Very courageous of you to post this video. Here is my take on the situation. As soon as you saw the storm clouds you should have put on PFD's, started the ouboard, closed companionway to prevent/reduce water possibly going down below. Reduced sail. Take sails down. Yes, if possible lower bimini. It creates a lot of windage. How to prepare for future wind/storms; Install the jib downhaul now! Install a single line/jiffy reef system on the main that leads back to the cockpit. A reef may not have helped in that storm, but it can help if wind pipes up another day. Completely reducing sail would have made a world of difference. Install a topping lift(or boom kicker) , it will support the end of the boom when the main sail is lowered. This is very convenient even on calm sunny days. Don't use the pigtail. Too much gusty wind from different directions to heave to in my opinion. I commend both of you for remaining as calm as you did. Educational video, however, if there is a next time dont video, focus on boat and your safety. Good that you stayed in the cockpit, thats a pretty safe place to be. Glad you made it back to port safely.
It’s hard not to be critical Learn to reef and reef early Leave the Dodger furled unless it’s sunny Don’t start the outboard That’s for that powerboat you passed An outboard can fail you Close the hatch and if your planning on being out in real weather (buy a real boat) Sorry that’s my advice A Catalina 22 has a reputation One you should be aware of
As a person that is new to sailing, this video and all of the comments have been extremely helpful. Thank you for having the courage to post this and thank your wife for videoing this moment. So scary to be in a situation like that.
I too own a Catalina 22 (1983) and understand your boat's set up well. Since you asked for comments and constructive criticism, I feel the need to share the same with you given the issues that you were facing when the storm came through: 1. Given the fact that you did not have a furling jib, as soon as you saw the dark skies, you should have IMMEDIATELY doused the jib and either deeply reefed the mainsail. I can understand your reluctance in going on the foredeck to douse the jib, given that you don't have any lifelines on your boat. But that only reinforces the fact that you SHOULD have rigged a jib downhaul to take down the jib from the safety of the cockpit. I do not know whether you have reef points, but if you don't have them installed and rig a single line reefing system so you can reef the mainsail from the safety of the cockpit. 2. Not wearing PFD's is inexcusable. PFD's do absolutely no good inside the cabin or in a lazarette; they need to be worn. Moreover, because you have no life lines on your boat, you should wear a PFD that has an included harness as well and rig jacklines fore and aft on either side of the boat so you can safely approach the foredeck. 3. A Bimini is a wonderful thing to have on a hot, sunny day, (I have one too on my Catalina 22, "Bad Kitty!") but as you learned, it is not only an interference when you are facing adverse weather conditions and are trying to deal with the mainsail and/or boom, but it can make the situation with being overpowered that much worse as it acts as an additional sail to your jib and mainsail when the boat is heeling. Unless it's really hot out, keep the Bimini wrapped up with a cover while sailing; deploy it when you are at anchor. After dousing the jib and reducing and eliminating the windage from the mainsail and the Bimini, you should have started the engine and made a "bee line" back to port at FULL throttle; Again, given that you had little in the way of set up in order to "shorten sail", trying to sail back was a poor decision. Given that you were at least a mile from port and the Catalina 22 has a hull speed of slightly more than 5 knots, you should have realized that you would not make it back to port by tacking back and forth which would easily taken you more than 20 minutes by which time the storm would hit. 5. You are lucky that the ONLY thing destroyed was the mainsail; It is entirely possible that given the wind conditions that the boat could have capsized or swamped if the mainsail remained sufficiently intact to create the necessary windage to cause a knock down. Granted that you were sailing on a lake, but, as a sailor that sails ocean coastlines (where the wind directions tend to be fairly consistent), I know that lake sailing makes for fluky wind conditions and you need to be even more careful when a potential adverse weather is forecast. In the final analysis, there were many mistakes in judgment, perhaps the biggest was planning on being on the water when a thunderstorm was forecast in the general area. No sailor can control the weather conditions. The only things we can do is to either be somewhere else when bad weather strikes or, if we can't, having ourselves and our boats properly rigged to take into account those possibilities. 'nuf said.
I dont really have responses to your comments as they are spot on. I already looked in the garage tonight and got out my jib downhaul kit when I found my sail repair kit ... We had only been out from the dock 15 minutes when we turned around. Over the past few years, sailing on the edge of squalls has resulted in some of my most exciting sailing here at the lake. We usually dont get high winds here in the summer. I had looked at the radar right before we left and it was moving away from us. Dont really have a response to the PFD's as you are spot on also. Usually we dont wear them unless we are going out at night or we know we are sailing into winds more than say 15 knots steady. Dousing the sails (when I am alone like I basically was) is really impossible once the winds pick up like they did. Even when my son is with me- it is really dangerous to go up front, but when he is with me he can hold it into the wind. I cant reef my mainsail once out- not alone. As for the bimini- I am surprised it stayed on. I had not thought about the additional windage issue. I cant handle the heat down here like in the past and like the bimini. I can put it down though and sometimes to when I race. I have had the rail over in the water and water coming over the side several times before- I dont think that was necessarily the problem here (although this was the highest gusts I have ever had). Every other time that has happened- the boat lays over and I just keep it tight to the wind and eventually the gusts stops and the boat stands back up. I MIGHT ease the mainsheet just a tad. But because my wife was with me, I decided to really release the mainsheet. I could not see (because of the bimini) how far out it went. The boat stopped sailing forward, stalled and the bow was pushed down wind- filling the sails and we were just passengers.... Normally- if I think there may be strong winds I will keep at least the bottom crib board in- but when my wife is with me (which is rare) she likes to stand there in the cabin and hold on... I really do appreciate the honest comments!
9:17 Thanks I was hoping to read a response like this, I don't think he had thought that through very well, flirting with disaster.... Edit.. I read more and learned more and your critique was dangerously incomplete you forgot to tell him to close the doors and drop the boards. I guess we all make mistakes thank God everyone was safe and thanks for all you sailors who share lessons with us newbies
Well said - pretty much what I was thinking when I watched this. The time to reef is before you need to. The time to douse the jib is before you need to. All of my boats have lifelines - I don't know that I would be comfortable sailing without them. They allow me the ability to get around the boat even when heeling heavily or in heavy wind. Sure on nice days they're superfluous but on any day like the one in this video - they're life savers. I have gone out on my small lake when storms were approaching but they have a tendency to dissipate before they get to us. The couple of times I've been caught in one - I already had the sails down and was already on motor heading in to the dock.
Can't improve on thse comments, but would add better communication skills with crew and the failure on the PFD includes failure to insist his wife wear one too. He's responsible for her safety.
@@cn780 Appreciate you sharing this. Sounds like a rollerfurler and single point reefing would be great investments in safety, convenience and peace of mind!
The best advice my sailing instructor ever gave me was, “if you think you might need to reef, it’s already past time to reef.” I had a Catalina 22 for my first boat, and the main was not set up for reefing. If I was you, I’d set my Main up for reefing, and next time you’re in a similar situation, drop the jib and reef the main. Also, I had a boom kicker on my Catalina 22 which kept the boom from falling like that. My new sailboat has a furling jib, which makes it a whole lot easier to reduce sail, but that’s an expensive addition. Good job handling the boat! And thanks for sharing this video. Edited for spelling
I had never seen the boom fall like that either.. I think you may be right. That must have been when the main ripped. I could not figure out why that happened like that. Thanks for commenting.
Hopefully, I will not ever be out in winds like that again. Or- I will be able to get the sails down and motor in. I have done that a few times. I wish my boat had a roller reefing, but my budget will not allow it. And truth be told, I should not have even had my job up... Hopefully this video will be of some help to someone. I have been watching C22 videos on-line and could not really find any like this one....
@@cn780 If the boat doesn't have a topping lift or boomkicker like many boats of that area the sail holds the boom up unless attached to a simple pigtail on the aft stay. Just need to run a line from the mast to the end of the boom. It is also useful for sail trim, especially in light air when you want a fuller main.
I’m a new sailor and just bought a Catalina 22 so I really appreciate you posting this. I’m reading for the comments and good advice. I liked how calm you were and were looking for solutions to the situation you found yourself in. Although I appreciated the excellent video your wife took I would encourage her to learn more and become an active participant in your sailing.
Holy shit. That is a mess and a half. The ocean is a lot less forgiving you need to practice at the dock on a calm day droping the sails and reefing the sails with a life lone and vest. Always carry a significant fixed blade single edged knife on your chest and a radio of some sort that works for rescue on your life jacket always. You need to be able to cut yourself free and communicate with the outside world if separated from the boat. With a little boat like that I would get storm sails a tiny main and tiny head sail and just motor until the wind starts to blow. I really like sailing in high wind and go out when it is forecasted. Having storm sails already on and just motoring till the fun starts is a good way to really have a blast in winds up to 50mph. Storm sails are a must have in my opinion.
At 3:53 you unknowingly almost did the single manuver that would have allowed you to ride the whole situation out comfortably ... heave-to. When you tacked, if you'd left your jib cleated on the port side, the boat would have essentially "parked" itself, even in the extremely strong winds. Heaving-to is a great tactic to quickly employ when you get overpowered by unexpected weather.
And again at 7:40 you almost did it. Had you left the jib cleated on starboard and eased the main, the boat would have hove-to. I'd recommend practicing the tactic in moderate winds so you can get comfortable with it. It's a great tool to have in your sailing arsenal.
Thanks for watching and commenting. With me being only 15 minutes away from the dock I did not want to stay out there in it any longer. I have learned heaving to previously, but was in hurry to get back.
" learning when to sail takes a lifetime" I had never heard that one, priceless! 40 years of small boat and chartering in Lake Superior's. Apostle Islands or the BVI... That is quote could be a t-shirt!
Thanks for posting mate. I don't know the little Catalina but have been sailing larger yachts for about 40 years and can only add that since you knew the $hit was gonna hit the fan you should have dropped the headsail and deep-reefed the main, as soon as you decided to head for shore. Putting on life jackets and closing all hatches is also a good safety precaution, so next time stow your fenders below. Flogging sails sound scary and can cost you to repair but no one was injured, which is the main thing. You did the right thing depowering the yacht to prevent capsize. Best of all you didn't once yell at your wife and said no when she asked if she was gonna die.
Thanks for watching and commenting. In the past, I have gone out with a reefed main alone when winds were gusting above 20. But nice I am out there, I can’t get my main down with any amount of wind unless I can hold into the wind. If I had immediately dropped the jib when we turned, I think we would have been ok. But I waited too late. The winds only lasted strong like that for a few minutes. But when the big gusts hit( stronger than any I have experienced) I let the main out too far and the boat stalled, fell off and then was blown over until it picked up speed again and started sailing. I still think if I had just not stopped sailing the boat and tried to turn, it might have been better. The main did not rip until I pulled hard to get it down. It was a good learning experience. Cheers!
Sailing a Catalina 22 in gusty conditions requires careful preparation! Make sure the pop top is locked, washboards are in place, bimini is collapsed and secured, and the swing keel locking pin is engaged. Dropping the jib is essential, but for ease, you can rig a jib dousing line. Reefing lines for the mainsail should also be ready. Although the main sail was shredded, this experience serves as a valuable lesson in safety and preparedness. Well done, captain, for getting back to port safely!
Adding insult to injury, my outboard was stolen along with some other motors….. working on getting another one. I will be adding the job downhaul that has been in my garage for 2 years.
On my 22, if for whatever reason I cant get the jib downhaul to work i can stand through the cabin hatch to pull the jib down if I don't want to go on deck. Much safer. I would keep the cabin clear enough to do just that from now on. This video shows what these boats can handle. I would never thought it could handle that much wind with so much sail up and not put the sails in the water. Thank you for uploading the video. It makes the gusts we have encountered seem really pleasant in comparison.
Thanks for posting ! Hat's off to you and your wife for not freaking out under the circumstances. For anyone wanting to learn to sail, such as myself, you post is most helpful ! Best wishes !
About the best advice I could give is to watch what I do and then just do the opposite. All of my sails are not like this though. Most of them are fun but relaxing. Thanks for commenting.
Much respect to you and your wife! Video made my heart beat increase a little too much “thank you@.. but the fact that you have shared this with us aka: “EVERYONE ONE”…. Thank you!! 👏👏👏👏 I learned so much from this video and then from the comments!!! I believe this is an excellent learning video that all sailing enthusiasts should watch… Thank again. From Oklahoma USA 🇺🇸
I’m not much more than a novice in the C22. Glad this helped. Did not want to post it, but when I was looking for good videos showing higher winds in small boats, I could not find much. Thanks so much for watching. There are other videos up on the channel more relaxing.
Thanks for sharing this. It sure did look pretty at the beginning, but man, that eacalated quickly. When my wife asks if we’re gonna die I always say yes😂 Seriously, you handled this calmly and effectively. Great job!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Kind words.. No one has been harder on me than me. About 2 weeks after this was filmed my outboard motor was stolen which kind of put me in a funk. Hmmmmm…. Wonder if it could have been my wife?.. lol.
Wow, thank you for sharing this video. So much can be learned by simply watching it. You are lucky you made it back. I love the Catalina 22, but I learned its limitations quickly (and, fortunately, by sailing it with more experienced sailors). My club boat is a Cat 22, and it's a joy to sail. But I learned quickly that we should not have it out when steady winds are at 10 knots or higher, or gusting over 15 knots. The boat is just not built to handle it. One lesson I've learned is that tempting fate is likely to get me into trouble. I think several people have made great comments, so I will try not to repeat them. I own a Nimble Arctic 25 which is a very stable boat, but if I had seen dark skies anywhere close to what you saw I would have turned around at the dock and gone home. (I sail on Apalachee Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.) One thing your video reinforced for me: Never go out on the water without a working outboard. I've had to sail back into my dock without a working outboard a couple of times, but weather was fair. Your video shows that a working outboard is also life saving tool on a sailboat in inclement weather. Also, some marina's will not allow sailboats to return to their dock under sail because the motor allows for more maneuverability. Getting the outboard going may well have saved you. That meant you were no longer solely at the whim of the wind. For me, your video reinforced a couple of best practices my much more experienced sailing friends tell me: 1. Dark skies? Don't go. 2. If you are caught in a storm, drop the Jib ASAP 3. Then reef the main ASAP. 4. Take down / fold up the bimini 5. Drop anchor if you can't make headway and ride it out. Others have knocked you for now wearing a PFD. That probably seems like a no brainer right now, but, personally, it's pretty common for people to out without a PFD. I wish I was more diligent at it. I would also consider getting a CO2 inflatable PFD because they are more comfortable and will inflate automatically once they are immersed (but still can be inflated manually). Water temperature is only one factor when considering a PFD. As you video shows really well, at any point you could have been knocked overboard by the flapping jib, the boom, or simply heeling over once the gusts caught your sails. The chances of someone turning around and getting back to you quickly once you are in the water is almost nil in these conditions. Thank you for this reminder that we can never be too careful or too cautious when setting out on a sail!
