Storm Tactics Archives

Man Overboard

May 30, 2013/by Grant Headifen

In this post I want to tell a few stories that will alert you to the fact that MOB is going to happen to you, and often when you least expect

How to cure seasickness naturally

March 10, 2013/by Grant Headifen

On our most recent yacht charter to the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, we encountered one day with reasonably high swell and only about 10 knots of wind. Being on a broad reach was not the ideal heading for this but alas this is the direction we wanted to go – from the Bay of […]

Man Overboard captured on video

August 7, 2012/by Grant Headifen

Racing out on the harbor a few weeks ago one of our guys suddenly found himself in the drink. I was able to capture a few clips on video in between helping to make sure that he was safe. This is a real safety tip that you should probably take a lesson or two from. […]

When to reef a sailboat

December 7, 2011/by Grant Headifen

While all sailboat designs are different and will sail optimally at different heel angles and reef points, there are a few generalities that we’ll cover in this sailing blog. General reefing point number 1 through infinity: Don’t scare the beegeebees out of those on board by heeling the boat over too much. While you may […]

How to dock a sailboat in heavy wind

October 31, 2011/by Grant Headifen

Docking a boat on to an end-tie or tee head with a strong wind blowing you off requires some knowledge on how to do it and it’s one of those things that you SHOULD practice for WHEN the time comes. Trying to just sidle up along side like you might do in a no wind […]

Reefing a Catamaran

September 10, 2011/by Grant Headifen

Here’s a question from a student. >>>>>>> Grant, I would like some clarification on the steps taken to reef a main sail on a cat. I’m going out on a 48ft cat and prob want to reef the sail before i go out…. Do i reef it while at the dock or in the water […]

More about Heaving-to in a sailboat

August 18, 2011/by Grant Headifen

This is an add on to the last post we did on heaving to. I was looking over our Storm Tactics online sailing course and found this image we created which best shows a boat in a heave-to situation in a storm. They say a pic is worth a thousand words so with this blog […]

Heaving To in a Sailboat is a Practiced Skill

August 8, 2011/by Grant Headifen

While books say to tack the boat with the head sail cleated to windward and turn the wheel to windward, there’s more to know about heaving to

Heaving To And Something About It That You Might Not Know

July 23, 2010/by Grant Headifen

Most sailors already know how to heave to so I’ll give the quick part of this tip up front. The Quick Bit When heaving to, and if you have the choice, do it so that your boat is on a starboard tack. This way you are the “Stand-on” vessel in an approaching situation with other […]

Man Over Board discussion

June 4, 2009/by Grant Headifen

Last evening we were sailing our Beneteau 373 under a pleasant Texas sky with 10 knots of wind. A very experienced sailor was on board with us albeit he had not sailed for about 15 years. His past experience was impressive with 10’s of thousands of miles in his logbook – mostly racing. One cringing […]