Hull Speeds?

[CharlieJ]

And your point is???  ;D ;D

I did say "same range"  :D

Keep on trucking Gene- I plan to still be sailing at 77 myself.

[Frank]

I would like to reply as to the age of Capt K. Well...the best way to answer that is 'it depends'. Now...if you met him well rested during a mid day lunch...he looks mid 30's...around 11.45 pm after 12-14 rums, he looks about 55...the next morning, well, lets just say he could be Gene's papa  ;D

[FLIGHT]

Lots of luck, Charlie!

When I was skydiving at 65, I thought I'd still be doing it at 75.  NOT!

When I was 67, I thought I'd still be sailing at 77.  NOT!

Gene

[AdriftAtSea]

Frank-

That's mean...but sounds about right...

I would like to reply as to the age of Capt K. Well...the best way to answer that is 'it depends'. Now...if you met him well rested during a mid day lunch...he looks mid 30's...around 11.45 pm after 12-14 rums, he looks about 55...the next morning, well, lets just say he could be Gene's papa  ;D

[FLIGHT]

Here's a 75-year-old gent who solo circumnavigated... http://www.baycrossings.com/Archives/2002/12_January/2nd_captain_clark_on_captain_clark.htm

What are you kids waiting for!

Gene

[CapnK]

I don't think I even have to dignify those remarks with a response.

[Frank]

Capt K...that picture was taken as I was making breakfast  ;D

[FLIGHT]

Frank -

This is a mile off topic, but I was afraid you might miss the post if I put it somewhere else.

I guess that's your gorgeous Flicka pictured with each of your posts; I need to ask a Flicka question, please.  And understand, I've never sailed a Flicka before in all my decades of sailing; I'd never even seen one 'til I saw Heather's.  But this question will only apply to Flickas, because all boats differ drastically in this regard. . . .

Did you ever have to heave to in your Flicka, in really stormy winds and seas?

What sail combination worked best?

I've always heard a double reefed main and no heads'l.  Does your experience confirm this?

Heather has practiced reefing and heaving to, way out of sight of land in the Gulf of Mexico, and she has always used that combination quite successfully, but none of her practice runs have been in really dangerous weather.  One time she had to heave to for purposes of getting a little sleep, on her shakedown cruise, and the wind was almost dead calm, so she hove to under a full main, but no heads'l, and that worked fine

She's going to have a very tough time between here an Panama.  When the northers roar down on that area - against the strong current with a northerly set - yachts have actually foundered!

By far, the most dangerous portion of her voyage will be from here to Panama, because of the horrendous weather and massive ship traffic.  And, of course, her biggest worry is that she might be hove to or lying to her sea anchor, and a ship show up on her C.A.R.D. system!

Thank you very much for the help.

Gene

[Frank]

Gene...I e-mailed Heather twice with that   ;) With even a reefed jib, they crawl ahead too much.They balance extremely well hove-to with just the reefed main.I was hove-to in 10ft+ waves extremely comfortably...to the point of taking out the cockpit floor to clean the racor filter.(yes,I waited a long time 1st to make sure it would be OK) Reefed main-no jib=comfort ;D  EDIT..checked my log and I wrote "waves very confused,in the 6-8ft range with several series appearing over 10"

[FLIGHT]

Thank you very much Frank - I'm sorry - I didn't know IT WAS YOU who had emailed Heather about this.  But now that you mention the Racor filter, I DO remember her sharing that email with me.  I just didn't realize it was you.

I suppose you mean you used a double reefed main?

Ha ha - and you took up the cockpit hatch and fiddled with your Racor??!!

While you also mixed very dry Tankray Martinis straight up with twists, no doubt.

Unfortunately, right now, out in the Gulf, there are forecasts for 22 foot seas and gale force winds, so she might or might not be comfortable (read: "safe") hove to.  But our system is such that when she wants to deploy the sea anchor she heaves to first, then deploys from there.  And we've worked that down to a fair-the-well.  From hove to, she can deploy the sea anchor, the retrieval line and the Pendant line in fifteen seconds or less.

Of course it'll take the sea anchor longer than that to pull out all the rhode, but she can have it all in the water in mere seconds.

I don't know whether you've ever had the horrible experience, but sometimes, depending upon the ocean current and wind, you have to start your engine and back up the boat to get the rhode out - a horribly dangerous maneuver.  Very easy to break off your rudder that way!  But I just read an account by a couple who have circumnavigated twice, and they had to back up their boat to get the rhode out, and they were exactly where Heather will be going, en route to Panama!  They also had to cut their $2000 sea anchor lose when the time came to sail, but I had to do that once also, many years ago.

So - thank you very much!

Gene

[Frank]

The day I mention was 20-25knt winds from the south in the Gulf Stream.A single reefed main was fine.I did have a reef tucked into my jib as well while sailing before  stowing it to heave-to.I believe in reef points for headsails as well.Easier to tuck in a reef than change a sail.

[FLIGHT]

Thanks again, Frank.

Yes, Heather's jibs have a single reef line and her main two reefs, but the Genoa none.

She has two jibs so she can fly them wing and wing in the trades - which constitute 70% of her distance around the world!

There are some fair shots of her jib and main at http://www.solo-sailor.com/2007_Oct_Nov.html

In my life I have never seen sails so flawlessly and carefully built as these.  Just for example, each of the reef lines, on both sides of the main and two jibs, have not been melted on the ends. Frank and Axle carefully put sailmaker's whippings on the ends of each of those many little lines!  Have you ever seen that done on reef lines?  This is the most difficult but also the strongest of all whipping techniques.  They could have just melted each end, and no one would have ever noticed the difference, but this is not the way Frank and Axel are.

Here's their site:  http://www.schattauersails.com/company_profile.htm

I was going to write back and ask you if you measured or could estimate your drift, while hove to.  I.e., did you drift backwards or sail slowly forward, or sideways.  But if you were in the Gulf Stream you probably would not know what your drift would be without a current.

Every time Heather heaves to, she immediately punches in her position as a waypoint, and she then can tell at a glance how far and in what direction she has drifted - very important in the Gulf of Mexico, with so many dangers everywhere.

ANYWAY - thanks again!

Gene