Category: Heavy weather sailing

The “Galerider” towing device has been used on numerous occasions by deploying it from the stern during a storm, reducing the sailboat’s speed, minimizing surfing, and improving its handling with an autopilot. In this chapter, we will describe this drogue device and consider some aspects of its use on a sailboat.

New chapter dedicated to sea anchors: the importance of ship design for using a sea anchor, cone-shaped sea anchor (limitations), use of raiding sails, the parachute anchor, mooring the sea anchor on board, the Pardeys deployment method, and final considerations.

In this new chapter of the on-line book ‘Hadling heavy weather’ we are going to describe the device ‘Jordan’s series drogue’; in my opinion, the safest device to run off a storm for an oceanic sailboat. What it consists of, its main advantages and some considerations to implement it in our sailboat.

In this new chapter of the online book “Handling heavy weather” we will see the main characteristics of the two types of storm sails, which are the storm mainsail (or trysail) and the storm gib (or staysail); as well as some considerations about their use.

Hove to / heave to is a fundamental technique for weathering a storm. In this chapter 3 of the book “on-line” HEAVY WEATHER SAILING” we will see how to perform this maneuver in seven (7) simple steps, to reach the sailboat equilibrium position.