Solo Sailing to Weymouth in Rough Conditions
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- A four day trip in my Trapper 28 to Weymouth and back. I did the trip there solo and my friend Michel joined me for the return leg. Day 1 was perfect sailing conditions, force 4 north west wind so I made great progress to Studland Bay. Day 2 was forecast the same but turned out to be westerly force 5 gusting to 6. Very big steep waves that got worse as I got further offshore. I was trying to get around Lulworth ranges as they were active but I was worried that some was going to break in the worsening conditions so I made the decision to head inshore. After I tacked to head offshore, the range boat told me to leave the area (which I was already doing). Made it into Weymouth Harbour to meet Michel for a well earned dinner and drink at the pub. We left early on day 3 to tried and make it before the tide turned. Wind was initially very gentle and downwind so it was a nice relaxing sail through my battleground yesterday. Unfortunately we were a little slow and the tide turned as we reached Durlston head so we had to hammer the engine to crawl round the corner and make it to Studland Bay. It was quite choppy in Studland Bay so we decided to spend the night in Poole Harbour. We left the following morning to head back to Southampton. We had a great sail through the Needles channel and up the Solent and just as we got to Cowes the wind died so we had to motor back into Southampton Water. I dropped Michel off at the remains of the boat show so he could walk to the station and retrieve his van from Weymouth. A fun and challenging trip where I learnt a lot!
Follow our boat on NOFOREIGNLAND:
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I find it a lot more comforting to keep my hatches closed during heeling in heavier seas. Never messed up enough to put her on her side, but seeing how fast and open companionway will flood a boat is not an option I've ever wanted to experience.
Interesting point. Some boats do, some don't. I been on the side in three boats. A Space Sailor 27, a Northshore 38 and a Jeanneau 43 DS, none got water down the companionway. My boat, a Feeling 416 has had a wave straight down there from the stern. I recall Mythbusters trying to sink a yacht by tipping it on its side, it was almost impossible to get water down the companionway. Actually Yachting Monthly had a video where they rolled a cruising boat a couple of times. Worth a look ruclips.net/video/Gqe1Sxa2GXo/видео.html
It tells me never to have a boat with an offset companionway.
I never cross any ocean bar with anything open, we also keep the washboards in at night.
What a great prospective looking out a window at the sea state job well done Sir !
I do that trip quite a bit in my boat- you did well- that is real sailing in a small cruiser- good on you!
Thanks for sharing this. Great confidence in your boat and love the onboard music 😁 looks like a bit of an epic adventure 😁
This is a really complicated way to wash the boat.
well done, especially whith that nice tiny boat. greetings from Sardinia, sooner or later I'd like to sail there...
Good lad, Sail The Cloth Brother!
Cool trip! You had your decks nicely washed :) Fair winds!
Decent sailing footage and conditions,well done.
Have you considered doing next years 2023 jester challenge to Baltimore? ⛵️?
I'd love to do that one day but I don't think my boat is sound enough to cross the pond quite yet!
@@RichardChambers it's to baltimore Harbour in southern Ireland
Great video. 28ft of fun!
The look of your tiller shows your boat is well balanced
The boat flatters me, they are little diamonds.
Epic sailing conditions! Michel joined for the fair weather sailing and I don’t blame him!
winch handle alert! Hatches open alert!
Nice sail.
It’s amazing, scary but yet free being in such a small boat in such a big body of water. But I get it and I understand that sense of freedom that comes with it. I wish you happiness and safety on your adventures.
Well done
It's nice to watch a video of an English man in a small boat in typical English weather enjoying himself and not banging on..
Your boat handled that sea well. What is she
She is a Trapper 28, brilliant little boat for sailing, if rather a small cabin for her length. I now have a Centaur which is two feet shorter and three times the size down below. Doesn't sail anywhere near as nice though.
loved the footage, very nice, but you may want to keep that traveler car down in those winds
Looks like you had a great trip. Been wondering about the excessive heal of your boat and looked at your sail trim about 5 minutes 30 seconds in. Assuming you are close hauled or almost, the main halyard could do with some more tension; try flattening the main with the outhaul or reefing line (unsure of your set-up), then move the main traveller further to leeward. The genoa car appears too far back with the genoa reefed; I'd move them forward at least a foot. Do you have an adjustable backstay? Also, experiment with that.
Thanks for the tips, everyday is a school day. No adjustable backstay, although the rig is set pretty tight with some backwards curve in it so should have been good for those conditions. The reefing line was an hard as I could make it, but there is no winch for that as the lines are on the boom. Definitely need to experiment more with the traveller.
I know you are supposed to move the Genoa car forward when you reef but I thought that if you were overpowered you could spill wind at the top with it further back than optimal?
I definitely love to experiment with sail trim but it was tricky on my own so I was trying to pinch up in the gusts to keep the heeling under control. I wasn't always successful as the video shows, although I did pick the most dramatic bits of footage of course!
Thank you for the tips, I really appreciate you taking the time. I'm self taught and haven't been on many other boats so your comments are very useful.
