sailboat in bad weather

• Practical Boat Owner
• Digital edition

Heavy weather sailing techniques: how to protect your boat in storm conditions

• August 13, 2024

Øyvind Bordal and Magne Klann explain the steps you need to take to protect your rig and sails when the weather turns

If the boat and crew are well prepared, then the risks of sailng in storm conditions are severely reduced. Credit: David Hancock/Alamy

There is every reason to have respect for really rough weather, be it a gale, strong gale or storm-force winds. However, with a well-prepared boat with an experienced crew, there is statistically very little risk, writes Øyvind Bordal and Magne Klann .

Sails and trim will also affect safety and comfort. The single most important thing you can do for safety when it comes to storms at sea is not to be on the water at all when the weather gets really bad.

Good weather forecasting is important, along with the will and ability to postpone or cut the trip short, even if it causes troublesome changes to your plans.

The risk of serious problems is also significantly reduced if the boat is robust and in proper condition on the essential points: rudder , keel , through-hull fittings, rigging , sails and engine .

In other words: The most important safety feature is preparation: things you do or don’t do while the boat is still in port.

Of course, in spite of good intentions you can find yourself at sea in weather you’d not have chosen to be out in.

Here are some thoughts on how to handle that situation, with regard to sails and rigging.

Heavy weather sailing: Secured rig and sail plan

To handle a storm safely the rig has to be secure and correctly tuned . It really pays off to have a good base trim and sufficient rig tension.

The next point on the list is to adapt sails to the conditions.

Make sure not to ease the backstay too much for the conditions, especially on open wind angles

Sails used in really bad conditions should be designed and made for them, but once in the situation you will of course have to use whatever you have on board.

Reefing to adapt the size of the sail area is priority number one and this should be done in good time.

Even simple and small tasks will become very difficult once the storm hits. All work on the foredeck will be hard and not entirely safe.

If there are storm sails on the boat, rig and prepare them as early as possible.

Heavy weather sailing: Damage control

In these conditions trim is not so much about speed.

Still, it is important that the boat is moving forward effectively, especially if conditions worsen and there is an opportunity to find shelter, reach port or get out of the weather system.

The main thing is to prevent injuries and technical problems.

Take care not to overload or damage the equipment you will need to sail the boat. This goes for the whole boat and also when reefing, bending sails and working on the rig.

Heavy weather sailing: Stabilizing the mast

The base trim and a tight backstay should ensure rig tension in all directions.

Do not ease the backstay much on open wind angles, it is more important to stabilise the rig than to optimise the sail profile.

Check regularly that the mast is straight sideways and has a proper longitudinal pre-bend.

If you notice anything strange, ease the sheets immediately to depower the sails and examine the situation more closely.

If a shroud breaks on the weather side, the mast will come down very quickly, but if a fault is detected before it totally gives way, you can save the rig by coming about in a hurry, so the damage ends up on the leeward side.

Now the mast can be stabilised with halyards attached to the chainplate or toe rail and tightened up as hard as possible.

A broken lower shroud can be ‘imitated’ with a halyard led under the spreaders and preferably also a turn around the mast.

This will rule out the use of the mainsail but could save the rig. The mid-section of the mast must never bend backwards, which can happen when the mainsail is deeply reefed and there is not enough tension in the backstay.

If possible, the midsection of the mast should bend slightly forward.

Any kind of pumping or jerks in the mast must be avoided, if at all possible.

Tighten check stay and baby stay if the boat is rigged with these.

Reef at all angles to the wind

Reefed sails should also be trimmed. A simple yet essential check is that the halyard and reefing line are tensioned properly.

This provides a flat open sail with the deepest point well forward, which is what you need.

The sheeting point for the headsail must be adjusted until the sail twists properly – too little will increase side force; too much could ruin the sail (flogging top/leech).

Remember to tighten the leech line – it will make your sails last longer. Credit: Graham Snook/YM

Also, remember to tighten the leech line. If the sail is allowed to vibrate in the leech, the life of the sail will be greatly shortened.

The noise from vibrating leeches is also a stress factor for the crew.

It is equally important (but not as obvious) to reef on open wind angles. Lateral forces are less and boat speed greater, so it feels much quieter.

This is however a false impression.

As conditions worsen, it may become difficult to reef or reduce sail and you could lose control over the boat.

Please feel free to take the mainsail down on open angles – and if not, use a preventer.

Balancing with the mainsail

In rough weather, it’s important to keep balance in mind. It’s usually a good idea to have relatively low pressure in the mainsail compared to the headsail.

Upwind, the boat heels a lot, especially in gusts and when hit by waves. You’ll be able to steer the boat better with the centre of effort well forward.

The jib sheet should be tight, but allow the sail to twist. Still, the headsail should not be too flat.

The optimal sail in storm-force conditions is a very small sail, but with some profile. This provides a wider track and smoother progress.

If the boat heels over too much, and the mainsheet has been released, steer into the wind to balance the boat

The waves will throw the bow around a lot and precise steering will be difficult.

The mainsheet should be set rather loosely but keep a very tight backstay. The mainsail is usually reduced to a tool for balance, not speed.

If a gust heels the boat too much, even with a released mainsheet, steer into the wind.

Ultimately, if needed, ease the jib sheet too. If this happens a lot, it’s a signal the boat is overpowered for the conditions.

Releasing the jib sheet should be a ‘last resort’.

If the waves are more on the nose on one tack than the other, point high on the tack where waves are more from the side and lower on the tack where waves are more on the bow.

Pressure point in the sails

Downwind it is even more important to move the centre of effort forward.

This will keep the bow down with the wind and reduce the chances of a broach and ultimately an involuntary gybe.

If the boat is heavy on the helm, do something about it. Sheets are the first place to look.

Weather helm is often a signal that the mainsail should be eased out, reefed or taken down.

Heavy weather sailing: Storm sails

A trysail is a storm sail that can be used as an alternative to a fully reefed mainsail – but it is actually very rarely used in practice.

Make sure the trysail is rigged before the heavy weather hits

If it is going to be of any use, it requires two things: firstly, that it has been tried out beforehand, so you know the procedures, sheeting point etc, and secondly that it is rigged and prepared before the storm sets in.

If the boat is rigged with a furling headsail, as most boats are, it could be a challenge to set a storm jib.

If you sail on the open sea or want to be prepared for foul weather, it’s a good idea to have an inner forestay or cutter stay, where you could hank on a storm jib.

Hanks are the most reliable system. There are also storm jibs that can be set ‘flying’, ie with the stay integrated with the sail, often with a Spectra line.

They require a solid mounting point on the foredeck.

Other storm jibs are designed to wrap around the rolled-up furler, with a kind of pouch in the luff.

Storm jib alone is a good plan for open wind angles. Credit: Fernhurst Books

Feedback from people who have a lot of experience sailing in rough weather suggests that these storm jibs do not necessarily work that well in practice.

The simplest yet most risky option is to sail with a small piece of furling headsail out.

It will work well on open angles and not so well close hauled, but the risk is that the furling line could break, or that the system becomes overloaded and the whole sail gets torn out of the roll.

There are major forces at play. To find yourself with a fully unfurled genoa in a storm is a difficult and dangerous situation.

If you sail with a reefed furling headsail instead of a storm jib, it’s a good idea to secure the furler with a strap to prevent it from rotating.

Boats rigged for ocean passages sometimes (if they intend to use a trysail) have a separate track on the mast for the purpose.

If setting a trysail requires that the mainsail slides are taken out of the mast track, or if the trysail has to be rigged above the lashed mainsail, then it will be very difficult to rig it in a storm.

Heavy weather sailing: Storm strategy

Credit: Fernhurst Books

Running with the weather

A lot of seasoned sailors would argue that the best survival strategy for extreme weather is to go with the wind and waves.

Sailing with just a small storm jib can be a sensible setup. You could also drop all the sails and sail only on the rig.

To run with the weather assumes that there is room enough downwind, however.

