In the last post I wrote about the one and only time I have been caught on a lee shore in storm conditions. In this post I will cover the way we have equipped and rigged the present Morgan’s Cloud, using my still vivid memories of that storm, to give Phyllis and I, sailing double-handed, every chance of clawing off a lee shore.
First, we have three deep reefs in the mainsail together with a powerful and easy to use reefing system that allows us to rapidly tuck in all three reefs without any need to re-rig pennants. The triple reefed main is 200 sq ft, just a third of the mainsail’s full area, an amount that works well up to a little over 40 knots when sailing and in much higher winds when heaved-to.
Although, due to the above listed mainsail modifications, we have never used it on this boat, we have a massively strong storm trysail of 150 sq ft for use in higher winds than the main can stand to, or if the main is damaged—a common event in storm conditions.
But, as we covered in the last post, just having a storm trysail is not enough. If it is not properly rigged a short-handed crew will have a huge and possibly unsuccessful struggle to set it in storm conditions.
Before every offshore passage we load the trysail onto its own separate track, that runs almost to the deck, and then stow it bagged, with the sheets on, ready to go at the foot of the mast. We also have our mast fitted with a dedicated storm trysail halyard since a common reason for not being able to use the main is a broken or lost main halyard. To set the trysail all we need to do is hook on the halyard, run the sheets and hoist. We can even run it up inside or outside the mainsail (depending on the tack), which will keep the flogging down to a dull roar, and then drop the main after the trysail is set.
When evaluating your own boat’s storm trysail track, or fitting a new one, be aware that many or perhaps most, such tracks are totally inadequate for the task. This was graphically demonstrated to me as I watched a technician at a reputable mast manufacturer screw on a very light pressed-stainless track with light gauge machine screws and no backer plate to a new mast. The technician, when looking up and seeing what must have been a poorly disguised look of horror on my face, said apologetically, “Yeah, I know, we only put these on to satisfy the regulations”.
We had our own brush with an inadequate storm trysail track installation when, despite our specification that called for an installation that could withstand storm force conditions, GMT attached the track with screws threaded into less than ¼” of carbon, one of the many reasons we rejected that mast.
Our new Hall Spars carbon mast has a substantial Antal track fastened with machine screws through the mast and into a substantial aluminum backer plate. The Antal aluminum slides, webbed on at 12” intervals to reduce point loading, are also much stronger than those often used on trysails and have the added advantage of being fitted with easy sliding self-lubricating plastic inserts.
Finally, at least once a year we set the sail at the mooring to make sure we have the process clear in our minds.
