Preparing for sailing offshore

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Joe Cooper

When sailing solo or double-handed, offshore cruising or racing

The ability to set sails for use in heavy weather, including storm sails, is critical for any boat venturing offshore. In the case of the Morris 36, seen below, showing a Solent sail being checked for fit, having the rigging systems AND the sails are only one category of consideration. Inspection of all the component parts, of each part of a yachts major systems (see below) and assuring their suitability to the task is critical to a safe and successful passage.

Fig. 1. The owner of this Morris Justine 36 cruises with his wife and young kids, AND competes in the Bermuda 1-2, a “RACE” held every two years, from Newport to Bermuda solo and then a DH race back. All the kit he has purchased for “racing” is used when cruising.

Offshore sailing, “cruising” is almost universally undertaken by couples or otherwise short-handed crews as with the Morris 36 seen above. It is my strong conviction, built on more than 60 years of sailing, that “shorthanded” is a mindset more than a numerical quantity.

For instance:

Four souls on a 50-footer are sailing short-handed, especially if IT hits the fan.

Fig. 2 Heavy weather in the north Pacific aboard a Stephens 50. I was one of four crew on this delivery. Winds over 50 knots for 12 hours, with seas to match, required we paid attention, to for instance water in the bilge and chafe on the sheets and halyards.

I sailed Transatlantic on the J-class yacht Endeavor, a 40-meter monster, with 12 souls, and I can assure you THAT passage was short-handed.

Fig. 3. A series of pictures taken aboard the J-Class Yacht Endeavour in December 1991. We were 300 or so miles SW of the Canaries bound towards Antigua. Winds a steady 40, to 45 knots. One watch keeper reported a gust of 52. Rather than making her go fast, the problem was slowing her down. High single digits was preferable in this seaway and not the 13-15 kts. that was more common when she had the bit in her teeth.

I center this discussion around the Bi-annual Bermuda 1-2 out of Newport RI. Not because it is a race, quite the opposite, rather the boats represent a cross section of what most sailors sail, and they are equipped in ways that people venturing offshore should study. In my assessment.

The Bermuda 1-2 is the oldest race of its kind in the US, is Solo, from Newport to Bermuda and Double handed return to Newport. While it is nominally a race, the Organizing Authority emphasize the goal of making a safe seamanlike passage and so the race has more of the elements of a fast cruise in Company although there is a competitive spirit and trophies. They are going to where Goslings is made after all…

By far the bulk of competitors in any given year are sailing what I think of as “normal” yachts. Broadly speaking the boats represent the pantheon of post WW2 US, European and Asian production fiberglass yachts. Owners often compete in the BDA 1-2, with family members, wives’, sons’, daughters, then take the boats on the family cruise and or the local PHRF racing in their home ports or simply return to weekend cruising.

This post and the several subsequent posts discuss the requirements one should contemplate in advance of participating in any offshore voyaging short-handed, racing or not.

Fig. 4. This Beneteau Oceanus 351, competed in the BDA 1-2 in 2011

The Beneteau 351 shown in Fig 4. sailed not only in the Bermuda 1-2 in 2011, but in the 2013 O.S.T.A.R. The owner/skipper made his delivery passage to England solo and was very well prepared. A good thing too because west of the Azores he encountered a serious blow and sustained a mast head in the water knock down. The degree of planning and preparation he had undertaken, things like all the stray electronics-portable sat phone, laptop, cell phones, cables, in a watertight Kayak bag then tied down, for instance, allowed him to get back on track, quickly, stop in the Azores, pick a new wind wand and carry on to Plymouth.

To the body of this series:

I will be reviewing the list(s) of what I think of as critical things to think about. Note this series will not encompass weather forecasting, nor particularly performance aspects of sailing, with a couple of exceptions.

The hull; Including the deck and the hull to deck attachments and the structures basic integrity, lack of voids delamination’s etc., windows & ports and the structure supporting the keel.

The keel, rudder & steering: Including the keel attachment bolts, the rudder structure including the rudder shaft, bearings or bushings, the steering chains & cables, idlers & cogs, alignment in good clean lubed serviceable order and all clear of potential or actual chafe. And emergency steering

Spars and standing rigging: Including the spar tube, corrosion especially at the step, spreaders, and their connections to the tube, shroud connections, shrouds themselves, Chainplates and bolts, turnbuckles, sheaves, sheave pins and wiring lighting issues. Mast security to the boat.

Watertight integrity: Including the various hatches and ports around the boat, cockpit lockers, the main hatch. All these must not let water in.

Engine operations: The main part of the engine: Get the oil inspected, engine mountings, alternator reliability, axles in true, belts sound, hose clamps and hoses in good order, through hulls smooth and easy to operate and secured with double hose clamps. Wood plugs close by on a lanyard. Fuel tank security, capacity and consumption, clean fuel, shut off values for both fuel lines at tank end. shut off for the air vent at the intake end. Make sure the exhaust will not back siphon ocean water, that the Cutlass bearing is sound, no movement in the P strut, propeller is smooth and balanced, no nicks or dings in it.

Power systems: Including the 12-volt systems, cabling NOT run thru areas where bilge water can accrue, the size and cleanliness of the cables, esp. where they are connected to the engine, watertightness of the connections, security against vibrations, water proofing of the parts exposed to water, spray etc.

Sails and sail handling rigging systems: Including reefing systems, small sails, and systems to rig them, furler integrity, the systems for using spinnakers, the deck layout and sail control lines set up for easy smooth and fast thinking free adjustments

Emergency actions: There are 8 major events a sailor must be prepared to think about and act on when at sea. We will get to these in a later post. These are the events that have over the years created the long list of safety equipment offshore race boats must carry.

Husbandry- Care and feeding of the boat and crew. Amount of and cleanliness of freshwater, delivery systems, and backup system, reliability of pumps systems, plumbing for the head hoses, use of head, fresh water for flushing, vinegar for combating smells, the stove, back up stove (?), security of the propane hoses, food type, ease of preparing volume for stowage, need for reefer. Swinging table, cup holders, cups, labeled for each person.