Experienced sailors are always careful not to sail too close to a weather (lee) shore if there is a risk of extreme weather.

They will either seek shelter before the weather gets bad or head far out to sea, with plenty of space to sail with the weather – for several days if necessary.

Avoid placing the boat square to the wind and waves. Breaking waves can turn a boat over if it is beam to.

In very high seas you should try to limit your speed down the waves. Long, heavy ropes streaming astern can help and can also curb breaking waves to a certain extent.

A risk when running with the wind and waves is that the helmsman eventually will get exhausted and that sooner or later you’ll experience a violent broach or knockdown.

Moreover, you are sailing many miles in a direction that’s not necessarily a good one.

Still, to sail with the weather will be the easiest choice and could also be the right decision in less dramatic circumstances.

Even if the situation may not be dangerous, it will often be a good idea to turn around and sail back with the wind, or change the destination to somewhere downwind.

Heaving-to is an old, traditional way to survive harsh weather.

Modern boats are not always designed and balanced in a way that makes the technique suitable and the method is rarely used these days.

But with a traditional, long-keeled boat, it may be relevant to heave-to and wait for better weather.

You should try it out in controlled conditions, to know how your boat reacts.

This is how it is done: when the boat is sailing close-hauled (upwind) you initiate a normal tack, but leave the jib sheet attached so that the jib is backed.

The mainsheet is loosened and adjusted so the boat balances, but without the mainsail contributing much to forward progress.

Practice heaving-to before you need to use it while heavy weather sailing. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

The rudder is hard over, steering the boat into the wind. The backed jib now forces the boat to leeward, while the helm pushes the boat to windward.

The idea is that these two forces will counteract each other and keep the boat in balance.

When this works as intended, the bow will be pointing at a 45° angle towards the waves and wind, with hardly any speed ahead, but also without drifting much.

The boat will now deal with the waves relatively well.

The rudder may be locked in this position, so the whole crew can theoretically remain below deck until the weather improves, maintaining a proper lookout.

In extreme weather, the boat might be knocked down by the forces in the backed headsail, but nonetheless; many have safely weathered a storm this way.

Using a sea anchor or drogue will keep the boat’s bow towards the waves, reducing the risk of a knockdown

A drogue or sea anchor helps to keep the bow towards the waves.

The rope should be long and with stretch and the sea anchor should preferably be in step with the waves, so the boat and drogue are on top of a wave at the same time.

Safety while heavy weather sailing

• Stay on board. In other words: Hold on! Be aware and take care when you move about on deck. Use a harness when conditions demand it.
• Use a lifejacket , preferably one with a personal emergency beacon, so that you can easily be found if you should fall in the water.
• Be aware of the boom when the boat sails downwind, especially in high seas. Use a preventer, make sure the helmsman is focused and that the crew knows what an involuntary gybe is. Avoid a dead downwind run, especially with any kind of mainsail up.
• Check if the boat is taking on water, either through leaky or defective through-hull fittings, piping systems, deck hatches or elsewhere. Don’t forget to concentrate on navigation!

Additional reading:

Øyvind Bordal and Magne Klann have written extensively about sail trim and rig care in their book Sail and Rig: The Tuning Guide , which is published by Fernhurst Books (£18) and available at fernhurstbooks.com

The book provides a clear understanding of the dynamics of rig and sail and how to get them working together in harmony. Professional riggers, sailmakers and elite sailors were consulted for the book, which is suitable for both beginner and experienced sailors.

Continues below…

Sailing in storms and squalls

One crew's brisk breeze and exciting sail can be another's gale, even if sailing similar boats. So what makes the…

Heaving to: a question of balance

How tricky is heaving to, and how much does it vary from boat to boat? We tried four different hull…

7 Storm Jibs on test

We test 7 storm jibs, including wrap around and sleeved sails, to find out the best options for your boat

Broaching on a boat and how to prevent it

When the breeze picks up, how do you stop your boat taking charge and going where it wants? David Harding…

Enjoyed reading Heavy weather sailing techniques: how to protect your boat in storm conditions?

A subscription to Practical Boat Owner magazine costs around 40% less than the cover price .

Print and digital editions are available through Magazines Direct – where you can also find the latest deals .

PBO is packed with information to help you get the most from boat ownership – whether sail or power.

• Take your DIY skills to the next level with trusted advice on boat maintenance and repairs
• Impartial in-depth gear reviews
• Practical cruising tips for making the most of your time afloat

Follow us on Facebook , Instagram, TikTok and Twitter

• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Newsletters
• Sailboat Reviews
• Boating Safety
• Sails and Rigging
• Maintenance
• Sailing Totem
• Sailor & Galley
• Living Aboard
• Destinations
• Gear & Electronics
• Charter Resources
• Ultimate Boating Giveaway

Storm Tactics for Heavy Weather Sailing

• By Bill Gladstone
• Updated: November 15, 2021

Storm tactics can be roughly defined as the ways to handle a storm once you’re in it. There are several proven choices, all of which intend to keep either the bow or stern pointing toward the waves. No one tactic will work best for all sailboats in all conditions. As skipper, it will be up to you to consider the best approach for your vessel, procure the right equipment, and practice with it before it’s needed.

Here we look at some active storm options that might work when conditions are still manageable and you want to actively control and steer the boat. Crew fatigue is a serious consideration when using active tactics.

Forereaching

Although not often mentioned as a tactic, it can be highly effective for combating brief squalls or moderate-duration storms. Here’s how to set up your boat for forereaching: Roll the jib away (especially if you have a large roller-furler genoa set); reef the main down to the second or third reef position; and sail on a closehauled course, concentrating on keeping the boat flat. It will be a comfortable ride, everyone will be relatively happy, and you will be making 2 to 3 knots on a close reach. Check your course over ground because increased leeway will cause your track to be much lower. This is a possibly useful tactic to claw off a lee shore. Note that not all boats will be at ease forereaching, so you’d better experiment with it ahead of time. Catamarans in particular will lurch and demonstrate much-increased leeway.

Motorsailing

Sometimes it’s necessary from a time or safety perspective to stow the jib and fire up the iron genny instead. Motorsailing lets you point high and make progress to windward. Motoring with no sails will not work well (or at all, in some cases), particularly in big seas, but a reefed mainsail will provide lateral stability and extra power. Trim the main, head up high enough to control your angle of heel, set the autopilot, and keep a lookout. Fuel consumption makes this a short-term option.

Here’s a tip: Make sure cooling water is pumping through the engine. On some sailboats, the water intake lifts out of the water when heeled. A further difficulty is that the pitching boat might stir sediment off the bottom of the fuel tank, which can, in turn, clog the fuel filter.

Running off and drogues

Sailing under storm jib and a deeply reefed mainsail or storm trysail provides the most control. If you don’t have storm sails, a reefed jib will give you the power to steer and control your boat in the waves. The boat must be steered actively to maintain control because no autopilot will be able to do this.

If excessive speed is a problem and steering becomes difficult, towing a drogue will slow the boat. A retrieval line should be set from the head of the drogue for when it is time to bring it back on board. If you don’t have a drogue, trailing warps might help slow the boat.

In a storm of longer duration, or when conditions become otherwise unmanageable, the situation might call for a skipper to consider passive storm tactics. When you are exhausted and you just want to quiet down the boat and maybe get some rest, there are other boathandling options available, depending on the sea state and the ­equipment you have onboard.

Heaving to can be an excellent heavy-weather tactic, though some boats fare better than others. Wouldn’t it be great if during a heavy-weather episode you could just slow everything way down? Imagine a short respite with a reduced amount of motion from the relentless pitching and pounding. A chance to regroup, make a meal, or check over the boat. Well, you can.

Heaving to allows you to “park” in open water. Hove-to trim has the jib trimmed aback (that is, to the wrong side), the reefed main eased, and the helm lashed down to leeward. The easiest way to do this is to trim the jib sheet hard and then tack the boat, leaving the sheet in place. Trimmed this way, the jib pushes the bow down. As the bow turns off the wind, the main fills and the boat moves forward. With the helm lashed down, the rudder turns the boat toward the wind. As the main goes soft, the jib once again takes over, pushing the bow down. The main refills, and the rudder pushes the bow into the wind again.

