When such knowledgeable
and experienced sailors as these two make a statement like that, it behooves us
to listen well.
"As the
weather worsens you may get seriously alarmed by the behavior of the
ship," they said. "Make some attempt to render the cockpit partially
watertight by filling it with spare sails or cushions; get down the headsails
and then the mainsail. The ship will
then lie broadside-on in the trough of the sea and will bob over the waves like
a cork. You will probably be amazed at the safe and easy way in which she rides
— but, and there is a substantial but, the tops of the waves will slop over the
stern and the crests will break with some violence into the cockpit. It is not
likely that they will break up things yet, but if the cockpit is not watertight
a dangerous amount of water will get below.
"When
you no longer dare to lie "a-hull," i.e. without any sail set, either
because too much water is coming in aft, or because you fear that the breaking
crest will stave in the hull, you must put her before it. Get out two warps,
tie bundles of old rope, motor tires or cushions on the ends and pay out on
each quarter. Tie up the clew of the foresail in a bunch and hoist the head a
few feet. With the aid of the helm the ship will pay off and forge slowly ahead
before the wind. Lash the helm amidships or as seems best. The ship will yaw
six points on either side but will ride the seas with surprising security. A
breaking crest will occasionally strike her, perhaps once or twice in an hour.
Her stern offers less resistance than he side, and being struck end-on, she can
recoil more easily.
"The
slower you are moving through the water, the safer you will be.
"If you
allow the ship to run too fast you will probably get a big sea breaking into
the stern (pooped). When you feel the ship carried along with the waves and not
quickly responsive to her helm, you should slow her down.
"We do
not think that a keel yacht when lying a-hull is in any danger of being
capsized."
Well, I must
say that I have lain a-hull in ordinary gales and weathered them quite well
(that is, without excesssive panic), but when the seas grow very large I
believe there is indeed a danger of capsize, especially when your boat begins
to be picked up and thrown bodily to leeward.
Then, as
Graham and Tew said, it's time to run before it. The trick is to know when to do it, not to
leave it too late. The other trick is to arrange to have plenty of sea
room. It's not much use running before
solid water if you're going to run into solid land.
Today's Thought
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject
ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it.
— Samuel Johnson
Tailpiece
"Dad,
what's bigamy?""Well, son, it's when two rites make a wrong."
(Drop by every Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
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