Video of Lite Australian Chop :-)

[Christian Van H]

Think you can handle everything the sea dishes out? How'd ya like to crawl around this boat during this storm?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKusg6Jyc9Y

Everyone should view this before sticking to any form of schedule...

[imagine2frolic]

Been there, and done that....NOT FUN, but very exciting. Although I was able to keep the bow downwind.....i2f

[knottybuoyz]

Why is that boat goin' backwards?

[imagine2frolic]

'cuz it can?......i2f

[Dave the Canuck]

Hmmm.... Might have to rethink that walk-through transom....

[jdoe71]

Originally Posted by Dave the Canuck

Hmmm.... Might have to rethink that walk-through transom....

Don't do it, if any comes in it goes back out just as fast. I was a skeptic until I got one, wouldn't have a boat without it now (hand in hand with a high bridge deck of course). No scuppers to plug up or slow down water exit and the handiest thing for getting in and out of the dinghy.

[Dave the Canuck]

Originally Posted by jdoe71

Don't do it, if any comes in it goes back out just as fast. I was a skeptic until I got one, wouldn't have a boat without it now.

Thanks. I've heard that. It is VERY convenient.

[Paul L]

I wonder if the boat would have handled a little better if it had some additional boat speed via some extra mainsail?

Paul L

[roger.waite]

Streaming a drogue (or just about anything) would work better. Powered up I surf at 15-20 knots in these conditions. I track very well on the surf. Any problems come when I slow at the wave peak (reduced rudder action in the forward flow).

Going fast, with lots of sail on, can accentuate a broach and put you halfway into a roll before that breaking wave hits ...

[shadow]

Crazy video!! thanks. How often does that actually happen to cruisers?? Can it be avoided or does it just pop up on you??

[ViribusUnitis]

Originally Posted by shadow

Crazy video!! thanks. How often does that actually happen to cruisers?? Can it be avoided or does it just pop up on you??

I'm with The Shadow.

Being a freash water only(in Texas at that!) sailer, I'm curious, how often does that happen to the Bluewater folks? It looks kinda crazy!

(That important because Texas has only 1 natural lake, and it's more of a swamp! All other lakes in Texas are man made.)

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by roger.waite

Streaming a drogue (or just about anything) would work better. Powered up I surf at 15-20 knots in these conditions. I track very well on the surf. Any problems come when I slow at the wave peak (reduced rudder action in the forward flow).

Going fast, with lots of sail on, can accentuate a broach and put you halfway into a roll before that breaking wave hits ...

I wasn't suggesting for all boats in all conditions. I was looking at how this boat was handling in this video. It looked to me that it was essentially making no headway and being trashed to port and then starboard. The lack of headway meant it had effectively no steering. I assume this isn't your boat, as it doesn't seem like design that surfs at 15-20 kts.

Paul L

[Pelagic]

No Idea where that is…but it looks like shallow water and opposing wind/tide.

Suspect the skipper was just running slow waiting for improvement in conditions without stressing any mainsail gear in order to make an exposed harbor.

Curious if anyone knows the details?

For those who have never been there/done that… Just one of those days when nature tells you whose boss.

If upon arrival and you have to cross a shallow sand bar to access a safe port in that kind of weather, you work the tides….. No big deal!

Better to be out there than loosing it at the entrance thru bad timing and impatience.

[Pblais]

It looked to me that it was essentially making no headway and being trashed to port and then starboard.

No, it clearly is making headway. Looks like chop in the 8 to 10 ft. range. You can keep the drogue in the locker for this stuff. Might be the worst thing you could do though there are a lot of other things as bad. A serious PITA to steer in. You are wrestling the wheel constantly. It appears to be going slightly off a beam reach and falling off. With chop like this he appears to be flying as much sail as practical. No one surfs 15 - 20 in this chop without a very very long water line. More like less than half that speed at the peak slowing to maybe 3 knots.

The high wave frequency is exceptionally difficult to maintain a constant speed. You speed up and cut through then crash a few times and slow to almost nothing and then start to round up or fall off. The danger in rounding up is it sets up the broach easily with the severe decrease in speed. You can tend to run with it a bit but the stern always is falling one way then the next. You over correct and you are rounded up. This is the kind of stuff you find with strong winds and a counter tide or current. It usually happens when you have a specific course to maintain and can't just go with it.

I've seen stuff like this but a bit less crossing the mouth Potomac. It was 6 to 8 ft chop in 35 knots gusting to 40. The long fetch with a counter tide sets up this kind of pattern but a few feet less in height. Once we crossed the waves dropped 2 more feet and the 4 to 6 ft waves in the same wind were far easier. Even that isn't easy.

At 8 to 10 ft this stuff above is as bad as I would ever want to even see on video. The high frequency changes everything when dealing with chop. This frequency is several seconds apart.

[h20man]

Looking at the original uploaders comments (use the link that is at the top of the embeded video at the start of this post or try www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=NKusg6Jyc9Y (replacing [dot] with the '.' ) YouTube - Anita im Orkan to go directly to youtube). The original uploader he claims that this is 12mR Classic Yawl in heavy weather near Helgoland (Germany). A 12mR means that this is about 72 feet in length (according to his comments...)