RELATED: Safety at Sea: Mental Preparations Contribute to Positive Outcomes

Achieving this balance will require some fine-­tuning, depending on the wind strength, your boat design and the sails you have. You might, for example, need to furl the jib most of the way in to match the wind strength. Trimming the main will ensure that the bow is at an angle to the waves, ideally pointing 40 to 60 degrees off. Modern fin-keeled boats do not heave to as well as more-traditional full-keel designs.

When hove to, the boat won’t actually stop. It will lie, as noted, about 40 to 60 degrees off the wind, sailing at 1 or 2 knots, and making leeway (sliding to leeward). Beware of chafe. When hove to, the jib’s clew or sheet will be up against the shroud and might experience wear damage. Monitor this regularly, and change the position of the sheet occasionally. You might not want to heave to for an extended time.

Deploying a sea anchor

A sea anchor is a small parachute deployed on a line off the bow. A sea anchor helps keep the bow pointed up into the waves so the boat won’t end up beam to the seas. Light displacement boats will pitch violently in high seas, and chafe and damage might occur to the bow, so setting up a bridle and leading it aft through a snatch block will allow the boat to lie at an angle to the waves, providing a more comfortable ride. A big concern when using a sea anchor is the load on the rudder as the waves slam the boat backward. Chafe on the sea-anchor bridle is another big factor, so the bridle must be tended regularly.

Remember, if you and your vessel are caught out in heavy-weather conditions, as a skipper, you must show leadership by setting an example, watching over your crew, offering relief and help to those who need it, and giving encouragement. Remember too, discomfort and fear can lead to fatigue, diminished performance, and poor decision-making. Don’t compromise the safety of the boat and crew to escape discomfort.

Few people get to ­experience the full fury of a storm. Advances in weather forecasting, routing and communications greatly improve your odds of avoiding heavy weather at sea, but you’re likely to experience it at some point, so think ahead of time about the tactics and tools available to keep your crew and vessel safe.

Heavy weather might not be pleasant, but it is certainly memorable, and it will make you a better sailor. Take the time to marvel at the forces of nature; realize that the boat is stronger than you think.

Happy sailing, and may all your storms be little ones!

This story is an edited excerpt from the American Sailing Association’s recently released manual, Advanced Cruising & Seamanship , by Bill Gladstone, produced in collaboration with North U. It has been edited for design purposes and style. You can find out more at asa.com.

• More: Anchoring , How To , print nov 2021 , safety at sea , seamanship
• More How To

How to Read the Wind

After the Haulout: First Things First

Redundancy of Thought

Keys to a Successful Haulout

Northern Exposure

The Pelagic 77 Amundsen is Delivered

The Boat Refit Edition: Next Season’s Upgrades

New Boats on Deck

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

The Worldwide Leader in Sailmaking

• Sail Care & Repair
• Sailing Gear
• Find A Loft
• Sail Finder
• Custom Sails
• One Design Sails
• Flying Sails
• New Sail Quote
• 3Di Technology
• Helix Technology
• Sail Design
• AEROTECH Spinnaker Cloth
• NPL RENEW Sustainable Sailcloth
• Sailcloth & Material Guide
• Polo Shirts
• Sweaters & Cardigans
• Sweatshirts & Hoodies
• Accessories
• Shop by look
• Mid & Baselayers
• Deckwear & Footwear
• Luggage & Accessories
• Fall Winter '24
• Slowear x North Sails
• Scalpers + North Sails
• Les Voiles de Saint Tropez
• North Sails x 37th America's Cup
• 727 Sailbags
• T-shirts & Tops
• Sailor Jacket
• Sustainability
• North Sails Blog
• Loft 57 : North Sails Podcast
• Sail Like A Girl
• North Sails + Scalpers
• 37th America's Cup
• Icon Sailor Jacket
• Our Locations
• Certified B Corporation
• North Foils
• North Kiteboarding
• North Windsurfing

SAIL FINDER

SAILING GEAR

COLLECTIONS & COLLAB

COLLECTIONS

WE ARE NORTH SAILS

ACTION SPORTS

Popular Search Terms

Organic cotton

Scuba fleece

Drawstring hood

Utility pocket

Stand collar

Sorry, no results for ""

Subscription

Welcome aboard.

We want to make our emails as relevant as possible for you.

Interests saved

Something went wrong, please try again

Welcome to North Sails

Stay up to date with the latest North Sails news.

Receive a 10% discount code for your first apparel order. Excludes sails and SUP’s. See our Terms and Conditions .

Yes, I agree to the terms of use and privacy policy.

HEAVY WEATHER SAILING TECHNIQUES

How to sail well in strong winds.

We covered the Basics of Heavy Weather Sailing already; now it’s time to look at techniques to help you sail well in strong winds, which will increase your range and confidence. Harnessing the power of the wind and battling the waves while maintaining control can be exhilarating; some consider it the ultimate sailing experience.

How to Depower

The challenge in heavy weather is to depower enough to keep control, but not too much to fight the waves that come with heavy winds—and to maintain sufficient speed. The slower you go, the longer it will take you to get to your destination.

Depowering techniques include flattening sails, increasing twist, and reducing angle of attack; these are the first steps in dealing with increasing winds. When these methods are not sufficient, stronger measures are called for.

The waves that accompany strong winds can be as big a problem as the wind itself. Waves make depowering tricky, as sailing underpowered in waves can leave you at their mercy. The challenge is to keep enough power to handle the waves, while still maintaining control.

And pounding upwind against building seas can be more than unpleasant; it can be dangerous, as the motion batters the crew and equipment.

There are several ways to reduce pounding. First, add twist to your trim for a wider steering groove. This will allow you to steer around the biggest waves. Next, change speeds. Sometimes sailing faster will smooth out the ride, as you power through the waves. Ease sails a bit, and bear off a couple degrees.

Another option is to slow down. If the boat is leaping off the waves, then shorten sail and slow down to keep the boat in the water.

You can also improve the boat’s motion through the waves by moving weight out of the bow and concentrating it amidships—as low as possible. Before going out in big seas, consider moving the anchor and rode off the bow and stowing them below, perhaps in a couple of big canvas bags.

Another option to consider is picking a new destination. Do you really need to go upwind in these big waves? Let’s reach off and go somewhere else!

Adjust Your Speed

As mentioned above, sometimes slowing down a little can dramatically improve the motion and comfort of the boat. At other times, adding power and speed to help you steer around the biggest waves can improve the ride. Often adding twist by easing sheets just a couple of inches will help the boat find a wider steering groove which will, in turn, help you find a smoother path through waves. If the motion is bad, then experiment to improve it.

Shorten Sail: Smaller Jib First

If depowering the sailplan is not enough, it’s time to shorten sail. In heavy winds, a well-trimmed reefed boat can provide much better speed, control, and comfort than an over-canvased boat. And the first step in reducing sail area is to reduce your jib size. Generally, less sail area in the jib with a full-sized main means better speed, higher pointing, and more control in waves or gusts.

Depending on your set up, you can reduce jib size either by changing to a smaller sail or by roller reefing your genoa.

Roller Reefing

Roller reefing genoas make it possible to shorten sail without changing jibs, a nice convenience especially when short-handed. Foam or rope luffs and other refinements have vastly improved reefed sail performance, but the shape of a reefed genoa will still not be as good as an unreefed one. And to protect the life of your sail, be sure to leave a portion of the tack patch exposed to handle the loads along the foot.

As the genoa is rolled, adjust the jib lead to maintain proper sail shape. To remove the guess work from heavy air lead position, make marks on the foot of the genoa for your first and second increments of rolling—after perhaps 3 and 6 rolls on the headstay—and then mark the jib track at a position that makes the telltales break evenly top to bottom for each setting.