The HULL and DECK structures

A cross section of boats entered in the Bermuda 1-2 over the past few years include:

Sabre
Morris Justine
Hanse
Freedom
Tartan
Alberg
Beneteau
C&C
Jeanneau
Sigma
Pearson
Bristol
On the more performance end of the scale are a variety the newer, faster J-boats products and

Class 40’s
Mini Transat 650’s
Quest 30’s and 33’s
Hobie 33’S
Olson, 29 & 30

CONSTRUCTION METHODS:

Fig 5. Conventional carvel planked timber, such as Thora, seen above. She is a 1962 Ted Hood designed Little Harbor 37, carvel planked, CB yawl motoring into Bermuda at the conclusion of the 2018 Newport to Bermuda Race. A father and son crew.

Fig. 5. shows a classically built wooden boat, that was at the time of the picture, about 56 years old. The father and son crew competed in the DH class in the Newport to Bermuda Race.

In other words, do not be dissuaded from sailing in the ocean in a wooden boat. It used to happen all the time.

There are two classes of fiberglass boat construction

SINGLE SKIN & CORED

Single skin. Single skin is, as the name implies, all FIBERGLASS. There is no core, it is NOT a fiberglass sandwich. The old style, built like a tank method. Usually, the standard on boats built before about the late 1970’s. Older Pearson, Bristol, Ericson C&C, Ranger etc.

2. Cored Construction: A more contemporary fiberglass sandwich technique where the fiberglass skins are layered over a “core” material of some type. The most commonly used cores are a synthetic foam core: Divinycell and Airex are two brand names. Wood-Plywood and Balsa in a specialized form are used too, plywood not at all since the late 1970’s I’d guess.

Fig 6. This picture shows the interior structure of my 1970 Ranger 33. Here I am cutting out the headliner. The plywood core can be seen, behind my hand. The dark areas are where the plywood core is water soaked. The water was coming in thru the bolted down handrails. Because of the structure technique, the bolts came thru the outside skin, the plywood core and into the headliner.

Some older boats use Plywood though use of this material as a core petered out in the 1970’s.

Cores made from Balsa wood are common, especially in the J-boats lines.

There is a material called Honeycomb, not used in production boats due to costs, costs of skilled labor needed and the more sophisticated techniques for fabricating and issues with durability-puncturing for instance, and general wear and tear. It is sound material and common in specialized race boats, just not a good value material, suitable for production for production boats.

FIBERGLASS:

There are typically two types, classes, of fibers used in retail, production boat building. E glass and S glass. These names refer to the mechanical properties of the fibers used in the construction. Generally speaking, the S glass has “better” mechanical properties than E glass. It is more expensive.

Carbon fiber is unlikely to be found in any production boat (except for masts) largely due to cost but also it requires a higher level of artisan skill and related manufacturing methods and techniques, vacuum bagging for one, skill to work properly.

ISSUES:

Fiberglass is generally pretty bullet proof stuff from which to build almost anything, including sail boats. It does need to be inspected once in a while. Ironically it does not like to be in sunlight. It does not like to flex. Both of the negatives of these two features take a long time to manifest.

DELAMINTIONS:

This is a separation of the “skin” (one layer of fiberglass fabric and glue) from the core material. Known in the trade as Delams, these are the sites on a boat suffering this seperation and are readily found by sounding, tapping in a very close pattern along the structure. Voids and delams have a hollower sound than structure that is sound. Such technique with a rubber mallet is typically done by a surveyor at a pre-purchase inspection. This is of course common when purchasing the boat, assuming it is used. There is no reason why an owner cannot do it. Delams are generally developed over time, and use. The conditions for delamination’s in the future is typically created at manufacturing by the laminate being “Dry” as in no, or not enough, resin in the area in question.

VOIDS:

These are a subset of delams where there is NO resin in the site in question. These are an original manufacturing flaw, typically around corners. Fiberglass as a laminate cannot, or rather it is not sound to do so, be bent around a hard 90-degree corner. IF you examine your boat, you will never see a sharp corner, rather they are rounded corners, the smallest usually bigger than a 5/16” radius. Voids are where the resin is not fully spread around the fibers in a particular area. Small Voids in the corner of a cockpit corner are not particularly worrisome. Larger voids in areas of load, around the chainplates, mast partners and step etc. are more important.

Before going out in the ocean it is very worthwhile, for your own peace of mind, and your families (including your insurance agents) to thoroughly inspect all parts of the hull. Many of the systems noted above overlap. Chainplates to mast and hull for example. Check for delams and or voids in way of where the chainplates attach. It is not uncommon for Balsa cored boats to be “soft” around the chainplates due to water ingress thru the chainplates and into the deck structure.

The J-boats products the seeping chainplates are, frankly, endemic as much as I love the guys, the firm and the boats. Delamination’s in the deck around the chainplates are something to be addressed.

WATER INGRESS: Anywhere water can get into the boat is a location for delams. In the case of Balsa core, water propagates thru the Balsa, and so can spread from local ingress to larger areas of the boat over time, if not cut off at the knees. Not the case with the foams because they are ‘closed cells”, like honeycomb.

Common areas of water ingress include along the Genoa tracks, (see Fig 7, below) where hardware is attached to the deck, winches, clutches, cleats, the wee eye-straps for the dodger. These innocuous fittings, and their fasteners very likely penetrate only the outside skin and so are a prime location for water ingress into the spaces between the core, if the boat is so built, and the inside of the outer skin. If the core is Balsa, this water propagates away from the original screw hole(s) pretty quickly. AND of course, the bases of the stanchion guards for the dorades any on deck winches and so on.