Thanks for watching and commenting. No issues with any of your comments. If I was in coastal waters or cold water I would not have been this irresponsible. Getting my sails down quickly when I am alone is not an easy task. Not that it matters, but we were only 15 minutes away from the dock when this happened. The storm ended up being much more than what I thought was out there. It actually blew some trees down. 20 minutes after this it was gone from this area and there was no wind. This was not a front coming through. As for the outboard, one of my must haves to take anyone out was a reliable motor. It is a 4 hp, brand new a couple years ago and is reliable. 4hp is enough on this lake, but I really wished I had that 6 hp sail pro with the extra long shaft that day. I really can’t go forward to tak3 the jib down with the motor on with any waves because the stern will pop up and the motor loses bite. Thanks again for the comments!
Props to your wife for calm and carrying on! Truly remarkable. Lots of others have had good advice about downhaul, reefing etc., but best advice is get the sails down and secured as soon as you experience the quick wind rise. I have escaped without harm from similar misjudgments, so won’t lecture, just congratulate you on your shared good luck. All sailors should keep in mind that wind speed doubling means wind force multiplies four times. Twenty knots is sixteen times as much force as five.
Thanks for the kind words. I know I messed up. Wanted to post to maybe help some others. I hated the mainsail got ruined. The jib I can repair. I have skirted the edge of storms and had many good runs. This one was different and stronger than I was expecting. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video! 🤗 I bet it will be a while before your wife goes sailing again. Prep is the key. Always get your sails down early before the wind gust arrives. If you wait then it's too late. Lucky you did not have worse out come. Cheers, S/V Cork~Texas🇺🇸
Thanks for watching and commenting. No issue with your comments. Part of the reason for my hesitation was trying to decide to turn and immediately head back, or try to hold into the wind and get my jib down. I was worried that by the time I got the motor on and explained to my wife what into the wind meant it would have been too late. I still was able to sail. I should have not released the main so fast. Once I did that the boat stalled and was pushed off the wind where the gust could hit us more. We were only 15 minutes from the dock. As for my wife not wanting to go out again, I was worried about that too, but she loved it and can’t wait to go back. She has been out maybe a dozen times before. She likes it when it is more relaxing. My son likes it like this…. I just want people to stop asking me if they are going to die all the time…..
First of all, great job to whoever was filming this! Also, so great that you posted this and showed the real deal. It helps everyone. You already know about the jib downhaul. Keep in mind you'll need to go forward and secure the jib down to the deck quickly, otherwise the jib will be blown into the water. Second, boom topping lift or Boom Kicker. I had a Boom Kicker on my Catalina 22 and loved it. So much more intuitive than a topping lift. Third, skip the main reefing system and go for lazy jacks instead. A main reefing system on a small boat like the C22 is too complicated, and you have to go to the mast to make it work most of the time anyway. Lazy jacks keep your main sail up and away from the cockpit. (Rig a main sail down haul as well if you like.) Douse those sails quickly and be happy! Lastly, a Tiller Tamer is a great help. Provides a third hand holding a steady course while you tend to the sails. P.S. Lose the bimini and wear big hats when it's sunny. But mostly, thank you for posting!
I agree with all your comments. Thanks for watching and posting helpful comments. I did not really want to post it, but I thought it might be helpful to show a C22 in some heavier wind gusts. I made a bunch of mistakes, but even though I lost a mainsail, I call this a near miss and it might help some other sailers out there not make the same mistakes.
I sailed a Catalina 22 for 31 years in all conditions, racing cruising on the Chesapeake Bay. You were very lucky. First rule of storm is coming drop sails. If you can't drop sails, you should have heaved too. You should practice that. Do you not have a topping lift? Add one if not. Always have cushions in cockpit if nothing else. They are flotation devices and can mark a person that has gone overboard. You can also rig a down-hall on a hanked on Jibs and Genoas. That way you don't have to go onto the deck in heavy conditions. Tough way to learn, but you made it through safe and that is what matters. People always underestimate how fast storms travel and lightning can proceed the rain. Also, worthwhile to button up the boat and put the hatch boards in so water doesn't enter when you get knocked down. We got knocked down in a race once on a very powerful and unexpected gust and since it was a rough day already fortunately the hatch boards and top were closed otherwise it would have been bad, as it was the cockpit was full of water and more like a bathtub.
Well filmed video, very informative. I agree with this comment. Reefing might not give sufficient reduction in a squall. On traditional boats we often have double topping lifts and lazy jacks to catch the sail, for a quick drop, but you still need to pre-empt it. I have been caught in a traditional heavy gaffer with the big mainsail going crazy. On approach of a thunder squall, a good assumption is "all sail down". In addition, a good tactic if sea room allows is to run off under bare pole.
Almost identical situation happened to me the second time I ever took my first boat out. It’s crazy how fast things happen. I thought it was rain coming but it was rain and 60 mph wind. I had three sails up. Threw out two anchors after getting sails down and rode out an impressive lightning filled thunderstorm. I think you did alright. No one went swimming. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for relating your story. I have been reading the comments and had started thinking I was the only one that had experienced something like that on a small boat. I knew that could not have been the case. We were only out for 15 minutes from the dock. It was such a short time I did not even have time to put up the go pro. Wish I had it up! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Gotta respect you for putting this up, many would be too embarrassed, so good on ya mate for showing it. Just shows how quick the proverbial hits the fan, there's alot to learn from this footage for newbies and not so newbies. I could list what I think you should've done but looking at the comments you probably would've heard it all already. In the end no one is hurt or worse and just a dent in the pride along with some torn sails, so overall a good outcome considering the weather
Thanks for your kind words. Some have not been so kind. I did not want to post it. But I had not found a video clip like this pop up on my feeds. I’ve been out on the edge of storms before and had some of my most exciting sailing. But this storm was different. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Congratulations on your video going viral. I’m from the Catalina 22 FB group. That was a FUN ride. I’m also a fellow UA-camr!! Great job filming all this. Tell your wife good job on the screaming.
Subscribed to your channel. I see you are in Dallas. I spent many summers in Dallas Texas with my cousins! Originally from Ruston, Louisiana. My sister was a dr at children’s until 2016.
Thanks for watching! I’m a member of that group too . I saw it pop up. There. I thought “ uh oh”. This was fine until it popped up on the C22 page…. lol. But, we put our boat on its side all the time- that was nothing new for us. I’m just upset we went out with storms around without the life jackets or the bottom boards in. My wife loved it and wants to go out all the time now. We took the boat out yesterday and got the rail in the water again and had fun. Also got to help rescue a laser from our club that went over and lost the rudder and we had to tow it back……. We have loved the C22 and have had loads of fun in it.
Had a similar situation couple of years ago in mexico.. small lake very small lake wind went from 0mph to 60-70mph i had full sails extended main and jib. Fortunately it was me and a guy friend.. i was at te controls he was at the bow.. boat inclined over 45deg.. we just pulled sails down as we could.. started engine and it lasted for over an hour.. current was pushing us to a shallow part of the lake. I had full reverse throttle on on engine to hell boat against current. I have q video somewhere. It was an awesome experience. It gets the most out of u. 3feet waves or maybe 4 i dunno.. but yeah ur wife couldve helped on lowering jib and bimini top.. but who wouldve filmed it? Thanks for sharing
Every day is a learning experience. Not all of them are this boring. The next week we had to tow a laser that turned turtle and the next week my outboard was stolen. It gets better, I hope. Lol
Thanks for sharing. Most folks don’t post when things go wrong - although it’s probably the best way to learn! I commend you on staying calm & doing your best to think your way out of a tough situation (I was scared just watching). I’m amazed to see how quickly the weather changed. Out where I live on the west coast, we don’t often get strong isolated thunderstorms like that. God bless you and your wife. I hope this setback doesn’t keep you from having many more years sailing happiness!
@@theranch4426 thanks for watching and commenting. Rather than scare my wife off, she is one pushing to go out. She is hooked. We actually went out today with a friend of mine from the club and said in some good winds. In fact, we had to tow a laser home that had turned turtle in the winds.
Thank you for posting this video. It takes integrity and honesty to put our mistakes on display and is the reason I just subscribed. I am new to sailing and have been working on setting my boat up for storms. Glad you are both”OK” and hope you don’t let this discourage you from sailing. Obviously you will reflect on what went wrong as well as review all of the comments and learn from this. Both of you stayed pretty cool headed in the face of that storm and that resulted in good video.
Thanks for watching and commenting! About the best advice I can give you apparently is do just do the opposite of anything I do…. Just to be clear, I did not intentionally go out to sail in wind like that. I thought I would miss it. I was only 15 minutes away from the dock. And this certainly did not discourage me. Am I mad I ripped 2 sails? Yes…. But I am sailing on an inland lake, warm in summer, with little waves and rescue or land not more than a few minutes away. My preparation and actions would be different if I was on the coast or on a big cold lake. As for not getting worked up about this when it was happening- I guess most other people have a lot more to lose than I do? lol. Thanks for the comment. There are other videos up on the channel that are more relaxing than this one…. I set this channel up so I could just watch myself sail when I can’t get out or are traveling out of town. Glad some others think some of them are worth the time.
You both did a great job with the circumstances you where dealing with at the time. You know what they say ( hindsight 20/20) . Y’all made it home with another great story to tell. Are their things you could have done differently? Absolutely, but then THERE ALWAYS IS isn’t there? It was an exciting day and everyone made it home in one piece. Isn’t life great! Praise the Lord for another great day!!😃🙏
I’ve been in these types of conditions on Lake Michigan several times. First thing, turn on the motor, take sails down and if you can’t get to safe harbor, keep the bow into the wind. If that doesn’t work, drop an anchor. If the water is too deep at least the anchor will help the bow stay in the wind.
For an old cat 22 boat did well. Lots of lessons here. Most importantly captain remained calm just tried to work the problems. Life jackets always! Would recommend installing a topping lift and a roller furling jib. Hind sight is always 2020. Would have dropped the main before it got ugly. With roller furling you could have reefed the jib way down. Learn to use predict wind or windy apps. And find a good radar weather app. make sure you have a way to drop your boarding ladder from in the water! Glad to see you have a reliable outboard!! Should have been a bit more conservative with the boss on board. Glad it all worked out. 🇺🇸
Thanks for the comments- I do not disagree with anything you said. I just thought I would have had more time once we turned back for home./ We were just 15 minutes from the dock.... I still think I would have been better (once the winds hit) to not release the main and just keep sailing close to the wind. I have done that many times (4-5?) times before when get big gusts and the boat lays over but does not stall like it did once I released the main. When I released the main I was just along for the ride. As for the outboard- I have never wanted more than the 4 hp I have, but I may use that as a reason to get the 6 HP sailpro I really wanted..... 4 HP was not enough.....
@@cn780 yep. I know the feeling: storm scheduled for 7 30 pm on 3 different weather apps...we get out on river at 4 pm... nice wind, slowly picking up, clouds a bit threatening from only one direction, nothing too dramatic, just before 6pm we decide to go home only to discover that propeller was wrapped in about 10 feet of seaweeds, not having engine available we continued sailing ... by the time I liberated the propeller, cold front gust put the mast , with sails still up, into the water and we capsized less than 200 feet from the shore and less than 2000 feet from the dock...by 6:20 we were on the shore, with boat turned turtle nearby...5 years on: still learning... :) and yes: radio, knife and multitool; all attached to PFD (with harness) with pockets, clips and lanyards :)..keep sailing/ keep learning/ keep sharing,
If only I had a video of my entire life, I could be a one stop life coach of what not to do…. It would fill up a small book. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Awesome that you are posting this mate. Most would not have the balls to do it. It is a great exmple of what exactly not to do in such a situation but also clearæy shows yiur bewilderment and inability to make correct decisions because of the chock of the sudden change of windspeed and the lack of experience on how to deal with the situation. I personally had one or two similair experiences when i started sailing and the tought me how to actually sail. So here is my input. First of all, your "jib" seems the size of a genoa, a very big sail in those winds, and going against the wind, you would need to make it VERY flat so the wind can run of it, that means get on those winches and tighten the genoa sheet. A hollow and round sail catches nuch more wind. Next thing, go close to the wind and reef the main, right away. Then you are all set. DO NOT start the engine, run against the wind even faster, and let all your sails flap and break themselves and the boom.😅 Alternatively, you can head more downwind and run with the wind and not against it. Or if you go the beginners way, just drop the jib right away and sail only with the main. I would have gotten up there and dropped it. You become a bit more unstable but you will be able to handle the boat better. So yeah. Thanks for the lesson. This video is valuable.
There's so much to learn from this video... ticks many boxes (sailing training organisations should play it on day one in the classroom)! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the positive comment! I checked the boat out the next day and no damage…. Well except for the ruined main and my favorite jib now needing to be repaired…. But I have others….
I've been in this situation, twice, but worse. I was solo sailing on Lake Eufaula when what I'd called straight-line winds, constantly blowing at around 40 to 50 mph, with horizontal rain and lightning. I was ill-prepared for that storm with the bimini up, hatches open, and anchor stored. I lived through it and when I got home I ordered a furler and new jib, had to sew a patch in the main. My friend called it "making memories"...lol...One other thing, I don't sail in July and August in Alabama.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Glad you made it through all of that. As you know, summer sailing down here is the season of light winds- unless there are some pop up storms. I’m glad I am not the only one to be caught out like this around here. My video here had high winds, but we did not have lightening. My best sailing days have been when there are random pop up storms in the general area. There was a hurricane that had the remnants come through here either last year or the year before with steady 18 mph with gusts higher. Best most fun sailing my son as I have had. Cheers!
@@DialedN_07 I know I know lol…. But I was only 15 minute from the dock and no longer wanted to be on the water….. that squall blew some trees down and I wanted none of it…. It looked worse in person… thanks for watching and commenting!
I did not even know she was talking to me at all during all of that until we watched the video... The whole thing i dont think was more than 10 minutes.........
Thanks for the experience, so brave to show the other side of the coin. I highly appreciate your relation with you wife, no yelling no fight. That is the most valuable in this kind of situations. Greetings from Finland 😊
Lots of lessons to learn ...but that is exactly what sailing is all about. I have been sailing for 55 years now, and I still learn something new nearly every time I head out. So, don't beat yourself up too bad, and just learn from your mistakes. Your boat's rigging did not help you out here. 1) You should install a topping lift for the boom. Having to secure the boom to the backstay to lower the mainsail is not a best practice. A topping lift will support the boom no matter the wind angle when lowering the sail, or reefing. 2) You are not using the sail stop for your mainsail slugs. It is the thumbscrew device you see immediately above the main downhaul cleat on your mast. It needs to be moved to the other side (above) the boom gooseneck and above the slot your mainsail slugs use to feed into the mast. This will keep your mainsail attached to the mast when you lower it, and reduce the chance of ripping it. 3) You need to use simple hooks to secure the straps for your bimini top. That way, you can quckly unhook them and lay the top down. This will allow you to move around a lot easier, and to quickly reduce windage in a blow. 4) Finally, "blowing" the halyards without the ability to get the sails down seldom improves your situation. And, obviously, getting them down before the gust front arrived would have been ideal. Regardless, you have (hopefully) learned a lot, and can make a few changes to your rig to make this situations easier to cope with. The way we sailors seem to develop good judgement in dealing with things like weather is to occasionally exercise poor judgement. The exercise of judgement is the heart of what sailing is all about. We all screw up occasionally. The goal should be to make less substantial screw-ups over time. Good luck to you, and Sail On!