Two Jib Inventory

A sail inventory that includes a full sized genoa and a smaller working jib can provide a great boost in performance, control, and comfort in heavy air. Of course it means buying an extra sail, which will require the room to stow whichever sail is not rigged— and it means an occasional sail change. But the shape of a smaller jib will provide better performance and control than a rolled up genoa.

Change Early

Whatever your setup, make the change to a smaller jib early – as soon as the thought occurs to you – and while it is still relatively easy to do so. If you anticipate a breezy day, a smaller jib makes it possible to change while still at the dock or at anchor. And while it is only a small compromise in performance in moderate winds, it keeps sailing comfortable and fun in heavy air.

Reef the Main

Still overpowered with the smaller jib? The next step is to reef the main.

Tacking and Jibing in Heavy Air

The waves that come with big winds can make basic maneuvers challenging. When tacking, look for a relatively smooth spot, and start your turn as the bow climbs a wave. Push the helm over so that the next wave will push the bow down onto the new tack.

In extreme seas you may not be able to tack at all. In that case, you will need to wear ship or jibe.

Of course, jibing in heavy air is no picnic. Often the best way to handle the jib is to roll it up. A heavy air jibe is best accomplished at speed. As the boats surfs down a wave, loads on the sails are reduced. Use extra hands to jibe the main, and ease it quickly once it crosses centerline. Watch your course and steer to control the boat as it tries to round up coming out of the jibe.

Once under control, unroll the jib again. Use a winch to control the roller furling line while easing it out, as the load will be too great to handle barehanded.

Another Alternative: Motor Sailing

Perish the thought! This is a sailboat!

Well yes, but we’re not racing!

If you’re sailing under reefed main and rolled genoa and you are still overpowered, stow the jib and crank up the “iron genny.” Motor sailing into wind and waves under main alone provides a much better ride than motoring with no sails. (Save that for days with no wind.)

Motor sailing lets you point high, making better progress to windward, without the violent pitching of motoring into seas with no sails set.

Trim the main, head up high enough to control your angle of heel, set the autopilot, and keep a lookout.

What to Watch Out for When Motor Sailing

Make sure cooling water is pumping through the engine. On some boats, the water intake will lift out of the water when heeled. Violent pitching can also allow air into fuel line, which can stall the engine, and may require a bleed to get it going again. The pitching motion may also stir sediments off the bottom of the fuel tank, which may then clog the fuel lines or fuel filter.

Motoring with no sails set will probably not work in big seas. Sails are needed—at least a reefed main—to provide some stability and extra power.

Also to be avoided is motoring across a beam sea, as that can lead to violent rolling, or even a broach.

GET IN TOUCH

REQUEST A QUOTE

BROWSE ALL SAILS

FIND YOUR SAIL

Latest north sails news.

19 September

OFF-SEASON AND WINTER SAIL CARE GUIDE

17 September

FOUR KEY COMPONENTS TO OFF-SEASON SAIL CARE

Offshore sailing guide.

• Refresh page

10 Tips for Sailing In Heavy Weather

They say that calm seas never made a great sailor. Rough seas and heavy wind are just a right of passage for many. I however would argue that the best sailors are those who manage to avoid heavy weather entirely.

Reading a weather report and planning one’s voyage to avoid nasty weather is the best call of them all. But, if you find yourself under gloomy skies and heavy chop unexpectedly, then getting yourself back to shore becomes paramount.

Here are a few tips for bad weather sailing that have helped salty sailors stay safe.

Table of contents

1. An ounce of prep saves a pound of trouble

Whether it’s replacing the impeller before it goes bad or coiling lines properly before you head out, preparation is the name of the game when it comes to sailboats. They say that the average sailor spends 10 hours working on a boat for every hour sailing and that’s just about how it should be. Making sure everything is working and properly cared for is a full time job and if you're not putting in the hours to keep your boat in tip top condition, your boat will fail you just when you need it most.

Things to watch out for when prepping for bad weather include:

• Scuppers are clean and free flowing. An errant acorn or a wad of tape can turn an otherwise seaworthy boat into a bathtub. Heavy rain and/or crashing waves have been known to sink a vessel that could not properly ship water overboard. Take the time to make sure your scuppers can save your boat and your life in heavy conditions.
• An orderly boat is a safe boat and that includes properly coiling lines. If you don’t know how to properly coil a line then you should learn asap. You never know when you will need to cast off a line or drop a sail in a hurry. Making sure that all your lines are properly coiled ensures that a line will run freely without kinks or “ass holes” when you need it to.
• Engine maintenance is all too often forgotten on sailboats. In heavy weather, bare poles are sometimes much safer than sails and a good working motor can be the difference between life and death. Changing the oil, checking belt tension and visually inspecting through hull fittings should be part of common practice on your boat. Having back up supplies like an impeller, hoses and belts are also part of good maintenance and you should regularly check your supplies and replace them when they get used.

2. Reef early, reef often

If you read last week’s piece on reefing , you may think I am beating a dead horse. But I can’t stress enough the importance of reefing in heavy weather. A better alternative to reefing is using the right sail for the right conditions. Many a genoa jib has been reduced to shreds in heavy air when a skipper fails to change sails in a timely manner.

Much like reefing, which should be done before you actually need to, so too should you raise your storm jib and douse your main before the heavy weather starts. Making the call to reduce sail or go bare poles can be a life saving call when made at the appropriate time. If you don't know how to reef or have difficulty changing sails, you should refrain from sailing in heavy air until you have had a chance to practice in lighter conditions.

3. File a float plan

In this day and age with cell phones and email, we often think help is just a text message away. At sea, especially in heavy air, sending a text message or making a phone call can be impossible.

‍ Rain, wind and waves can kill a cell phone and if you doubt that, here’s a little virtual experience of sailing in heavy weather.

Put on all your foul weather gear, turn your shower on full blast cold and have your partner bring the garden hose into your bathroom. Then stand in the shower while your partner sprays you with the hose. For an even more real experience, crumple up $100 dollar bills and flush them down the toilet while you're at it. Then you will realize that using a cell phone in heavy weather is nearly impossible.

That is where the float plan comes into play. By leaving a detailed account of your planned voyage in writing with someone who cares about you, you will ensure that when you are late someone will miss you. And I can’t stress that you leave your float plan with someone who cares about you enough to miss you if you don’t show back up.

In the marina office where I currently work, one of our guests left a float plan with our staff saying that if they weren’t heard from by June 30th that we should send out a search and rescue mission. I found that note on the peg board in our office on July 22. I never heard if they made it back but didn’t see them on the news either so I am hoping they are safe.

But who knows, they may be stranded in the back of some canyon and 10 years from now we will hear about their amazing survival story.

4. Avoid glass and label your can goods

In rough seas, the galley becomes a battlefield. The pitch and yaw of rough seas and gusty winds can turn a dutch oven into a scud missile. Things like glass jars and wine glasses soon become shrapnel as objects fling themself out of cupboards and smash on bulkheads and cabin floors.

When I was buying my endeavour 42, I hired a delivery captain to fit out the boat and sail it from Tampa Bay to Marathon Florida. As part of his job, he needed to buy living supplies to stay on the boat for three weeks as we brought the boat north to Beaufort, NC.

He bought all sorts of cool things like new pots and pans and a full set of flatware. He also bought a very nice french press coffee pot with a tempered glass cylinder to maximize flavor and keep coffee steaming hot. That coffee pot cost me $50 and lasted barely a mile and half out of port when a wake launched that glass cylinder against the bulkhead. Glass is tough on a sailboat.

That being said, I do love storing dry goods in mason jars afloat. Sure they break often enough, but they are relatively cheap to replace and ensure a watertight seal for your flour, rice, beans, oats and other dry goods that go bad in salty places in plastic bags.

You can protect them in the cupboard with silicone webbing available at most big box stores and online megamarts. But who is really gonna indict Grandma’s go to for preserving peaches when all it costs you a $1 worth of oats when it crashes to the deck.

