Heaving to under sail
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Heaving to was once an everyday procedure for sailing craft. It has fallen out of fashion for a number of reasons. This video describes how my crew and I hove to in a serious storm, then goes on to look at the benefits of the technique, discussing how its effectiveness varies from boat to boat.
#TomCunliffe, #heaving to, #hove to, #sailing, #yachting, #seamanship
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Copyright Tom Cunliffe 2024
With a new crew of rookies, number one priority is to make sure that everybody on board knows how to heave to, all on their own. Once everybody on the yacht knows and clearly demonstrates that they can stop safely without any help, even in the wildest of seas and with blue water on deck, it is amazing how much more confident they all become.
One of my first sailing lessons was in a F5 gusting F6 in a small keelboat. The instructor demonstrated heaving to so we could talk about it and catch a breather. Never forgot that lesson
When I did not yachtmaster in '87, it was never mentioned, but for MOB, if you're quick, you almost come around to the overboard crew member. Much better I think than the sailing away on a beam reach, get organised, then return on a reciprocal track, especially in a rough sea or at night.
As Commodore of the Birmingham Navy, I'm always surprised that heaving-to is not mandatory on many sailing courses. When I did mine 30 years ago, it was never mentioned, let alone demonstrated. There was lots of guff about trailing long lines, storm jibs, bare-poling and all the rest. What was never mentioned was how you get the yacht into a position to effect those solutions if, like most of us, you leave it too late and get caught out. When I sense a blow, I leave all the linen up until the Brummies start getting anxious and ask them to reef while running downwind. Some lessons are best learned in a practical setting! Never experienced problems with the modern Plastic Fantastics, but we never go for a bit of rough in those. Remember to heave-to on starboard tack so you remain the stand-on vessel.
American Sailing Association training for coastal sailing requires heaving to (ASA 104)
Tom
I had a Westerly 33 (Laurent Giles design), longish keel for 30 years. I used to use heaving-to often in a couple of circumstances: if I were making a longish passage solo and wanted a break and a bit of grub and secondly if I had non-sailing guest and we were heeling a bit and I offered lunch, they declined and I said I will ask you again in 5 minutes - then hove-to and they suddenly got hungry. Geoff (Nicholson, but not part of C&N)
Thank You for sharing this Great video with us!
Instead of pulling the fore sail to windward, I like to come about and just leave the foresail sheeted in as it was. Tiller to leeward as you mentioned, and enjoy the peace…
Much Love and Hugs
Thanks for this Paul. actually, I do the same and I ought to have included it in the video but it slipped my mind. I even have a series of photos of my boat heaving to like that! I hope folks read far enough down the comments to get to yours!
Fair winds Mate
Tom
Our old German Folkboat used to heave to nicely...great as you say, for visiting the bucket, and to quickly fix or unjam something.
Lovely video.
Thank you for your videos. They are really enjoyable to watch and listen to. Have you ever considered telling stories from your times out at sea? I would listen for hours!!! 😊
Nice to see you Tom.
Good for man over board. Immediate point up, coming about Hove to, the boat makes leeway on top of the man in the water with a low rail on his lee side. Forward or backward position can be changed with the rudder, no time for the lines, and you can leave the helm to assist dragging your crew back aboard. This should be practiced.
Yes agreed
Yep was taught this as a "crash tack". Straight though the wind, motor on and drift back
I used to crew for Sunday afternoon races at the local sailing club. In between each race we would back the jib and heave to. All the other boats were zipping about and tiring out while we chilled and had a sandwich. We would have a very relaxing time planning our strategies for various conditions in the next race. Heaving to was a wonderful opportunity to recharge our selves physically and mentally. It seemed like few people wanted to crew on this boat as the captain could be pretty harsh and demanding during the race but he was actually a very kind, friendly and thoughtful person. He was also a great teacher, I learned so much from him and I miss him very much.
Love this man , pure gent.
I always heave to in order to reduce sail or to shake it off. It allows to check essentials right before starting to deal with adventurous weather. Thank you for sharing your experiences. Fair winds to all ⛵️
I do a lot of single handing on a lake and heave to for lunch every day.
Ive a heavy VanDe Stadt but has a fin keel. She mostly heaves to broadside! But yes good enough to go below for a kip!!