Thanks for the comments! I have never liked not having a topping lift. I was thinking about adding one, but thought I read where even if you have one you remove it to sail. Seemed like a lot of work. But not having one makes it hard to take the sail down alone. If things are calm- no problem. Excellent observation about the sail slug- I always wondered what it was for- now it makes sense. I will make that change this weekend.
You don’t usually remove a topping lift, but instead keep it loose so the sail doesn’t catch in this when tacking or jybing. It can be tightened up when lowering the sails, though in your experience this might not have been possible or easy with the Bimini in the way.
I got my topping lift as a kit from Catalina Direct, $100 Canadian. Absolutely easy to install, so much better than the pigtail. Without the topping lift, it was much harder to reef the main while on the fly.
I learned to sail where small craft warnings in a bay with strong currents were a daily event, so setting up the reefing was just part of rigging the boat. Sometimes we would jig the 1st-2nd reef before we left the dock. We also practiced a MOB every time we went out. I understand, like most lake boats, just don't learn to sail in heavy weather. None of us are beating you up, I think we are saying the same things in different ways, very good point by others. * If you rig the boat with reefing lines, every time - then you are ahead of the game. PRACTICE * Then, when the wind is calm, practice reefing and unreefing 4-5 times during the sail to build muscle memory for you and the crew. * Practice collapsing the bimini - so it's a comfortable thing to do. * Then practice reefing in more moderate winds again building that muscle memory for everyone. * You had your Wife get fenders for docking but not a dock line? You could have a coiled line on the bow rail (next to your anchor) ready for use. (You might have needed a tow if the engine had died too) * Anchoring was also an option nearer shore. Do you have a map or know the depth on this lake. Anchor line on board 7-10 X longer than the depth? * PFDs YES but you may want your knife, while, light and Handheld VHF clipped to the PFD so when you are in the water you can radio for help and/or be found. NO one got hurt, A few dollars were lost. I great learning experience for the future.
This was a severe weather textbook example. First, the warm front was already well underway - seen on the small Stratus clouds forming (before leaving the dock), so the cold front passage with increased winds would follow. The dark cloud at the horizon made it obvious what conditions to expect at the sea. Thus, if you are not prepared for heavy weather (also heavy gusts), consider not leaving the dock that day. Thanks for sharing; it was very interesting. I hope it does not discourage your family from continuing with sailing under more gentle conditions. Cheers.
@@CptnbondThanks for the additional comments…. I really appreciate it. This event did not discourage me or us at all. However- my sailing activities for the rest of the year have been tragically cut short. My outboard motor was stolen and it will take time for me to get another one. It was 4 HP 2022….🤬. I am currently still grieving about it. Just happened last weekend. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I haven't read all comments but wouldn't heaving to given you the opportunity to reset and definitely grab the PFDs? My wife and I were caught in a squall in a cat 22 several years ago and my first move was to make sure all passengers had pfds then I hove to. It was a bit uncomfortable but our lake passage was too narrow for my skill-set at the time. Glad you're okay and thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching and commenting. To be honest, heaving to never even entered my mind. It should have. As we were only 15 minutes from the dock I just wanted to get back asap. If my main had not ripped when I pulled it to get it down things would have been much better. It was a learning experience for sure!
"Reef early, reef often" is the saying. I was once out on a Hobie 18 in gusts to 45. Pitchpoled downwind and didn't occur to me to at least furl the jib on the way back... although to be fair, I thought it would give the boat too much weather-helm to be controllable... pretty sure I was wrong.
Apparently most of the sailors have a lot more to live for than I do I guess….. My wife many years ago was on a small sailboat with me and we went over and she completely lost her mind and forgot she could swim and panicked. Sail was holding her under. She would have drowned if I did not pull her out and hold her up. Sooooo, her asking about dying is not completely unfounded…. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I sailed, cruised and raced my Catalina 22 for 35 years so I can totally relate to how this unfolded. First, excellent video! It’s rare we get to see so much when things go crazy because all hands typically are too busy to film. Much of my time on my boat was single handed, or with kids, or my wife, who for many years wouldn’t have known how to help (they do now😊) but you could certainly used another pair of experienced hands; or having just a couple of setups in place as I can see you are aware that would have helped. First, the bimini, I sailed my Catalina 22 for almost 30 years before adding the bimini and learned I had to rethink everything in how I sailed the boat, especially for maneuvers that required going forward. You definitely need to pull the bimini back and strap it down at the first sign of the ominous dark clouds headed your way. I used quick release pins and could get it back and secured within seconds. With the bimini no longer an obstacle, it would have allowed you the ability to tie off, or hand the tiller over to your wife while you doused the jib. Which brings up the other point, as you noted, when single or short handed that jib downhaul can make all the,difference for this exact situation. But, alternatively, you need to get to that foredeck (with life jacket as you noted), wrestle the jib down and secure it. For the main sail, that pigtail on the backstay always seemed to get me in trouble too. So I added a simple permanent topping lift which was tied off at the top of mast, run back to the end of boom to a cheek block, and then to a cleat. With the bimini out of the way, and with the jib down, you would have been able to get close enough into the wind to get the main down, and with a topping lift you would have been able to pull the main down for a deep reef. I’m not sure what you have setup for jiffy reefing but you should have that set up to be done easily . Anyway, this was really a great video that got my heart pumping and a good instructional tool for us all. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comprehensive observations. It took a lot of time for you to put all that down and I really appreciate it. 35 years of sailing a C22 is very impressive. I’ve only got 3 or 4 now…. After watching this video I’m sure that is not a surprise. One of the problems I have here wher3 I sail is in the summer we usually don’t have good winds. It’s either nonexistent or comes from afternoon storms in the general area. So - that and the fact I have invested 2 hours to even get me to the point of sailing caused me to make a bad decision. I will add though that I am mor3 impressed with the C22 the more I sail it. There are C22 owners where I sail that always help and give good advice. Thanks again for commenting. Cheers.
Thanks for the comment. I made a bunch of mistakes out there but had fun. My wife was scared for a bit during this but calmed down. She has gone back out with me the next weekend and we had to tow a laser back that had turned turtle in high winds and lost its rudder. So she is not so scared that she would not go out. 3 weeks after this video was shot, my outboard motor was stolen from the boat…. I am still grieving about that, but will get back out when I get another motor. Thanks for watching.
Good video, thanks for posting. Got a few comments. When the wind got up dropping the jib first would have been best. I get that you'd have to go onto the foredeck but it would have calmed things down a lot (people tend to go overboard as a result of large waves and it was relatively calm so you would probably have been fine). The main with a boom is much easier to control in a squall whereas the jib is inevitably going to flog itself to death. Nothing wrong with starting the engine but I think putting it in gear was a mistake. The engine is pushing the boat along and increasing the apparent wind, making your situation worse. You were also forced to steer rather than concentrate on getting the sails down, if you left the engine out of gear you would have been able leave the helm for longer. Most importantly, you were risking getting a rope in the prop which could have been a real disaster. I think others have said it, but a topping lift on the boom would have made coping with the main a lot easier. Surviving situations like this is the best way to learn how to cope with them in the future. Happy sailing!
All in all, it was a good experience. We have been out since then with my wife and had the rail over in the water ( clear skies) and my wife did not even get worried at all. Thanks for commenting! I do think it would have been nice for the powerboat to wait to see if we went over and stayed over.
6:53 You're welcome...I actually think that your wife did extremely well under the circumstances. I think mostly due to your calmness. It's hard for people watching this to understand that it's 5 times louder and more chaotic in the moment than the video will convey. That was some serious wind. I've been in wind that strong and I had to swim to shore because we capsized and the wind blew the boat away from me faster than I could swim. It's always safer in all of that flogging sails. You're a Good skipper. Everyone went home. The sails can be replaced. I was impressed! I give you 5 thumbs up!
Thank you so very much. The noises were what was scaring me the most! How fast it was happening. I thought the first time the boat blew over so fast was going to be it. Nope. I appreciate your comment, you certainly understand. Yes him knowing the boat and what to do kept me more calm. I was on my way to getting worked up pretty good. That’s crazy what happened to you. Glad you got back to shore and were ok.
You did a good job, you made it back. If you had prepared for that wind you could have sailed it. I have a Catalina 22, and this video was one of the best I have seen in beautiful colors.
Thanks! I was not actually worried about the winds although it was certainly higher gusts than I have ever had hit the boat. Having the rail in the water is what makes it exciting for me and my son. My son does not like to sail unless we put the rail in the water as much as we can. So we are used to that. The boat lays over- spills the wind and it then stands up. Not much drama. I was blown away by the color of the water too. I don’t know why the colors were so vibrant. Thanks for watching.
I also have a Cat 22, you have to get rid of the backstay topping lift ! I also rigged a downhaul for the mainsail, it will get it down quick when needed. Before the waves got big, I would have had the wife hold a coarse, go up and haul down the sails, slow to a stop, throw out the anchor. Sit and wait it out. Sound like a plan? Do no harm. If you have a set of reef points, should have put it in at the dock. And, they call them life jackets for a reason, this could have ended very badly, I am glad you did not get hurt.
This comment isn't for the content creator but for those who are reading the comments, as I am sure the creator learned all there is to learn about reading the weather and anticipating what it may bring. For those of you new to sailing always err on the side of caution and if it looks like nasty weather is building on the horizon, call it a day and get to the dock. If you want to practice your bad weather sailing skills make sure all onboard share the same sentiment, if not get them to the dock, you don't want to ruin someone on sailing by having them out in rough weather. This could have been a great training experience for reefing and depowering sails or practicing heaving to techniques. Blowing out a sail is one thing but unmasting or capsizing is something different altogether, sail smart and sail safe.
I installed the Catalina direct lazy jacks, holds the boom up like a topping lift and also helps contain/flake the sail while it comes down, a great addition
I had not thought of the lazy jacks acting as a topping lift. One of the reasons I pushed and went out(we did stay right by the dock) was that I already had invested about 1 hour once I got to the boat putting on the sails, launching the boat, cooler, etc. I also completely take the sails down and put them below. I hate being at the dock ready to go and not being able to. I even have gone out with no wind and just motored around just so the day would not be a complete waste. Lazy jacks and a sail cover would be a good addition. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I’ve been on a couple old 30’ boats that have lost their main sail track slides sailing in higher winds and it’s a wild ride. Beware of old plastic folks. I can relate 👍
Lots of others have said it, but a furling headsail although expensive is fantastic for allowing you to reduce sail at any time and so much easier for everyday use. My crew (wife) panics in much less windy conditions so well done on continuing to film while asking calmly if you were going to die😊
With us being on an inland lake, normally I just pick a correct sized jib, I have several to pick from. I can’t afford a roller furler. I have been told that with the furler you lose some capability as the sail is made lighter than say a 110 jib so you might damage it when in higher winds. But I don’t know. I was also told that racing rules don’t allow one- but I never would race at a national event.
@@cn780 I'm not a racer, I just cruise around the west coast of Scotland. As far as I'm aware racing with a furler means you can't change your sail which wouldn't suit a racer who would want to use exactly the right sail. My headsail is made of the same material as the main so pretty sturdy and anyway, it's having to do less work when partly furled in higher winds. I'm quite lazy so I also have a stack pack so the main can be dropped straight into the bag. Roller furlers are stupidly expensive for what they are but I guess that's sailing for you. Happy sailing, and remember to put twist into your mainsail, helps to reduce heel when it's gusty.
That's the way to live life. You don't want to end up with, "no runs, no hits, no errors." Install jib downhaul, boom topping lift, lazy jacks, and give the bimini to your cousin with the pontoon boat.
I agree on the jib downhaul…. I’ve actually got one in a box…. I’m still not sold on a topping lift though. I think my main ripping was what dropped the boom off the boat. Usually when I head into the wind and drop the main, the boom rests on the Bimini. This is the first time thinks got squirrelly with the boom. As for the Bimini- that’s where I hang my speakers so I can chill with my sailing jam mix……. I like the Bimini…….. I am surprised it stayed on though. I inspected it yesterday and it is fine…
It is amazing how these situations sneak up on us. I know how it feels. You kept your cool and you, your crew and your boat survived to sail again. I will say that I had a catalina 27 with hanked on sails and quickly learned the value of the jib down haul. Even when not severe conditions. The confidence of knowing it was down and somewhat secure let me deal with main with less stress. And then finish securing the jib. Thanks for sharing... and I hope your first mate will continue to sail. 😊
Here is the funny thing about that whole experience...... My wife said she had a great time and we are going back out Saturday. I told her we need to get her used to handling the boat, starting the motor, etc. It has finally started cooling off here in Alabama and I think it will be 62 for a low Friday night and up to 89 for Saturday with sunshine and good winds.... I will slowly build her up to going upfront and stowing the jib.
@cn780 that's good. I am lucky too. My wife likes sporty conditions and so far is unaffected by seasickness. After about 5 years she is now a real help with dock lines, and she is becoming more comfortable helming the boat for short periods.
@@sailingin-tuitionwithchuckhoping to get a bigger boat with a seat I can sit on and see over the front of the boat. I really enjoyed the excitement and have fallen off a small sailboat before, the first one we had so I wasn’t worried abt falling overboard. The banging noises were scaring me the most.
You did good, never panicked and kept trying to get the boat under control. Before I had a boat, I had a windsurfer and I I learned how to read the ripples on the water real far away to warn me I was about to get slammed by an upcoming heavy gust. The surface gets dark. Sorry about your sails. You need to keep your 1st mate you got there! Now she's ready for anything.
Owned a C22 for 14 years. I commend your totally in control attitude and not losing it. But, you had ample warning it seems to have at least reduced sail or taken them down all together. Situational awareness is key! Went thru a storm or two like that on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Each time we battened down and rode it out in the safety of the cabin.
Thanks for commenting. Water is like bath water here this time of year. I agree I had time to prepare and get life jackets on, etc. I would not be this careless on big cold water like in Chicago. Learned a lesson. Thought others might want to see it.
I started sailing as a crew member of a true racing vessel so i thoroughly understand and appreciate the excitement and urge to go fast and push hard. That being said, consider your other crew. How capable are they? More importantly, how motivated are they and are their motivations the same as yours? Knowing you were going out with those clouds off your stern, man PFDs befpre you even leave the dock. Next step, batten those hatches down! And you gotta get that headsail down and stowed away. And the bimini too! Fairwinds and happy sailing.