Another good alternative for heavy weather life aboard ship is can goods. They are battle tested and virtually impermeable, even when stored in dank old dark holds of a sailboat. The drawback with can goods is you have to open them to see what’s inside when the humidity and seawater peel off the labels and melt them into bilge sludge.

Do yourself a favor and label them before you put them in the galley locker. Three days at sea with water seeping into every uncaulked hole can make even the most astute seaside chef scratch their head when they pull an unmarked can from the hold. Is it creamed corn or is it canned peas? Do you want to have to open five different cans of food to find the canned tomatoes you were looking for? Label everything in advance with a good label maker .

5. Head lamps, batteries, and darkness

The first night you find yourself wedging your bags around your body to keep you in the bunk while you try to sleep, you will realize life aboard ship in foul weather is tough. And it becomes even tougher when the darkness sets in and you are trying to preserve night vision so the on duty crew can keep the boat upright while the winds and waves batter them on deck.

Headlamps and good batteries are a must. One hand is always for you and the other is always for the boat so if you have to carry a flashlight to empty your bladder on a pitching boat deck in the middle of the night, you will likely hurt yourself.

By strapping on a headlamp ( preferably one that has a night vision setting - you know the red light that is used on submarines in the movies), you will keep both hands free to move about the cabin and perform on deck functions. You will get so much use out of a headlamp on a boat that you ought to bring back up batteries for it and for any other battery operated things you might have like fans, radios and other items.

A darkened ship is a different world and to be safe at night especially when it is rough weather requires that everyone respect each other's night vision while underway. A good headlamp with lots of back up power will make your life so much better that you’ll want to go sailing sometime soon again, even if you step off the boat after this storm and say” I’m never doing this ever again.”

6. The ditch bag - your secret weapon

All cruisers who go off shore are familiar with the ditch bag. It’s usually a waterproof bag that holds your important papers, credit cards, passport, medication, cell phone and other important stuff you might need if the boat goes down. But you don't have to be on a cross Atlantic blue water adventure hailing a mayday to enjoy the benefits of a ditch bag. When the weather turns foul, a waterproof ditch bag is a great place to put all your important stuff to keep it from getting saturated.

The nice part about a personal ditch bag is you can put anything you want in it. It will be there if the boat goes down, but it will also be safe even if the boat doesn’t go down and it just gets soaked by an improperly dogged down hatch or porthole. There are all kinds of good ditch bags and ways to protect your stuff, but one I really like and I am happy to call my friends is UGO.

It’s a neoprene carrying case for your cell phone and keys, but now they have an even larger tablet version which can hold even more stuff. But what’s so great about a waterproof carrying case for your phone you ask? Well this one floats just in case your vee birth fills with water and all you stuff get saturated in a pile on the deck.

You can rest assured that your wallet, cell phone and keys will float at the top of the pile and stay safe and dry in a UGO dry pouch. To be totally clear, Mel and Vicky are really great friends of mine, but I would advocate for UGO even if I didn’t know them because it’s just such a cool idea. You can check them out at most of the boat shows to see these things in action or head over to their website .undefined

7. Reach out to someone - from the middle of nowhere

Since I'm talking about great ideas and better deals let me also introduce you to the newest deal in Satellite Phones.

For far too long, Sat phones have been the privilege of the well-to-do who were not so well connected. If you wanted to go where the wild things were, you had to give up your connection to civilization or pay $1000 for a sat phone.

Since moving to Utah, I have found out how hard it is to make a call when service is spotty and quite frankly if I had had one of these phones on a few of my deliveries offshore, I wouldn’t have had so many run ins with bad weather- more on that in the next section.

While a brand new sat phone with data will run you upwards of $2000, Amazon has a refurbished sat phone for just $200 and plans for just $90 per month for Global Star and Nexus Wireless. We found this to be quite affordable and provide us with a ton of peace of mind while we are either on a mountain top in Utah or 50 miles off the coast of Florida.

Now I am not saying this phone will allow me to live stream to Facebook from the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, but what it will do is allow me to stay connected with shore, get weather updates and ensure I can reach help if I ever need it.

A Sat Phone should be part of everyone’s heavy weather operational plan and if you have any questions about whether it’s right for sailing in heavy weather or not, I point your attention to SV Delos and their voyage to the Azores last year .

They posted a daily update with conditions and stories to their Facebook page and their huge following 1000 miles from the nearest cell tower and always stayed in touch. Now that there are affordable sat phone solutions and even more affordable plans with Nexus Wireless,  no one should head offshore or into heavy weather without one.

8. Know your weather before it hits you

The biggest thing about heavy weather sailing is the heavy weather. If you can avoid the nasties then why don’t you?

There are lots of tricks to tell where the wind is going to go next, but the best bet for weather prognostication I have found is satellite weather from Sirius XM. It’s not that expensive and you do have to buy some gear for your boat, but once I was hooked up, I got live weather updates laid over my gps screen and live lightning and winds warnings too. It really changed my world and after my experience on a 36 lagoon off the coast of Florida, I will never sail without XM weather ever again.

We were sailing out of Tampa once again on our way to do a delivery to Beaufort. We had been out for a week and the winds were light and variable the whole time. This meant that we had to motor most of the way and that caused us to blow a gasket on our starboard motor just outside Port St. Lucie.

When we put in, and because most of the trip was hot and boring and now a motor was dead, most of my crew decided to fly home and that left me and my buddy Jay to take this boat the rest of the way back to North Carolina, on one motor.

We decided to go at 6pm on a Tuesday.

We sailed through the first night without incident and by the time the sun rose the next morning, the wind had freshened just a bit and we were making a cool 5 knots some twenty miles off Melbourne. By midday we had reached Daytona Beach and off in the distance we could see dark clouds building.

By 3pm, we found ourselves darting between downpours and lightning strikes but it was until we eyed St. Augustine that the roll cloud appeared. With no cell phone and no weather info, we decided to make a bee-line for St. Austine and hoped to make it inside before the roll cloud reached us. We didn’t make it.

I could see the wall of wind rolling towards us from at least 10 miles off. The calm blue green seas turned in foam streaked torrents as the 75 mile an hour breeze streaked towards us. I told Jay to take the helm and I darted up to the mast to drop the main. It came down with a loud thump into the stack pack and then I turned my interests to the roller furled jib.

We had noted that it was incredibly difficult to turn due to a worn out bearing in the base, but failed to fix it while we were in the safety of the Gulf. Now that we were on blue water and all hell was about to break loose I regretted that, as I struggled to furl the jib.

When I got the jib half way in, the wall of wind reached us. The catamaran leaned hard to starboard as the wind hit us broadside and I begged Jay to head the boat to wind. The one motor groaned under the load but begrudgingly turned the bows of the pontoons to wind and allowed the jib to whip violently in the vicious wind. Just then rain began falling like boxes of hand grenades being poured onto a dance floor and echoed through the deck of the limping boat.

The sky seemed to become night within seconds with only the lightning to light our way. In the flashes I could see what was left of the jib whipping the jib sheets into a 18 inch knot. When the wall of wind passed us, a steady 20 knots followed and stirred the Atlantic waters into a washing machine.

For 6 more hours we plodded our way into port and slammed the stricken vessel into the first open slip we could find and walked away. I called my wife when I finally got cell service again and she sounded terrified when she picked up. “MY GOD ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?” I laughed weakly and said “yes, why?”

She then told me that the storm was all over the news and that she had tried to warn me that I was sailing right into it. With no working phone and no early weather warning, I was a sitting duck and so was our boat.

Thankfully we made it to shore, but there but for the grace of God go I. I will never go to sea ever again without satellite weather and a satellite phone.

9. Know your limits

I’m not saying that I was not ready to handle a 36’ lagoon at sea when that roll cloud came through, but I can tell you I was ill prepared. Without the right gear including weather and phones, I should never have tried that. But now I know. And I still get caught by the weather every once and again.

