Bolo
Contributing Partner
Well, after about 22 years or more of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay it finally happened to me. I broached the boat. Oh, I’ve broached the boat before but nothing like I did last Sunday which for me was the “Mother of All Broaches”. A little back ground first. My brother & sister in law, who live in North Carolina, came up for a long anticipated sail with my wife and I on our E32-3, Vesper. He is way more into sailing than her but she being the good wife, I think, goes along with it and does enjoy sailing…until the boat begins to heal. Get my point?
The winds for last Sunday were predicted to be about 15 knots with gust to 20, from the west, and two foot seas. No big deal for us (lighter than most sailboats) Ericson sailors. Just reef the main and roll out a partial jib and for most of the day that certainly worked give us a fast and comfortable ride. I did some finer adjustments with the traveler to keep it around 15 degrees since I found that it’s the “sweet spot” for my E32-3 which was confirmed by reaching and maintaining hull speed many times during our sail that day with moderate weather helm.
Still, my sister-in-law passenger was “uncomfortable” to the point of asking if the boat could “flip over” (her words) in the wind conditions we were experiencing. One of my strategies I use when uncomfortable people are aboard, be it from nerves or “Mal de mer”, is to get them behind the wheel. It sometimes freaks them out at first but I assure the reluctant helms man (or woman) that I’d be standing next to them and if anything started to go amiss I would take over. It always settles their nerves and stomachs because they’re too busy trying not to screw up and ,surprise, they have fun doing it. At the same time I describe some basic keel boat physics to them on things like why it’s very unlikely the boat will flip over.
But my sister-in-law refused to get behind the wheel even though she and her husband have chartered smaller sail boats before and sailed in mildly rough conditions. She choose just to sit there and voice her nervousness about the wind, swells, some white caps, and 15 degree heel. She also said at one point, “When do we start the engine again?” Her husband on the other hand was having a blast because I had him behind the wheel most of the time except for those situations where my local knowledge on where to go came into play and docking. He was actually laughing when the occasional swell broke over the bow and made it back to the cockpit. I have to say it was a great sail which most of us loved. I say most but even my experienced sailor of a wife who learned how to sail in high school, which was a long time ago, was also getting nervous. Apprehension and fear can be a contagious thing but with all that we sailed on just fine until I started to tack us back towards Back Creek where we dock Vesper.
Anyone who’s familiar with the Chesapeake Bay will tell you that there are times when the sailing can be a challenge in strong winds. It’s not because of the windy conditions exactly but mostly caused by the many rivers and streams that feed the bay where winds can get pinched or squeezed into a sudden increased velocity. The winds were from the west as I mentioned before and we were sailing north west towards Mill Creek which is just north of the three big radio towers which are a prominent landmark near Annapolis. So at that point we were in the lee of the western shore. I tacked the boat to about south west to head towards the Severn River. After I made the turn I could see that the winds were now at 20 knots while we were still in the lee. However as we cleared the Greenbury Point (where the towers are located) the winds went up to about 26 knots. It was here where I was regretting not putting in the second reef. I also had about a 70% jib out which I should have pulled into about 50% or less before my tack when the winds were less. So big mistakes there. Plus the complaints, not going to name names at this point, were coming in fast and furious although my brother-in-law who was on the windward side along with everyone else had a big smile on his face. I was at the helm and worrying about at least one of my passengers and not paying as much attention to the conditions as I should. Distraction can be a fatal flaw sometimes but fortunately not this time. However it was enough not to notice too late that I was on the fine line of broaching, which I did…..with…as they sometimes say….", prejudice”. Vesper suddenly, violently and without warning that I noticed (because I was distracted) turned sharply to windward and no amount of rudder was going to change that, but then she heeled over more than 45 degrees. Would you call that “knock down”? It sure felt like one to me as I and everyone else fell down onto the cockpit deck. I happen to note the wind speed which was about 32 knots and going up but then I could see the starboard deck underwater and a waterfall coming over the coaming and into the cockpit filling it with about a foot of water.
Of course it seemed like to it took much longer for Vesper to right herself and even longer for the water to drain from the cockpit but both things did happen in short order. So what about everyone on board? My brother-in-law and I were laughing. My wife was speechless and my sister-in-law was too but with a look in her eyes that said, “Can we really start the engine and go in NOW!?” Which, of course I did but I did tell her, “Now that was a broach!” No water intruded beyond the bridge deck although during the broach there was a loud crash in the galley. Seems like the tilting bin, where we keep the pots and pans, flew open because the latch wasn’t properly closed but no real damage wasmdone below and on deck. I was patting my self on the back for having all of the rigging replaced last spring and taking stock on what I learning from it all but regretting that I didn't have my GoPro turned on to capture it all for my YouTube channel. Sailing for the next day was cancelled, even though there was less wind but somewhat frayed nerves about going out again were still fresh. Of course, my brother-in-law and I were ready and willing but we’re both married to our first mates and you married sailors need no explanation.
