Most of Tomales bay is pretty shallow, and has lots of seaweed and kelp to get tangled in, but it's a fun place to sail. Bill Day M-15 363 "Gee Whiz!" On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 8:40 PM, Stan Susman <stanpfa@pacbell.net> wrote:
Daniel, Is Tomales bay as shallow as it looks? Inquiring minds want to know Stan
________________________________ From: Daniel Rich <danielgrich@gmail.com> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2013 8:11 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: heavy air in an M15
Very interesting.
Where did you get your storm jib? Also, I guess one issue for me and for you is knowing ahead of time about putting it on. Now, I suppose I could have anchored and put it on then. Interesting.
Daniel On Aug 17, 2013, at 6:18 PM, Jack Zukowski <john7jack@aol.com> wrote:
Hello Daniel, I have been faced with the same situation many times and have tried many tactics to get home safely. I do have the storm jib and had never used until a few weeks ago. Of course I would never attempt to change under way either. We had forecast of 20 mph winds gusting much higher at times so I decided to try the storm jib before I launched. I did not reef the main, and thought I'd give it a try. I was so pleasantly surprised at how well the boat handled. I easily panic at times with the working jib but that never happened with the storm jib in place. I was so much more relaxed. My best speeds were hovering around 9 mph and running 4 to 5 mph on a beat. I sail alone 90% of the time and managing the working jib and main in heavy air can be a challenge for me. The storm jib made it refreshing. I actually felt the M-15 pointed better with the storm jib, but my experience is still very limited with it, time will tell. I've waited it out many times afraid to try to come in and had come in after dark many times waiting for the wind to die. I just love it I guess!
Jack Zukowski in Connecticut Still no name...2010 M-15
On Aug 17, 2013, at 8:23 PM, Daniel Rich <danielgrich@gmail.com> wrote:
Montypals:
Let's talk heavy air. Today I sailed with a nice guy interested in M15 boats. He was a pretty good sailor. We sailed out of Nick's Cove Tomales like I often do. The wind really kicked up as it can. I eventually double reefed, and had my standard working jib. The gusts must have gotten to at least 20 knots plus and the wind waves were quite big. Nonetheless, the M15 stayed quite dry despite pounding down the waves. Very impressive. And it was really pounding. But, I definitely struggled. Eventually it got to the point where even with the jib honked down I could not make progress to windward where I needed to go back to the dock. And I was getting closer to the windward shore. Every time I tried to point the boat would heel pretty good and rather than move forward would just dump air. At this point I figured that I could douse the jib, but would not be able to make progress to windward that way. Will a double reefed M15 point at all with a doused jib? I needed to go straight upwind to get home, so pointing was important. I don't have a storm jib, but even if I did, I would not be confident going on the deck under bare poles and hoisting it. Without the jib up I can't heave to. Defeated I dropped the sails and motored back. Even that was a challenge with heavy waves and windage. I steered straight into the wind so that the boat would track well, and it did. My 2HP Honda had no problem. I was worried about what to do if the motor conked out. I guess I would have anchored quickly so that the boat did not end up on the shore, and waited it out.
I did feel very confident that the M15 would not swamp and keep me safe, and it did. Very good boat. In the future I will make sure to bring more fuel, although I did have a full tank, and noted it to be about 1/2 full when I returned. In thinking about it I do believe the anchor is an important safety tool to have on board also for just this reason. A learning experience today.
Daniel Rich M15 #208 "Kestrel" danielgrich@gmail.com