That was a really interesting race in terms of preparation for Single Handed Transpac. I got to test more AP action and I had a lot of different conditions to sail through.
It was super windy and sea state was rather horrible. Big short waves that would cover the entire deck of the boat. The boat would go bang bang quite a few times. Pretty rough. Other than that, fantastic visibility. Wind speeds near 30 knots.
I might have been just as well by rigging a #3 first and just suffer through the light air stuff but I really wanted to see if I could always go for the sail plan that corresponded to the conditions and test myself on sail changes, etc...so maximum race practice. Note that a single hander will minimize efforts whenever possible as he/she must last a while! However, it was a race and I wanted to push it quite a bit and get to figure out how the boat reacts with no weight on the rail in these conditions.
So I started with a #2 (easier to manage than a real #1 single handed so I tend to take that sail with me instead of the big genoa particularly on day sails that are actually more tiring than longer distance sails as you need to go through more maneuvers in a short period of time. In a race to Hawaii you don't short tack your way out of a patch of the ocean)
First the no wind and I tried to stay as calm as I could (frustration leads to bad sailing) and to do what Brian had recommended: to use his autopilot and trim the sails. Worked ok, but the wind was so light that I am not sure that the AP was even needed.
Then light to moderate winds which I also steered mostly with Brian's AP (except for the tacks which I did by hand because I could never remember which buttons to press; for how long and last time I tried to fiddle around with the buttons, the AP just stopped working...) - this worked great. The swell was also very moderate and boat speed was really good.
I stayed in the main channel to get most of the ebb and then sailed North past Point Bonita as forecast was for wind coming from the North, and I was sailing in a westerly.
Well, past Point Bonita, the north breeze picked up as predicted. When the wind speed got regularly above 10, I walked forward to change the headsail to a smaller jib better suited for these conditions. The little center line was great for this, I can just hop through the shrouds forward and move fast in a safe place (between mast and shrouds) - I need to try to figure out how I can best set it up.
At this point, I tried to engage the Doomsday device autopilot but it wouldn't come on and there was a blinking green light which indicated that it wasn't quite ready to work perhaps?
So I went down below (stabilizing boat direction with the bungee which is a fairly good solution upwind in a heavy winds so long as your sails are balanced) and switched to the NKE which worked great. I put gain 6 (I have no idea which gain I should select...nor how to measure/find out). I loosened up the main and put the boat on a loose beat trajectory; assuming it would be a lot easier for the AP to steer and not surprise it too much when I get the sail down.
No weight on the rail means very heavy heel. Not good for boat speed!
I got really wet forward from the spray and I had to hang tight as it was a real roller coaster. The #3 was mostly ready so that was a fast change. Then I gather the #2 and pushed it down below. For a short whle I had it stucked between the mast and the shrouds to give me time to open up the door which I had closed as everything on deck was getting totally soaked.
Wet sail ended up below, out of the way. Can deal with it later. That was a very physical activity. The weather was really warm which is just as well because the water was cold! Good foul weather gear had me stay very comfortable but I sweated quite a bit after the sail change and needed a few minutes of recovery back at the helm.
Elise was very much struggling in these waves. Progress was very slow. I adjusted my driving a bit to better climb up the waves but the swell was pretty unfriendly, a west/north combo of some sort which would attack the boat from all angles. Really technical driving.
The wind kept increasing to well above 20 at which point I took a reef in the main, using the AP to steer while I was messing around at the mast to hook up the sail at its reef point and to pull in the reefing line. Well, that took just about 1 or so minute. Very fast operation and because the boat is so small I could wrap the main halyard and take it with me forward to tension up the line up so that the hook would stay in place. Real easy and a pretty safe place to be again (between mast and shrouds) and that center line for me to clip on was fantastic (I clipped on as soon as I passed the gate)
A reef and the #3 work usually up until 25 knots, after which I would downgrade the main sail. Fortunately I was now between a tight reach and a loose beat to make the mark since the wind rotated North so it was possible to keep that sailing angle without overpowering the boat too much.
I had NKE steer for a little whle was I was busy taking pictures and I experimented with the main. You can't depower too much too quickly as it seems to be messing with the AP who makes some assumptions whch you are destroying. So I found a steady rhythm (super wet and super uncomfortable but the boat was going just fine) and left it there. I didn't change the gain.
By now I was seeing gust to 30 knots and sustained wind speed around 27 knots, with waves rocking the boat like crazy. I was trying to imagine myself trying to sleep in these conditions...
In any case I got a little comfort food and I drank a lot, worried than being wet from the spray would make me forget to hydrate.
I turned around the lightship and gybe on a wave back to the Golden Gate Bridge. Gybing the main is actually easier on these waves as surfing while not a super stable mode really reducing apparent wind speed.
First it was a reach back to the gate and wind speed still very high, so no way I could have hoisted a kite. That was a fantastic day. Reminded me of a Coastal Cup we did, reaching into Santa Barbara.
Elise would start surfing on all these big waves and then I'd head up a teeny bit so as not to drag right too much. I wanted to stay on this side of the channel b/c of current.
I saw boat speeds between 9 and 11 knots and I was catching up with heavier boats. I passed on between the light bucket and point bonita and I passed a second one right before the gate.
I shook off the reef when the conditions abated a little bit. The waves were so powerful that when coming at the wrong angle, they'd push the boat all over the place and only a gust could counteract that. Taking the reef out is tricky on a reach or downwind because I dno't have a good prefeeder and I am trying to prefeed and winch up the halyard. I now sit on the cabin top with access to the wind and the sail and I tried to do both. Doesn't work great. I also timed the efforts with the sail as surfing would depower the main quite a bit!
Sea state calmed down greatly past Point Bonita and about half way in the wind moved aft and I hoisted a kite. I was still using NKE but the Doomsday device now had fixed green lights which seemed to indicate that it was ready for operation again. I didn't switch back.
Hoisting the kite was fine but whenever I tried to engage the autopilot so I could focus on trimming, the boat would go up and make super wide moves, touching by the lee on the other side. Probably a gain problem, and/or a sail trim issue so I need to work on that as this AP is supposed to drive this boat downwind quite a bit!!
I finished with the kite up, and I took it down easily in the middle of a fleet of J boats going upwind...and having to zigzag between them.
Very physical day. The boat behaved fantastically on the way back as these conditions were basically made for her type. Struggle upwind and changing headsail is a huge endeavor (compared to taking on a reef which is a walk in the park). Trying to imaging days of that...with a wet below deck as there is no 'sas' where you can leave your wet clothes. And I definitely need to figure out what is going on with the AP downwind as at that point the waves were negligible, just the usual bay chop.
Overall, a fantastic day and very happy that the Single Handed Transpac is mostly a downwind race...should be much more confortable in heavy winds!!
No comments:
Post a Comment