I wish I could say it gets better and that it isn’t as scary the second or third time, but I’d be lying. Anytime you're in bad weather in a boat, a little piece of you should be terrified. If it isn’t then you don't have enough experience to be out there and should have headed home way before the grey clouds roll in.

And that’s it. Know what you know and don’t do things that you don’t know. If you have never sailed in 30 knots of wind, don't start sailing in 50 knots. Read the forecast and sail to your experience level and to the readiness level of your boat.

Lots of people ask, I have a 26’ sailboat, can I sail offshore? You sure as hell can but why would you want to? If you have to ask the question if you should, then assume you should not. Because the fact that you even asked is evidence that you don’t know. So don’t do what you don’t know.

And here’s the big finish!

10. Consider your guests

No one likes to be scared or nervous or feel ill or worst of all be cold and wet. If you boldly go out, your first consideration should always be the comfort of your family and guests. If the weather turns foul, odds are the seas will build, the temps will drop and winds will freshen.

These factors make an otherwise pleasant day on the water, very unpleasant.  And while it may just get your juices flowing to have a boat healed 45 degrees and 35 knots whipping across your deck, there is a very good chance that not everyone would agree with you that that is ideal sailing conditions .

Condescending, domineering skippers often find themselves single handing their boats because no one wants to sail with them. If you get a reputation as a skipper who always finds the heavy breeze and the nasty conditions, you will soon be short of guests to sail with. So always check the weather and plan your trip with a top consideration for your guests.

So that's it, my ten best tips for sailing in heavy weather. I have spent more than my share of time sailing in weather I would rather not have sailed in and I like to think that I am old enough and smart enough to avoid the nasties whenever I can. I wish I could.

Mother Nature is a fickle old girl and can turn on a dime. Prep yourself and your boat for the nasties well in advance and never leave the dock without the assumption that bad weather could and will hit. If you get back to shore afterwards and all was fine then you lucked out. But don't ever rely on luck to keep you safe in a sailboat.

Thanks for reading, and remember to do good, have fun and sail far.

Related Articles

Capt Chris German

Capt Chris German is a life long sailor and licensed captain who has taught thousands to sail over the last 20 years. In 2007, he founded a US Sailing-based community sailing school in Bridgeport, CT for inner city youth and families. When Hurricane Sandy forced him to abandon those efforts, he moved to North Carolina where he set out to share this love for broadcasting and sailing with a growing web-based television audience through The Charted Life Television Network.

by this author

How to Sail

Emergencies

Most Recent

What Does "Sailing By The Lee" Mean?

Daniel Wade

October 3, 2023

The Best Sailing Schools And Programs: Reviews & Ratings

September 26, 2023

Important Legal Info

Lifeofsailing.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.

Similar Posts

How To Choose The Right Sailing Instructor

August 16, 2023

How To Sail From California To Tahiti

July 4, 2023

How To Tow A Skier Behind A Boat

May 24, 2023

Popular Posts

Best Liveaboard Catamaran Sailboats

December 28, 2023

Can a Novice Sail Around the World?

Elizabeth O'Malley

June 15, 2022

4 Best Electric Outboard Motors

How Long Did It Take The Vikings To Sail To England?

10 Best Sailboat Brands (And Why)

December 20, 2023

7 Best Places To Liveaboard A Sailboat

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Heavy weather sailing: preparing for extreme conditions

• Katy Stickland
• September 30, 2020

Alastair Buchan and other expert ocean cruisers explain how best to prepare when you’ve been ‘caught out’ and end up heavy weather sailing

Sometimes you simply can't avoid bad weather. When that happens, you're going to have to understand how to set up for heavy weather sailing Credit: Alamy

Heavy weather sailing

Prolonged heavy weather at sea generates fear and uncertainty, saps morale and leads to poor decision making.

But it doesn’t need to.

As Roger Taylor , a highly regarded ocean sailor and author, points out, this is when preparing the boat properly and having a clear, well thought-out strategy allows you to see the storm not as an ordeal demanding superhuman strength, skill and endurance, but as just a different type of weather.

Well-found and strongly-crewed yachts survive most weather unscathed.

Are we likely to find ourselves at sea in a storm?

Probably not. Accurate forecasts are readily available these days so there’s less likelihood of finding yourself out of reach of land with bad weather closing in, but still it happens.

Perhaps it’s the temptation to sail on a marginal forecast to make sure you’re home for work on Monday.

Maybe on longer passages, crossing the North Sea or the Bay of Biscay, after three or four days at sea the latest weather forecast can warn of storms undreamt of when you sailed.

It could be that the forecast is just plain wrong. More likely still, a combination of the above.

It’s not always a good idea to run for shelter as onshore gales can shut every harbour within reach – the Portuguese coast is a good example.

On the Dutch, German and Danish North Sea coasts, the ten-metre contour is around five miles offshore – a surfer’s paradise.

The Scheldt, Ems and Elbe estuaries are dangerous and the Seegats between the islands impassable.

My 1975 edition of the DHI’s Nordsee-Handbuch warns that in stormy weather small ships should not enter or leave the Elbe as they will suffer Strandung und Totalverlust or ‘stranding and total loss’.

We spoke to several shorthanded or solo offshore sailors with experience of weathering storms in waters most of us avoid.

Their advice is hard-won and extremely valuable, but those of us who sail in home waters may not have the same priorities.

In the middle of the Atlantic, losing 100 miles of sea room is inconvenient but unimportant.

In the Channel or the North Sea, it could be disastrous.

This lack of time and space means that, if we are to cope comfortably, our preparation must be better, and execution smoother.

We’ve broken the advice down into four sections; three for those who find themselves in heavy weather, and the fourth looks at modifications our experts have made to their boats.

Continues below…

We Tested 20 of the Best Lifejackets for Boating and Sailing

We all have lifejackets on board, but do you know what yours is actually like to use? We test 10…

From offshore sunset cruising to ocean survival in the Atlantic

A beautiful Atlantic cruise turns into a heavy weather situation for Maarten Zeeuwen

Erik Aanderaa: Viking 
of the 
high seas

Katy Stickland talks to Norwegian sailor Erik Aanderaa about why he searches out the worst weather the North Sea can…

Lessons learned from abandoning ship mid Atlantic

Solo skipper Billy Brannan lost his home when his 34ft yacht Helena was knocked down, rolled and dismasted during an…

Our expert panel of seasoned heavy weather sailors

Alastair Buchan

During two Atlantic circuits, Alastair Buchan weathered an eleven-day gale with winds rarely below 45 knots, a three-day Gulf Stream storm and played dodgeball with 135-knot Hurricane Lenny

Jeanne Socrates

The oldest woman to sail solo and non-stop around the world, on her third attempt, aboard her Najad 380, Nereida . Jeanne has survived knockdowns, rig failures and worse

Bob Shepton

An ex-Royal Marine who has sailed thousands of miles in Arctic and Antarctic waters, and sailed through the Northwest Passage in both directions in his 33ft Westerly Discus, Dodo’s Delight.

Roger Taylor

A solo sailor and author with a passion for high-latitude ocean voyaging, most famously aboard his 20ft junk-rigged Corribee Mingming and now in Mingming II , a junk-rigged Achilles 24

Ewen Southby-Tailyour

An ex-Royal Marine and ocean sailing legend, whose exploits in his gaff cutter Black Velvet have won awards for adventurous voyaging from the Royal Cruising Club and the Ocean Cruising Club.

Plan and prepare for heavy weather sailing

Plan ahead. All your preparation should be done before you slip your lines

The message from our experts was clear: prepare well in advance.

Is there any equipment you need, from an EPIRB to an emergency VHF antenna?

Is there anything your boat needs, like stout lee cloths or a bolt lock on the chart table?

A storm jib sets much better on a removable inner stay, can you fit one to your boat?

Do you or your crew need additional training, such as sea survival?

What would you do if the plotter went down?

