sailboat in big waves

Sailing Your Sailboat In A Storm: The Ultimate Guide

No one in their right mind chooses to direct their sailboat into a storm, and you shouldn’t either!

There’s a reason that so many songs about sailing and sailing quotes are based around storms at sea – they’re dramatic and terrifying and awe-inspiring. So inspiring that people feel the need to write about them.

In our 4 years of full-time sailing, we have only been caught out a few times. It’s never fun when you are but each time it happens you build trust in yourself and how your sailboat handles storm conditions.

The good news is that you can prepare yourself and your sailboat for storms without having to head out into one. There are several steps you can go through to ensure that if and when the time comes, you’re ready.

Sailing in stormy conditions can be a daunting experience for even the most experienced sailors. However, with the right knowledge, preparation, and mindset, you can navigate through the raging tempest and emerge safely on the other side.

In this ultimate guide, we will equip you with the essential skills and advice to sail your sailboat confidently in stormy weather.

Whether you’re an experienced sailor looking to refine your storm tactics or a beginner eager to explore the world of sailing, this guide will provide you with the tools to face the fury of nature head-on.

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Table of Contents

Pre-storm sailing checks, storm sails, your sailboat in big waves.

• Post Storm Assessment

Conclusion: Your Sailboat In A Storm

The key to sailing in a storm is being prepared. We knew this, and yet the first time we got caught in big weather we weren’t prepared at all, and we felt really stupid for it.

Don’t be us!

You should be prepared for bad weather every single time you leave the safety of the harbour. You never know when the weather will change on you and you should always know exactly what you’ll do when that happens.

Here are a few things you can do while the weather is calm to help you prepare for the worst case scenario.

The Science of Storms

Understanding the dynamics of storms, including their formation, movement, and intensification, will enable you to make informed decisions before you even leave the anchorage.

You don’t need to become a weather expert, but you should learn how to read the weather using various sailing forecasts, and be aware of all the different tools available to you.

Another key skill is knowing weather patterns in the specific area you’re sailing in. Ask local fishermen and sailors how to spot bad weather and ‘read the skies’ as well as the forecasts.

In Greece, for example, you can predict the onset of the Meltemi winds by watching for dew on the deck. You can also learn a lot from watching the fishing boats. If they suddenly flock to port it’s a sure sign there will be bad weather on the way!

Preparing Your Sailboat

Properly equipping your sailboat before setting sail is crucial for handling a storm.

We always do pre-sail checks before setting off on a passage, but after days of sailing in calm weather, it’s easy to get complacent. Especially when there’s a favourable forecast.

This was our biggest mistake in one of the big storms we got stuck in. We usually stow our paddleboards, but we were forecast great weather and decided to tie them down on deck instead. We lost one over the side after a huge wave ripped it out of the lines and washed it overboard. Luckily it wasn’t anything more important.

You need to check for things like working bilge pumps, check your marine batteries and that you have a healthy running engine, do regular rigging inspections, check your sailboat mast , and check the quality of your lines and sails. These sorts of things should all be part of your going-to-sea checklist and are easy to keep on top of because they’re so vital.

The things that are easier to forget, but just as important, are things like ensuring hatches and portholes are properly closed and fastened, cupboards are all latched, and everything is stowed away safely.

I read a really interesting account of a couple who got caught in a severe storm. When a wave hit their top-loading fridge flew open spilling the contents everywhere. Eggs all over the floor made it impossible to move around below deck safely, and serious injuries occurred.

Think of everything, every time! And make it part of your daily routine.

Safety Equipment

Alongside your regular boat checks should be regular safety equipment checks.

To begin with, you should make sure you have all the safety equipment onboard before heading out to sea. This includes things like lifejackets , tethers, jackstays, liferafts, EPIRBS, grab bags, flares, etc.

You should make sure you inspect safety equipment regularly. Keep on top of things like recharging lifejackets and getting liferafts inspected regularly. Make sure your life sling is free to run. Make sure you have a sailing knife somewhere handy.

