Steve, Was on Lake Travis outside of Austin, Tx. Caught out in a cold front. Wind was about 30 knots steady. I was down to double reefed main and did not have a jib up since my smallest was a 109%.Monty 17's need a jib to drive up wind and I was being blown down the lake away from the boat ramp. I was able to reach across the lake like blazes but could not tack with the sails I had. Fortunately I had an "iron jenny" which got us back to the ramp. Conditions were not my "cup of tea". Boat never took on a drop of water. It takes care of its crew. Fair winds, Tom B On Sun, Mar 10, 2019 at 12:47 PM Steve Trapp <stevetrapp@q.com> wrote:
My M-15 # 335 was nearly knocked down in a storm on Lake Pend O'Reille in North Idaho, but I let the sheets go (unlceated) and the boat popped back up. Lake Pend O'Reille in North Idaho is big enough and deep enough to support a U.S. Navy submarine research facility, which adds a further element to sailing there. Steve M-15 # 335
-----Original Message----- From: Conbert Benneck Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2019 9:49 AM To: Peter Zimowsky via montgomery_boats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Whats the worst weather you went through an M15, M17? Crossing short passages?
Hi Pete,
The more and the further you sail the greater the experience you gain.
That is a great basis for the Captain's decision whether to stay at the dock or to go...
The old saying is: "It's better to be at the dock wishing you were out sailing, than to be out sailing and wishing you were at the dock".
NOAA weather is _/*usually*/_ very reliable, .....*BUT*, I've been caught out several times in NewEngland waters, in 20 years sailing the area with a suddenly appearing Nor'easter while NOAA is still saying it's a nice sailing day. 98% of the time they are right in their forecast, but you also have to be very aware that NOAA isn't 100% reliable. Large area forecasts are reliable; but local areas might just have their own unique small weather systems. As a New England sailor you learn this the hard way - like being caught in a Nor'easter on Martha's Vineyard for three days -at Oak Bluffs harbor.
You're the Captain, remember, it's your decision.
An M15 or M17 can only do 4 / 5 knots sailing or under power. If you have strong tidal currents of 4 knots in the area you want to cross, you can only go with the flow. How many nautical miles is it to your destination? Do you have enough time to make the passage so that you have the tidal flow with you for the whole trip? How big is your safety factor for reaching your destination with the tide flow duration? If not, and the tide is going to change,then what is your alternate destination? Can you reach that safely in the time available, assuming that you also might experience deteriorating weather? Do you have a forecast of favorable winds for the whole trip?
If you have any doubts about reaching your destination safely then John's suggestion of using the ferry to get the M15 to your SJ sailing area might be the most prudent thing to do. Let the ferry get you safely to your desired cruising area, and then enjoy sailing in the SJ sheltered waters.
Ciao,
Connie
On 3/10/2019 9:32 AM, Peter Zimowsky via montgomery_boats wrote:
I have a stout 4 hp outboard I use in the islands; however when I’m on local reservoirs I use an electric trolling motor because there is less drag. One day the wind came ripping over the dam and I couldn’t get to the dock. Normally I launch and come back to the dock under sail. Not this day. Under power of the electric motor the wind whipped me past the dock and there wasn’t enough power to buck the waves. I started washing up on some rocks when a motorboater rescued me with a tow. Lesson: better timing heading back to the dock with the small motor. Pete M15. 377
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 9, 2019, at 20:17, Lawrence Winiarski via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
I'd be interested in scary-sea-stories about bad weather and passages
Maybe it might help someone who has to face it someday too.
I did deal with about 30 mph winds at night about 9pm and one thing I noticed is that with the sails down, my wimpy 30 lb trolling motor on the M15 could NOT keep the bow pointed into the wind very well and even while I was moving slowly, and if it got off center, or the wind changed, the wind would blow me 180 degrees about and there was virtually nothing i could do about it except gain speed going down wind to get maneuverability with the rudder enough to get head on to the wind again.
If you had large waves to deal with, this could be a pretty big problem, and you wouldn't want to take the sails down, for fear of getting broadsided with lack of maneuverability, but at the same time you don't really want the extra sail area.
The incident, prompted me to add a 2nd reef. Haven't had to try it yet, but it's there for next time. I ended up just anchoring and waiting till 2am when the wind went down some and I could maneuver into the marina
I also experimented with a big drift sock while coming to the slip as a way of slowing myself down as the approach was dead downwind, That worked pretty well and you could use it to steer a little while manuevering between all the other docked expensive sailboats at the marina while coming very carefully downwind with my wimply trolling motor. I ended up with a slow speed 1mph controlled crash into my slip..It was a Clunk and could have woke the neighbors on a still night,but I think with all the wind noise I got away with it.
So I think the drift sock was a useful tool.