Just watching the section at 5.30 again. I wasn't hard on the wind in that clip so the main sheet was eased a bit. My kicking strap setup is really crap so you can't get much tension on it, an upgrade I want to make. After that I was hard on the wind and the main was sheeted in hard which was a much flatter sail. I definitely needed to ease the traveller though. I had one reef in the main and the Genoa was rolled in to about first reef position. After those clips I did reef the Genoa further but didn't move the car forward so the shape would have been even worse then.
@@RichardChambers With the genoa car forward, the genoa sheet should be at a 90-degree angle to the genoa luff; forces are applied more evenly as you otherwise risk tearing the genoa. You want to avoid fully flattened sails in the chop you were in, as the boat would stall otherwise.
Fair winds!
The way to tell if your genoa cars are right is the telltales. If the top is ok and the bottom ones are fluttering, move the car back, if the bottom one are streaming and the top fluttering, move the car forward. So bottom - back, top - forward. (Thanks Pip Hare).
Putting a lot of pressure on the kicker is nerve wracking stuff in fresh conditions. I do main trimming on a 45 foot race boat and when a kicker block explodes, you know it's too hard on.
Thanks for the video, some good stuff, but could you leave your text on the screen for a little longer so us ordinary folks have time to absorb the information.
Thanks. I'll make sure to leave the text for longer next time. When you are staring at it for a while whilst editing, you forget how long it takes to absorb it on the first go.
@@RichardChambers thanks Richard. Lots of folks do the same which is infuriating for folks like me who don’t read at lightning speed. Great video though, keep ‘em coming. Thanks.
I have never sailed but always wanted to, maybe at 56 theres still time to start lol. How long did it take you to be confident to go solo?
loved the video, will be searching out more
I have been sailing for five years but didn't do much in the first few years. I had a friend teach me the basics but the rest I have picked up through books and RUclips, I haven't done any formal courses yet. If you want to start quickly then a course is probably the best way, or try and crew on other people's boats if you can. I would say that 56 is quite young in the sailing world so you have plenty of time to start!
I did my first solo this year after sailing for two years, and I am 58! You can do it. It is the greatest feeling. Just be prepared in your mind and work out all the details ( raising sails, etc) of how to do everything your self before you go out. I have a couple videos on my channel of my first and second solo sails. Its never too late to start a new adventure!
i have a trapper 500 ive sailed that rout many times portland race was a night mare ,i have her in france now in the med , i try not to get the gun rails in the water , always do when gusty . i have a roller main hard to reef at sea . i also have a old ys8 would love to swap for a 1 gm
I'd love a Trapper 500 for the extra space. The Trapper 28 sails lovely but the tiny tiny cabin is a hard sell for the family for more than a day sail.
@@RichardChambers try to get one with a 1 gm or even better a 2 gm . The yse8 is so under powered . I’ll be honest I use her like a caravan a lot of the time .
@@MrPaulcoster94 Mine has a 1GM10 and I don't think I would want less power than that!
@@RichardChambers I’m jealous my engine is on its last legs . Such good engines
very cool -- can I ask what was your average speed in your legs? I assume you showed snapshots of top speed in the video? thanks~
Yeah those were tidally assisted top speeds, never going to get that in a non planing 28ft boat. My fastest day was day 1 where I averaged 6.2knots from Southampton to Studland. The day two upwind bash to Weymouth was 5.1knots. Day 3 was 3.5knots (missed tide gate), and the last day was 5.7knots.
@@RichardChambers thank you -- those are some adventurous conditions -- I'm solo sailing on a 30ft right now but I usually average 4-4.5 kts but in easier conditions -- I'm also kind of afraid to have more sail up -- your video is awesome and useful/reassuring to me~
To be honest having more sail up doesn't get you more speed, you just heel more usually. I had more sail that I probably should have on the second day because I was trying to power into the waves. Once I tacked I did reef the Genoa in more and the heeling was less and the speed was no lower. Without playing the tides here I would say that 4 to 5 knots would be a good average for me so it sounds like you are doing just fine. We can get 6 knots tides where I sail so it can either make for some impressive speeds, or going nowhere if you time it wrong.
@@RichardChambers thank you -- I hadn't considered the tides -- here in the Baltic Sea we virtually get no tide and don't have to consider it at all -- thanks for your insights much appreciated~
Nice video, but 9.7 knots in a Trapper 28? I can't see it...
Speed over ground, tides are pretty strong in the Solent 😉
What engine is in that Trapper?
ｐｒｏｍｏｓｍ
I like this kind of video : no blablabla, just sailing ! Thanks for sharing.
Wow!, I'm seriously impressed. That outward journey was well outside my comfort or experience level. You handled it well. Really look forward to more of this, thanks for posting it 👍
I'm impressed that you know your limits. There are a few people out there that don't. Like me when I was young. Talk about getting into trouble that was very hard to get out of. Kay Cottee said that she was off sailing in 38 knots and it was like pleasant sailing conditions for her. Sailing in 60 knots plus in the Southern Ocean does that to a person.
Haul the main up by hand and use the mast winch at the end to taughten it.
Keeping a second winch handle at the mast base is a good idea too.