You should also know how to use your safety equipment and regularly practice your man overboard drills.

S eamanship Techniques

Once you find yourself sailing through a storm, it’s vital to know how to handle your sailboat effectively. This requires knowing your boat and how it handles best and will take some practice.

You can practice in calm weather, you don’t need to be in the middle of a storm to figure out certain techniques (and you shouldn’t be!) Make storm tactic practice a regular part of your sailing routine, and make sure the crew is aware of what you’ll do if heavy weather creeps up on you.

We’ll take a more in-depth look at different storm tactics below!

Crew Safety and Communication

In a storm, the safety of you and your crew is paramount. Before you head out to sea you should always brief your crew so they know all the major systems onboard. Imagine you got knocked unconscious – what would they need to know to get you and the boat to safety?

They should all have appropriate safety equipment and know your rules on using it. It’s important they trust and respect you as the skipper, because if things get tough out there you’ll want them to follow your orders.

You need to make sure they are comfortable with the way you run your ship. It’s easy to bark orders that are difficult to understand when you’re under pressure, so it’s up to you as captain to practice good communication skills onboard.

Mental Preparedness

Sailing in stormy conditions can be mentally and physically demanding. Often the sailboat is fine in a storm, but the people onboard fall apart long before the boat will.

Storms bring rough seas, and rough seas bring seasickness, anxiety, fear, and panic. You need to know what you’ll do if one or more of your crew becomes able to play their role.

When we got caught in big seas on a passage from Croatia to Greece Adam was flat on his back with seasickness for most of the journey. Luckily I knew the boat well enough to single-hand for large chunks of time, and he knew how to handle his seasickness well enough that he could take short watches while I slept.

Being prepared for this mentally by knowing the boat and our own capabilities played a huge role in the fact we managed to get the boat to safety.

Storm Tactics

Make sure you carefully think through your storm tactics and share them with your crew before you head out to sea. Here are a few storm tactics that might be worth practicing on calmer sails, so you know exactly what to do when bad weather hits.

This seems like a daft one to put first, but hypothermia will kill you much quicker than a storm. Luckily when we got really caught out it was summer and the temperatures were high, but even so we very quickly realised how stupid we were for heading out without decent sailing foulies.

The night was a very cold, very wet one. We survived it, but we vowed we would have all the proper kit before ever heading out to sea again.

As a minimum, make sure you have easily accessible layers (you do not want to be rummaging around below in a bad sea state), a decent sailing jacket and waterproof trousers, non-skid shoes, or even better, sailing boots .

For colder climates, it’s wise to consider a sailing drysuit .

Before the storm picks up make sure you’re kitted out. One rogue wave that sneaks overboard before you have your waterproof layers on could be a real killer.

One of the first steps to take in any sailboat when the weather picks up is to reef the sails . It’s unlikely that a storm will go from 0 knots to 60 (though obviously this can happen!) so as the wind builds, so should the reefs in your sails.

Reefing is simply making the sail area smaller. Different boats will have different points at which they need to reef, and your sail set up will be different too. Offshore sailors often have three reefing points in their sails so they can make them as small as possible.

Reefing the mainsail is hardest. You might need to go up to the mast to drop the sail a portion of the way down before trimming the sail again.

Foresails like jibs are often on furlers, and can be furled away as small as you like. You’ll just want to be careful the sails are balanced so you don’t have to work too hard on the helm.

Once your sailboat is fully reefed and still struggling in the wind speeds you’re getting, it’s time to consider putting up your storm sail.

Your storm sail is a vital piece of safety gear on board.

Storm sails are specialized sails designed to be used in extreme weather conditions, particularly during storms or heavy winds. They are smaller, stronger, and more heavily reinforced than regular sails, allowing a sailboat to maintain control and reduce the risk of damage or capsize in challenging weather.

