Hi Sailors!
The Sailing Roundup brings you the latest in sailing news, trends, gear, events, and training. Every other week (when we’re not sailing) we’ll send a curated list and analysis by Teresa & Ben Carey. Instead of sifting through a ton of articles and videos each week – let us do the work for you.
Editorial:
The article about the Extratropical Storms caught my eye this week. We had one roll through here about a week ago. It blew hard! Two boats out on moorings in Rockland had their roller furling sails let go. Surprisingly, neither one broke off their mooring. But the sails were destroyed, and there was probably additional damage to the vessel and rig. They both weathered the 36-hour storm plus a few more days out there, before their sails were removed. I posted about this on Instagram & Facebook and received many thoughtful and educational replies, which I thought you might find interesting.
MorseAlphaExpeditions
Wicked NE’r yesterday. Five boats blew off their moorings. These two held strong despite their sails unrolling. Roller furling is a wonderful invention, but you have to roll them up entirely and prep them for a storm. We always wrap the sheets at least three times and then wrap our spinnaker halyard around the rolled jib whenever we expect a gale, or take the sail right off if we anticipate much worse.
Instagram & Facebook Replies:
“Every season, mostly in the fall, we see half a dozen or so boats with shredded headsails. Too many people are careless when furling: they barely roll up the sail (or worse, don’t finish), much less make sure the sheets overwrap a few times. Then they leave the sheets slack!”
“We helped secure a poorly furled genoa on a neighbor's boat while at a dock in 40+ knots.. There were five of us and it was still a dangerous challenge.”
“I saw this one start to unfurl and asked the Rockland Harbormaster if we ought to alert the owner? He told me absolutely not, because he didn’t want the owner to attempt to address it with the weather.”
“I'm consistently amazed by how cavalier many recreational sailors are with their storm prep. The whole "I've never had a problem before" and "you're being too careful" mindset is rampant and dangerous.”
“We use three measures:
Wrap the control lines around the furled headsail and lock them tight into a winch or cleat.
Wrap a separate strap or line around the furled headsail and tie it tight.
Tie down the lower furler to prevent it from spinning with a line connected to the pulpit.
“I always wrap the jib sheets about 4 to 5 times just to make sure.”
“They unrolled due to poor seamanship. I see it all the time on so many different levels.”
“Have extra line on the spool. Roll it in all the way so the sheets wrap around the sail several times. Have the clew facing backwards so the sail doesn’t catch the wind. Be sure sheets and furling line are tight.”
~ Ben
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Now for the best of the web...
News:
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Nine leading multinationals sign a new 2040 Ambition Statement to transitioning their ocean freight vessels to zero-carbon fuels by 2040.Shipping Containers Of “Spontaneous Combustibles” Fall Overboard
A container ship encountered rough seas in Canadian waters on Friday, causing about 40 shipping containers to fall overboard.The Dream of Scooping Plastic From the Ocean Is Still Alive—and Problematic
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Top Tips on Maintaining Your Onboard Tools
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Wherever you cruise, you’ll most likely want to keep a liferaft on board in case of emergency – but where’s the best place to stow it? Duncan Kent makes some suggestionsRacing ropes: making the right choice
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Navigation:
The Chart Locker By SY Migration
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Sailing Media:
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Skills & Seamanship:
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