Fig 7 . This picture is the deck of my Ranger 33. I have removed the genoa track and bored out the bolt holes. Again, there is much water penetration as evidenced by the darker pieces of swarf. This is water-logged plywood. The water gets (got) in thru the bolt holes and propagates thru the plywood core between the inside skin of the deck and the inside skin of the headliner. In this case the plywood acts as a sort of faux core structure. Anywhere the water can travel thru the plywood, it will. Such propagation is very random and difficult to stop and or repair without some serious work.

The hull deck joint:

In particular with boats having a perforated aluminum toe rail, like the C&C’s, seen below come to mind. These finish details are used to help hold the deck to the hull and by inserting fasteners on usually 4-inch centers. The technique noted above for drilling such holes, oversize and back filling as the noted technique is called, is just not viable and so not done in the case of production boats. Too time consuming and man hours are expensive.

photo credit (C) Bill Shea Photography

A boat of 40 feet LOA and 11 feet wide might have say, 42 feet of gunnel with such toe rail installed. 42 feet with holes on 4-inch centers, so three per foot, will have 126 holes, PER SIDE, for a total of 252. This does not count the bow and stern rail. Four legs per each rail, 3 bolts per leg, times two is another 24 bolt holes, for a total of 276 holes, perhaps 5/16” diameter BEFORE YOU GET TO THE DECK HARDWARE.

Many boats have a box like design where the deck lip fits over a matching lip on the top edge of the hull. Several tubes of sealant are injected onto these flanges and the deck and hull are mated. Sometimes this connection is held together mechanically with bolts, sometimes the sealant is sufficiently robust to glue the whole lot together.

Some kind of cap rail, commonly teak, is then installed again held down with screws, usually not 5/16 inch and some kind of sealant.

There are a few other ways builders use of doing this task, the point is to find out how your boat is manufactured and make sure water does not get in thru the hull deck joint. If it has been, stop it.

Screwed in windows, small fittings, particularly small hardware that is merely screwed into the fiberglass all need to be inspected. Invariably such screws will certainly penetrate to the inside, the core side of the skin and so offer a channel for water to get in. In an ideal world, all holes in the structure will be drilled oversize, the local core removed, the hole and subsequent void filled with epoxy mixed with a thickener. When this goo cures, the correct size hole for the fastener is drilled, and the water cannot, if the technique is done properly, get to the core. This technique can be seen and followed using techniques from the WEST Epoxy guys, Gougeon Brothers in Bay City MI.

The numbers of holes small and large in the average production boat does not lend itself to such time (and so cost) rigors. BUT if want to not have problems and want to keep the boat for a while, such work is rewarded with a high degree of confidence and in particular when It has hit the Fan at sea.

What is to be done with this foregoing list if things to think about?

Consider the age of your boat- For classes like Bristol, Catalina, Pearson Ranger etc. there are builder/class forums. I am a member of the Ranger Forum on FB, the internet is fantastic for such research.

IF you are contemplating upgrading your current boat, to a bigger one, for The Exit Plan, these considerations ought to be on the boat shopping punch list. at least as high up as how many cabins, heads and burners on the stove. The bulk of the issues discussed, above and in this series in general will, or should be, discovered by a surveyor. Bring your questions about these issues to his attention in advance.

AND remember, you need not be contemplating racing to consider these issues. The foregoing items of strength and reliability equaling seaworthiness play into any boat planning on going in the ocean.

KEEL & RUDDER. The mechanics of how these two components are in corporate into the boat are derived from the age, and so the design and construction techniques in use at the time the boat was designed, not necessarily built. Some older style boats, I am thinking boats say in the Bristol line were still building “the same boat” in the seventies that was designed in the 1960’s. The rudder and keel, in particular need some professional inspection because any issues with them are invariably invisible to the naked eye, from the outside.

KEEL:

There are two common methods for affixing the keel with production boats.

Encapsulated and

2. Bolted on.

Encapsulated: This technique, largely obsolete today involves the keel of the boat being laminated with the actual hull shape and when the boat is upright pouring lead into the void constructed to accept it.

Bolt on: This is the technique where the keel is poured into a mould, usually offsite by a firm who specializes in this work. There is a structure inside the mold, built for the purpose, around which the lead forms. This structure has threaded rods exposed on the top of the keel. These rods, now resembling bolts, after the lead is poured, ultimately are inserted thru holes in the bottom of the boat, nuts and washers are installed and tightened up. This work demands a high level of engineering in order to ensure the design of the component pards, the details of the welding, the particular properties of the steel used, is sound and seaworthy.

SUMPS: These are pretty common in the J-boats product. I find them to be a double-edged sword. They certainly allow a collection place for the water that inevitably enters any sailing boat. The intention of course. And so it is easy and through for the automatic bilge pump to bail out the boat. this is certainly convenient on general. The downside to me is there is a box on the bottom of the boat, that must be glued TO the boat with sufficient integrity to resist the gyrations of the keel, leveraged by being on the bottom of the box, commonly 20 -24 inches below the box hull connection. Lever arm indeed.

Any grounding requires inspection and possibly repair, rising to the level of serious depending on the circumstances of the grounding. Running into a rock at 7 knots does all manner of nasty things to the hull and framing structure too, again driven by the leverage of the keel. I have seen the interior of a J-105 so damaged and it ain’t pretty.

AGING:

The encapsulated method is pretty bullet proof in my estimation. My own Ranger 33 is so built and there are no cracks at the keel hull joint and no keel bolts to fret over. The downside is if there is a grounding, and the laminate in which the keel is held is penetrated, water can get inside the “keel” and can be an ongoing pain in the neck. Any repairs to such a keel need to ensure the water is all evacuated and te area is really properly dry, before closing the hole.

Keel bolts method: This technique has been around for ages and was how the keels on wooden boats were affixed, “in the day”. The issues here that a grounding can damage the structure to which the keel is attached and bend the keel bolts. In any event, when preparing for offshore sailing it may be worthwhile having the keel bolts examined by Non-Destructive Testing. This is roughly like an ultrasound as when your wife is pregnant. Roughly the same looking tool and similar looking pictures result.

