Safe wind speed to go for a sail

Hi Serb
There is a sailing strategy called reefing.
You must learn, practice and be confident with this.
Also a genoa is the largest foresail, You should furl it to a smaller size if you have a furler or if no furler, change down to a smaller headsail.
All of these should be done BEFORE the wind becomes too strong.
If you are leaving on a windy day, leave with a small headsail and a reef or two in the main.

My biggest problem is how to put the main sail down under the strong wind and hold the tiller while Genoa is full of wind... crazy, guys how you do that by yourselves?

The answer is to heave to and then reef. You also must learn practice and become confident with heaving to.

Th strongest (provable) wind that I have been in is 47 knots
15 to 20 knots is pretty standard here. However I reef and furl to suit the conditions.

Hi Serb,
Gary summed it up pretty succinctly mate, you need less sail area.
In light to medium airs I could carry my full sailplan area of 100m2. The main with no reefs was 50m2 and the genoa (oversized jib) was 50m2.
In heavier air days I would leave the genoa furled up and hoist the staysail. The staysail was 17m2, 1/3rd the sail area of the genoa.
The staysail is not only shorter in height but a lot closer to the mast than the genoa. So not only was there less area, the centre of power was lower down and closer to the middle of the boat. Much more stable and much less heel.
If the wind continued to increase, we would put a reef in the main. With the first reef in, the sail area dropped to 42 m2. So now, instead of 100m2, my total sail area is 42+17 = 59m2. MUCH easier.
Just like the staysail, reefing your main helps lower the centre of pressure and bring it closer in to the mast, making the boat much more stable.
If you are new to all this and putting a reef in seems scary, do it at the dock before you leave.
None of us Serb can make a boat not heel and be overpowered without reducing sail area. Don't feel bad mate, we've all been there, its just a matter of working out how best you can reduce the amount of sail you're presenting to the wind.

Hi Serb,

Gary and Shaggy are right. The key to enjoyable and safe sailing in stronger winds is the ability to reef the main sail, to partially furl the headsail, or change to a smaller headsail if using a hanked on sail, and to control the sail shape. Kinora is completely controllable and reasonably comfortable in 25 to 30 knots with 2 reefs in the main and 1/3 of the headsail out of the furler (mark the headsail sheets or furling line so you know where the headsail reefing points are). I find it helps to have the reefing lines come back to clutches and winches on the cabin roof so that the main sail can be reefed from the cockpit but this is a personal thing, see the many posts on reefing in this forum.

Heaving to is just magical!

The direction you're sailing also makes a big difference. If you're close hauled, beating at 6 knots into a 25 knot wind then the apparent wind speed, the wind the sails (reefed of course!) are experiencing, is around 30 knots and things will be lively. Downwind at 6 knots in a 25 knot wind, the apparent wind is only 19 knots and things will be much more pleasant. IIRC, the force on the sails is roughly proportional to the square of the wind speed so the force on the boat at 30 knots is more than twice that at 19 knots.

I found Tom Cunliffe's book "The Complete Yachtmaster" (about $45 from online stores) to be very helpful and highly recommend it. It has a wealth of basic information on all aspects of sailing, including reefing and handling the boat in heavy weather.

And from personal experience. Practise reefing and heaving to while in your berth or on your mooring in calm conditions until it becomes instinctive. Then practise while sailing in light winds, graduate to moderate conditions when it all works smoothly and only then go out in strong winds. Do this on your own or with an experienced sailor at first, don't risk putting your family off sailing forever by having them aboard when the boat is not completely under control.

Keep going, Serb. Remember that you start out sailing with 2 buckets, one for luck and the other for experience. The trick is to fill up your experience bucket before the luck bucket is empty.

Cheers,
Kinora

Serb, . If you have not by this stage read enough articles of weather forecasting and sailing a masthead boat and trimming of such in varoius wind speeds to know as a solo sailor you dont hoist a genoa in predicted winds of over 15 knots ,frankly 10 is tops on a beat, more reading and less sailing is needed.
Being a masthead rig the worse set up is genoa alone in anything over pleasant winds. I am assuming when you say genoa you mean a number one or two. Small masthead yachts in a wind need two sails up for balance eg. Jib (no.3) and reefable main . The headsail on a masthead rig is the power sail and you now know if the headsail is oversize for the wind speed the boat will be uncontrollable . If one sail only is preferred I would opt. for a reefed main which will give some control in the gusts. I'm not sure how others do it but for me as a solo I always motor straight into the wind with the tiller centred with a bungey cord and raise the main , release the topping lift and bear away. Then I trim the main . Then I turn off the motor . The headsail can be raised at your leisure last.
To drop the sails I do the same but headsail first using a downhaul so it drops straight onto foredeck ,and pull on both sheets so it stays there .

Below is a short video when we had 40-50 knots when crossing the Great Australian Bight in November. Had the staysail and about 2/3 of the in-mast furling main out. Boat felt fine, reminding me of surfing on my longboard :). As other have said, need to get comfortable with reefing and / or using a smaller jib.
Ilenart

Also remember that the breeze at your particular mooring location and out through 'Humbug' is rarely a true indication of the breeze out on the Parramatta River and up the Harbour. Read everything above and when you're done, read it again and again, then follow all the good advice shared with you - especially the reading the books. Sailing for 2hrs a week on a race boat that is so different from your Tasman will only help you when you understand WHY sail area & trim is adjusted. As you said, being 1of6 directed crew is very, very different from going out solo(or just with family) when it's up to you to make all the decisions and do all the work! Plan every trip, however small, and understand the weather changes. Onwards and upwards D.

And if your sails are old and stretched (as they most likely are) they will make things harder and cause more weather helm.

This is a headsails/kites windspeed and angles chart.
The orange is the genoa, green is the staysail.
So when I'm close hauled I should change down from the genoa to the staysail by 20knots TWS. Less if I'm solo.


This is for a fractional rig, wide beam, 10' draft and 2000 kgs in the keel.
So even though each boat will look different to the above, generally speaking the Tasman is actually doing pretty good holding full sails at 15 knots. Not surprised 20 is overpowered.

Being the exact opposite of good sailor I've found joining a club and also paying for tuition a great step forward in learning and improving. It's particularly useful if you can be instructed in your own boat so as to maximise the experience.
Just my 5c