No issues with your comments and thanks so much for commenting. If I had not had the boat out before where high winds and gusts had laid me down, I would not have even gone out. The more time I spend on the boat the more comfortable I have gotten with it. I was pushing it too hard, but I was just going to push hard for a few minutes before pulling back. I just got caught up. Every time before that some water came over the side, the wind spills and the boat rounds up and comes back up. I made many mistakes- I went out yesterday and checked all the rigging and fixtures. No damage otjher than my table leg getting pulled out when my wife leaned on it back at the dock.
It's better to be at the dock wishing you were sailing than sailing and wishing you were at the dock. Experience is a good teacher. Glad everyone is OK save for some nerves.
Hi. Nice video. I owned a Catalina 22 for several years. Good boat. When I had mine, I made sure I could drop the bimini (forward) with 2 quick release pins. Its still in a PIA location, but at least it is no longer performing as a sail...... Then, as you said, it would have been good to drop the jib early on. I too had rigged a downhaul - but in those conditions it very well might jam - I believe it is well worth the money for roller furling jib which you can easily do from the cockpit. Getting the jib down or even partly rolled up is almost the same as first reef in those conditions.....Happy to see you did not snag a line in the propeller, as it looked like several were over the side (been there, done that). And even though it is a pain, I usually pulled the main hatch closed. I wouldn't close it up, even though that is recommended, but, as you know, standing in the cabin provides a good position to work from. Sliding the hatch would also provide some protection from a big wave over the top - - which can happen more easily once you turned on the kicker. And of course, life jackets - inflatables are a no brainer. You certainly get high marks for calmness, especially since the boat did not behave the way you expected. You didn't give up - you stayed in the game. Bravo!
Thank you for the thoughtful and comprehensive reply. I too can drop the Bimini forward, but I usually just leave it up. Thanks for watching! I made a lot of mistakes on the boat that day. I just thought that showing the video might be helpful to someone.
I am impressed by the ride on that small craft. Despite the mishap you have a great boat! I hav sailed on Lake Michigan on a MacGregor just to see how it handled. Not impressed. But that Catalina 22 rides so much better without water ballast. Maybe that is the one!!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I don’t know how I would like sailing on cold water up there. There were something l8me 15,000 of the C22’s made I think. Fleets everywhere, parts, support groups, etc. The C22 is light and is certainly small, but it is big enough for us right now here in central Alabama. I e got other videos up showing the boat better, all explained from a novice point of view.
@@cn780 You would love it on the Great Lakes. It's refreshing especially when the temps are 90 in the Midwest. Like taking mini-vacations from the heat and the water is usually 70° by July. No sharks too!
Ahahahahahaha buddy, you and I are in the same club, the “single handed sailor with guest” club! (SHSWG) I’ve got a Columbia 52 that I keep and sail in winter in Mexico, and I started out trying to teach my wife how to sail (the first year) and after an incident, realized marital bliss will be better maintained if I join the SHSWG club! It’s been 5 yrs now and she has a basic understanding, drops/picks anchor, stands daytime watches etc. (but really I’m still a club member)😂 btw As a 30yr sailor I’ll give you a B+ on how you handled your own fukup, which was not dropping jib/starting motor immediately on decision to head back. 🤷♂️ also there are plenty of used sail lofts online for an affordable main replacement
I feel that lol I’m just glad our boat is almost set up for a single hand she’s good enough at pointing into the wind while I raise or lower sails n under stands how to work a winch so could be worse
I would add a "topping lift" to your running rigging. When adjusted properly it keeps the boom form coming down when you drop the main sail. Its a line that runs from the end of the boom, runs parallel to the leech of the sail and through a block to the base of the mast for adjustment. My Bristol 26 had one and was very handy. Read up on this, makes the cockpit more manageable when dropping the main.
I was actually slightly surprised the boat did not come with one. I have to clip the boom to the back stay when putting the main down. You also have to remember to UNCLIP it from the back stay or it can get exciting too. I don’t have video of the couple of times I have done that. My Bimini helps hold up the boom when I lower the main. If it is calm I clip the boom in, then go pull the main down. If it is too windy I just lower the main and pull the sail in. Thinks went all pear shaped on this trip when the sail ripped apart and dropped the boom. Now THAT had never happened before. Thanks for watching and commenting.
True! Here is the thing. We went out yesterday and put the rail in the water several times and she was fine…. She said she was just scared the first time as she did not understand what was going on. I had a more experienced (way more than me)crew yesterday with us when we went out and she had a ball and it was much more relaxed. We even got to tow a sailboat back that had flipped upside down. She loves it now.
Hi, As mentioned by others, at 3m30s was the time to: 1- Put PFDs on, 2- Bring the Jib down, 3- Reef the mainsail, 4- Turn running light On. These actions would be all In Case the worst append. I do understand that you do like to dip the rail ( I know the feeling as I did own a 22 footers, with hank-on jib, for more than a decade ) but thunderstorm are not the same than strong steady wind and demand 'respect'. Note: cold water are one way to drown, but falling the water unconscious after being hit by a rogue boom is another one. I think that you learn a lot, and hopefully your wife was not too scare. Thanks for sharing and I do congratulates your wife for keeping filming during the stressful time. Regards
I can’t reef from my cockpit and in the lake I sail, I would just drop sails and head back to the dock. This was just strange. My wife being with me threw me. Without her I would have just gone forward and let the boat do 360’s while I got the job down. I’ve done that 4 or 5 times. But that would have scared her. I agree with everything you said. Thanks
Thank you for sharing....That sure turned fast. I presume you cannot reef from the cockpit? Might recommend implementing something like that. Almost looks like you could have carried on in your original direction and missed it, maybe? I'm glad you're both safe and well.
You are correct. I can’t reef from cockpit. Usually, if the weather picks up, I will drop the jib(means going forward) and just play with the main sheet as I head to the dock. Great observation about continuing on…. That was my original plan when I saw the darkening skies.. I think you are right. If I had been alone I would have done that. But with my wife o. Board I wanted to get back asap. Thanks for the comment. I guess I will have to set the boat on fire this weekend to top this video….
I cant believe the timing of this video with the wild night sail I just had on my Catalina 22. Blowing 35? Caught out in the fetch, as it built, jibed my way back 5 miles, everything soaked. I singlehand and you may want to learn a simple lashing of the tiller with some line and bungees.(UA-cam it) You may need to climb forward at some point, while underway, to ensure survival.(jib ends up overboard, filling with water, pulling the vessel down . . .for example) You stayed calm, and responded. Points there. Learn all you can from this. Really appreciate you sharing the experience. . . . Not to be hard on you at all, but, what if the engine didnt start? Things youve probably already been thinking about, I'd bet : ) Glad to see another Catalina 22 sailor, great boats : ) mine's 1973, and no lifelines, same as yours : )
You are the only one that commented about the motor. Sounds like you have been in a situation where you had to wonder. As soon as we turned I wanted to start the motor. I have a tiller clutch that would help keep the boats heading, but with the motor on at a reasonable throttle it will not hold it on course. Plus, the motor was on the high side and as soon as the boat heeled more than about 30 degrees it comes out of the water. You could not see on the video but the motor started on the first pull. But it stalled as I had shut the fuel off when I had it raised. I may rethink that. Glad you made it back safe! 5 miles is a long way away. We were not barely a mile out from the dock.
Get back out there. If you apply what you’ve learned from this experience, you’re a 10x better sailor for it. I’ve been sailing for 45 years and have had weather patterns like that creep up on me too. You said it happens so fast…it’s one thing hearing about it, it’s another experiencing it.
That first maneuver that you called a tack, where your wife said, "I hate tacking", was a gybe. That was a sound maneuver. After that, you should have reefed the main and doused the jib. Then you should have tacked on that wind shift that you knew was coming, and you would have had a milk run home under main alone. Like another commenter said, you did a good job being calm, though. Tips for the future: When you get your new mainsail, have it made with good, strong reef points and practice reefing so that you can do it quickly and with confidence. The rule is: reef the very moment it crosses your mind to do so. You can always shake it back out if it turns out to not be necessary. Consider roller furling/reefing for your head sail. If you dont want roller furling, douse that jib when you get over powered. That 22 footer can sail well enough under main alone.Train your wife to be of help when stuff happens or send her below while you sort things out. Wear life jackets.
I know the difference between a tack and a gybe.... My wife on the other hand.... lol. To her any change in direction is a tack. When I saw the direction the storm was taking and I could see the rain in the distance I wanted to get back to the dock. When I went to tack she was in the way of the tiller so I went the other way. If my son was with me we could have gotten the jib down in time I think and he could have started the motor while I got the jib down. As it was- I was kind of frozen. It does not show up well on the video- but the downdraft of the rain in the squall was unbelievable.... Certainly should have gotten the life jackets on and the boards in..... As for seeing ahead and reefing- I am not really set up to do that. When the winds get too much I head up in the wind and drop the jib at least. I could not figure out how to make that happen with just me and by then it was too late.
@@cn780 I installed a jiffy reefing system on my Catalina 22 so I could reef from the cockpit. It costs money but when you need it you need it and makes things a hundred % safer. Before family I sailed solo for many years all up and down the Chespeake. Inflatable PFDs are much more comfortable to wear and more likely to be worn.
@@cn780Yep, we have a single rule which is not negotiable. You wear the lifejacket. The water here is 27-28 degrees C. But if you go over I might be a while coming back for you. Floating is way better than splashing around with the bronze whalers and tiger sharks. I leave my crew and guests to make the decision for themselves.
Lots of good comments about avoiding the problem by preparing ahead of time. Once you are in it I want to second the previous comment about heaving to. Other consideration- was there an island you could have gotten in the lee of? At 10:15 it looks like a jib sheet is in the water while you are running the engine. Thanks for posting- it is better to learn from other’s mistakes.
I had replied to your comment earlier but it disappeared for some reason. I have not heaved to in winds that strong before. I did not even think of that until 2 am the next morning. When the winds have kicked up before and I want to stop I will get to the Lee of an island and drop sails. I think my big mistake once I got the boat turned was trying to get the main down. If I had just let the jib fly and just pulled the main in a little I think I could have saved the main since the motor was on the low side on the way back and could have helped me home. And you are correct- my jib sheet was trailing in the water and I was worried about it getting in the motor. But I could not reach it at the moment. Thanks for watching and the comments.
Its easy to nitpick sitting in a comfy chair at home. I think you did great though. Like others said, the #1 thing is you kept your head, even if some details could be improved, thats probably the #1 survival skill. You've made it a great learning experience for yourself and others, including me. The only constructive critism that springs to mind (and its not something i had thiught of before watchign your video, but plan to implement for myself also), is instead of your partner asking if you need help, have a set of predetermined tasks that she can handle in that situation while your hands are full of booms and sails. "1. Grab lifejackets for both of us. 2. Clear cockpit of all unnecessary items 3. Take your position in this designated safe spot 4. Drop the bottom board in the companionway 5. Keep the film rolling haha". I dont know exactly what this prep would kook like but something like this. They perform a vital role and keeps them busy helping solve the problem.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree with everything you said. Usually, when I go sailing when the winds are going to be strong, I have my son with me and we talk bout who will do what etc. who will go forwards and such. I was just thrown off with my wife with me. My son keeps me in check. I just wanted my wife to get to see that the boat could handle some strong winds and have a good few minutes of fast sailing before we headed back. It’s about a 3 hour time investment just to get the boat to the dock ready to go. I learned a good lesson .
I don’t think I can tell you what is right or wrong because I was not there. I was in a similar but not nearly as bad a situation this last weekend - single handing the old Mfg 19. Wind came up suddenly - bout knocked me down. The Mfg will not round up with the jib up so 1st on the list was to let everything go,get on deck and drop the jib. From there things got manageable. I think the biggest takeaway from this was that you never gave up getting things under control, you never panicked, and everyone got back to shore safe. And yes. Life jacket would have been best but I’m not a preacher. Happy sailing.
What I often forget including all the preparations when you experience a powerful gust of wind to let the main sheet go. Instead we tend to steer the boat windward, which in normal circumstances is the way to do.
That’s what I normally do- or the boat will do it for me. Big gust, the boat rounds up, loses the wind, falls off, sails fill again, rounds up, repeat. I usually never even ease the main sheet. Things went bad this time when I DID release the main sheet-stalling the boat, allowing it to fall off, stand up and THEN get hit by the big winds…. I think if I had been alone or had my son with me we would have been ok. But live and learn. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thank you having the courage to post this. We all should have the humility to show the good and the bad days.
Thanks! As far as bad days goes- this was pretty tame for me. lol. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Very courageous of you to post this video. Here is my take on the situation. As soon as you saw the storm clouds you should have put on PFD's, started the ouboard, closed companionway to prevent/reduce water possibly going down below. Reduced sail. Take sails down. Yes, if possible lower bimini. It creates a lot of windage. How to prepare for future wind/storms; Install the jib downhaul now! Install a single line/jiffy reef system on the main that leads back to the cockpit. A reef may not have helped in that storm, but it can help if wind pipes up another day. Completely reducing sail would have made a world of difference. Install a topping lift(or boom kicker) , it will support the end of the boom when the main sail is lowered. This is very convenient even on calm sunny days. Don't use the pigtail. Too much gusty wind from different directions to heave to in my opinion. I commend both of you for remaining as calm as you did. Educational video, however, if there is a next time dont video, focus on boat and your safety. Good that you stayed in the cockpit, thats a pretty safe place to be. Glad you made it back to port safely.
You lost me with starting the outboard Considering how often the outboard is hard to start it’s the last thing I’d rely on
It’s hard not to be critical Learn to reef and reef early Leave the Dodger furled unless it’s sunny
Don’t start the outboard That’s for that powerboat you passed An outboard can fail you
Close the hatch and if your planning on being out in real weather (buy a real boat) Sorry that’s my advice
A Catalina 22 has a reputation One you should be aware of
As a person that is new to sailing, this video and all of the comments have been extremely helpful. Thank you for having the courage to post this and thank your wife for videoing this moment. So scary to be in a situation like that.
I too own a Catalina 22 (1983) and understand your boat's set up well. Since you asked for comments and constructive criticism, I feel the need to share the same with you given the issues that you were facing when the storm came through:
1. Given the fact that you did not have a furling jib, as soon as you saw the dark skies, you should have IMMEDIATELY doused the jib and either deeply reefed the mainsail. I can understand your reluctance in going on the foredeck to douse the jib, given that you don't have any lifelines on your boat. But that only reinforces the fact that you SHOULD have rigged a jib downhaul to take down the jib from the safety of the cockpit. I do not know whether you have reef points, but if you don't have them installed and rig a single line reefing system so you can reef the mainsail from the safety of the cockpit.
2. Not wearing PFD's is inexcusable. PFD's do absolutely no good inside the cabin or in a lazarette; they need to be worn. Moreover, because you have no life lines on your boat, you should wear a PFD that has an included harness as well and rig jacklines fore and aft on either side of the boat so you can safely approach the foredeck.