An upside for a bolt on keel is they are able to be replaced in the event you find the need to.

THE RUDDER:

Rudders have some kind of structure inside the rudder itself, usually a metal fabrication with flanges spreading mainly aft from the rudder post. For production boats the rudders are made from, or in a mould. The rudder post and fabrications are put into the mold, and foam is into the mould also. The foam is faired off and the fiberglass is applied to the mould.

Issues: Any water ingress into the fiberglass/foam area, from age, cracking, the various dings we manage to inflict on our boats, generates corrosion on the metal fabrication parts.

The Rudder post/Bearings/Bushings

The rudder post enters the hull and extends up to the area where the designer says he wants it to exit to attach to the tiller. In the older boats, like my Ranger, so pre 1970 say, and tiller steered, the stainless rudder post enters into a fiberglass tube, glassed-in that is fixed to the boat between the inside skin of the hull and the inside skin of the cockpit. This tube may or may not have an inside bushing of some slippery plastic, or sometimes simply grease or similar lubricant.

This bushing tube method is a fast way of getting the rudder/steering system installed into the boat, assuming the steering is to be tiller.

For a boat with this arrangement using a wheel, the fiberglass tube stops some distance away, down, from the inside of the deck and there is a watertight cap on the glass tube. The quadrant affixes to the shaft, now exposed between the cap and the underside of the deck. The tube needs to be more vigorously reinforced of course.

A wheel steered boat has a quadrant, a pedestal, various sprockets with the chain running over them, connections to wire, large cast bronze sheaves in fittings bolted (or screwed) to structure all on order to lead the steering cables to the quadrant.

ALL THIS NEEDS TO BE INSPECTED, PULLED APART AND MAINTAINED. PERIOD.

The Edson company in New Bedford, MA., has a great library of information on how to do this. USE IT.

RUDDER BEARINGS: Later and or more sophisticated boats will have a pair of rudder bearings, one on the inside of the hull skin at the hull and one at the under-deck side of things. The rudder post fits into these bearings. IF tiller steered, the post exits far enough above the deck/cockpit surface to get a tiller on it. If wheel steered, the same menagerie of wires chain and pullies pertains, all arriving on the quadrant bolted to the shaft.

One feature of this exposed rudder shaft engineering to contemplate is this:

In the event of the boat hitting something with the rudder, the resultant force has the possibility of several things happening.

Simple damage to the rudder, breaking off a piece of it.

Breaking the rudder and the shaft away from the boat.

Leveraging a big hole on the area around where the post transits the hull.

This latter event leverages a decent sized hole in the bottom of the boat. The bottom bearing is the fulcrum when something hits the rudder. Such damage and the resultant even small hole, which it will not be, will let an awful lot of water into the boat in a very short time.

Very few boats are built to withstand this amount of water entering at speed.

Bilge pumps will not do it.

The answer to defending against sinking in this situation is to have a watertight bulkhead between the rudder post and the rest of the boat’s interior. This gives the crew a fighting chance of keeping the boat afloat and to effect repairs.

The most common boats so engineered are the oceanic racing boats. The IMOCA 60 footers, the massive Tri’s, called Ultimes that the French race, Class 40’s, boats used in The Ocean Race, and similar beasts.

Only one production boat I know of has such a structure, the J-121. I know an owner whose boat is still sailing after an incident with the rudder, a collision with something, creating such a hole. He and his boat were saved from sinking due to this bulkhead. He was towed in by the ever-watchful USCG.

So, the foregoing presents the idea of what the prospective offshore sailor need be thinking about in advance of casting off. This series will follow the cited systems and areas to insect, modify upgrade repair and to otherwise think about.

Thinking about such an adventure?

Are you getting The Exit Plan up on the fridge door?

Need some guidance?

Give me a shout,

401 965 6006

Coop.joecoopersailing @gmail.com This is my preferred email.

(The WP email system is not to my liking)

Broken mast! What next?

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Joe Cooper

Breaking a mast is by no means outside the realm of possibility on a sailing boat. Even if you have done everything right yourself there are always outside factors, never more so when racing. And frankly it even happens to the US Navy.

During the New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta, 10-12 June 2016, the race committee sent the IRC classes offshore from Brenton Point. Among the boats racing were two boats from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. These so called Navy 44’s, now about twenty years old were purpose built training boats used by the Academy for, certainly sailing, but team building, offshore sailing experience, resources management and leadership training. All skills these young sailors will be called upon to use for the next twenty years at least. A wise man, a pilot, once said to me any one can fly a plane in a straight line, it is knowing what to do when something goes wrong is the trick.

And so it is with sailing. What do you do when something goes wrong? When it DOES go wrong is not the time to find out. For a successful recovery from any incident there needs to be a plan in place for all hands to follow. Nowhere is this a more needed component of sailing than with the Naval academy midshipman due to the generally low level of sailing background and experience the Academy students have compared to the passages they make and the responsibilities they take on.

I was racing on the same course as the Navy boats and when the Race Committee abandoned racing for the day, after the wind piped up over 30 knots true, we all made our way in. On our boat we heard some traffic on the VHF about a boat with a broken rig but were occupied with keeping our own house in order and so did not really think about the dismasted boat for a few minutes.

As we motor-sailed towards Castle Hill it became clear the dismasted boat was one of the Academy 44’s. The first thing that struck me was that the mast was on board. This is generally a rare situation, masts go overboard most often to leeward and so are usually cut away and lost to the sea. Hummm, I wondered, what happened here? What was different about this dismasting that allowed the Midshipman to get the spar on board……?

This post is the result of an interview with the Commanding Officer of the 44, Midshipman James Reynolds, (entering his senior year at the Academy) a couple of days after the incident.

