Heaving-To, Do you do it?

[dugout]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I have never seen conditions suitable for Heaving to that I couldnt actually sail in.

Spend enough time in the ocean and you will, eventually. You will also see conditions in which its impossible to heave to. Heaving too is just another skill/tool to have at the ready. Different strokes for different folks...

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by dugout

Spend enough time in the ocean and you will, eventually

3...2...1...

[rivonia]

We heave to and then Lay - A - Hull many times and for differing reasons. The last two times was to wait overnight before going into tricky marinas.

Realy it was part of the Yacht Master Course all those years ago.

Fair Winds

Peter

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by dugout

(...) Count me as one who believes in it as a storm tactic as well.

In a real big boat perhaps. Do not try this in a small one once the storm has kicked up waves enough to toss you.

b.

[dugout]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

In a real big boat perhaps. Do not try this in a small one once the storm has kicked up waves enough to toss you.

b.

Agreed, in some conditions. Folks seem to want to confuse the issue of a given "tactic" as a universal to all sea conditions and all "storms".
No tactic applies to all conditions unless it is sitting in a bar watching the weather channel. Heaving to is a skill to be used when appropriate. That includes storm conditions. We road a blow for two days 100 miles N by NW of Bermuda, hove to in a J36. Never touched a line for 48 hours and given the conditions it was a smooth ride in a very light boat.

I don't know why some folks turn these discussions into an argument? It either works for you and your boat or it doesn't. The OP asked for opinions. It's all good

[Dulls]

I used to be in the Pardy camp of heaving too but when we tried the methods we realised that a more flexible approach was needed. (Our boat is a long keel with cutaway forefoot canoe stern 12 000 kgs.)

We have only heaved to twice for real once after a knock-down (both in the Tasman sea) winds 40 plus both times. Both under storm try sail with no jib up. The second time we put a sea anchor out( an old jib tied to 3 corners.). The fore reaching slowed down but did not stop. We were already hove too when we were knocked down on triple reef main. We then went to jib off the bow roller and try sail only. This made the boat point up a maybe 5 deg higher and slowed the fore reaching from about 1 knot to half knot. Still no real protection from the slick. The Jib anchor streamed up wind and behind us and we were not knocked down again. A pendant on the sea anchor rope would have done nothing because the rope was about 10m off the stern off the boat and not streaming out from the boat, But we cant learn anything from that because it may have been we did not get another rogue wave again.

We could never get the boat to stop fore reaching out of the slick. We tried with and with out a para anchor. It also made me think that if running before the wind the wake behind should protect you but does it?( I have my doubts) With due respect to the Pardys and there experience i think you should have as many options in the bag as you can so look at what people like Roth has to say. Unless you have an identical Pardy boat then there theories might have little relevance to you. I would guess that 95% of the boats out there would have little in common with their pilot cutter.

The theory i have is that heaving too is the best method because cruising boats are short handed and steering before a Gale requires concentration while scared and tired. But if all else fails i will give running before the wind a go.

I think it is always best from a psychological point of view to never get to your last resort. Most important lesson i learned was have a good music system, turn up the sound and you cant hear the wind in the rigging as much and it just seems calmer. Try it.

[charliehows]

i heave to to drop the main - its easier to do it behind the jib, also for radio scheds cos i mostly sail singlehanded.

[rakedfront1]

...I really enjoyed reading this thread but I did not see anybody mention heaving to when fighting that big fish that just took a bite of that menhaden while trolling under sail.....I do it all the time while sailing and trolling downwind to release pressure on the fishing line while I fight that big mackarel......Does not work too good sailing and trolling upwind as the fishing line has a nasty habit of wrapping around the keel.......Constantin

[rubyjean]

Originally Posted by rakedfront1

...I really enjoyed reading this thread but I did not see anybody mention heaving to when fighting that big fish that just took a bite of that menhaden while trolling under sail.....I do it all the time while sailing and trolling downwind to release pressure on the fishing line while I fight that big mackarel......Does not work too good sailing and trolling upwind as the fishing line has a nasty habit of wrapping around the keel.......Constantin

I only use 800# float line while underway. A 50# king salmon or tuna just gets drug along till it's tired...Then two wraps around a winch and wala..DINNER.. Has worked for my fifty years at sea.. Just ask any commerical fisherman..Michael..

[nhschneider]

Almost always, a hard and fast rule aboard our boat is to never enter an unfamiliar port when it's dark and it's under these circumstances that we'll usually heave to. However, since our boat is ketch-rigged, heaving to is very easy and effective: we hoist the mizzen and furl everything else. The helm is lashed hard over and we sit at about 60 degrees off the wind, drifting very slowly. We did this just recently as we approached Chesterfield Reef on our way from Vanuatu to Australia.

The only time we've been in whole gale conditions, we deployed a sea anchor.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Mr B]

I drive a 34 foot cat, I never hove to, I always ran before the storms or whatever the sea was, plenty of ocean with nothing in it,
I dropped my drive leg and used that as a drogue, part Genoa only, and the windward side centre board fully down, the lee side board fully up,

The bit that was hard, was getting the right amount of Genoa up to keep me in a straight line and in front of the waves, Finally got it right,

I do have a drogue on board, But never used it,

I have an auto pilot so the boat drives itself, so Its always relaxing cruising,

Tiredness does accumulate as you can never ever get a good solid rest or sleep as your always on watch,

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by rakedfront1

...I really enjoyed reading this thread but I did not see anybody mention heaving to when fighting that big fish that just took a bite of that menhaden while trolling under sail.....I do it all the time while sailing and trolling downwind to release pressure on the fishing line while I fight that big mackarel......Does not work too good sailing and trolling upwind as the fishing line has a nasty habit of wrapping around the keel.......Constantin

This is another situation where it's good to know about the alternative technique of heaving to with the main boom prevented out square, because that's where it's likely to be when trolling.

If the jib is poled to leeward (broadish reaching), no need to touch it or the main: just wind the wheel hard against the stops in the round up direction, put the wheel brake on and grab the rod.

If the jib is wung out to windward on a pole, it's a bit trickier, but otherwise (if too shorthanded to roll the jib) it can just be undersheeted to leeward. The main doesn't need touching in either situation.

(Left to my own devices I use Rubyjean's heavy monofilament on a handline drum, but even then I don't like to drag a fish until it drowns - I prefer to stop the boat and winch it in ASAP for a quick kill)

A good reason to practice this is it's a great technique for a MOB emergency or anything else requiring a sudden stop when running off.

[Floodhound]

I heave to all the time. In fact it was the first thing I learned how to do on a sailboat. I was told it was one of the most important things one should learn how to do - to stop your boat.

[Jammer Six]

The one time I did it because of wind, we were still making about a thousand knots to windward, and I didn't trust the crew I had at the time to mess with striking a furling headsail. About the time we got it figure out how to minimize the headsail, the wind died down to around 20 knots.

[Livia]

Passages to weather: We recently did two passages to weather: Suwarrow to Penrhyn and then Penrhyn to Bora Bora. On both passages the wind and wave conditions increased to a level where although we could sail, to keep the boat from bashing we needed to slow the boat down a bit and to do so we would have lost too much speed to maintain a close angle to the wind. We hove to for 12 hours and 24 hours to wait for the waves to change to longer period or drop.