YOU SIR are an indispensible reference for men of my age!!! Thank you!
I do it kitesurfing in strong wind to allow myself to get a rest , it’s amazing how calm when all around whitecaps are breaking
As already mentioned, us dinghy sailors heave to routinely. I've just moved up from a 16' cruising dinghy to a 21' gaff sloop centreboarder (Andrew Wolstenholme's splendid Kite) and I'm really looking forward to experimenting with heaving to. Suck-it-and-see really is the only way to go!
One of the most important sailing skills I learned early on... Great review!
Long keel ketch, F5,night,tired. Hove to with 5 sails up. Got an hour's kip and a good feed before gybing back on course not more than 2 miles off track. Magic. How right you are.
Great explanation. One day I’ll have a sailboat
There is also the main only heave too. Sheet main in hard, stall the keel the tiller hard to leeward. Not quite as stable as two sail heave too, but better angle to the seas in a fin keel Farr 727. My Nicholson 55 will also main only heave to, in that case I use neutral helm and she weather cocks into the wind.
I have exactly the same results with my Alberg 30 (tiller lashes to leeward). The additional advantage is that the headsail is furled or stowed in storm conditions eliminating a potential source of concerns under extreme conditions.
Thanks for this.Very helpful
Great talk Tom, as a single hander I regularly heave to outside harbour to put fenders and lines in place and generally take a break and gather my plan for entry. Like to give myself plenty room as every heaving is unique. Great video, thanks for posting.
Proven seamanship. Thanks Tom!
tom you legend. ill be trying this the isles of scilly this summer cheers!
I did a lot of singlehanding, and heaving to was my best friend! Reef the main, drop the headsail, have bit of lunch, and take a break. Middle of the night, going to weather,already reefed, and changed the headsail, still too much! Time to park her, and get some rest. It is like turning a switch, and a somewhat overlooked tactic these days.
Lovely Mark. Thanks.
Tom
Early on sailing student here (Chicago, Lake Michigan) . This is excellent. I could listen to this gentleman's 'telling of it', for hours on end.⛵
My favorite way to reef the main.
Me too!
Thankyou. Very educational. Great to hear your stories!
I dare say it wouldn't be so good in serious weather, but my little Hunter 232 heaves to like a dream when you want to stop for a cuppa.
Good old Hirta! She's the endpoint of centuries of evolution in commercial sail. Survived a hurricane, unreal.
I started heaving every time we sail to be confident doing so. This was after 20 years of sailing. We had heaved to passing time before and then during a hurricane with rain bands passing over. Now all my buddy sailors at the lake on San Juan 21’s with knife like centerboards, heave to together on the same “hove tack”. We do it like slow motion sailing, talking over the water, over beers and weeds. Once, our buddy “hove tacked” all the way back to the anchorage over several hours. While “fleet heaving” often someone will get to far away, and the release the jib, start sailing again just enough to 180 and heave to near the other heaving to sailboats.
Excellent! I have a little 1974 Drascombe Longboat Cruiser and she heavies to beautifully, not tried it in a gale though! A very useful skill!
I used to heave to in my Longboat for a lunch break. It was magic how quiet and calm everything seemed all of a sudden. I think the fact that the main is sheltered in the lee of the jib is a big factor in reducing the main's drive and heeling force.
Thanks Tom. As good as always. More please👍
First time I tried it (very inexperienced but equally adventures and foolish) sailing a center board sloop I backed the head sale tied the tiller to leeward and immediately began sailing sideways with coaming at the water. Wife looked to see if I was panicking but I displayed not but pure calm. When the wind let up ever so slightly I rushed to let lose the jib sheet as I had made fast the line on the tiller to a horn cleat incorrectly and it was stuck hard. Found out later from a knowledgeable friend that a) I had the wrong boat and b) I should practice in light winds until I figured out what I was doing.
You don’t have the wrong boat. In my centerboard SJ21, i throw it in heave to mode. Then sometimes she does a complete rotation, the main gybes over and the she settled in and heaves to
Excellent description. My tough old Grampian 30 hove to very well, which was most useful bashing into 25 knots on Lake Ontario at night, indeed to have that proverbial cup of tea. With a long and heavy fin keel, reefed working jib and reefed main, it was easy and a comfortable break during a long night of the craziest sailing I ever did. I cringe now when I think about that 30 hour trip... but heaving to made it seem quite controllable. Something well worth practising.
