Post your story of sails saving the day

[Don C L]

Well not sure if it saving the day but I thought I busted the impeller on my engine 3 days ago and sailed into the anchorage and anchored sans engine but that’s kind of what sails are for, right? Btw I have a fully battened main: my recommendation for those is douse the main first and sail in with jib, those dang full battened mains won’t stop sailing!!

[zeehag]

hahaha weighing anchor in a rock encircled bay and engine quits, as usual and as it is supposed to do, being a perkins and kalunk before ka lunking.... rocks get closer-- ok deployed genoa and sailed out of the bay as helper from hell was bringing anchor onto deck.
as you all believe formosas are not sailable hahahahaha she sails quite nicely thankyou, and within a few feet managed to sail beautifully out of the bay under genoa alone. took a whole 5 feet to catch air and turn her.
i love my formosa. boat does exactly what i guide her to doing. perfectly i might add.
ps we could not get the engine bled for the pick up blockage for a few miles. may have been a good thing i was taught to sail on "big" engineless wood boats with deep keels in light airs. hahahahaha.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Well not sure if it saving the day but I thought I busted the impeller on my engine 3 days ago and sailed into the anchorage and anchored sans engine but that’s kind of what sails are for, right? Btw I have a fully battened main: my recommendation for those is douse the main first and sail in with jib, those dang full battened mains won’t stop sailing!!

I do it the other way. I furl the jib then sail in with main only and release the main sheet near my anchor spot , go forward and drop the anchor letting out the estimated amount of rode then cleat it off using the boats speed/momentum to help set the anchor.

Usually I'm good at this point and it's time for a beer while securing the main and the halyard and checking the boats position for a while.

Usually my engine is fine but since it's up and secured I hate to put it in the water just for motoring to my my anchorage when the sails work fine for this if there is wind

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I do it the other way. I furl the jib then sail in with main only and release the main sheet near my anchor spot , go forward and drop the anchor letting out the estimated amount of rode then cleat it off using the boats speed/momentum to help set the anchor.

Usually I'm good at this point and it's time for a beer while securing the main and the halyard and checking the boats position for a while.

Usually my engine is fine but since it's up and secured I hate to put it in the water just for motoring to my my anchorage when the sails work fine for this if there is wind

Do you have a fully battened main? I used to do it that way too with my old main, but I could count on a luffing main to slow me down and offer no drive.

[Don C L]

In a related vein, this social group, though quite small and not too active (yet) might be of interest to some:
Cruisers & Sailing Forums - Engineless

[Greaph]

If this is resurrecting a dead thread, I apologise.

In 2017, my wife and I were sailing from Corpus Christi municipal marina east, across the Corpus Christi bay and into the intracoastal ship channel on a 40' Morgan cruising ketch. It was a liesurely sail, and we were making it under the main and flying jib, with the mizzen and staysails down. The winds were steady at 17 knots and helm responding well. After entering the channel and turning alongside the starboard markers, we travelled a few miles making about 9 knots. We noticed a large (extremely large!) Ore carrier on a reciprical heading coming into Corpus Harbor. Radio contact was made and intentions verified, confirming the laden vessel had eyes on us.
As we drew closer (close enough to need to steer further starboard to offset being sucked into the ore hauler), steering started to become very loose, and then complete loss of rudder control. My mind initially tries to panic and I consider all the reasons we might have lost the rudder. We continue to be drawn closer to the side of this monstrously (now) large commercial vessel. I realise I can do nothing to regain rudder control in the time I have remaining, and dropping sail will only lose me what control I DO have.

So I quickly raise the mizzen, close haul it, loose the main and furl the flying jib, causing the Freebird to cut hard to starboard with a few dozen yards remaining before a very bad end. I continued to use mizzen and main to steer until I was safely out of the channel and was able to anchor and get eyes on my rudder problem.

Somehow I even maintained the presence of mind to stay in constant radio contact with the ore carrier, signal my problem, intentions and successful evasion much to their relief. Once I was out of the channel, safely anchored and sails luffing, I was incapable of action for several minutes due to muscle cramping and shakes.


P.S. Apparently, my wife never realized that we were having an emergency until I stopped and dropped anchor. I had nightmares about it for weeks.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Greaph

If this is resurrecting a dead thread, I apologise.