The wreckage of the broken mast lashed down on top of Defiance. Carina’s bow went up across the side deck & smashed the hand rail.

I was particularly interested in the dynamics of the crew for several reasons. One is the Navy sailing squad is commonly populated by students with not much, if any, sailing background. In this case Midshipman Reynolds had the most sailing background growing up sailing Opti’s, 420’ and, living in New Jersey, scows on Barnegat Bay. Of the 9 Midshipman aboard, including two women, one of whom was the executive officer on the boat, about half had some time on the boats and at sea. So by and large an inexperienced crew, arguably less experienced in absolute terms than perhaps any crew in the regatta.

Then there was the fact that the mast was on deck, an unusual aspect to a dismasting. On the other hand we are talking about some of the brightest and capable young men and women in the country who are being trained and groomed for major leadership roles in the United States Navy and so broadly speaking on behalf of the US in general.

The Mid’s did well to secure the spar. That was just about the third order of business after a head count and inspection below to make sure the hull was not holed. You can see the dent in the toe rail as well as some of the scratches. Probably due to the angle of heel AND the classically raked bow, Carina did not penetrate the hull.

Midshipman Baldwin outlined the process where by non-sailing freshman are introduced to sailing starting with a few hours of classroom instruction. They then move to hands-on sailing in the Academy’s fleet of Navy (Colgate)26’s. From this sailing the ‘big boat’ teams are selected based on criteria including aptitude and initiative.

A review of the Academy’s sailing website demonstrates the details in which the Midshipman are instructed and the goals including-The following paragraph is a Cut and paste from the site:

Offshore sailing serves as an ideal platform for team building, small unit leadership, and seamanship skill development. All planning and decision making involved with day sailing and long distance transits and racing is made by midshipmen team members. Skills developed include navigation, strategic planning, resource management, vessel maintenance, weather tactics, and racing strategy.

A broken mast is one of The Eight Events* for which crews on sailing boats in the ocean (even only a few miles offshore of Brenton Point) must be familiar.

The broken end of the spar. The mast head was extended about 20 feet aft of the boat.

So, on with the story:

On the way out to the start the breeze was in the 18 to 20 knots true from the north-west. Baldwin told me that there was a pretty standard team meeting that covered the action for the day, what to expect, especially with the breeze at hand and the forecast for stronger winds later in the day and the admonition to be aware of the loads, do not stand in the bight of a line, double check what you are doing and to be steady and careful.

The incident occurred on the second upwind leg of the first race. Defiance, the Navy boat was sailing up wind on starboard tack in about 20-22 knots of true knots wind with a full main and number three set.

The impact tore the standing rigging right out of this carbon fiber laminated chainplate.

Mid. Reynolds, acting as tactician and so not steering, saw Carina, the venerable McCurdy and Rhodes 48 footer sailing upwind towards them on port tack and determined a crossing situation was in the offing. He made the ‘starboard’ call and Carina responded by easing sail’s and steering to pass astern of the Navy boat. Baldwin is not one hundred percent certain exactly what caused the next event, but thinks that Carina was knocked hard by an errant wave (there was a nasty chop left over from Saturday) that hit Carina hard and pushed her up to where she collided with Defiance.

Defiance being on Starboard tack was rail down to Carina and so the latter, with her classically raked stem, slid up the deck of Defiance, damaging the toe rail, smashing the hand rail pushing a winch of its mounts, hitting and breaking the boom close to the gooseneck and ripping the lee side chain plates out of the boat. The force of the collision pushed the Navy boat up into the wind, with the result that the mast fell more or less directly aft, landing on the aft rail. This answered the ‘how did they get the mast aboard’ question, since it never actually went overboard.

It broke in two places, right at the partners and about 12 feet up the mast. The crew was of course hiking out on the weather rail and scrambled to avoid being hit. The after most crew member actually jumped over board so as to avoid the spar crashing down around him. He had the presence of mind to hang on to the lifelines as he did so and so ended up hanging onto the boat and he was promptly gathered back aboard.

The bow of Carina penetrated all the way to the boom, which was smashed to.

I asked what happened in the first few second after the mast fell. First action was a head count. Reynolds ended up in the cockpit, on the floor and could account for half the crew in his vicinity. The XO was further forward and reported all hands aboard and un-hurt, although in a few minutes one of the crew was taken below with what transpired to be concussion. Next step was to dispatch a hand down below to make sure the boat was not taking on water. Parallel to these activities, all in the first few second, the ships Safety Officer, Jon Wright took command of the boat. Not surprisingly, working for the Navy Offshore program Wright has vast experience across all manner of boats. What happened within the next thirty seconds?

The stainless steep protector around the Dorade was not spared either.

The stainless steel guard rail around the Dorade box was not spared either.

The crew emerged from under the sails. The bowman and foredeck hands started to work on getting the sails secured. The top 20 feet or so of mast was lying across the stern rail and dipping in and out of the sea, aggravating the situation with the mast flailing around on deck. They were able to get the headsail secured but had to cut the mainsail at the first reef, luff to leech after which they could remove the mainsail from the mast. Next task was to work on securing the mast. The boat was now sideways to the sea and was rolling heavily and so aggravating the situation with the mast in and out of the sea.

I asked if the actions were all on initiative or on instruction from Wright, (known almost universally as JW)? A combination of both was the answer. The crew had had sufficient instruction and, while not actually handling broken masts, training in what to do. The lee rigging, now disconnected from the boat was fortunately lying in the water, minimizing further potential damage to crew and boat from flailing wires.

One of the crew radioed the Race Committee advising them of the incident. The RC responded by sending the Windward mark boat to assist.

One of the crew remarked on having been hit, feeling lightheaded and unwell. She was dispatched below under the care of the XO, the other young lady in the crew. Once ashore she was diagnosed with concussion.

Within five-ten minutes the spar was secured along the centerline of the boat. The remains of the boom had been freed but discarded. The wheel had been damaged when the rig hit it and was out of commission so the emergency tiller was rigged.