In Turkish we call it ‘Orsa alabanda eylenmek’. Thank you for the informative and pleasant video.
Thank you and thank you for clarifying the past and present tense. My only suggestion, for my CCA designed (full cutaway keel) boat, with a double reefed main the furled jib has enough windage to keep the boat from tacking or moving forward so no exposed headsail is needed to heave-to.
Great tip Daniel. Many thanks. They're all different aren't they!
Tom
Hello Tom
I think boats like hirta heave to better because they have more of a forefoot. I loved the the Vertue 25 for many reasons but she would heave to easily. With a fin keel the bow drops further to leeward and kind of snaps back once you have way on, so I think that extra volume made your old cutter heave to more comfortably.
The thing about your videos is I always learn something new: I'm talking the image of your Mason hove to with the Headsail backed but passing the staysail's forestay to leeward. That Does make perfect sense!
Thank You
Great advice thanks Tom
Just north of the needles light, on a miserable wet Wednesday between gale days (2 days ago) and in a roaring f1/f2, two bedraggled old geezers decided to work out how to heave-to a year old flexisail auto tacking Hanse 410.
It was a burger. We put a line though a padeye adjacent the wretched jib traveller and attached it to the jib clew. In other words a manual jury rigged jib sheet fed back to a spinnaker winch.
Would it back? Well only just.
Took a few attempts but she eventually reached a tenuous almost zero-through-the-water Hove-to at least 60° off.
The precious little forefoot, lightness, windage and like harbourdog below, trendy twin rudders, made it seem that it only prevailed due the lack of waves over a foot high.
It didn't seem like the heave-to had many viable degrees either way either. Hope I got my tenses right.
Anyway we congratulated ourselves and headed over to the Yarmouth Bugle for a dry sherbet. Double dry in my case as I've successfully abandoned alcohol for 2024.
Edit: so far.
amazing explanation. It was always sort of a mystery to me. Excited to try it!
Wonderful video. Thank you.
Great video Tom! Love your work!
It was part of my sailing exam on the lake of Zurich to get the Swiss sailing B license. Later also trained it on the solent with bigger boats of course 😊
I found that the only way I could heave to effectively in my modern fin keel 28 footer was to lower the main altogether and back the jib ( working jib not a genny ) hard over on the rudder , she would settle into a tight pattern almost as if swinging at anchor !
I really enjoyed your video!! I've hove-to on numerous occasions with a Beneteau 45, but only to lower the swimstep and let the gals have a swim. Still, I cannot imagine the procedure on said boat would be practical in a gale, I couldn't get her close enough to the wind with any sail/rudder combination. Cheers!
Heaving to: 50% - Pilot cutter: 50%. Can’t ignore the contribution of those wonderful boats!
Wonderful, Tom. Thank you. Can't wait to try it.
Solo sail quite a bit and heaving-to really comes in handy--it's centerboard dinghy and rides nicely though you have to play with the main sometimes. As some have mentioned very easy just to tack and let main out with tiller out. Too it's not been mentioned but you can adjust the centerboard as well and even throw it all the way up and just let the boat bob along.
Excellent!!
This appeared on my UA-cam app.
Brilliant!
Thank you Tom.
How about a ketch?
Furled Genoa and Mizzen?
Fisher 34.
Yep. That is how it is depicted in CA Marchaj's classic "Sailing Theory and Practice"
@@georgeorwell4059. Thank you
A fabulous technique that should be required learning for every sailor!
Very Interesting, I'm doing the day skipper course this year after owning a SO40 for 4 years now. I have your yacht masters book its good. It's been very helpful.
Throw out a sea anchor to windward helps fin keel and reduces drift.
Read Lyn and Larry Pardey on para anchors. It's really helpful for small craft and fin-keelers.
Another great video Tom. good to see you on the Sea chest Webinar, always great fun and very informative. Yours Aye, Buster
Cheers Buster.