3. A Bimini is a wonderful thing to have on a hot, sunny day, (I have one too on my Catalina 22, "Bad Kitty!") but as you learned, it is not only an interference when you are facing adverse weather conditions and are trying to deal with the mainsail and/or boom, but it can make the situation with being overpowered that much worse as it acts as an additional sail to your jib and mainsail when the boat is heeling. Unless it's really hot out, keep the Bimini wrapped up with a cover while sailing; deploy it when you are at anchor.
After dousing the jib and reducing and eliminating the windage from the mainsail and the Bimini, you should have started the engine and made a "bee line" back to port at FULL throttle; Again, given that you had little in the way of set up in order to "shorten sail", trying to sail back was a poor decision. Given that you were at least a mile from port and the Catalina 22 has a hull speed of slightly more than 5 knots, you should have realized that you would not make it back to port by tacking back and forth which would easily taken you more than 20 minutes by which time the storm would hit.
5. You are lucky that the ONLY thing destroyed was the mainsail; It is entirely possible that given the wind conditions that the boat could have capsized or swamped if the mainsail remained sufficiently intact to create the necessary windage to cause a knock down. Granted that you were sailing on a lake, but, as a sailor that sails ocean coastlines (where the wind directions tend to be fairly consistent), I know that lake sailing makes for fluky wind conditions and you need to be even more careful when a potential adverse weather is forecast.
In the final analysis, there were many mistakes in judgment, perhaps the biggest was planning on being on the water when a thunderstorm was forecast in the general area. No sailor can control the weather conditions. The only things we can do is to either be somewhere else when bad weather strikes or, if we can't, having ourselves and our boats properly rigged to take into account those possibilities. 'nuf said.
I dont really have responses to your comments as they are spot on. I already looked in the garage tonight and got out my jib downhaul kit when I found my sail repair kit ... We had only been out from the dock 15 minutes when we turned around. Over the past few years, sailing on the edge of squalls has resulted in some of my most exciting sailing here at the lake. We usually dont get high winds here in the summer. I had looked at the radar right before we left and it was moving away from us. Dont really have a response to the PFD's as you are spot on also. Usually we dont wear them unless we are going out at night or we know we are sailing into winds more than say 15 knots steady.
Dousing the sails (when I am alone like I basically was) is really impossible once the winds pick up like they did. Even when my son is with me- it is really dangerous to go up front, but when he is with me he can hold it into the wind. I cant reef my mainsail once out- not alone.
As for the bimini- I am surprised it stayed on. I had not thought about the additional windage issue. I cant handle the heat down here like in the past and like the bimini. I can put it down though and sometimes to when I race.
I have had the rail over in the water and water coming over the side several times before- I dont think that was necessarily the problem here (although this was the highest gusts I have ever had). Every other time that has happened- the boat lays over and I just keep it tight to the wind and eventually the gusts stops and the boat stands back up. I MIGHT ease the mainsheet just a tad. But because my wife was with me, I decided to really release the mainsheet. I could not see (because of the bimini) how far out it went. The boat stopped sailing forward, stalled and the bow was pushed down wind- filling the sails and we were just passengers....
Normally- if I think there may be strong winds I will keep at least the bottom crib board in- but when my wife is with me (which is rare) she likes to stand there in the cabin and hold on...
I really do appreciate the honest comments!
9:17 Thanks I was hoping to read a response like this, I don't think he had thought that through very well, flirting with disaster....
Edit.. I read more and learned more and your critique was dangerously incomplete you forgot to tell him to close the doors and drop the boards.
I guess we all make mistakes thank God everyone was safe and thanks for all you sailors who share lessons with us newbies
Well said - pretty much what I was thinking when I watched this.
The time to reef is before you need to. The time to douse the jib is before you need to.
All of my boats have lifelines - I don't know that I would be comfortable sailing without them. They allow me the ability to get around the boat even when heeling heavily or in heavy wind. Sure on nice days they're superfluous but on any day like the one in this video - they're life savers.
I have gone out on my small lake when storms were approaching but they have a tendency to dissipate before they get to us. The couple of times I've been caught in one - I already had the sails down and was already on motor heading in to the dock.
Can't improve on thse comments, but would add better communication skills with crew and the failure on the PFD includes failure to insist his wife wear one too. He's responsible for her safety.
@@cn780 Appreciate you sharing this. Sounds like a rollerfurler and single point reefing would be great investments in safety, convenience and peace of mind!
The best advice my sailing instructor ever gave me was, “if you think you might need to reef, it’s already past time to reef.” I had a Catalina 22 for my first boat, and the main was not set up for reefing. If I was you, I’d set my Main up for reefing, and next time you’re in a similar situation, drop the jib and reef the main. Also, I had a boom kicker on my Catalina 22 which kept the boom from falling like that. My new sailboat has a furling jib, which makes it a whole lot easier to reduce sail, but that’s an expensive addition. Good job handling the boat! And thanks for sharing this video.
Edited for spelling
Never saw a boom fall that way, guess it was when the sail tore.mFirst thing I thougjt was, get that main down.
I had never seen the boom fall like that either.. I think you may be right. That must have been when the main ripped. I could not figure out why that happened like that. Thanks for commenting.
Hopefully, I will not ever be out in winds like that again. Or- I will be able to get the sails down and motor in. I have done that a few times. I wish my boat had a roller reefing, but my budget will not allow it. And truth be told, I should not have even had my job up... Hopefully this video will be of some help to someone. I have been watching C22 videos on-line and could not really find any like this one....
@@cn780 You handled it quite well. That sky was something else too.
@@cn780 If the boat doesn't have a topping lift or boomkicker like many boats of that area the sail holds the boom up unless attached to a simple pigtail on the aft stay. Just need to run a line from the mast to the end of the boom. It is also useful for sail trim, especially in light air when you want a fuller main.
I’m a new sailor and just bought a Catalina 22 so I really appreciate you posting this. I’m reading for the comments and good advice. I liked how calm you were and were looking for solutions to the situation you found yourself in. Although I appreciated the excellent video your wife took I would encourage her to learn more and become an active participant in your sailing.
Holy shit. That is a mess and a half. The ocean is a lot less forgiving you need to practice at the dock on a calm day droping the sails and reefing the sails with a life lone and vest. Always carry a significant fixed blade single edged knife on your chest and a radio of some sort that works for rescue on your life jacket always. You need to be able to cut yourself free and communicate with the outside world if separated from the boat. With a little boat like that I would get storm sails a tiny main and tiny head sail and just motor until the wind starts to blow. I really like sailing in high wind and go out when it is forecasted. Having storm sails already on and just motoring till the fun starts is a good way to really have a blast in winds up to 50mph. Storm sails are a must have in my opinion.
At 3:53 you unknowingly almost did the single manuver that would have allowed you to ride the whole situation out comfortably ... heave-to. When you tacked, if you'd left your jib cleated on the port side, the boat would have essentially "parked" itself, even in the extremely strong winds. Heaving-to is a great tactic to quickly employ when you get overpowered by unexpected weather.
And again at 7:40 you almost did it. Had you left the jib cleated on starboard and eased the main, the boat would have hove-to. I'd recommend practicing the tactic in moderate winds so you can get comfortable with it. It's a great tool to have in your sailing arsenal.
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Thanks for watching and commenting. With me being only 15 minutes away from the dock I did not want to stay out there in it any longer. I have learned heaving to previously, but was in hurry to get back.
Leaning how to sail takes a week. Learning when to sail takes a lifetime. Good video, thanks for sharing!
" learning when to sail takes a lifetime" I had never heard that one, priceless! 40 years of small boat and chartering in Lake Superior's. Apostle Islands or the BVI... That is quote could be a t-shirt!
Well said!
Very true!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I think it takes more than a week to learn how to sail.
Thanks for posting mate. I don't know the little Catalina but have been sailing larger yachts for about 40 years and can only add that since you knew the $hit was gonna hit the fan you should have dropped the headsail and deep-reefed the main, as soon as you decided to head for shore. Putting on life jackets and closing all hatches is also a good safety precaution, so next time stow your fenders below. Flogging sails sound scary and can cost you to repair but no one was injured, which is the main thing. You did the right thing depowering the yacht to prevent capsize. Best of all you didn't once yell at your wife and said no when she asked if she was gonna die.
Thanks for watching and commenting. In the past, I have gone out with a reefed main alone when winds were gusting above 20. But nice I am out there, I can’t get my main down with any amount of wind unless I can hold into the wind. If I had immediately dropped the jib when we turned, I think we would have been ok. But I waited too late. The winds only lasted strong like that for a few minutes. But when the big gusts hit( stronger than any I have experienced) I let the main out too far and the boat stalled, fell off and then was blown over until it picked up speed again and started sailing. I still think if I had just not stopped sailing the boat and tried to turn, it might have been better. The main did not rip until I pulled hard to get it down. It was a good learning experience. Cheers!
If the main ripped when you pulled it down it sounds like you needed a new one anyway.
Nobody is mentioning my AMAZING filming while thinking I was gonna die 🤣
You did a great job filming and talking about dying. LOL! I have a Catalina 22 as well and hopefully will see y'all up at the lake.
@@beniank9091thank you! Are you on Lake Martin? I’m looking for a new captain! 😂
@@marnienorrisI'd keep the one you have. There was no yelling or cursing ❤
@@LarsBocherlol true!!
It was amazing, scary stuff, but thanks for sharing. Glad you are both safe and well. Fairs winds going forward.
Sailing a Catalina 22 in gusty conditions requires careful preparation! Make sure the pop top is locked, washboards are in place, bimini is collapsed and secured, and the swing keel locking pin is engaged. Dropping the jib is essential, but for ease, you can rig a jib dousing line. Reefing lines for the mainsail should also be ready. Although the main sail was shredded, this experience serves as a valuable lesson in safety and preparedness. Well done, captain, for getting back to port safely!
Adding insult to injury, my outboard was stolen along with some other motors….. working on getting another one. I will be adding the job downhaul that has been in my garage for 2 years.
On my 22, if for whatever reason I cant get the jib downhaul to work i can stand through the cabin hatch to pull the jib down if I don't want to go on deck. Much safer. I would keep the cabin clear enough to do just that from now on. This video shows what these boats can handle. I would never thought it could handle that much wind with so much sail up and not put the sails in the water.
Thank you for uploading the video. It makes the gusts we have encountered seem really pleasant in comparison.
Thanks for posting ! Hat's off to you and your wife for not freaking out under the circumstances. For anyone wanting to learn to sail, such as myself, you post is most helpful ! Best wishes !
About the best advice I could give is to watch what I do and then just do the opposite. All of my sails are not like this though. Most of them are fun but relaxing. Thanks for commenting.
Much respect to you and your wife!
Video made my heart beat increase a little too much “thank you@.. but the fact that you have shared this with us aka: “EVERYONE ONE”….
Thank you!! 👏👏👏👏
I learned so much from this video and then from the comments!!!
I believe this is an excellent learning video that all sailing enthusiasts should watch…
Thank again.
From Oklahoma USA 🇺🇸
Thank you for helping us novices learn, really appreciate you posting this video.
I’m not much more than a novice in the C22. Glad this helped. Did not want to post it, but when I was looking for good videos showing higher winds in small boats, I could not find much. Thanks so much for watching. There are other videos up on the channel more relaxing.
Great video, I really appreciate you posting so that we all can learn. Great job by the crew / videographer!
Thank you!! I can’t believe I didn’t put the camera down but glad I was able to get this one. Certainly a learning experience.
Thanks for sharing this. It sure did look pretty at the beginning, but man, that eacalated quickly. When my wife asks if we’re gonna die I always say yes😂 Seriously, you handled this calmly and effectively. Great job!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Kind words.. No one has been harder on me than me. About 2 weeks after this was filmed my outboard motor was stolen which kind of put me in a funk. Hmmmmm…. Wonder if it could have been my wife?.. lol.
Wow, thank you for sharing this video. So much can be learned by simply watching it.
You are lucky you made it back.
I love the Catalina 22, but I learned its limitations quickly (and, fortunately, by sailing it with more experienced sailors). My club boat is a Cat 22, and it's a joy to sail. But I learned quickly that we should not have it out when steady winds are at 10 knots or higher, or gusting over 15 knots. The boat is just not built to handle it. One lesson I've learned is that tempting fate is likely to get me into trouble.
I think several people have made great comments, so I will try not to repeat them. I own a Nimble Arctic 25 which is a very stable boat, but if I had seen dark skies anywhere close to what you saw I would have turned around at the dock and gone home. (I sail on Apalachee Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.)
One thing your video reinforced for me: Never go out on the water without a working outboard. I've had to sail back into my dock without a working outboard a couple of times, but weather was fair. Your video shows that a working outboard is also life saving tool on a sailboat in inclement weather. Also, some marina's will not allow sailboats to return to their dock under sail because the motor allows for more maneuverability.
Getting the outboard going may well have saved you. That meant you were no longer solely at the whim of the wind.
For me, your video reinforced a couple of best practices my much more experienced sailing friends tell me:
1. Dark skies? Don't go.
2. If you are caught in a storm, drop the Jib ASAP
3. Then reef the main ASAP.
4. Take down / fold up the bimini
5. Drop anchor if you can't make headway and ride it out.
Others have knocked you for now wearing a PFD. That probably seems like a no brainer right now, but, personally, it's pretty common for people to out without a PFD. I wish I was more diligent at it. I would also consider getting a CO2 inflatable PFD because they are more comfortable and will inflate automatically once they are immersed (but still can be inflated manually).
Water temperature is only one factor when considering a PFD. As you video shows really well, at any point you could have been knocked overboard by the flapping jib, the boom, or simply heeling over once the gusts caught your sails. The chances of someone turning around and getting back to you quickly once you are in the water is almost nil in these conditions.
Thank you for this reminder that we can never be too careful or too cautious when setting out on a sail!
Thanks for watching and commenting. No issues with any of your comments. If I was in coastal waters or cold water I would not have been this irresponsible. Getting my sails down quickly when I am alone is not an easy task. Not that it matters, but we were only 15 minutes away from the dock when this happened. The storm ended up being much more than what I thought was out there. It actually blew some trees down. 20 minutes after this it was gone from this area and there was no wind. This was not a front coming through. As for the outboard, one of my must haves to take anyone out was a reliable motor. It is a 4 hp, brand new a couple years ago and is reliable. 4hp is enough on this lake, but I really wished I had that 6 hp sail pro with the extra long shaft that day. I really can’t go forward to tak3 the jib down with the motor on with any waves because the stern will pop up and the motor loses bite. Thanks again for the comments!
Props to your wife for calm and carrying on! Truly remarkable. Lots of others have had good advice about downhaul, reefing etc., but best advice is get the sails down and secured as soon as you experience the quick wind rise. I have escaped without harm from similar misjudgments, so won’t lecture, just congratulate you on your shared good luck.
All sailors should keep in mind that wind speed doubling means wind force multiplies four times. Twenty knots is sixteen times as much force as five.
Thanks for the kind words. I know I messed up. Wanted to post to maybe help some others. I hated the mainsail got ruined. The jib I can repair. I have skirted the edge of storms and had many good runs. This one was different and stronger than I was expecting. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great video! 🤗 I bet it will be a while before your wife goes sailing again.