Here are the main types of storm sails commonly used:

• Storm Jib: The storm jib is a small headsail that is hanked or attached to the forestay closer to the deck. It is typically made of heavy-duty fabric and has a high-cut clew (lower corner) to prevent interference with the deck or waves. The storm jib is used when the wind becomes too strong for the regular headsail, providing better control and stability.
• Storm Trisail: A storm trisail is a triangular sail that is hoisted on a separate mast track, usually on the aft side of the mast. It is set independently from the mainsail and provides an alternative to using the main in extreme conditions. The storm trisail is typically made of heavy-duty fabric and has a shorter luff (leading edge) than the regular mainsail.
• Storm Staysail: A storm staysail is a small sail set between the mast and the forestay. It is usually hanked or attached to a removable stay or a dedicated inner forestay. The storm staysail provides additional stability and control when conditions are too severe for other sails. It is typically made of heavy-duty fabric and has a high-cut clew to avoid interference.

Storm sails are designed to handle high winds and heavy seas, allowing a sailboat to maintain some degree of maneuverability and control.

They are usually constructed from stronger and more durable materials, such as heavy Dacron or woven synthetic fibers, and often feature reinforced stitching and webbing to withstand the increased loads and forces experienced in stormy conditions.

It’s important to note that deploying storm sails should be done in advance of extreme weather and in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. P

roper training and experience are crucial for effectively using storm sails, as they require careful sail handling and adjustments to maintain the boat’s balance and stability.

Heaving to in a sailboat is a valuable technique used to effectively manage challenging weather conditions, especially in a storm. It allows you to temporarily pause your boat’s forward progress, stabilize it, and create a safe and controlled environment.

It’s basically putting the brakes on your sailboat.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to heave to in a sailboat, but bear in mind that every sailboat is slightly different so you will need to play around a bit with your individual boat in calm weather to work out what works best for your boat and crew.

• Assess the conditions: Determine if heaving to is the appropriate strategy for the current situation. Heaving to is most effective in moderate to heavy winds and moderate seas. If conditions are extreme or dangerous, it may be safer to consider alternative tactics or seek shelter.
• Prepare the boat: Before executing the maneuver, prepare your sailboat by reefing the sails. Reduce the sail area to a level that provides sufficient control while minimizing the boat’s forward motion. Typically, this involves reefing the mainsail by lowering it partially or completely and adjusting the headsail accordingly.
• Decide on the tack: Choose the tack to heave to based on factors such as wind direction, sea state, and the boat’s handling characteristics. The tack selection can vary depending on the boat’s design and personal preference. In general, choose the tack that allows the boat to face into the wind with the mainsail backed.
• Head up into the wind: Turn the boat into the wind by steering toward the chosen tack. This maneuver will cause the boat’s forward momentum to decrease as it approaches a position directly facing into the wind.
• Backwind the headsail: Once the boat is pointing into the wind, backwind the headsail to help balance the forces acting on the boat. To do this, ease the headsail sheet, allowing it to fill on the opposite side of the boat from its normal position. This action will counteract the forward drive and assist in keeping the boat stationary or with minimal drift.
• Adjust the rudder: Set the rudder position to maintain balance and control. Depending on the boat’s design and behavior, you may need to experiment with the rudder angle to achieve the desired heaving to effect. In some cases, you may need to lock the helm in position or use a tiller-tamer device to maintain the rudder angle.
• Fine-tune and monitor: Once in the hove-to position, make any necessary adjustments to the sails, rudder, and other controls to achieve a stable and comfortable balance. Monitor the boat’s behavior, making sure it only drifts very slowly.

The boat won’t actually stop. It will typically lie about 60 degrees off the wind, sailing at around 1 knot, and sliding to leeward.

The motion will be much less than under sail, and dramatically more stable and pleasant than dropping all sails and lying ahull. You will also be using up less sea room than if you run before the storm at great speed.

Heaving to provides a stable platform in which you can wait out a storm, take a break, or perform necessary tasks while minimizing the boat’s motion and maintaining control.