So much of the sailing emphasis, training and boat design is placed on competition; and all of the competition seems based on handicapped boat speed. Other sail boat design capabilities and sailing skills, such as: how quickly can you reef; how effectively can you heave to (maintaining a safe and comfortable heading while holding your position with minimal fore reaching); how well can you balance the helm and self-steer without the complexities and expense of a wind vane or an autopilot; how well can you short tack (ie. sail through a slalom course); etc. deserve more consideration.
Only had to do it once, and this was on a 12-ton gaff rigged replica post boat on the Baltic. We had a lovely breeze but I noticed that the line to the tip of the gaff was too tight, causing it to bend.. I was just drumming up the courage to point this out to the skipper and CRACK - the gaff broke in half. The fare-paying passengers were ordered before the mast, the boat brought up into the wind and we got the mainsail down asap in complete calm. We motored into the nearest port, tidied up further and then motored home.
Another great video, straight and clear, thanks v much. One thing has always stumped/upset me - the best way to change headsails when at sea in wind & seas, the more so if one is single handed. Would you fancy making a video on that? Fair winds Skipper.
Why not. Perhaps I will!
I used to do it quite frequently on my little triple-keel Snapdragon 23 as I used to sail her almost entirely single-handed and if I wanted to go make a cuppa or just take a break for a little while, heaving to was a winner. I have to admit it felt very assured and safe on a heavy little boat like the Snappie. Whenever I'm on a fairly traditional sailing boat I'll be sure to do it. Very easy and jolly handy.. Many thanks Tom for another handy reminder.
Keep making theses vids mate love it
Lovely : )
I used to hove to in my 25ft Top Hat called Das Boot. It was relaxing, the seas seemed to calm down😅.
Awesome
My ancestors from Germany came to America on a ship called the Cunliffe..
I believe she serviced the Ralegh colony before th pilgrim fathers went to Cape Cod.
Dinghy Sailors regularly heave-to, just surprised the big boat boys find this a new thing!!😂😂😂
Poetry indeed.
I think my Tahiti ketch will heave to quite nicely underway. I'll find out once im done with her restoration.
I'll bet she will.Happy days!
Tom
If possible try to heave to on stbd tack - very inconvenient to be on port and have to reset to give a boat on stbd room.
great video, as a non-sailor it's a bit confusing exactly whats taking place while you are heaving to, once you are heaving to does changes in the wind or changes in the waves matter? or is the set-up self correcting for changes in wind or wave? From what I've read it appears to be a self sustaining situation as the crew can eat, sleep, and relax during the heave to.
It's self-adjusting.
Gentleman what would be the difference positive and negative of simply steering Her straight to windward? Will a boat hold here if the sheets are pulled too?
You'd lose way - maybe go into irons but either way you'd have no control, with sails sheeted flat once the wind caught her she'd probably be knocked down and broach.
Got to appreciate a heavy displacement boat.
What about if a modern boat adds a sea anchor off the windward bow ? That would be my strategy. Do you think it would compensate for the shallow fore foot of the hull?
It would help. A modern para anchor is probably best.
@@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns yes, Para anchor. That is what I meant. Thanks!
Lin and Larry Pardey talk about using a para anchor while heaving-to in their book "Storm Tactics Handbook". Adding a line from the stern to the para's rode (on a snatch block) forms a sort of bridle and so lets you set the boat's angle to the wind more accurately and keeps your shoulder (as Capt Cunliffe puts it) into the wind. Mostly you don't want to start fore-reaching and sail out of your slick (created by the sideways slide of the boat) on each oscillation. Breaking waves will trip over the slick and so will break early so that the energy is gone by the time the wave reaches the boat. The Pardey's talk about watching unimpeded crests break fore and aft of their hove-to boat, but the slick impeded the 30 feet or so of wave crest adjacent to their hove-to boat.
Very interesting
I wonder how well a bilge keel/twin keel boat would heave to ...
Like they do everything else, very poorly.
That's a bit unkind! Like most boats, they have their place. You'll just have to try it and see...
Hi Tom, what have you done to your hand?
Ahoy Chris. Well spotted, Recovering from having a bone removed that was troublesome.
Question for the author or sailors here, (I'm a non-sailor) I'm curious if heaving too can be done in a catamaran??