Bungee it down or rig it onto the mast, depending on your space / preference.
I watched this with a view to seeing footage of the entrance and channel into Weymouth.
You may find that yotties visiting the English coast will follow your channel / subscribe etc if you include pilotage aspects ... fair winds and calm seas to you.
one of the best sailing blogs ive watched for ages, superb. You certainly are at one with your boat.
Amazing video bud. I do know Southampton waters, they can be a pain. I’ve been back on land 18 months now and it’s not for me so buying another boat next year. I’m subscribing
beautiful sailing area, a picturesque coast... sailed there the same way and was envious of the locals !
Handled well, thanks for sharing 😎
I find it's not necessarily the conditions themselves that are a concern but the worry about equipment failure at such a time. In my case it was the thought that every rivet on the mast and boom was 40 years old and I didn't know true condition of the rigging, chainplate U bolts and their backing pads? Following a bad experience with a failed rivet which released all the reefs a while back, I no longer take any chances. The risk of equipment failure is ever present but if you can rule out age and neglect it's one less thing on your mind when at the helm in a heavy sea.
How about buying some fluffy stuff for the microfone? Even a demolished synthetic hairy toy can work great. This BGGGGGGG GGGGG sound is not necessary at all, nowadays.
Great real world small boat sailing footage...Dark, wet, blowy and pretty uncomfortable. Billiant!
That’s some rough conditions for sure!
Blasting QOTSA during a sail looks epic
Well done, great video, I am planning to do the same journey this coming spring
Well done Richard. Regards Rob
Looks like fun and boat was taking the ride in it's stride.
Dude I'm in portland rn 😂
Fun to watch
Hi, Thanks for that. My friend had an identical trapper 28 in weymouth for many years. Name. Sundowner.
I'd love to find some other Trapper 28's. Seems to be loads of Trapper 500's but I have never seen another 28.
Interesting bud, i almost bought a Trapper 28. I liked the layout. Unfortunately the boat had been on the same site for 10 years. Long sold. If you don't mind I'll sub, I'd like to see more.
Thanks. It is a great sailing boat, strong and fast. The only downside is that the accomodation is a bit cramped for a 28ft boat, no standing room inside at all.
NIce mate, seriously need to get some reefs put into my boat.... just started into sailing and the wind can change really quick up by Bangor
We started out racing for a whole year and didn't know that reefing a sail was a thing. We only sank once.
I love sideways sailing
Awesome sailor
I loved the vlog.. also liked the rails in the water.. you had a lean going there.. are you using sheet to tiller steering?
Not sheet to tiller, I have a Simrad tiller pilot that I bought cheap secondhand. This was actually it's first proper outing and it is a game changer. It makes raising and lowering the main singlehanded so much easier. And it did surprisingly well in the rough conditions too. After I tacked to head back inshore I was cold and wet, the tiller pilot enabled me to go below to change and warm up. Previously I would have had to heave to.
Balls!
Looks like a few times I spent on lake Michigan.
You wouldn't think that a lake would ever get that rough, but then I guess we don't have lakes that big here.
Listening to Muse?
Great sailing video!
There was definitely some Muse on the playlist! I was listening to Queens of the Stone Age during the rough bit by St Albans Head though, Smooth Sailing 😂
@@RichardChambers Sounds like an epic playlist for sailing. I used to be able to play 'No One Knows' on drums before the wheelchair. Suppose I still can technically, just no energy now.
Bought a 25 footer though. Looking forward to epic sailing playlists myself.
What is the name of the boat?. I think i know it.
It's called Shoestring but it used to be called Sunjae. We are based in Southampton Water.
Is that a snapdragon?
No, it's a Trapper 28.
the headpicture is "clickbait" tilted and in reality the sea is not the problem , but getting into port could be risky
I did Lymington to Weymouth with Steve.
Nice one Richard, brought back memories of flying ballard and out to old Harrry, sketchy on the way out, was dropping like a stone until I got to the end, could have been interesting dropping in the drink there. I'm just getting into sailing myself, not got a boat yet but I'll be very interested to hear more of your adventures. Thanks for sharing! Looked epic👍
I've flown out over Old Harry too and it was nice to see it from a different perspective. The boat is out of the water for some maintenance at the moment but you are welcome to come for a sail next year.
@@RichardChambers I may well take you up on that one day Richard, probably see you on the hill first 👍
Why is your boom so much longer than the unreefed mainsail foot?
Probably because the boat is over 40 years old, who know if the boom is the original one. I know the mainsail is fairly recent.
No life jackets really bad practice sailing should not be on you tube £8oo pound if life bout come out to you not good.
What on earth are you on about? Look again, I am wearing a self inflating life jacket with built in harness, and I'm tethered to the cockpit. The only time I wasn't wearing a life jacket was when I was with my friend and that was in flat water within swimming distance of the shore. I also have automatic lights and a PLB on the lifejacket.
yes... makes you wonder how we survived when it was left to common sense...
@@RichardChambers GEOFF "NOT SO" BRIGHT.
Its a myth, jackets and tethers solo will not save you. Far better to be free and learn not to fall over in the first place.