It’s important to note that the specific technique may vary depending on your sailboat’s design and the prevailing conditions, so always consult your sailboat’s manual or seek guidance from experienced sailors for your particular boat type.

Drogue Or Sea Anchor

A drogue or sea anchor is a device used in boating and sailing to provide stability and control in heavy weather or when facing strong currents, winds or waves. Its primary purpose is to reduce a boat’s drift and help maintain a more stable position relative to wind and waves.

Here are the key points and benefits of using a drogue or sea anchor:

• Reducing drift: In stormy conditions, strong winds and currents can cause a boat to drift uncontrollably, potentially leading to loss of steering and stability. By deploying a drogue or sea anchor, the device creates drag in the water, effectively slowing down the boat’s drift and providing a steadier position.
• Enhancing stability: When a drogue or sea anchor is deployed from the stern of a boat, it helps to stabilize the vessel by reducing yawing (side-to-side motion) and rolling caused by wind and waves. This stability can be crucial for crew safety, preventing excessive motion and reducing the risk of capsizing or broaching.
• Improving safety: In extreme conditions, using a drogue or sea anchor can significantly improve overall safety on board. It reduces the risk of broaching (where the boat is turned broadside to the waves) and pitch-poling (when the boat’s bow is driven under a breaking wave), both of which can lead to dangerous situations. The device helps to create a controlled environment, minimizing the chances of damage, injuries, or loss of control.

We have never needed to use our drogue, but we have been close even in the Mediterranean, so it’s good to be prepared.

If you don’t have one but you find yourself in storm conditions where you need one, then doing something like hanging lines from the stern of the boat can actually make quite a big difference,

Sailing in big waves is not for the faint of heart, but if you trust your boat and your captain it can be an exciting experience!

One of the hardest things about sailing in big waves is steering. Your most experienced helmsman should be on the helm when the weather gets rough. Reading the waves is vital.

One of the key things to remember is that you must not sail on a reach across tall, breaking waves. If they hit you at the right angle and at the right time there is every possibility they could roll the boat. It’s a good idea to be familiar with capsize ratio and what this could mean for you.

If you have to sail upwind (we would do everything possible to avoid this!) then aim towards the parts of the wave that aren’t breaking. There is huge force in breaking waves and you want to avoid them if you can. Or you might lose your paddleboard!

Tack in smooth water if possible, and try to keep the speed up as you’re going over the waves so you don’t lose steerage.

The best option is to sail on a broad reach. Even though we knew this we still attempted to sail upwind to reach our destination and it simply wasn’t possible in our older, heavy displacement boat. Instead, we turned downwind and ran all the way to Italy. It wasn’t where we needed to go (far from it) but as soon as we turned downwind the ride got a whole lot more comfortable and manageable.

When running downwind you will just need to be careful you don’t broach and turn the boat beam on to a wave. This might mean you need to deploy a drogue to slow the boat down.

Post-Storm Assessment

After the storm has passed, it’s essential to assess any damage and evaluate your performance. Someone we know sailed through the night in a storm and when he reached port he carried out a rigging inspection (knowing how much strain had been put on it).

He’s lucky the mast didn’t come down while he was up there, as there were some pretty serious points of failure just about to give. If he’d gone out sailing without checking it out first he could have been in big trouble!

Along with checking the boat for any damage it’s a great idea to do a storm debrief with your crew. Think through the things you managed really well and the things you would have done differently (there’s always something!)

Every scenario is so different, so it’s great to build up a mental picture of things that worked in certain situations and things that didn’t. Next time you get caught in bad weather you’ll be even better prepared.

In conclusion, sailing in a storm is undoubtedly one of the most challenging and intense experiences a sailor can face. It will test your skills, courage, and resilience to the core.

Yet, it is also during these tempestuous moments that the true spirit of sailing shines through. The stormy seas teach us invaluable lessons about ourselves and our abilities as sailors. It’s where I have really built confidence in my sailboat and my own strengths.