Prep is the key. Always get your sails down early before the wind gust arrives. If you wait then it's too late. Lucky you did not have worse out come.
Cheers, S/V Cork~Texas🇺🇸
Thanks for watching and commenting. No issue with your comments. Part of the reason for my hesitation was trying to decide to turn and immediately head back, or try to hold into the wind and get my jib down. I was worried that by the time I got the motor on and explained to my wife what into the wind meant it would have been too late. I still was able to sail. I should have not released the main so fast. Once I did that the boat stalled and was pushed off the wind where the gust could hit us more. We were only 15 minutes from the dock. As for my wife not wanting to go out again, I was worried about that too, but she loved it and can’t wait to go back. She has been out maybe a dozen times before. She likes it when it is more relaxing. My son likes it like this…. I just want people to stop asking me if they are going to die all the time…..
First of all, great job to whoever was filming this! Also, so great that you posted this and showed the real deal. It helps everyone.
You already know about the jib downhaul. Keep in mind you'll need to go forward and secure the jib down to the deck quickly, otherwise the jib will be blown into the water. Second, boom topping lift or Boom Kicker. I had a Boom Kicker on my Catalina 22 and loved it. So much more intuitive than a topping lift. Third, skip the main reefing system and go for lazy jacks instead. A main reefing system on a small boat like the C22 is too complicated, and you have to go to the mast to make it work most of the time anyway. Lazy jacks keep your main sail up and away from the cockpit. (Rig a main sail down haul as well if you like.) Douse those sails quickly and be happy! Lastly, a Tiller Tamer is a great help. Provides a third hand holding a steady course while you tend to the sails. P.S. Lose the bimini and wear big hats when it's sunny.
But mostly, thank you for posting!
I agree with all your comments. Thanks for watching and posting helpful comments. I did not really want to post it, but I thought it might be helpful to show a C22 in some heavier wind gusts. I made a bunch of mistakes, but even though I lost a mainsail, I call this a near miss and it might help some other sailers out there not make the same mistakes.
It's a very good video!
You stayed calm. It really shows your skill and trust in yourself.
Thanks for sharing, that was a scary experience. Good to know how things can change in a short time. Glad you both made it home safely.
I sailed a Catalina 22 for 31 years in all conditions, racing cruising on the Chesapeake Bay. You were very lucky. First rule of storm is coming drop sails. If you can't drop sails, you should have heaved too. You should practice that. Do you not have a topping lift? Add one if not. Always have cushions in cockpit if nothing else. They are flotation devices and can mark a person that has gone overboard. You can also rig a down-hall on a hanked on Jibs and Genoas. That way you don't have to go onto the deck in heavy conditions. Tough way to learn, but you made it through safe and that is what matters. People always underestimate how fast storms travel and lightning can proceed the rain. Also, worthwhile to button up the boat and put the hatch boards in so water doesn't enter when you get knocked down. We got knocked down in a race once on a very powerful and unexpected gust and since it was a rough day already fortunately the hatch boards and top were closed otherwise it would have been bad, as it was the cockpit was full of water and more like a bathtub.
@@everwind5691 no issues with any of your comments. All spot on. Thanks for watching!
I actually grew up on Chesapeake Bay in Va Beach. Thank you for all the great advice!
Well filmed video, very informative. I agree with this comment. Reefing might not give sufficient reduction in a squall. On traditional boats we often have double topping lifts and lazy jacks to catch the sail, for a quick drop, but you still need to pre-empt it. I have been caught in a traditional heavy gaffer with the big mainsail going crazy. On approach of a thunder squall, a good assumption is "all sail down". In addition, a good tactic if sea room allows is to run off under bare pole.
And wear PFDs. Always!
Almost identical situation happened to me the second time I ever took my first boat out. It’s crazy how fast things happen. I thought it was rain coming but it was rain and 60 mph wind. I had three sails up. Threw out two anchors after getting sails down and rode out an impressive lightning filled thunderstorm. I think you did alright. No one went swimming. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for relating your story. I have been reading the comments and had started thinking I was the only one that had experienced something like that on a small boat. I knew that could not have been the case. We were only out for 15 minutes from the dock. It was such a short time I did not even have time to put up the go pro. Wish I had it up! Thanks for watching and commenting.
excellent learning tool, thanks for posting with captions. glad yall are safe
Gotta respect you for putting this up, many would be too embarrassed, so good on ya mate for showing it. Just shows how quick the proverbial hits the fan, there's alot to learn from this footage for newbies and not so newbies. I could list what I think you should've done but looking at the comments you probably would've heard it all already. In the end no one is hurt or worse and just a dent in the pride along with some torn sails, so overall a good outcome considering the weather
Thanks for your kind words. Some have not been so kind. I did not want to post it. But I had not found a video clip like this pop up on my feeds. I’ve been out on the edge of storms before and had some of my most exciting sailing. But this storm was different. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Congratulations on your video going viral. I’m from the Catalina 22 FB group. That was a FUN ride. I’m also a fellow UA-camr!! Great job filming all this. Tell your wife good job on the screaming.
Lol, thank you. I was freaking out. We will def check out your UA-cam channel also.
Subscribed to your channel. I see you are in Dallas. I spent many summers in Dallas Texas with my cousins! Originally from Ruston, Louisiana. My sister was a dr at children’s until 2016.
Thanks for watching! I’m a member of that group too .
I saw it pop up.
There. I thought “ uh oh”. This was fine until it popped up on the C22 page…. lol. But, we put our boat on its side all the time- that was nothing new for us. I’m just upset we went out with storms around without the life jackets or the bottom boards in. My wife loved it and wants to go out all the time now. We took the boat out yesterday and got the rail in the water again and had fun. Also got to help rescue a laser from our club that went over and lost the rudder and we had to tow it back……. We have loved the C22 and have had loads of fun in it.
Had a similar situation couple of years ago in mexico.. small lake very small lake wind went from 0mph to 60-70mph i had full sails extended main and jib. Fortunately it was me and a guy friend.. i was at te controls he was at the bow.. boat inclined over 45deg.. we just pulled sails down as we could.. started engine and it lasted for over an hour.. current was pushing us to a shallow part of the lake. I had full reverse throttle on on engine to hell boat against current. I have q video somewhere. It was an awesome experience. It gets the most out of u. 3feet waves or maybe 4 i dunno.. but yeah ur wife couldve helped on lowering jib and bimini top.. but who wouldve filmed it? Thanks for sharing
Thanks for posting , you were very lucky. Be prepared next sail.
Every day is a learning experience. Not all of them are this boring. The next week we had to tow a laser that turned turtle and the next week my outboard was stolen. It gets better, I hope. Lol
Glad you guys are ok
Thanks for sharing. Most folks don’t post when things go wrong - although it’s probably the best way to learn! I commend you on staying calm & doing your best to think your way out of a tough situation (I was scared just watching). I’m amazed to see how quickly the weather changed. Out where I live on the west coast, we don’t often get strong isolated thunderstorms like that. God bless you and your wife. I hope this setback doesn’t keep you from having many more years sailing happiness!
@@theranch4426 thanks for watching and commenting. Rather than scare my wife off, she is one pushing to go out. She is hooked. We actually went out today with a friend of mine from the club and said in some good winds. In fact, we had to tow a laser home that had turned turtle in the winds.
Thank you for posting this video. It takes integrity and honesty to put our mistakes on display and is the reason I just subscribed. I am new to sailing and have been working on setting my boat up for storms. Glad you are both”OK” and hope you don’t let this discourage you from sailing. Obviously you will reflect on what went wrong as well as review all of the comments and learn from this. Both of you stayed pretty cool headed in the face of that storm and that resulted in good video.
Thanks for watching and commenting! About the best advice I can give you apparently is do just do the opposite of anything I do…. Just to be clear, I did not intentionally go out to sail in wind like that. I thought I would miss it. I was only 15 minutes away from the dock. And this certainly did not discourage me. Am I mad I ripped 2 sails? Yes…. But I am sailing on an inland lake, warm in summer, with little waves and rescue or land not more than a few minutes away. My preparation and actions would be different if I was on the coast or on a big cold lake. As for not getting worked up about this when it was happening- I guess most other people have a lot more to lose than I do? lol. Thanks for the comment. There are other videos up on the channel that are more relaxing than this one…. I set this channel up so I could just watch myself sail when I can’t get out or are traveling out of town. Glad some others think some of them are worth the time.
You both did a great job with the circumstances you where dealing with at the time. You know what they say ( hindsight 20/20) . Y’all made it home with another great story to tell. Are their things you could have done differently? Absolutely, but then THERE ALWAYS IS isn’t there? It was an exciting day and everyone made it home in one piece. Isn’t life great! Praise the Lord for another great day!!😃🙏
I’ve been in these types of conditions on Lake Michigan several times. First thing, turn on the motor, take sails down and if you can’t get to safe harbor, keep the bow into the wind. If that doesn’t work, drop an anchor. If the water is too deep at least the anchor will help the bow stay in the wind.
For an old cat 22 boat did well. Lots of lessons here. Most importantly captain remained calm just tried to work the problems. Life jackets always! Would recommend installing a topping lift and a roller furling jib. Hind sight is always 2020. Would have dropped the main before it got ugly. With roller furling you could have reefed the jib way down. Learn to use predict wind or windy apps. And find a good radar weather app. make sure you have a way to drop your boarding ladder from in the water! Glad to see you have a reliable outboard!! Should have been a bit more conservative with the boss on board. Glad it all worked out. 🇺🇸
Thanks for the comments- I do not disagree with anything you said. I just thought I would have had more time once we turned back for home./ We were just 15 minutes from the dock.... I still think I would have been better (once the winds hit) to not release the main and just keep sailing close to the wind. I have done that many times (4-5?) times before when get big gusts and the boat lays over but does not stall like it did once I released the main. When I released the main I was just along for the ride. As for the outboard- I have never wanted more than the 4 hp I have, but I may use that as a reason to get the 6 HP sailpro I really wanted..... 4 HP was not enough.....
@@cn780 yep. I know the feeling: storm scheduled for 7 30 pm on 3 different weather apps...we get out on river at 4 pm... nice wind, slowly picking up, clouds a bit threatening from only one direction, nothing too dramatic, just before 6pm we decide to go home only to discover that propeller was wrapped in about 10 feet of seaweeds, not having engine available we continued sailing ... by the time I liberated the propeller, cold front gust put the mast , with sails still up, into the water and we capsized less than 200 feet from the shore and less than 2000 feet from the dock...by 6:20 we were on the shore, with boat turned turtle nearby...5 years on: still learning... :) and yes: radio, knife and multitool; all attached to PFD (with harness) with pockets, clips and lanyards :)..keep sailing/ keep learning/ keep sharing,
I learned a lot from watching. Glad you got home OK! Thx for sharing. Lots of lessons to be learned from this!!
If only I had a video of my entire life, I could be a one stop life coach of what not to do…. It would fill up a small book. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Awesome that you are posting this mate. Most would not have the balls to do it. It is a great exmple of what exactly not to do in such a situation but also clearæy shows yiur bewilderment and inability to make correct decisions because of the chock of the sudden change of windspeed and the lack of experience on how to deal with the situation.
I personally had one or two similair experiences when i started sailing and the tought me how to actually sail.
So here is my input.
First of all, your "jib" seems the size of a genoa, a very big sail in those winds, and going against the wind, you would need to make it VERY flat so the wind can run of it, that means get on those winches and tighten the genoa sheet. A hollow and round sail catches nuch more wind.
Next thing, go close to the wind and reef the main, right away.
Then you are all set.
DO NOT start the engine, run against the wind even faster, and let all your sails flap and break themselves and the boom.😅
Alternatively, you can head more downwind and run with the wind and not against it.
Or if you go the beginners way, just drop the jib right away and sail only with the main. I would have gotten up there and dropped it. You become a bit more unstable but you will be able to handle the boat better. So yeah. Thanks for the lesson. This video is valuable.
There's so much to learn from this video... ticks many boxes (sailing training organisations should play it on day one in the classroom)! Thanks for sharing.
I did not want to post this video, but I did think some might find it worthwhile to watch.
Great job keeping your cool capt. Thats the best thing you can do to keep your crew/guests calm
Thanks for the positive comment! I checked the boat out the next day and no damage…. Well except for the ruined main and my favorite jib now needing to be repaired…. But I have others….
I've been in this situation, twice, but worse. I was solo sailing on Lake Eufaula when what I'd called straight-line winds, constantly blowing at around 40 to 50 mph, with horizontal rain and lightning. I was ill-prepared for that storm with the bimini up, hatches open, and anchor stored. I lived through it and when I got home I ordered a furler and new jib, had to sew a patch in the main. My friend called it "making memories"...lol...One other thing, I don't sail in July and August in Alabama.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Glad you made it through all of that. As you know, summer sailing down here is the season of light winds- unless there are some pop up storms. I’m glad I am not the only one to be caught out like this around here. My video here had high winds, but we did not have lightening. My best sailing days have been when there are random pop up storms in the general area. There was a hurricane that had the remnants come through here either last year or the year before with steady 18 mph with gusts higher. Best most fun sailing my son as I have had. Cheers!
You were in an absolute perfect heave too position then you released the jib. I couldn't imagine a better scenario for a heave too
@@DialedN_07 I know I know lol…. But I was only 15 minute from the dock and no longer wanted to be on the water….. that squall blew some trees down and I wanted none of it…. It looked worse in person… thanks for watching and commenting!
I think you did fine. You didn't panic and that help keep the wife calm. A+. Stitch her up and keep going.
I did not even know she was talking to me at all during all of that until we watched the video... The whole thing i dont think was more than 10 minutes.........
Thanks for the experience, so brave to show the other side of the coin. I highly appreciate your relation with you wife, no yelling no fight. That is the most valuable in this kind of situations. Greetings from Finland 😊
Lots of lessons to learn ...but that is exactly what sailing is all about. I have been sailing for 55 years now, and I still learn something new nearly every time I head out. So, don't beat yourself up too bad, and just learn from your mistakes.
Your boat's rigging did not help you out here.
1) You should install a topping lift for the boom. Having to secure the boom to the backstay to lower the mainsail is not a best practice. A topping lift will support the boom no matter the wind angle when lowering the sail, or reefing.
2) You are not using the sail stop for your mainsail slugs. It is the thumbscrew device you see immediately above the main downhaul cleat on your mast. It needs to be moved to the other side (above) the boom gooseneck and above the slot your mainsail slugs use to feed into the mast. This will keep your mainsail attached to the mast when you lower it, and reduce the chance of ripping it.
3) You need to use simple hooks to secure the straps for your bimini top. That way, you can quckly unhook them and lay the top down. This will allow you to move around a lot easier, and to quickly reduce windage in a blow.
4) Finally, "blowing" the halyards without the ability to get the sails down seldom improves your situation. And, obviously, getting them down before the gust front arrived would have been ideal.
