61
SVN Solovelanet Global
1. Head Up in a gust until the foward third
of the mainsail flaps but avoid going into iron,
specially if you have a cerwmember working on
the foredeck because this will level the boat
2. Traveler downwind near to the end of the
railway in order to keep more control on the
leech and reducing water helm.
3. Ease the mainsheet a few inches to incre-
ase twist on the top half reducing the heeling
angle.
4. Trim headsails cars and sheets the fur-
ther forward you move the car, the less twist
there will be in the leech of your headsail and
vice versa. On furling headsails you need to
move the cars forward as you furl to mantain
the leech tension.
5. Heaving-to before setting a reef, is not a
racing solution but could be useful to make the
reefing evolution easier and avoid stressing the
crew and the boat avoiding pitching, heeling
and less sea spray.
6. Reduce sailplan by reefing the main to
conditions and chnging headsail or furl to re-
duce. Now could be the occasion to consider
to set the storm jib instead a semi furled jib.
7. Slow down and mantain control of the boat
by changing course on a downwind point of sail
in order to sail flatter providing more conìmfort
and safety to your crew. Consider heaving-to in
severe seas.
Top tips
Staysail and
Storm Jib in a
cutter rigged yacht
are a good com-
bination in strong
winds
By sailing on
broad reach or
on dead run, you
can level the boat
and avoid surfing
waves
One of the
strongest emo-
tions to expe-
rience in these
windy conditions
is surfing on the
wave
When sailing
in strong winds,
there is always a
danger of broa-
ching or bearing
off
Stefano Cioni, Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor
at the Royal Yachting Association, MCA Ma-
ster, MCA approved Yacht Surveyor
Training Skipper at the Sir Robin Knox-John-
ston's Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
The author
Despite the
rough sea and the
strong wind, this
boat has found
the proper balan-
ce between the
angle to the wind
and the amount of
canvas to