Does your passage plan identify all dangers such as shipping lanes, headlands with the overfalls, shallow banks with breaking seas, rocks and reefs?

Do you know your position in relation to each hazard?

How strong are the tides, and is it wind against tide?

The sea state in the Bristol Channel can approach that of a full gale in a mere Force 5.

Look for boltholes. On the west coast of Scotland you may find shelter deep in a sea loch.

Once, when fishing boats filled every free space in Mallaig, we hid deep in Loch Nevis.

We spent a few tranquil days while outside the weather went berserk.

The pilot books’ local knowledge is invaluable.

Stay weather aware

Each forecast states how fast a system is moving, and the barometer’s rate of drop gives you an idea how hard you’ll be hit

There is no excuse for not having the latest forecast, and the sooner you know heavy weather sailing is coming, the longer you have to prepare for it.

Forecasts often give the rate of movement of a pressure system.

Knowing this in knots can help you calculate how long you have before it hits.

The humble barometer can tell you a lot about future conditions

It’s important we don’t lose our own forecasting skills either.

Watch the clouds, because cyclonic systems follow a predictable sequence with each step having its own cloud formation, windshifts and weather.

Check the rate of change in air pressure.

For years I logged barometer readings every hour with an arrow to tell me at a glance if the pressure was rising or falling.

The rate of change in a falling barometer gives a good indication of wind strength to come.

On deck preparation

heck the liferaft is secure and its painter attached. Check taffrail safety kit

Check everything above deck is ready for the worst before the seas and winds build up.

Jeanne Scorates speaks for all our experts when she advises that ‘there should be nothing on deck to worry about, except a well-strapped down dinghy and liferaft stowed somewhere that’s accessible in any kind of emergency’.

Many believe that is the transom or pushpit. Dinghies on davits are a problem in big seas.

If possible, they are best removed for offshore passages, or lashed down on the foredeck.

If you are towing an inflatable dinghy, bring it aboard, deflate it and stow it securely.

Rig extra lifelines on deck and reduce windage where practical.

Stow securely or lash down all loose ropes, warps and halyards.

Secure the anchor and the chain locker lid, it will escape given a chance

Reduce sail well ahead of the storm.

If you are using storm sails hoist them early while working on deck is safe and easy.

‘In strong conditions, I regularly furl the genoa away and sail under reefed staysail and deep-reefed main,’ says Jeanne.

If you plan to stream warps or set a sea anchor make sure everything for this is on deck, secure and ready for deployment.

Rig jackstays as soon as you know the weather’s going to cut up rough

It’s advisable to disable the wind generator early as it can overheat, and consider heaving-to with storm sails rather than using furling headsails.

These don’t set properly and may unfurl if the clutch gives or the line snaps.

If a furler is your only option, consider lashing the furler or the tack to the pulpit so it can’t unfurl.

Identify anchor points you can tether to so you stay on the boat

On deck checklist

• Lifejacket and harness on
• Rig jackstays
• Clear deck of anything not well secured
• Blank all dorade vents, drop sprayhood, remove dodgers
• Reef deep and early
• Check all rig fittings are secure
• Lash down anchor, or remove and lash below, and secure anchor locker lid
• Make sure cockpit drains are working
• Check cockpit manual bilge pump is working
• Check liferaft lashings and taffrail safety kit are secure and operational
• Prepare any drag devices, sea anchor, drogue, warps etc
• Check cockpit lockers to make sure heavy items are secure, then lock lids

Ewen Southby-Tailyour’s storm briefing

Share your plans with the crew. Make sure everyone knows what’s expected, and what’s expected of them

Once you have decided on your best course of action, Ewen Southby-Tailyour advises: ‘Brief your crew, making sure you cover all eventualities from man overboard to a knockdown or even an inversion, from losing a mast or spar, to serious leaks and fire.

This gives everyone the same picture and it’s an opportunity for crew to seek clarification, ask questions and make suggestions.

The briefing should cover:

• The present weather
• Likely future weather
• Your strategy for dealing with the weather to come
• Revised watchkeeping system including use of AIS and radar
• Allocation of responsibilities, tasks and the timings for carrying them out
• Safety procedures
• Damage control measures
• Communications (ship to ship and ship to shore), including Mayday calls

Below deck preparation

Check every one of your hatches is closed and locked

Make sure that everything below decks gets stowed and stays that way.

Paper or clothing can find its way into the bilges and block the strum box (bilge pump strainer).

‘I suffered a knockdown off Cape Horn,’ says Jeanne Socrates.

‘Heavy books flew across the cabin and the chart table opened, throwing its valuable and sharp contents everywhere.’

Make a grab bag of everything you’ll need if you abandon – and keep it accessible

In the 1998 Sydney Hobart Race, 51 per cent of injuries reported were broken or cracked ribs.

Roger Taylor himself says: ‘I broke ribs during an inversion in the Davis Strait, between Canada and Greenland.’

Ewen Southby-Tailyour advises rigging lifelines below as well as above decks.

Fitting the strong points for this might be part of your pre-sail refit.

Make sure all your seacocks, barring the engine raw water intake and cockpit drains, are closed

If you can, contact someone and let them know your position and plans.

Mark your position on a chart, bring and keep the log up to date and check the barometer regularly.

Is warm clothing in a waterproof bag handy?

Where are the distress flares, or the rigging cutters?

Check the EPIRB and make sure everyone knows how to use it.

Check everyone is properly kitted-up, warm and waterproof.

Clear the strum box and pump out the bilge so any new water ingress shows up

Make sure everyone eats a hot meal.

If you have time, prepare a big, thick stew in a pressure cooker as hot food is an important morale booster, but make sure the lid is locked and the cooker stowed securely.

Have hot drinks in unbreakable flasks and plenty of snacks to hand.

Below deck checklist

• Take anti-seasickness measures that work for you
• Make a meal or flask of soup, fill pockets with snack packs and put bottles of water in secure places on deck
• Close and lock all hatches
• Clear everything from surfaces and lock all lockers
• Close all seacocks
• Empty bilge and check strum box is clear
• Charge handheld VHF and run engine to charge house batteries for auto bilge pump operation
• Prepare grab bag and move to readily accessible position

Strategic preparation

There are certain to be a few more knots under this squall, best reef now

Ewen Southby-Tailyour recommends a flexible watch system with shorter hours: ‘Self-steering systems can’t ‘see’ sea state, which often means helming by hand throughout.

‘This is tiring, especially at night, and a tired helmsman in a storm is dangerous. Regular breaks are needed.’

Make sure your plan considers your boat, crew, experience and sea room.

Be ready to modify the plan as circumstances change.

You will probably start by heaving-to or sailing under storm canvas.

If the windspeed increases some other tactic such as deploying a sea anchor may be more appropriate.

Most of us meet bad weather without venturing beyond the continental shelf, so our seas are likely to be short and steep.

Upwind progress is slow or non-existent, even if motor-sailing.

Mid-ocean wavelengths will be longer but watch out for cross seas that can throw your boat sideways.

Squalls can easily double windspeed briefly but the torrential rain they often bring can flatten the seas.

Remember too that, when there is a choice of directions to sail, in the northern hemisphere, steering south helps shorten the onslaught.

Heavy weather tactics

The one golden rule is to avoid breaking waves.

A crest the height of your beam or higher can capsize you.

Smaller ones can fill the cockpit or smash hatches.

Consider tides or currents too, as wind over tide will kick up a steeper sea.

There is no one technique guaranteed to keep you safe so you must choose the best option for the current situation.

We can’t deal with this subject in detail here, but we will look briefly at some coping strategies.

Sail upwind

The 1998 Sydney-Hobart Race report concluded: ‘Yachts that continued to ‘actively sail’ and had sufficient speed and power to negotiate the waves and avoid the breaking crests, generally fared better.’

Three-quarters of the skippers said their boats handled the conditions best when beating, fetching or reaching.

It requires skill, it’s tiring because it demands the helm’s total concentration, it’s frustrating because you will fall off some of the waves with a bang that could pop a bulkhead, and the motion is dangerously uncomfortable.

