Storm Tactics Archives

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 […]

Mooring Accident

April 23, 2009/by Grant Headifen

While it is generally accepted that mooring is safer than anchoring, there are still some considerations. The following photo from Waiake beach in Auckland, New Zealand is proof of this. Whilst visiting New Zealand for the purpose of spreading the NauticEd word, we came across this early in the morning after an overnight mild storm. […]

20 point plan to rig for heavy weather

February 8, 2009/by Grant Headifen

1. Reduce sail to the appropriate sail plan early. 2. Make storm sails ready. 3. Secure all deck gear 4. Fill fuel tanks from jerry jugs if necessary 5. Secure companionway slides and hatch closed and sealed from the deck. 6. There should also be a mechanism ready to secure the hatch from below. 7. […]

Where is the storm center?

January 16, 2009/by Grant Headifen

We’ve received a few questions on clarification of the mechanics of determining the direction of the center of a weather system either a high or a low. So we added it to Module 4 of the weather course and we’re also describing it here. The graphic below shows a weather map in the northern pacific […]

Beating Seasickness

December 20, 2008/by Grant Headifen

One of the best forms of cure for seasickness when sailing a sailboat is for the skipper to give up the helm to the ailing crew member. Strange and unnatural as it may seem this will usually work within 3-4 minutes. Why? Well you’ve always heard that a seasick person should concentrate on the horizon […]

High winds

December 1, 2008/by Grant Headifen

Yesterday we went out in our Beneteau 373. And the winds were really cranking to 25 knots but very gusty as is typical with Lake Travis. The winds channel off the tops of hills and down through the valleys leading into the lake and they create gust after gust. When we went to come back […]