In 2017, my wife and I were sailing from Corpus Christi municipal marina east, across the Corpus Christi bay and into the intracoastal ship channel on a 40' Morgan cruising ketch. It was a liesurely sail, and we were making it under the main and flying jib, with the mizzen and staysails down. The winds were steady at 17 knots and helm responding well. After entering the channel and turning alongside the starboard markers, we travelled a few miles making about 9 knots. We noticed a large (extremely large!) Ore carrier on a reciprical heading coming into Corpus Harbor. Radio contact was made and intentions verified, confirming the laden vessel had eyes on us.
As we drew closer (close enough to need to steer further starboard to offset being sucked into the ore hauler), steering started to become very loose, and then complete loss of rudder control. My mind initially tries to panic and I consider all the reasons we might have lost the rudder. We continue to be drawn closer to the side of this monstrously (now) large commercial vessel. I realise I can do nothing to regain rudder control in the time I have remaining, and dropping sail will only lose me what control I DO have.

So I quickly raise the mizzen, close haul it, loose the main and furl the flying jib, causing the Freebird to cut hard to starboard with a few dozen yards remaining before a very bad end. I continued to use mizzen and main to steer until I was safely out of the channel and was able to anchor and get eyes on my rudder problem.

Somehow I even maintained the presence of mind to stay in constant radio contact with the ore carrier, signal my problem, intentions and successful evasion much to their relief. Once I was out of the channel, safely anchored and sails luffing, I was incapable of action for several minutes due to muscle cramping and shakes.


P.S. Apparently, my wife never realized that we were having an emergency until I stopped and dropped anchor. I had nightmares about it for weeks.

Quick thinking. So now, for the rest of the story. What happened with the steering?

[Greaph]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Quick thinking. So now, for the rest of the story. What happened with the steering?

Not as interesting.
I checked the cables, sheaves, cheeks and quadrant and found no problems. Rudder response during the entire event was "loose and fluttery", with no bite to the water. I was initially afraid we had sheared some pins, although we hadn't run aground.

After securing the sails and setting a second anchor, I dived the rudder and found large, heavy plastic sheeting fouling the prop and shaft and "blinding" the rudder. It had essentially twisted itself into a big 20" ball completly obscuring the rudder. Took me 20 minutes to cut away. I must have picked it up sailing into the channel, and had enough rudder until I needed to offset that ore hauler's suction....

That scared me more than turtling in Prince William sound..... and that event shattered 3 chainplates, shifted my mainmast 22" to port, and sent the dolphin-striker through the hull.....

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Greaph

That scared me more than turtling in Prince William sound..... and that event shattered 3 chainplates, shifted my mainmast 22" to port, and sent the dolphin-striker through the hull.....

Well gee, getting sucked into the side of a monster ship or going upside down and breaking up the rig. Both sound pretty heart stopping to me.

[Greaph]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Well gee, getting sucked into the side of a monster ship or going upside down and breaking up the rig. Both sound pretty heart stopping to me.

LMAO, they both were. But with the "Rudder Incident" I had my wife aboard and plenty of time to see what was coming, and it's implications.

The turtling happened because I was stupid and proud. Leaving Anchorage I was supposed to have a crewmember, but she had family problems at the last minute. I had already pushed the departure date for her and was in danger of being iced in. So I singlehanded down the Cook Inlet during incoming tide (which runs at 6 knots), and inclement weather. 2 DAYS later I slipped south into Prince William sound and was completely exhausted, running a broad reach in 18kt winds with flying jib, jib, and main. I wasn't keeping a weather eye, in fact was dozing 20 minutes out of every 30. So I didn't notice the squall coming from the SW (starboard) until the wind flipped directions and the temp suddenly dropped severely. Brain fuzzed from sleep I jumped up to reef the main instead of turning into it and backing. The 3rd wave to hit me broadsides came 4 ft over the coamings and sent me overboard on the lifeline. I climbed back aboard in time to watch the 7th wave come over 3 feet over my head and fill my main and jib.

Over we went.....

Pride, stupidity and sleep deprivation.... no time to be afraid until it was over.

[mlydon]

Many years ago I briefly owned a Lighning. For those of you haven’t heard of them, they are a 19’ one-design centerboard race boat. Non-retracting rudder on gudgeons and pintles.