Not sure but I suspect not ideal
Yes, but not very effectively.
My 28' fin keeler is not easy to heave to in. I've not mastered it yet and in any sort of a sea I don't think she would like it. Beneteau First 285.
Try heaving to with just a double or triple reefed main, eased well down the traveller. With end boom sheeting and, hence narrow traveller arc, you might need to ease the mainsheet as well, but make sure you’ve taken enough tension on your vang (aka kicking strap) to take some of the twist out of the main. Twist = power, which you don’t want. It’ll take a bit of persistence but you should achieve a point of equilibrium we she stops forereaching enough to put up a slick to windward that stops the seas breaking on you.
@@PaulBKal Thanks for the tips, I appreciate.
Interesting. Could it be done in a catamaran very easily?
I'm sorry I don't know. You'll just have to try and see! Good luck...
Tom
Would have thought in a full gale you'd have no sail up and deploy a drogue????
Half reefed main and jib backed in a gale seems a bit dangerous
A drogue would leave you tossing about getting seasick. Heaving is heeled over and it does suddenly seem like the wind died. He is absolutely right.
Mine is a fin keel, so doubt it'd be able to do that. What's the closest that would work for them?
Good question. You'll just have to 'suck it and see', Mate. Try various options and perhaps one will come up that works. if the fin isn't too short, like a Contessa 32, you might well find you're OK with one of them.
Good luck anyway.
Tom
@@TomCunliffeYachtsandYarns Thanks Tom, its a three foot keel by about one foot odd surface area. Ill let you know how it goes if Im still above water whenever I get round to it!
A tot. Or two. And apparently... who cares about the hurricane. That's the mastery of heaving-to.
How about a drogue from the bow?
Why? Just heave-to.
As a solo sailor most of the time "heaving to" is a go to, all the time , just to get some rest and maybe lunch. Some boats just don't heave to that well or not at all , don't go offshore in those boats.
OLD SEA FART !
My method of heaving to is fairly straightforward. I just tack and leave the jib where it is, then ease the main and set the helm. It's much easier than fighting to get the jib backed.
Thanks for this. I'm, glad yo brought it up. I ought to have mentioned it.. It's what I do too.
Ah, what a great video! A yarn and some darn good advice to boot! Thanks! I'm no sailor, but I think heaving to in many of life's storms is the way to survive them!
Brilliant and wildly enjoyable presentation of something I love to do - best way to have lunch and never fails to impress the girls! : )
I've got a Cornish Shrimper 19 and when I need to put a reef in a lot of times I'll heave too. Works great even with a drop keel.
LOVE the simplicity of this and his style of describing it. Thanks
Best description I’ve come across yet. Nicely done!
Glad it was helpful!
Wonderfully explained!
Thank you for passing on your knowledge.
I saw a breakdown of the fatal race .
It was noted that all the vessels that hove to remained safe or nearly all ?!?
In Newfoundland we say 'hove off' when you're sitting around and not doing anything, for example "I was hove off on the couch all afternoon."
Interesting point you make, Tom, about the newer boats without a full keel. I'm wondering if new vessels with those trendy twin rudders have an even harder time trying to heave to?
Love “ hove off”
I heave to with in my SJ21 knife like centerboard. Sometimes she has to do a complete rotation before settling in
I'm heading home now and going to get hove off with a martini!@@adventuresofsailorpauli1543
Always heave too for Sunday lunch, I mean handling a big piece of beef and roast potatoes with a very hot oven in a bouncing yacht is dangerous and, he will not get the gravy right. Just let the main go loose to leeward and the gravy boat will stay bolt upright on the lunch table and so then it will not spoil the fine Irish linen table cloth.
Our modern fin keel French production boat heaves to easily and rides predictably. It’s a handy manoeuvre and not solely for full/long keels!
Is it possible to heave to on a catamaran ?
Try it and see. I haven't had the opportunity myssaelf.
I am rather fond of laying hove too. My wee 30 foot long keel boat sits naturally . Without the assistance of a backed staysail. He bowsprit and furled jenoa are enough resistance.
Tom your a national treasure.
Thanks Chris. That’s very helpful. Fair winds. Tom
Hello old eagle. Good to see you. Cheers from the Swedish TET on a 250 Rally.