Beam Reach Safe sailing Rough Weather

[thedude0]

Hi I own a heavy displacement 25ft sailboat...I have come across and read quite frequently that it is dangerous to sail with waves on the beam when the waves are of a certain size (breaking wave whose height is greater than the yacht's beam) ...as theortically it can capsize the boat however does this also apply to sailing boats with action of sails and ballast or just ordinary boats.. as i believe i have seen many yachts continue on in such conditions?
Cheers
Ed

[s/v Beth]

Ed, the key is breaking waves at that height. If you have a breaking wave hit you at beam the force tries to turn you over, and your boat's righting forces try to combat it. IMHO it is rare to see breaking waves at 10-12 feet high, and you should not be out in them.
If the boats continue in breaking waves that would capsize them, they are either stupid, or very good. I hope I am not the first, and probably not the second.

[MarkJ]

Ed a breaking wave does not mean a white cap. It means a wave breaking at sea as it would breaking on a beach.
You only get them in extremely bad storms.
For general sailing just plow through the white caps. They may push the boat about a bit but they won't hurt.

For extreme breaking waves, yes you are right, you don't want to be beam onto them, either be going up them or down them. Preferably under a drogue or a parachute anchor.

Mark

[a64pilot]

Wave height is also measured from the back of a wave, so a three ft wave looks like a five


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[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ed.

[thedude0]

Thank you all for such great responses really Appreciated and thanks for welcome!! Ed

[out42]

I thought the height to beam ratio was applied to multihulls and not monohulls, but could be wrong. I think if the monohull was like a fishing boat (no ballast keel) then this would indeed apply but not if there is a ballast keel in the equation. Personally if I got caught out, was beam reaching and had waves breaking over the boat, I might want to reconsider......

[seasick]

In extreme conditions such as you describe, beam-to may be considered in many instances to be the safest yet the least comfortable angle to the onslaught.

Laying a hull is the natural inclination for a vessel that is left to its own devises, I.e. No sail on, rudder tied off.

The reality of this beam-on situation is that as the vessel climbs the beam-on wave, it heals a great deal away from the breaking wave which allows the force of the breaker to predominantly impact the hull below the waterline where it is strongest. As well, the extreme heeling angle will tend to help empty a filled cockpit and an oblique impact angle to vulnerable things like port lights and Dodgers.

[reed1v]

Beam reach will result in a lot of knock downs(45 degrees from vertical). Really rough on rigging and engine mounts, not to mention tankage and batteries.
Might even go to 90 degrees from vertical if your on top of a wave hitting strong winds. Usually considered dangerous in 45-50 knot winds or higher and 12 to 18 foot seas and higher. Most try for a downwind or lying ahull, assuming sea room. So get out there and make the evening news.

[s/v Beth]

I would look and Lin and Larry's tome on the subject. They discuss beam to vs heaving to
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/192...ZG0YMTR6M7MV8A
If you are in a small, heavy displacement monohull and are going to be out in these waters, it may be the best 20 bucks you ever spend.

[Tailwheel]

+1 on Lin and Larry Pardey's book. They make a convincing case for heaving-to, with the bow somewhere around 40-50deg from the wind (and presumably the dominant waves).

Their book is lucid and very readable. Like s/v Beth said: excellent use of $20


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[Cadence]

Originally Posted by thedude0

Hi I own a heavy displacement 25ft sailboat...I have come across and read quite frequently that it is dangerous to sail with waves on the beam when the waves are of a certain size (breaking wave whose height is greater than the yacht's beam) ...as theortically it can capsize the boat however does this also apply to sailing boats with action of sails and ballast or just ordinary boats.. as i believe i have seen many yachts continue on in such conditions?
Cheers
Ed

Heavy displacement is a subjective term. Use common sense, if it gets the least bit snotty, get out of the trough even if you need to go far out of your way.

[Tibor]

I would never consider going out in such conditions but on a couple of occasions have been caught out by change in weather. You soon learn which is the most comfortable direction to sail and what you need to do to be safe purely from experience and yes you may have to travel out of your way to achieve this.

[Reefmagnet]

Breaking waves of sufficient size can roll any boat beam side on. Wind against tide can create steep non breaking waves that will lay a boat on it's side although they shouldn't be capable of rolling it completely over unless extreme in size. If this is the case heaving to is the best option.

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[Juho]

I think MarkJ already said what I wanted to say.

If possible, you should not be out there with the large breaking waves (foam on top of a wave is not yet a breaking wave). If you are there, then don't turn your beam to the breaking waves. If you are there, you could heave to, use a drogue or use a sea anchor.