For shorthanded cruisers , it’s an option if you’re on a lee shore but best avoided otherwise.

Sail downwind

Running almost dead downwind has worked on many occasions – but you need the sea room

The best angle to take the wave is 15 degrees, as this allows the helm to surf away from breaking crests and avoid pitchpoling.

You need steerage way to position the boat so keep a scrap of headsail up unless you can make enough way under bare poles.

It also demands lots of sea room and your course may take you deeper into the storm or into shipping lanes.

It’s more comfortable and very exhilarating, but tiring because of the concentration involved, so is ill-suited to shorthanded cruising.

Bob Shepton has found that it’s nearly always necessary to heave to at some point while on passage in the North Atlantic

We covered this in our August 2014 issue and found that the longer the keel, the better she will heave to.

Gaff-rigged pilot cutters heave to immaculately, but most fin-keel boats heave to poorly in a big sea because there’s nothing below the bow to prevent wind and waves pushing her beam on.

Jeanne Socrates says, ‘My Najad 380’s long fin-keel hove to well under deep-reefed main alone in 30-40 knots winds.’

It’s an excellent tactic but try it beforehand to find the balance of sails and helm position.

This involves nothing more than dropping all sail and lashing the helm in such a position that the bow is kept to windward of the beam, then going below and dropping in the washboards.

It can work well provided there are no breaking crests.

Deploy a drag device

A drogue, deployed off the stern limits speed to 3-6 knots, preventing surfing down waves while allowing the boat to steer away from breaking crests

When running off or lying a’hull are too dangerous, you can deploy long warps or a drogue off the stern.

This slows the boat down to 3-6 knots, so you can still steer to avoid breaking crests, without surfing down waves.

Roger Taylor has deployed his Jordan series drogue twice. ‘It immediately defused any threat, keeping the yacht riding easily and elastically, stern-on with little yaw.’

A sea anchor, deployed off the bow, limits drift to under 1 knot – important if sea room is an issue. It needs to be big otherwise the boat will surf backwards down waves and damage her rudder.

The rode needs to be long enough for the sea anchor to be one wavelength away, so if the boat is at a crest, so is the sea anchor. Otherwise the rode will suffer snatch-loading.

Once it’s passed

As the winds begin to drop, Jeanne Socrates recommends establishing where you are first. Note her nav seat lee cloth

Once the weather begins to ease Jeanne Socrates warns not to relax.

Check your position, wind, tides and update your passage plan.

‘This is when you should inform your shore contact of your current position and future intentions, that you’re safe,’ says Ewen Southby-Tailyour.

Once it’s past, first find out where you are, then check the boat from truck to keel

Next, check all hull fittings, hatches, standing and running rigging, the bilges and bilge pumps.

Check the engine, electrics, battery and fuel state.

Clear up the mess on deck, aloft and below that comes with bad weather.

Dry wet clothing and kit.

Return to normal watch-keeping routines, get proper rest and have a hot meal.

Discuss events with the crew. What worked? What didn’t? What will you do differently next time?

Prepare for heavy weather

Practice heaving to. Find out how much foresail she needs and which rudder angle

How does your boat heave to? Do you have suitable warps for streaming astern, or for a drogue system?

Have you practised deploying and recovering them?

It is not easy even in a flat calm. How long does it take you to bend on storm canvas?

What sail plan is best for your boat?

Ewen Southby-Tailyour recommends: ‘Practice when the going is easy. In a blow, it can be the difference between success and failure.’

Can you use a storm sail as a sea anchor? Is the moment you need it most the right time to find out you can’t?

Do you have a sea anchor?

Caught in a southerly Force 11 off the south coast of Iceland, Ewen tried making one out of a storm jib but conditions were so bad, he was unable to get the three rigging lines to the correct length.

Once it was deployed, he discovered that he was dragging a collapsed sail at two knots with sea room fast decreasing.

Try using a drogue or towing warps. How much do they slow you down?

There is no substitute for a proper sea anchor.

They can cut drift to less than half a knot.

Clean your fuel

Rough weather stirs up tank sludge and can block fuel filters. Keep your tank and fuel clean

In foul weather, many of us rely on the engine to go upwind.

Dirty fuel stops engines so, as Ewen stresses, clean fuel is vital.

Ideally have the tanks emptied, cleaned and filled with new, clean fuel at the start of each season.

Failing that, make sure that all fuel going in your tanks is filtered and treated and have spare fuel filters and the tools to fit them to hand.

Offshore modifications

The message from our experts was that their storm preparations begin well before leaving port, with boat modifications.

Storm sails

Bob Shepton has a dedicated trysail track, so it’s ready to go when needed

Bob Shepton’s 33ft Westerly Dodo’s Delight has a furling genoa, but he added a furling staysail, perfect for storms and heaving to.

To avoid unbending the main then bending on the trysail in less-than-ideal conditions, he fitted a separate trysail track so it’s always bagged up and ready to go.

All Bob needs to do is douse the main, attach halyard and sheet and his trysail is as good as set.

The sheet runs through a block on the boom end, so he can trim both clew and boom

Traditionally, trysails are loose footed with the clew led to a cleat aft.

Bob found this fine for heaving to, but it lacked drive when he wanted to claw to windward so he devised a system that lets him flatten the trysail, and ease the sail in gusts.

He runs the sheet through a block on the boom end, then runs it forward to a purchase at the mast, which also doubles as the pole downhaul.

The sheet is adjusted using a purchase at the mast

Hull integrity

The sole is fixed and the coachroof ports reduced in size to make them less vulnerable to stoving in

Roger Taylor conceived Mingming and Mingming II for extended sea-keeping in Arctic latitudes and does much of his storm preparation at the design and build stage.

His first priority is a totally watertight yacht.

‘I replaced the sliding hatches and washboards with proper hatches and solid timber and all ports are reduced in size,’ he says.

‘The hull has ben made unsinkable with large foam-filled compartments behind watertight bulkheads fore and aft.’

The companionway is replaced with a watertight hatch from which Roger can control the boat

Ewen Southby-Tailyour recommends heavy ‘blanks’ to protect windows.

Can you strengthen hatches and skylights?

Could your washboards survive a wave coming up astern and smashing into them?

Can the companionway hatch be locked and unlocked from both sides?

If it has washboards, is there a lanyard to prevent the washboards sliding out and floating away if inverted?

Can the lanyard be released from both the cockpit and the cabin?

Secure below

With the Crash Test Boat inverted, the chart table empties, sole panels crash around and only the gas pipe stops the stove from breaking loose

Is everything secured against inversion, from sole to salad bowl?

Anything can become a missile during a knockdown.

Read YM’s Crash Test Boat report on capsize for ideas (or buy the Crash Test iPad app for £1.49).

Bob Shepton lashes himself into his berth to stop himself falling across the cabin during an inversion

It is important that everyone stays warm and rested.

The best rest is found in bed and the best chance of staying there is to fit leecloths or leeboards.

Bob Shepton goes one further: ‘I have a ‘seatbelt’ to keep me in my berth in the event of a knockdown.’

Ewen Southby-Tailyour suggests that ‘you should have at least one manual bilge pump in the cockpit and another below, both of which can be operated with all hatches and lockers shut.’

Every pump should have its own strum box to prevent it clogging.

For all the latest from the sailing world, follow our social media channels Facebook, Twitter and Instagram .

Have you thought about taking out a subscription to Yachting Monthly magazine?

Subscriptions are available in both print and digital editions through our official online shop Magazines Direct and all postage and delivery costs are included.

• Yachting Monthly is packed with all the information you need to help you get the most from your time on the water.
• Take your seamanship to the next level with tips, advice and skills from our expert skippers and sailors
• Impartial in-depth reviews of the latest yachts and equipment will ensure you buy the best whatever your budget
• If you are looking to cruise away with friends Yachting Monthly will give you plenty of ideas of where to sail and anchor