The winds for last Sunday were predicted to be about 15 knots with gust to 20, from the west, and two foot seas. No big deal for us (lighter than most sailboats) Ericson sailors. Just reef the main and roll out a partial jib and for most of the day that certainly worked give us a fast and comfortable ride. I did some finer adjustments with the traveler to keep it around 15 degrees since I found that it’s the “sweet spot” for my E32-3 which was confirmed by reaching and maintaining hull speed many times during our sail that day with moderate weather helm.
Still, my sister-in-law passenger was “uncomfortable” to the point of asking if the boat could “flip over” (her words) in the wind conditions we were experiencing. One of my strategies I use when uncomfortable people are aboard, be it from nerves or “Mal de mer”, is to get them behind the wheel. It sometimes freaks them out at first but I assure the reluctant helms man (or woman) that I’d be standing next to them and if anything started to go amiss I would take over. It always settles their nerves and stomachs because they’re too busy trying not to screw up and ,surprise, they have fun doing it. At the same time I describe some basic keel boat physics to them on things like why it’s very unlikely the boat will flip over.
But my sister-in-law refused to get behind the wheel even though she and her husband have chartered smaller sail boats before and sailed in mildly rough conditions. She choose just to sit there and voice her nervousness about the wind, swells, some white caps, and 15 degree heel. She also said at one point, “When do we start the engine again?” Her husband on the other hand was having a blast because I had him behind the wheel most of the time except for those situations where my local knowledge on where to go came into play and docking. He was actually laughing when the occasional swell broke over the bow and made it back to the cockpit. I have to say it was a great sail which most of us loved. I say most but even my experienced sailor of a wife who learned how to sail in high school, which was a long time ago, was also getting nervous. Apprehension and fear can be a contagious thing but with all that we sailed on just fine until I started to tack us back towards Back Creek where we dock Vesper.
Anyone who’s familiar with the Chesapeake Bay will tell you that there are times when the sailing can be a challenge in strong winds. It’s not because of the windy conditions exactly but mostly caused by the many rivers and streams that feed the bay where winds can get pinched or squeezed into a sudden increased velocity. The winds were from the west as I mentioned before and we were sailing north west towards Mill Creek which is just north of the three big radio towers which are a prominent landmark near Annapolis. So at that point we were in the lee of the western shore. I tacked the boat to about south west to head towards the Severn River. After I made the turn I could see that the winds were now at 20 knots while we were still in the lee. However as we cleared the Greenbury Point (where the towers are located) the winds went up to about 26 knots. It was here where I was regretting not putting in the second reef. I also had about a 70% jib out which I should have pulled into about 50% or less before my tack when the winds were less. So big mistakes there. Plus the complaints, not going to name names at this point, were coming in fast and furious although my brother-in-law who was on the windward side along with everyone else had a big smile on his face. I was at the helm and worrying about at least one of my passengers and not paying as much attention to the conditions as I should. Distraction can be a fatal flaw sometimes but fortunately not this time. However it was enough not to notice too late that I was on the fine line of broaching, which I did…..with…as they sometimes say….", prejudice”. Vesper suddenly, violently and without warning that I noticed (because I was distracted) turned sharply to windward and no amount of rudder was going to change that, but then she heeled over more than 45 degrees. Would you call that “knock down”? It sure felt like one to me as I and everyone else fell down onto the cockpit deck. I happen to note the wind speed which was about 32 knots and going up but then I could see the starboard deck underwater and a waterfall coming over the coaming and into the cockpit filling it with about a foot of water.
Of course it seemed like to it took much longer for Vesper to right herself and even longer for the water to drain from the cockpit but both things did happen in short order. So what about everyone on board? My brother-in-law and I were laughing. My wife was speechless and my sister-in-law was too but with a look in her eyes that said, “Can we really start the engine and go in NOW!?” Which, of course I did but I did tell her, “Now that was a broach!” No water intruded beyond the bridge deck although during the broach there was a loud crash in the galley. Seems like the tilting bin, where we keep the pots and pans, flew open because the latch wasn’t properly closed but no real damage wasmdone below and on deck. I was patting my self on the back for having all of the rigging replaced last spring and taking stock on what I learning from it all but regretting that I didn't have my GoPro turned on to capture it all for my YouTube channel. Sailing for the next day was cancelled, even though there was less wind but somewhat frayed nerves about going out again were still fresh. Of course, my brother-in-law and I were ready and willing but we’re both married to our first mates and you married sailors need no explanation.