Regardless, you have (hopefully) learned a lot, and can make a few changes to your rig to make this situations easier to cope with. The way we sailors seem to develop good judgement in dealing with things like weather is to occasionally exercise poor judgement. The exercise of judgement is the heart of what sailing is all about. We all screw up occasionally. The goal should be to make less substantial screw-ups over time.
Good luck to you, and Sail On!
Thanks for the comments! I have never liked not having a topping lift. I was thinking about adding one, but thought I read where even if you have one you remove it to sail. Seemed like a lot of work. But not having one makes it hard to take the sail down alone. If things are calm- no problem.
Excellent observation about the sail slug- I always wondered what it was for- now it makes sense. I will make that change this weekend.
You don’t usually remove a topping lift, but instead keep it loose so the sail doesn’t catch in this when tacking or jybing. It can be tightened up when lowering the sails, though in your experience this might not have been possible or easy with the Bimini in the way.
I got my topping lift as a kit from Catalina Direct, $100 Canadian. Absolutely easy to install, so much better than the pigtail. Without the topping lift, it was much harder to reef the main while on the fly.
I learned to sail where small craft warnings in a bay with strong currents were a daily event, so setting up the reefing was just part of rigging the boat. Sometimes we would jig the 1st-2nd reef before we left the dock. We also practiced a MOB every time we went out. I understand, like most lake boats, just don't learn to sail in heavy weather.
None of us are beating you up, I think we are saying the same things in different ways, very good point by others.
* If you rig the boat with reefing lines, every time - then you are ahead of the game.
PRACTICE
* Then, when the wind is calm, practice reefing and unreefing 4-5 times during the sail to build muscle memory for you and the crew.
* Practice collapsing the bimini - so it's a comfortable thing to do.
* Then practice reefing in more moderate winds again building that muscle memory for everyone.
* You had your Wife get fenders for docking but not a dock line? You could have a coiled line on the bow rail (next to your anchor) ready for use. (You might have needed a tow if the engine had died too)
* Anchoring was also an option nearer shore. Do you have a map or know the depth on this lake. Anchor line on board 7-10 X longer than the depth?
* PFDs YES but you may want your knife, while, light and Handheld VHF clipped to the PFD so when you are in the water you can radio for help and/or be found.
NO one got hurt, A few dollars were lost. I great learning experience for the future.
This was a severe weather textbook example. First, the warm front was already well underway - seen on the small Stratus clouds forming (before leaving the dock), so the cold front passage with increased winds would follow. The dark cloud at the horizon made it obvious what conditions to expect at the sea. Thus, if you are not prepared for heavy weather (also heavy gusts), consider not leaving the dock that day. Thanks for sharing; it was very interesting. I hope it does not discourage your family from continuing with sailing under more gentle conditions. Cheers.
@@CptnbondThanks for the additional comments…. I really appreciate it. This event did not discourage me or us at all. However- my sailing activities for the rest of the year have been tragically cut short. My outboard motor was stolen and it will take time for me to get another one. It was 4 HP 2022….🤬. I am currently still grieving about it. Just happened last weekend. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I haven't read all comments but wouldn't heaving to given you the opportunity to reset and definitely grab the PFDs? My wife and I were caught in a squall in a cat 22 several years ago and my first move was to make sure all passengers had pfds then I hove to. It was a bit uncomfortable but our lake passage was too narrow for my skill-set at the time. Glad you're okay and thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching and commenting. To be honest, heaving to never even entered my mind. It should have. As we were only 15 minutes from the dock I just wanted to get back asap. If my main had not ripped when I pulled it to get it down things would have been much better. It was a learning experience for sure!
Finally someone caught some action on video. Thanks for posting this.
"Reef early, reef often" is the saying. I was once out on a Hobie 18 in gusts to 45. Pitchpoled downwind and didn't occur to me to at least furl the jib on the way back... although to be fair, I thought it would give the boat too much weather-helm to be controllable... pretty sure I was wrong.
“Are we going to die!”😆. Love it. Can certainly relate to how it feels that way (many times)🤦🏻♂️. Glad you survived to sail again!
Apparently most of the sailors have a lot more to live for than I do I guess….. My wife many years ago was on a small sailboat with me and we went over and she completely lost her mind and forgot she could swim and panicked. Sail was holding her under. She would have drowned if I did not pull her out and hold her up. Sooooo, her asking about dying is not completely unfounded…. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Amazing filming in time of crisis! Glad y’all are safe.
Thank you!!!
Props man! Staying cool is a must in situations like that. Great learning experience if a little scary. Keep at it brother. R.
Thanks for the comment! I guess everyone else has a lot more to live for than I do!, 😂
A great learning experience right there. Glad yall made it out alright
Thank you, Me too
I sailed, cruised and raced my Catalina 22 for 35 years so I can totally relate to how this unfolded.
First, excellent video! It’s rare we get to see so much when things go crazy because all hands typically are too busy to film.
Much of my time on my boat was single handed, or with kids, or my wife, who for many years wouldn’t have known how to help (they do now😊) but you could certainly used another pair of experienced hands; or having just a couple of setups in place as I can see you are aware that would have helped.
First, the bimini, I sailed my Catalina 22 for almost 30 years before adding the bimini and learned I had to rethink everything in how I sailed the boat, especially for maneuvers that required going forward. You definitely need to pull the bimini back and strap it down at the first sign of the ominous dark clouds headed your way. I used quick release pins and could get it back and secured within seconds.
With the bimini no longer an obstacle, it would have allowed you the ability to tie off, or hand the tiller over to your wife while you doused the jib. Which brings up the other point, as you noted, when single or short handed that jib downhaul can make all the,difference for this exact situation. But, alternatively, you need to get to that foredeck (with life jacket as you noted), wrestle the jib down and secure it.
For the main sail, that pigtail on the backstay always seemed to get me in trouble too. So I added a simple permanent topping lift which was tied off at the top of mast, run back to the end of boom to a cheek block, and then to a cleat.
With the bimini out of the way, and with the jib down, you would have been able to get close enough into the wind to get the main down, and with a topping lift you would have been able to pull the main down for a deep reef. I’m not sure what you have setup for jiffy reefing but you should have that set up to be done easily .
Anyway, this was really a great video that got my heart pumping and a good instructional tool for us all. Thank you for posting.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comprehensive observations. It took a lot of time for you to put all that down and I really appreciate it. 35 years of sailing a C22 is very impressive. I’ve only got 3 or 4 now…. After watching this video I’m sure that is not a surprise. One of the problems I have here wher3 I sail is in the summer we usually don’t have good winds. It’s either nonexistent or comes from afternoon storms in the general area. So - that and the fact I have invested 2 hours to even get me to the point of sailing caused me to make a bad decision. I will add though that I am mor3 impressed with the C22 the more I sail it. There are C22 owners where I sail that always help and give good advice. Thanks again for commenting. Cheers.
That was a nasty looking squall, you did well , ready to fight another day.
Thanks for the comment. I made a bunch of mistakes out there but had fun. My wife was scared for a bit during this but calmed down. She has gone back out with me the next weekend and we had to tow a laser back that had turned turtle in high winds and lost its rudder. So she is not so scared that she would not go out. 3 weeks after this video was shot, my outboard motor was stolen from the boat…. I am still grieving about that, but will get back out when I get another motor. Thanks for watching.
Good video, thanks for posting.
Got a few comments.
When the wind got up dropping the jib first would have been best. I get that you'd have to go onto the foredeck but it would have calmed things down a lot (people tend to go overboard as a result of large waves and it was relatively calm so you would probably have been fine). The main with a boom is much easier to control in a squall whereas the jib is inevitably going to flog itself to death.
Nothing wrong with starting the engine but I think putting it in gear was a mistake. The engine is pushing the boat along and increasing the apparent wind, making your situation worse. You were also forced to steer rather than concentrate on getting the sails down, if you left the engine out of gear you would have been able leave the helm for longer. Most importantly, you were risking getting a rope in the prop which could have been a real disaster.
I think others have said it, but a topping lift on the boom would have made coping with the main a lot easier.
Surviving situations like this is the best way to learn how to cope with them in the future.
Happy sailing!
I will have to watch this later. Good stuff
That scream at the 7:00 minute mark! Most of us have probably heard that sound a time or two....🤣
Nothing like a fun day on the water. That did not look like fun at all. As far as the power boat, he was smart to get the hell out of there.
All in all, it was a good experience. We have been out since then with my wife and had the rail over in the water ( clear skies) and my wife did not even get worried at all. Thanks for commenting! I do think it would have been nice for the powerboat to wait to see if we went over and stayed over.
Cocktails or shots after this? Thanks for sharing, and very courageous too.
😎
6:53 You're welcome...I actually think that your wife did extremely well under the circumstances. I think mostly due to your calmness. It's hard for people watching this to understand that it's 5 times louder and more chaotic in the moment than the video will convey. That was some serious wind. I've been in wind that strong and I had to swim to shore because we capsized and the wind blew the boat away from me faster than I could swim. It's always safer in all of that flogging sails. You're a Good skipper. Everyone went home. The sails can be replaced. I was impressed! I give you 5 thumbs up!
Thank you so very much. The noises were what was scaring me the most! How fast it was happening. I thought the first time the boat blew over so fast was going to be it. Nope. I appreciate your comment, you certainly understand. Yes him knowing the boat and what to do kept me more calm. I was on my way to getting worked up pretty good.
That’s crazy what happened to you. Glad you got back to shore and were ok.
You did a good job, you made it back. If you had prepared for that wind you could have sailed it. I have a Catalina 22, and this video was one of the best I have seen in beautiful colors.
Thanks! I was not actually worried about the winds although it was certainly higher gusts than I have ever had hit the boat. Having the rail in the water is what makes it exciting for me and my son. My son does not like to sail unless we put the rail in the water as much as we can. So we are used to that. The boat lays over- spills the wind and it then stands up. Not much drama. I was blown away by the color of the water too. I don’t know why the colors were so vibrant. Thanks for watching.
I also have a Cat 22, you have to get rid of the backstay topping lift ! I also rigged a downhaul for the mainsail, it will get it down quick when needed. Before the waves got big, I would have had the wife hold a coarse, go up and haul down the sails, slow to a stop, throw out the anchor. Sit and wait it out. Sound like a plan? Do no harm. If you have a set of reef points, should have put it in at the dock. And, they call them life jackets for a reason, this could have ended very badly, I am glad you did not get hurt.
At least you had the sunscreen covered 😂
This comment isn't for the content creator but for those who are reading the comments, as I am sure the creator learned all there is to learn about reading the weather and anticipating what it may bring. For those of you new to sailing always err on the side of caution and if it looks like nasty weather is building on the horizon, call it a day and get to the dock. If you want to practice your bad weather sailing skills make sure all onboard share the same sentiment, if not get them to the dock, you don't want to ruin someone on sailing by having them out in rough weather.
This could have been a great training experience for reefing and depowering sails or practicing heaving to techniques. Blowing out a sail is one thing but unmasting or capsizing is something different altogether, sail smart and sail safe.
I installed the Catalina direct lazy jacks, holds the boom up like a topping lift and also helps contain/flake the sail while it comes down, a great addition
I had not thought of the lazy jacks acting as a topping lift. One of the reasons I pushed and went out(we did stay right by the dock) was that I already had invested about 1 hour once I got to the boat putting on the sails, launching the boat, cooler, etc. I also completely take the sails down and put them below. I hate being at the dock ready to go and not being able to. I even have gone out with no wind and just motored around just so the day would not be a complete waste. Lazy jacks and a sail cover would be a good addition. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Very scary footage. One hopes you won't wait until it's too late to reduce sail next time. Stay safe.
One can always hope……. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I’ve been on a couple old 30’ boats that have lost their main sail track slides sailing in higher winds and it’s a wild ride. Beware of old plastic folks. I can relate 👍
Lots of others have said it, but a furling headsail although expensive is fantastic for allowing you to reduce sail at any time and so much easier for everyday use.
My crew (wife) panics in much less windy conditions so well done on continuing to film while asking calmly if you were going to die😊
With us being on an inland lake, normally I just pick a correct sized jib, I have several to pick from. I can’t afford a roller furler. I have been told that with the furler you lose some capability as the sail is made lighter than say a 110 jib so you might damage it when in higher winds. But I don’t know. I was also told that racing rules don’t allow one- but I never would race at a national event.
@@cn780 I'm not a racer, I just cruise around the west coast of Scotland. As far as I'm aware racing with a furler means you can't change your sail which wouldn't suit a racer who would want to use exactly the right sail.
My headsail is made of the same material as the main so pretty sturdy and anyway, it's having to do less work when partly furled in higher winds. I'm quite lazy so I also have a stack pack so the main can be dropped straight into the bag.
Roller furlers are stupidly expensive for what they are but I guess that's sailing for you.
Happy sailing, and remember to put twist into your mainsail, helps to reduce heel when it's gusty.
That's the way to live life. You don't want to end up with, "no runs, no hits, no errors." Install jib downhaul, boom topping lift, lazy jacks, and give the bimini to your cousin with the pontoon boat.
I agree on the jib downhaul…. I’ve actually got one in a box…. I’m still not sold on a topping lift though. I think my main ripping was what dropped the boom off the boat. Usually when I head into the wind and drop the main, the boom rests on the Bimini. This is the first time thinks got squirrelly with the boom. As for the Bimini- that’s where I hang my speakers so I can chill with my sailing jam mix……. I like the Bimini…….. I am surprised it stayed on though. I inspected it yesterday and it is fine…
It is amazing how these situations sneak up on us. I know how it feels. You kept your cool and you, your crew and your boat survived to sail again. I will say that I had a catalina 27 with hanked on sails and quickly learned the value of the jib down haul. Even when not severe conditions. The confidence of knowing it was down and somewhat secure let me deal with main with less stress. And then finish securing the jib. Thanks for sharing... and I hope your first mate will continue to sail. 😊
Here is the funny thing about that whole experience...... My wife said she had a great time and we are going back out Saturday. I told her we need to get her used to handling the boat, starting the motor, etc. It has finally started cooling off here in Alabama and I think it will be 62 for a low Friday night and up to 89 for Saturday with sunshine and good winds.... I will slowly build her up to going upfront and stowing the jib.
@cn780 that's good. I am lucky too. My wife likes sporty conditions and so far is unaffected by seasickness. After about 5 years she is now a real help with dock lines, and she is becoming more comfortable helming the boat for short periods.
@@cn780 Great to hear. That sort of woman is very precious. You look after her.
@@philgray3443thank you!!
@@sailingin-tuitionwithchuckhoping to get a bigger boat with a seat I can sit on and see over the front of the boat. I really enjoyed the excitement and have fallen off a small sailboat before, the first one we had so I wasn’t worried abt falling overboard. The banging noises were scaring me the most.
Thank you for sharing this vid. Many will learn something of value from watching it. Hope your boat isn’t too badly banged up.
Thanks for commenting- I was hesitant to share the video but think it might be helpful to some...