Anyway, I’m going to take some folks out for a sail, so I bring the boat into the beach. In doing so, I have to pull the rudder so it doesn’t ground, and have the boat nose into the wind, with said wind along the beach, slightly on shore, at a health 15 knots or so. I have my wife holding the nose, and am wading towards the stern alongside to load passengers aboard from the beach when she lets the boat get loose. Quick as can be the boats nose drops off pointed out and the sail begins to fill, as the sheets are snagged on the center board or whatever. I grab the stays and hurl myself aboard just as the boat takes off like a rocket. As I’m struggling aft to grab the rudder, it slides off the stern deck, inches from my hand.

As I’m getting upright, the boat is barreling right towards a bunch of boats moored offshore. Luckily, I stayed at a holiday inn express the night before (just kidding)

I had JUST been reading about steering with sails alone in a book called “performance sail tuning” and been planning to try it soon, just not in an emergency with no choice.

I dumped the main and hauled in the jib hard, causing the boat to fall off and missing one moored boat, then doing the opposite to head up and miss another. This within about 10 seconds of getting aboard and oriented. Once through the field, I as able with difficulty to eventually get back to the beach - if you’ve never tried it, jibing and tacking are HARD with no rudder. After a quick nervous breakdown, I went out in a sunfish or whatever looking for my rudder, but never found it - although it floated, seastate and reflections made spotting something low in the water impossible.

So that’s my most exciting ‘sails save the day’ story, although I have a couple more for another time.

Matt

[JC Reefer]

Sailed into a slip.

At the age of 16 I helped a friend move his old Morgan from Tampa to Miami. It was 4 days of fun sailing.

On the last morning the winds were low and we filled the fuel tank at Gilbert’s before motoring north toward Biscayne Bay.

Just after passing through the feather beds the engine cut out and would not start up again. Stepping down below it was clear that the fuel had leaked out and was in the bilge. The entire cabin smelled of diesel.

Without an engine we set out the sails in zero knots of wind. We bobbed about for 4 hours waiting for the wind.

A fresh breeze came with an afternoon storm and we quickly covered the remaining waters.

Under the guidance of my salty skipper we tacked up the channel to dinner key marina. Once we entered the barrier islands I was instructed to drop the main. Soon after the jib.

My captain knew his boat and under the boats momentum he docked the old Morgan into its slip.

[wsmurdoch]

The pictures that go with this text (along with the text itself) are in my wife's blog irish-eyes-to-the-bahamas.blogspot.com Look for the Sunday, March 17, 2019 entry.


We arrived at Morgan’s Bluff around 9:00 am. There was just one other sailboat anchored in the harbor. There was a cargo ship tied up to the dock and unloading, so the customs and immigration people were already in Morgan’s Bluff. We launched the dinghy, and Bill went ashore to clear us into the Bahamas. It did not take him long. We paid for our cruising permit and were given permission to stay in the Bahamas until June 30.

We put the dinghy and its motor back on the deck, raised the anchor, and departed on what we expected to be a 30 mile sail to New Providence Island where we would anchor for the night. We motored out of the harbor and raised the sails. I noticed that the engine did not seem to be pushing us. A quick check showed that we could not motor either forward or backward. This time both of us said, “Darn" (again, not really). We sailed back into the harbor and anchored under sail. It was tense. There was a lot to do in a short time, and only one chance to get it right, and we did.

In the engine compartment, Bill discovered that the forward flange of the coupling between the transmission and the propeller shaft had slipped off the transmission’s output shaft. The engine and the propeller were no longer hooked together. Checking his books, Bill found that the flange was held to the transmission with a big nut that needed two special tools to tighten it securely. Well, guess what we didn’t have. In addition, without the flange in place all the oil had drained out of the transmission. Great. Bill called the Yanmar dealer in Nassau. A mechanic named Brad said to smear blue Loctite (a special nut glue that we luckily did have) on the threads then tighten the nut as well as we could. Bill did, then he refilled the transmission. During the hours he worked, other boats came into the harbor and anchored around us. We tested the transmission in reverse by pulling on the anchor line with the reversing engine. It worked. We were scared to try forward. The other anchored boats were too close.