The wheel was bent as the spar landed and so the Mid’s rigged the emergency tiller.

In a brief conversation with Rives Potts the owner skipper of Carina, I asked him if he had the opportunity to make any observations of the navy crew’s response. Potts told me that Carina immediately lowered sails and stood by. Once they ensured their people were OK and the boat sound, Potts had the opportunity to follow the action on Defiant. He remarked on the calm and professional way the young Navy sailors conducted themselves. ‘There was no yelling or shouting, they looked very cool and collected, and went about securing the boat although they scuttled the boom. It seemed like they had the mast secured very quickly. All in all a very impressive piece of work by young sailors’ he told me.

In a separate conversation with Jon Wright, again a pretty quick one-he and Potts are, as I write, preparing to go to Bermuda and the forecast is for hard winds-He concurred with Potts in the calmness with which these young sailors conducted them selves. He confirmed Reynolds remarks that the first order of business was to make sure every one was on board and not injured. Closely followed by an inspection down below for hull security. He agreed with Potts with the view that the actions and demeanor of the crew were very calm and professional. The crew worked together, with different members proposing solutions to the micro problem in their particular area.

The take away from this discussion and incident?

Planning, preparation and a game plan.

At one of your off season crew gatherings, walk the troops through the eight events, noted below, and work up an Actions Plan for each one. The Navy sailors were fortunate to have this accident in broad daylight, 4 miles offshore and moderate sea. These circumstances may not be in place if your rig comes down.

*Coopers Eight events:

In the Junior Safety at Sea seminars produced by the Storm Trysail Foundation, I cite the following events as situations for which there needs to be established plans and protocols.

Dismasting, holing, man overboard, medical emergency, abandon ship, fire, rudder or steering failure. (They sound the same but are a bit different in the required response.)

During the Storm Trysail Foundations junior SAS every year, local high school sailors are introduced to the issues surrounding operating a big boat in a safe and seamanlike manner. Here, Sheila McCurdy, the hugely experienced former Commodore of the Cruising Club of America and multi-time Bermuda Race participant discusses some of the safety equipment used on big boats.

Newport to Bermuda Race-What sails?

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Joe Cooper

Sails for offshore and the Newport to Bermuda Race:

The Newport to Bermuda Race, sailed in even numbered years and it’s counterparts that are sailed in odd numbered years, The Marion to Bermuda Race and The Bermuda 1-2 are something of a right of passage for many US sailors, especially those in the north east. While not particularly long in terms of famous ocean races, the weather across the track can make for some pretty hard going, more so for the unprepared. The Bermuda race is roughly the same distance as the Sydney to Hobart race and the Fastnet race but as has been seen in both these races distance is not the only factor to contend with when preparing to race (sail) ‘only’ 650 or so miles.

The Newport to Bermuda Race committee is rightly proud of their safety record (only one loss of life in the race’s history) and so the organizers hunt and peck from a variety of sources and mandate a few of their own safety regulations in some cases.

The default regulations for offshore sailing, including things like required equipment, the boat’s structure and training are the Offshore Special Regulations, known as offshore regs.

Front cover of the World Sailing Offshore Special Regs, aka the ‘Offshore Regs.’

This booklet-sized document contains these regulations promulgated by International Sailing Federation, ISAF, now called World Sailing. It covers all manner of particulars to do with getting to the finish in the same boat you started with and all the same crew you started with. It is EXTREMELY hard won information and a very informative read for anyone thinking of going maybe anywhere in a sailing boat.

It is however somewhat Euro-centric in that everything is cross-referenced to an ISO number. For the layman it is a bureaucratic black hole. To make things a bit easier for US sailors US Sailing started a few years ago to develop their own prescriptions for requirement for races in the US. The result is a document a normal person can read and defines the gear required for the boat for three categories of racing, not six, called by USSailing: the Safety Equipment Regulations (SER’s) and the three categories are Ocean, Coastal & Nearshore.

Finally the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee list their own requirements based on their very extensive research, surveys after each race and the vast experience in some very un-hospitable areas of the worlds oceans of the members of the CCA.

In the view of some the safety requirements for much of the Offshore Regs. are becoming more and more complex. I have over the past few years been told by at least two people I can think of that they are stopping doing offshore races due to the rigmarole and cost of the safety kit.

Regardless, the requirements for sails have generally remained pretty stable for several years. There are really only two principal changes to sails lately: Storm Jibs and Storm trysails manufactured after 1 Jan. 2014 are required to be ALL high visibility, usually orange, in color. So, the sail requirements for the Newport to Bermuda race are as follows.

There are three required sails and an assumed fourth one, the mainsail.

REQUIRED SAILS

The three required sails are: a Storm Jib, a Storm Trysail and what is called a Heavy Weather Jib. These are very specifically defined in the safety equipment section of Bermudarace.com. The mainsail has only one requirement and that is:

3.33.1 Reefing: A yacht shall have mainsail reefs capable of reducing the area of the sail by an amount appropriate for the weather conditions possible on the racecourse.

This phraseology is intended to push back to the owners and the master, the responsibilities for going to sea. This is in fact embedded in the Racing Rules of Sailing and RRS Rule 4 is here:

DECISION TO RACE

The responsibility for a boat’s decision to participate in a race or to continue racing is hers alone.

From a practical and seamanship perspective, contemplating sailing across this course on a boat with only one reef, would be a risk, way riskier than the reward of a few pounds less weight in the mainsail.

The Heavy Weather Jib (HWJ) is from a sailmaker’s perspective and design and engineering wise, are ‘merely” small, flat and heavily constructed jibs. But they must meet the rules for HWJs though which are-for the Newport to Bermuda Race:

3.33.3 Heavy Weather Jib:

A yacht shall carry a heavy weather jib (or heavy weather sail in a yacht with no forestay) of area not greater than 13.5% height of the fore-triangle squared.

