are “heavy weather techniques” rather than “storm tactics”. I covered those in a previous video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6DLhp-Bj6pqb9ksi=V2X0eob2Fsjr6NrF. I also covered some of that in my 2-part series “Pushing It” which was published last week and the week before. The storm tactics video seemed like the next logical step after my “Pushing It” series. As far as a drogue, my lake is pretty small and strewn with rocky islands throughout, so deploying a drogue and retrieving it before hitting something would be difficult, but a valid technique if your lake/reservoir offers the sea space. Incidentally, that’s also why I don’t use a whisker pole…not worth the time it takes to set up with so little sea space on my lake. 😁 On deploying the outboard, that one is new to me. But not possible for me since I use a Torqeedo electric outboard and the owner’s manual specifically says not to sail with the outboard down as it will damage the electric motor. The newest ePropulsion electric outboards can be sailed in the down position and it recharges the battery while you sail! Thanks for the constructive comments…and happy sailing!! ⛵️

[@DADGAD_Rick]

@@ColoradoSailing, I too own a Torqueedo, specifically a 2024 Travel XP and I’ve not had any problems with sailing with the motor lower section in the water. Indeed, I find it hard to believe that using the motor while sailing could cause any damage. I’ve “motor-sailed” and it works just fine. As for a drogues, it doesn’t need to be a fancy set up. I’ve deployed a couple of long line tied to each side of the stern rails and this will also slow the boat down sufficiently to make sailing easier and less challenging.

[@ColoradoSailing]

@@DADGAD_Rick I use the smaller Torqeedo Travel 1103CL (2019 version). The manual for that particular model (section 4.2.4 “Before Use”) states: “The motor unit must be taken out of the water if the boat is driven by other means (towing, sailing, using other motors) to prevent damage to the electronics.” I do use the Torqeedo to motor sail, but only when the primary propulsion is being provided by the motor, and not by the sails. I avoid dragging the motor with the sails. The newer Torqeedo models may be different.