We could not stay in Morgan’s Bluff. The wind was forecast to change to north in a few days, and the harbor, open to the north, would not be safe. Besides, there was no one in Morgan’s Bluff to work on our problem. So, we slept. In the morning we raised the anchor and tried to motor out of the harbor. We had no forward. We re-anchored and thought about it. We could not stay; we had to leave. Our best option was to sail to New Providence Island. The harbor at Nassau on the north side of the island would be too crowded, unfamiliar, and current ridden for us to safely enter, so Palm Cay Marina on the southeast corner where we fixed our fuel tank last year would be our best place to go. Bill raised our sails, I steered the boat, we threaded our way around the other anchored boats, and we left Morgan’s Bluff behind.

The wind outside the harbor was light and coming in the exact direction that we wanted to go. To sail into the wind, we had to tack. We sailed first to the left of the wind, then we turned and sailed to the right of the wind. It meant that the 30 mile straight line trip would be a 50 mile zigzag trip, and with the light wind it would be 3 in the morning before we would be in water shallow enough to anchor and sleep. Oh well, we would do what we needed to do. From time to time we started the engine and tried to motor. For whatever reason, by late afternoon our transmission re-learned how to do forward. We dropped the sails and motored the rest of the way to the southwest corner of New Providence where we anchored in the dark.

In the morning we tried the motor, but the transmission had once again forgotten forward. So, it was sailing time again. We had rain, rocks, and coral heads to contend with as we first tacked then later sailed as close to the wind as we could to the Palm Cay Marina entrance channel. We lowered the sails, turned on the engine in case we needed reverse, and let the wind push us into the marina. Inside the marina we had to make a left turn between two docks then a right turn into our slip. With the help of a skilled dock hand, we managed to get the boat tied in the slip without hitting another boat, without either of us getting hurt, and (believe it or not) without any angry words between us. Whew.

A few salty sailors will say all this maneuvering under sail was a piece of cake. I very strongly disagree. I hope and pray I never have to do any of it again!

Operating the transmission without ATF had burned up the forward clutch pack. The transmission was repaired in Nassau, but the nut came off again 18 days after the repair. This time I glued it on with red Loctite which held. However, damage to the transmission required a second rebuilding later that year in the US.

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

SF Bay, motoring under the Oakland Bridge (old bridge still there and new one under construction) east side of Yerba Buena going to Clipper Cove to anchor out for a night. Wife at the helm notices temp gauge going way up.

"What should I do?" "Turn off the engine."
"What should I do?" "Turn off the engine."
"What should I do?" "Turn off the engine."
"What should I do?" "Turn off the engine."
Engine finally gets turned off as I deploy the jib. We sailed upwind into the anchorage, dropped the hook. Found bilge full of coolant. The lines under the galley sole from the engine to the water heater had chafed thru. Sailed back home in light winds the next day, sailed into our slip. Spent the next day sourcing hose and replacing same.




Drakes Bay 2016, around 1500 anchor dragged in high winds, sliding into lee shore, anchor rode wraps on prop shaft, stops engine. Sailed out on jib. Decided to sail back to SF on jib alone downwind, got there at 0200.

Divers said the rode was wrapped around the shaft and the strut along with the dangling anchor all the way from Drakes Bay. Bought new rode, anchor was saved.


Sails are good to have!


PS


In both cases, it was the JIB that saved us. Advice to use the MAIN first, on my boat, would be useless. Perhaps it is on the respondent's boat. Please, please, please, before you take my advice OR his, try it on your boat so YOU know which sail works better if you can only get one up. I sailed for years with just my jib on SF Bay 'cuz that's how MY boat works. YMMV. Check first.

That reminds me, I need to buy some spare hose. It coils neatly in the bilge, and is much cheaper than a new engine if one breaks.

[jamhass]

My first sailboat was a POS Hobie wannabe. But it got me on the water. Unfortunately, the Columbia River, on one of it's last free-flowing stretches. Had a nice down-river sail for a few miles. Came about to head upriver, when the clew ripped out of the jib, and I had no way to repair.

I could just make way upriver on the main alone, but could not tack, so gybed at each bank, losing nearly all I had gained. some hours later, made it back to my launch point and trailer.

Really should have beached it and walked back. But ... I was a "sailor" ...