In practice it turns out that on many, if not most boats an forestay sail, like the one seen on this Bristol 41-1 suffice as the Heavy Weather Jib but you should do the calculations or have your sailmaker do them, ideally with you.

Forestaysails commonly qualify as Heavy Weather Jib

A line item in the HWJ definition from World Sailing Offshore Regs is:

‘A heavy-weather jib (or heavy-weather sail in a boat with no forestay) with: area of 13.5% height of the foretriangle (IG) squared and a readily available means, independent of a luff groove, to attach to the stay.’

In practice this means grommets installed at suitable intervals in the luff of the sail immediately aft of the luff rope that enters into the headfoil on the boat.Thru these grommets may be passed lengths of line suitable for lashing the sail to the headstay in the event of damage to the foil.

The “alternative methods” of securing the sail to the stay has been edited out in the Bermuda race’s own rules. This now abandoned rule stems from the days of aluminum head foils being damaged by spinnaker poles bashing into them, rendering it impossible to get a sail up the foil. Today’s headfoils are made from plastic and spinnakers much less likely to be set on poles but at sea if something can fail, and this is everything, there must be a Plan B.

In the case of the HWJ, having your sailmaker install grommets up the luff so the sail can be secured to the foil (by short lengths of line premade for the purpose and stored in the emergency took kit, right?) is a very good idea. You can also leave the lines in the sail permanently because IF the foil fails AND you need to set this HWJ, having the lines already installed will be a lot easier than having a couple of crew sitting in the bow lacing the lines they the grommets for 30 minutes or so. And as a practical matter their presence will have zero impact on the performance of the sail for those thinking abut windage

Here is another Cooper TIP too. Backup grommets are something to think about for all headsails. Apart from the fact the head foil will not get un-busted when the breeze abates and having a way to set headsails is generally a good idea in an ocean race there is another utility made available by such grommets in the luff.

During the headsail changing process sails so equipped can have a length of light line woven back and forth, Dutchman like, through these grommets. The bottom end is made off with a figure eight knot so the line does not pass thru the grommets. All of this does a couple of things. It helps keep the luff of the sail forward in the flaking process. It offers a way to tie off the bulk of the forward end of the sail. This gives the crew at that end of the procedure a bit more freedom to wrestle the sail back into its turtle. If push comes to shove, a sail can be tied off to the boat at the forward end and it is perfectly possible for one man or woman to get a headsail into a turtle by themselves. Just ask anyone who did the sewer on a 12-meter, back in the day. Finally when changing back to this sail as the wind diminishes, the upper end of this line can be temporarily tied off until the sail is really ready to get hoisted. This makes it a bit harder for the (forward end of the) sail to go over the side.

STORM SAILS:

Sail offshore long enough (and or sail with no reefs in the mainsail) and you WILL meet conditions that will require all your seamanship skills, those of your crew AND small sails. The Newport to Bermuda Race requirements for the storm sails are:

3.33.2 Storm Trysail:

A yacht shall carry a storm trysail, with the yacht’s sail number displayed on both sides, that can be set independently of the main boom, has an area less than 17.5% of “E” x “P”, and which is capable of being attached to the mast. Storm sails manufactured after 1/1/2014 must be constructed from a highly visible material. Commonly this is an orange, yellow or pink material.

Trysail sheeted to boom

A trysail sheeted to the boom: The traditional sheeting method for trysails is to lead the sheets to the quarter blocks in the stern. This causes chafe, where the sheet passes over the life lines, results in a poor shape when the sail is eased, leaves a lot of sail flapping around in tacks or gybes or needs more people to perform these manouvers. A very viable alternative is to set the trysail off the boom as seen above. In this case a reef lines is used. HOw ever the sail is set one must be on constant guard for chafe.

3.33.4 Storm Jib:

A yacht shall carry a storm jib not exceeding 5% of the yacht’s “I” dimension squared, and equipped with an alternative means of attachment to the headstay in the event of a failure of the head foil. Storm sails manufactured after 1/1/2014 must be constructed from a highly visible material.

Storm sails built after 2014 are required to be a high visibility color.

The decision to set a trysail or not (and how to lower and stow it, don’t forget) is largely driven by the size and type of boat and by extension the skills of the owners and crew. The age, physical dexterity, strength, skill, sailing ability, seamanship and experience are all factors in sail handling in these conditions. And the last two are not always the same as sailing skill. One magazine article cannot address the many variables in methods for using and lowering a trysail let alone the variables on the course.

I would strongly recommend practicing as often as you can with all the crew and especially in crappy, windy weather doing all the evolutions and especially reefing and headsail changes.

Frankly the forgoing requirements for racing boats present very sound information for anyone bound offshore. AND yes, I get that people don’t want to carry Storm Sails around but they have uses outside of conditions over 50 knots.

Next up, what sails do I NEED for the Bermuda races

Safety at Sea seminar

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Joe Cooper

On Saturday 07 Feb 2015 at the Safety at Sea seminar, produced by LandfallNavigation, I will be presenting a section on sails & sail fibers. This nearshore Safety at Sea seminar is being held at the Mystic Seaport in Ct. from 0800-1630

The following is a table of the basic properties, sailmakers are interested in, of the fibers currently used in making sails. In an earlier day, this information would be distributed at the event, but today, well it is here.