You did good, never panicked and kept trying to get the boat under control. Before I had a boat, I had a windsurfer and I I learned how to read the ripples on the water real far away to warn me I was about to get slammed by an upcoming heavy gust. The surface gets dark. Sorry about your sails. You need to keep your 1st mate you got there! Now she's ready for anything.
Owned a C22 for 14 years. I commend your totally in control attitude and not losing it. But, you had ample warning it seems to have at least reduced sail or taken them down all together. Situational awareness is key! Went thru a storm or two like that on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Each time we battened down and rode it out in the safety of the cabin.
Thanks for commenting. Water is like bath water here this time of year. I agree I had time to prepare and get life jackets on, etc. I would not be this careless on big cold water like in Chicago. Learned a lesson. Thought others might want to see it.
@cliffcohen6517 did you drop anchor to ride it out?
No. Huge body of open deep water with little to no other boats around so we just rode it out and drifted.
I started sailing as a crew member of a true racing vessel so i thoroughly understand and appreciate the excitement and urge to go fast and push hard. That being said, consider your other crew. How capable are they? More importantly, how motivated are they and are their motivations the same as yours? Knowing you were going out with those clouds off your stern, man PFDs befpre you even leave the dock. Next step, batten those hatches down! And you gotta get that headsail down and stowed away. And the bimini too!
Fairwinds and happy sailing.
No issues with your comments and thanks so much for commenting. If I had not had the boat out before where high winds and gusts had laid me down, I would not have even gone out. The more time I spend on the boat the more comfortable I have gotten with it. I was pushing it too hard, but I was just going to push hard for a few minutes before pulling back. I just got caught up. Every time before that some water came over the side, the wind spills and the boat rounds up and comes back up. I made many mistakes- I went out yesterday and checked all the rigging and fixtures. No damage otjher than my table leg getting pulled out when my wife leaned on it back at the dock.
It's better to be at the dock wishing you were sailing than sailing and wishing you were at the dock. Experience is a good teacher. Glad everyone is OK save for some nerves.
I admire you for posting this video. We all get tough lessons. PLEASE wear a life jacket from now on!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I did not want to post it, but thought it was interesting enough and might be helpful to the sailing community. I
Boat handled it fairly well. Man those winds came up quick. Good job keeping a cool head.
Thanks! I should have dropped the sails, but we had only been in the water for like 15 minutes….. live and learn.
Hi. Nice video. I owned a Catalina 22 for several years. Good boat. When I had mine, I made sure I could drop the bimini (forward) with 2 quick release pins. Its still in a PIA location, but at least it is no longer performing as a sail...... Then, as you said, it would have been good to drop the jib early on. I too had rigged a downhaul - but in those conditions it very well might jam - I believe it is well worth the money for roller furling jib which you can easily do from the cockpit. Getting the jib down or even partly rolled up is almost the same as first reef in those conditions.....Happy to see you did not snag a line in the propeller, as it looked like several were over the side (been there, done that). And even though it is a pain, I usually pulled the main hatch closed. I wouldn't close it up, even though that is recommended, but, as you know, standing in the cabin provides a good position to work from. Sliding the hatch would also provide some protection from a big wave over the top - - which can happen more easily once you turned on the kicker. And of course, life jackets - inflatables are a no brainer. You certainly get high marks for calmness, especially since the boat did not behave the way you expected. You didn't give up - you stayed in the game. Bravo!
Thank you for the thoughtful and comprehensive reply. I too can drop the Bimini forward, but I usually just leave it up. Thanks for watching! I made a lot of mistakes on the boat that day. I just thought that showing the video might be helpful to someone.
@@cn780 It took a lot of courage to put that video out on the net. Thank you for doing so!
I am impressed by the ride on that small craft. Despite the mishap you have a great boat! I hav sailed on Lake Michigan on a MacGregor just to see how it handled. Not impressed. But that Catalina 22 rides so much better without water ballast. Maybe that is the one!!
Thanks for watching and commenting. I don’t know how I would like sailing on cold water up there. There were something l8me 15,000 of the C22’s made I think. Fleets everywhere, parts, support groups, etc. The C22 is light and is certainly small, but it is big enough for us right now here in central Alabama. I e got other videos up showing the boat better, all explained from a novice point of view.
@@cn780 You would love it on the Great Lakes. It's refreshing especially when the temps are 90 in the Midwest. Like taking mini-vacations from the heat and the water is usually 70° by July. No sharks too!
Finally a sailing video that is truly helpful for me. Thanks!
Ahahahahahaha buddy, you and I are in the same club, the “single handed sailor with guest” club! (SHSWG)
I’ve got a Columbia 52 that I keep and sail in winter in Mexico, and I started out trying to teach my wife how to sail (the first year) and after an incident, realized marital bliss will be better maintained if I join the SHSWG club! It’s been 5 yrs now and she has a basic understanding, drops/picks anchor, stands daytime watches etc. (but really I’m still a club member)😂 btw
As a 30yr sailor I’ll give you a B+ on how you handled your own fukup, which was not dropping jib/starting motor immediately on decision to head back. 🤷♂️ also there are plenty of used sail lofts online for an affordable main replacement
I feel that lol I’m just glad our boat is almost set up for a single hand she’s good enough at pointing into the wind while I raise or lower sails n under stands how to work a winch so could be worse
I would add a "topping lift" to your running rigging. When adjusted properly it keeps the boom form coming down when you drop the main sail. Its a line that runs from the end of the boom, runs parallel to the leech of the sail and through a block to the base of the mast for adjustment. My Bristol 26 had one and was very handy. Read up on this, makes the cockpit more manageable when dropping the main.
I was actually slightly surprised the boat did not come with one. I have to clip the boom to the back stay when putting the main down. You also have to remember to UNCLIP it from the back stay or it can get exciting too. I don’t have video of the couple of times I have done that. My Bimini helps hold up the boom when I lower the main. If it is calm I clip the boom in, then go pull the main down. If it is too windy I just lower the main and pull the sail in. Thinks went all pear shaped on this trip when the sail ripped apart and dropped the boom. Now THAT had never happened before. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Loved the Wife's comments! As they say in flying, any landing you walk away from is a success😉
True! Here is the thing. We went out yesterday and put the rail in the water several times and she was fine…. She said she was just scared the first time as she did not understand what was going on. I had a more experienced (way more than me)crew yesterday with us when we went out and she had a ball and it was much more relaxed. We even got to tow a sailboat back that had flipped upside down. She loves it now.
Thanks for sharing also a happy owner of a Jaguar 22 1975 aka Catalina here in Denmark 🤠
I don’t like that my mistakes are being watched all the way over in Denmark, but thanks for watching…. 😂.
This is a wonderful video!! Thank you
for publishing it
Hi, As mentioned by others, at 3m30s was the time to: 1- Put PFDs on, 2- Bring the Jib down, 3- Reef the mainsail, 4- Turn running light On. These actions would be all In Case the worst append. I do understand that you do like to dip the rail ( I know the feeling as I did own a 22 footers, with hank-on jib, for more than a decade ) but thunderstorm are not the same than strong steady wind and demand 'respect'. Note: cold water are one way to drown, but falling the water unconscious after being hit by a rogue boom is another one. I think that you learn a lot, and hopefully your wife was not too scare. Thanks for sharing and I do congratulates your wife for keeping filming during the stressful time. Regards
I can’t reef from my cockpit and in the lake I sail, I would just drop sails and head back to the dock. This was just strange. My wife being with me threw me. Without her I would have just gone forward and let the boat do 360’s while I got the job down. I’ve done that 4 or 5 times. But that would have scared her. I agree with everything you said. Thanks
Wow!!! You handled that amazingly!! Showed no signs of panic.. like it was just another day at sea.. ⛵️🌊
Thanks for commenting! I learned a lot. Be sure to tune in next week when the boat catches on fire! Lol
Thank you for sharing....That sure turned fast.
I presume you cannot reef from the cockpit?
Might recommend implementing something like that.
Almost looks like you could have carried on in your original direction and missed it, maybe?
I'm glad you're both safe and well.
You are correct. I can’t reef from cockpit. Usually, if the weather picks up, I will drop the jib(means going forward) and just play with the main sheet as I head to the dock. Great observation about continuing on…. That was my original plan when I saw the darkening skies.. I think you are right. If I had been alone I would have done that. But with my wife o. Board I wanted to get back asap. Thanks for the comment. I guess I will have to set the boat on fire this weekend to top this video….
I cant believe the timing of this video with the wild night sail I just had on my Catalina 22. Blowing 35? Caught out in the fetch, as it built, jibed my way back 5 miles, everything soaked. I singlehand and you may want to learn a simple lashing of the tiller with some line and bungees.(UA-cam it) You may need to climb forward at some point, while underway, to ensure survival.(jib ends up overboard, filling with water, pulling the vessel down . . .for example)
You stayed calm, and responded. Points there. Learn all you can from this. Really appreciate you sharing the experience.
. . . Not to be hard on you at all, but, what if the engine didnt start? Things youve probably already been thinking about, I'd bet : )
Glad to see another Catalina 22 sailor, great boats : ) mine's 1973, and no lifelines, same as yours : )
You are the only one that commented about the motor. Sounds like you have been in a situation where you had to wonder. As soon as we turned I wanted to start the motor. I have a tiller clutch that would help keep the boats heading, but with the motor on at a reasonable throttle it will not hold it on course. Plus, the motor was on the high side and as soon as the boat heeled more than about 30 degrees it comes out of the water. You could not see on the video but the motor started on the first pull. But it stalled as I had shut the fuel off when I had it raised. I may rethink that. Glad you made it back safe! 5 miles is a long way away. We were not barely a mile out from the dock.
Get back out there. If you apply what you’ve learned from this experience, you’re a 10x better sailor for it. I’ve been sailing for 45 years and have had weather patterns like that creep up on me too. You said it happens so fast…it’s one thing hearing about it, it’s another experiencing it.
"ah my god, Are we going to die?" 😂😂😂
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that…. Lol
That first maneuver that you called a tack, where your wife said, "I hate tacking", was a gybe. That was a sound maneuver. After that, you should have reefed the main and doused the jib. Then you should have tacked on that wind shift that you knew was coming, and you would have had a milk run home under main alone. Like another commenter said, you did a good job being calm, though. Tips for the future: When you get your new mainsail, have it made with good, strong reef points and practice reefing so that you can do it quickly and with confidence. The rule is: reef the very moment it crosses your mind to do so. You can always shake it back out if it turns out to not be necessary. Consider roller furling/reefing for your head sail. If you dont want roller furling, douse that jib when you get over powered. That 22 footer can sail well enough under main alone.Train your wife to be of help when stuff happens or send her below while you sort things out. Wear life jackets.
I know the difference between a tack and a gybe.... My wife on the other hand.... lol. To her any change in direction is a tack. When I saw the direction the storm was taking and I could see the rain in the distance I wanted to get back to the dock. When I went to tack she was in the way of the tiller so I went the other way. If my son was with me we could have gotten the jib down in time I think and he could have started the motor while I got the jib down. As it was- I was kind of frozen. It does not show up well on the video- but the downdraft of the rain in the squall was unbelievable.... Certainly should have gotten the life jackets on and the boards in..... As for seeing ahead and reefing- I am not really set up to do that. When the winds get too much I head up in the wind and drop the jib at least. I could not figure out how to make that happen with just me and by then it was too late.
@@cn780 I installed a jiffy reefing system on my Catalina 22 so I could reef from the cockpit. It costs money but when you need it you need it and makes things a hundred % safer. Before family I sailed solo for many years all up and down the Chespeake. Inflatable PFDs are much more comfortable to wear and more likely to be worn.
@@cn780Yep, we have a single rule which is not negotiable. You wear the lifejacket. The water here is 27-28 degrees C. But if you go over I might be a while coming back for you. Floating is way better than splashing around with the bronze whalers and tiger sharks. I leave my crew and guests to make the decision for themselves.
Lots of good comments about avoiding the problem by preparing ahead of time. Once you are in it I want to second the previous comment about heaving to. Other consideration- was there an island you could have gotten in the lee of? At 10:15 it looks like a jib sheet is in the water while you are running the engine.
Thanks for posting- it is better to learn from other’s mistakes.
I had replied to your comment earlier but it disappeared for some reason. I have not heaved to in winds that strong before. I did not even think of that until 2 am the next morning. When the winds have kicked up before and I want to stop I will get to the Lee of an island and drop sails. I think my big mistake once I got the boat turned was trying to get the main down. If I had just let the jib fly and just pulled the main in a little I think I could have saved the main since the motor was on the low side on the way back and could have helped me home. And you are correct- my jib sheet was trailing in the water and I was worried about it getting in the motor. But I could not reach it at the moment. Thanks for watching and the comments.
Wow, that escalated quickly! Glad you made it back safely. Mother Nature does not fool around.
Thanks for sharing.
These are the videos who make everyone a better sailor
Its easy to nitpick sitting in a comfy chair at home. I think you did great though. Like others said, the #1 thing is you kept your head, even if some details could be improved, thats probably the #1 survival skill.
You've made it a great learning experience for yourself and others, including me.
The only constructive critism that springs to mind (and its not something i had thiught of before watchign your video, but plan to implement for myself also), is instead of your partner asking if you need help, have a set of predetermined tasks that she can handle in that situation while your hands are full of booms and sails. "1. Grab lifejackets for both of us. 2. Clear cockpit of all unnecessary items 3. Take your position in this designated safe spot 4. Drop the bottom board in the companionway 5. Keep the film rolling haha". I dont know exactly what this prep would kook like but something like this. They perform a vital role and keeps them busy helping solve the problem.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree with everything you said. Usually, when I go sailing when the winds are going to be strong, I have my son with me and we talk bout who will do what etc. who will go forwards and such. I was just thrown off with my wife with me. My son keeps me in check. I just wanted my wife to get to see that the boat could handle some strong winds and have a good few minutes of fast sailing before we headed back. It’s about a 3 hour time investment just to get the boat to the dock ready to go. I learned a good lesson .
I don’t think I can tell you what is right or wrong because I was not there. I was in a similar but not nearly as bad a situation this last weekend - single handing the old Mfg 19. Wind came up suddenly - bout knocked me down. The Mfg will not round up with the jib up so 1st on the list was to let everything go,get on deck and drop the jib. From there things got manageable. I think the biggest takeaway from this was that you never gave up getting things under control, you never panicked, and everyone got back to shore safe. And yes. Life jacket would have been best but I’m not a preacher. Happy sailing.
What I often forget including all the preparations when you experience a powerful gust of wind to let the main sheet go. Instead we tend to steer the boat windward, which in normal circumstances is the way to do.
That’s what I normally do- or the boat will do it for me. Big gust, the boat rounds up, loses the wind, falls off, sails fill again, rounds up, repeat. I usually never even ease the main sheet. Things went bad this time when I DID release the main sheet-stalling the boat, allowing it to fall off, stand up and THEN get hit by the big winds…. I think if I had been alone or had my son with me we would have been ok. But live and learn. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Yeah, of course that turn puts the rail in the water for a moment and freaks everyone out.