The information is from the North Sails website attributed to research by their cloth people

Polyester (Dacron)
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
80 – 120	5 – 8	6 mo.	0%	$2	Racing & Cruising Sailing
Pros: Tough, durable, inexpensive, many weights and finishes.
Cons: Relatively stretchy compared to aramids.
PEN (Pentex)
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
250	10	5 mo.	5%	$7	Club Racers & Cruisers
Pros: Fits between Polyester and Aramid in performance and cost.
Cons: Cannot be woven tightly, best used in laminates.
Kevlar 29 Twaron SM
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
600	23	3 mo.	25%	$15	Regatta Racing Sails
Pros: Light weight, low stretch.
Cons: Low flex and UV resistance.
Kevlar 49 Twaron HM
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
940	24	3 mo.	28%	$18+	Grand Prix Racing Sails
Pros: Light weight, very low stretch.
Cons: Low flex and UV resistance. Expensive.
Carbon
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
1200 – 2500	20 – 40	No effect	30 – 100%	$15 – $100	Grand Prix Racing Sails
Pros: Very light, extremely low stretch, good UV resistance.
Cons: Brittle, low flex resistance.
PBO (Zylon)
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
1600	36	1.5 mo.	30%	$60	Grand Prix Racing Sails
Pros: Extremely low stretch and light weight.
Cons: Low flex and very low UV resistance. Expensive.
Spectra / Dyneema
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
1100	34	7 mo.	No effect	$25 – $35	Premium Cruisers
Pros: Very strong and durable.
Cons: Creep limits racing applications.
LCP (Vectran)
Modulus (gr/denier)	Tenacity (gr/denier)	UV Resist. (mo. to 50% strength loss)	Flex Loss (% in std. test)	Cost ($/lb.)	Uses
580	28	1.5 mo.	No effect without UV	$25	Premium Cruisers
Pros: Good flex when protected for UV.
Cons: Requires complete UV protections.
Modulus: Stretch resistance per weight. Higher is better for upwind sails.
Tenacity: Breaking strength per weight. Higher is better for sails.
UV Resistance: Strength loss in a standardized exposure test.
Flex Loss: Percent breaking strength lost in an industry standard 50 fold test.

Safety @ Sea Seminar Mystic Seaport Museum

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Joe Cooper

Save the DATE:

Saturday 7th February 2015

At the Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic CT.

Cooper will be presenting on sails and sail cloth during this one day seminar.

For more information, read on, call or email me, joe@joecoopersailing.com

Cheers

Coop

LANDFALL TO HOST NEAR COASTAL SAFETY@SEA SEMINAR

US Sailing Certification Offered at Mystic Seaport on Saturday, February 7th

November 6, 2014 – Stamford, CT – Landfall, the nation’s leading marine outfitter and safety expert, will be offering the US Sailing certified, Near Coastal Safety@ Sea seminar at Mystic Seaport on Saturday, February 7th from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The hands-on seminar provides both novice and experienced mariners with the skills and information needed to safely navigate coastal waters from Long Island Sound to Cape Cod and the Gulf of Maine.

Topics covered during the seminar include:

Seamanship: Ralph Naranjo
Preventing and Managing Hypothermia: Sarah Hudson
Crew Overboard and Distress Signals: Mark Bologna
Modern Sails for Cruising and Racing: Joe Cooper
Damage Control: Will Keene, President
Communications: Eric Knott
Modern Sailing Clothing: Jerry Richards
Life Raft Demo: Capt’s Henry Marx & Mark Bologna

The event will be moderated by renowned sailor and instructor, Captain Henry Marx, the owner and President of Landfall Navigation. Captain Marx has more than 40 years of sailing experience on both coasts of the United States, the North Sea and the Caribbean. Captain Marx will be joined by a panel of experts including Ralph Naranjo, Instructor, Annapolis School of Seamanship and Editor at SAIL magazine; Sarah Hudson, Professor of Shipboard Medicine, Maine Maritime Academy; Capt. Mark Bolonga, Lead Marine Safety Equipment Specialist, Landfall; Joe Cooper, President and owner, Joe Cooper Sailing; Will Keane, President, Edson Marine; Captain Eric Knott, Safety Manager, Moran Towing; and Jerry Richards, National Sales Manager, Gill North America.

“95 percent of boating accidents happen less than 3 miles from shore,” stated Capt. Marx. “This seminar is designed for local boaters, sailors and cruisers and conducted by sailors and experts in their fields and upon completion, all attendees will earn an Official Near Coastal Safety at Sea Certification from US Sailing.”

“This was one of the best planned and executed seminars I have had the pleasure to attend,” said one 2014 participant. “The speakers were top notch, erudite as well as interesting.”

The Near Coastal Safety@Sea seminar is being held Saturday, February 7th from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m at The River Room at Latitude 41º Restaurant at the Mystic Seaport. For more information on the event visit: http://www.landfallnavigation.com/sasmystic.html. To register, visit: http://www.mysticseaport.org/event/safety-at-sea-seminar/

Offering unparalleled experience and in-depth product knowledge, Landfall has been the leader in marine safety since 1982. For more than 30 years, Landfall has been supplying sailors, boaters and fishers with the gear they need to arrive alive. Through the Marine Training Center (www.marinetrainingcenter.com), Landfall offers a comprehensive curriculum of additional classroom courses for recreational and professional mariners on topics of boating and seamanship. For more information, visit www.marinetrainingcenter.com, or call 1-203-487-0775 x21.

About Landfall

Landfall, formerly Landfall Navigation and The Dinghy Locker, is the nation’s leading specialist in offshore, inshore and sport-boat outfitting, navigation and marine safety. The company’s retail store, website and catalog offer a broad selection of gear from leading marine suppliers. Through the Marine Training Center (www.marinetrainingcenter.com), Landfall offers a comprehensive curriculum of classroom courses for recreational and professional mariners on topics of boating and seamanship. For more information, visit Landfallnav.com, or call 1-800- 941-2219.

About Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum is home to four National Historic Landmark vessels, including the Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship and the last wooden whaleship in the world. The museum is located one mile south of Exit 90 off I-95 in Mystic, CT. Admission is $24 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-17. Museum members and children 5 and under are admitted free. For more information, please visit www.mysticseaport.org.

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Sailing coaching, consulting and instruction, crew training, sailing systems & techniques for solving sailing's challenges. Call Coop at 401-965-6006

Category Archives: Safety at Sea