While the prospect of sailing in a storm may seem daunting, it is important to remember that with proper preparation, knowledge, and seamanship, it is possible to navigate through even the fiercest of storms. You’ll probably give up long before your sailboat will!

Understanding weather patterns, having a well-maintained vessel, and equipping oneself with the necessary safety gear are crucial steps to minimize risks.

During a storm, it is essential to remain calm and focused. Keep a clear mind, assess the situation, and make informed decisions. Trust your instincts and rely on your training and experience. Remember that storms are temporary, and your skill as a sailor will guide you towards safer waters.

Sailing in a storm also fosters a profound connection with nature. It reminds us of the immense power and unpredictability of the sea. As the winds howl and the waves crash, there is an undeniable sense of awe and respect for the forces at play.

While I wasn’t holding on for dear life, I did have time to stare in awe at the power of the ocean and it was quite an incredible feeling to be in the middle of it all. It’s the main reason people think of sailing as dangerous , and I could see why in that moment!

Lastly, sailing in a storm builds character. It teaches us perseverance, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. It cultivates a sense of resilience and fortitude that extends far beyond the realm of sailing.

In the end, while sailing in a storm may not be for the faint of heart, it is an experience that pushes us to our limits and reveals the true strength within us. But please don’t head out into one on purpose – one will find you soon enough!

It is in the face of adversity that we grow as sailors and as individuals. So, if you ever find yourself caught in a storm at sea, embrace the challenge, trust your skills, and let the storm propel you towards a greater understanding of yourself and the remarkable world of sailing.

If you’re looking for something a little more uplifting to read after this article then check out the best ocean captions for Instagram , which are a lot more light hearted and fun that talking about storms!

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• Riding the waves: how to sail and manoeuvre

Sailing in high waves can feel a lot like riding a roller coaster. If you don't manoeuvre correctly, you might experience jolts and juddering, endure long, tiring legs of the journey, or risk capsizing or colliding with an obstacle or the shore. However, it can also be a truly exhilarating experience, literally surfing the waves to your destination. In order to make sailing the high seas comfortable and safe, it is essential to understand how different types of waves are formed, how they behave and everything that influences them. 

Basics of sailing in waves

Every sailor should understand the behaviour of waves and be able to set up and trim the boat to make the most of them while minimising their negative effect on the ride. This is a fundamental skill that everyone who wants to ride a boat should practice and develop. It is the only way to get the most enjoyment out of sailing and to have the self-confidence to be able to sail in all conditions.

What is an ocean wave and how is it formed?

A sea wave is the movement of a mass of water set in motion by wind (aeolian waves) or ocean currents. Of course, waves can be caused by earthquakes, the eruption of an undersea volcano, a landslide, or a glacier, but these are extreme cases, so we will focus on the typical waves encountered at sea. Waves are the rising and falling movements of water, characterised by a peak (crest), the lowest point (trough) and height (the distance between the crest and the trough).

Wave period

Within the wave motion, the wave period is the time interval between the arrival of consecutive crests at a stationary point. The height and speed of waves depend not only on the direction and strength of the wind, but also on the water's surface area and depth. Different waves can add to or cancel each other out and have high inertia, so that they remain on the surface long after their source has disappeared. At the coast, waves tend to break and change shape. 

Sailing in waves also depends on how big a boat you are sailing on. Logically, the bigger the boat, the less trouble the waves will cause you . Objects bounce on the waves and are carried by them because they take energy from the waves. In sailing, this means that while the size of the waves is important, it also depends on the speed at which you are sailing. Because speed reduces the amount of energy that is transferred from the waves to the boat, setting it in motion and rocking it. At first glance, you may think that increasing speed in big waves is not the way to go, and in extreme conditions, a slower pace feels safer. However, it is by increasing speed that you reduce the risk of capsizing and making the boat less manoeuverable. With today's yachts, which you can typically sail in the Mediterranean and Adriatic , it is easiest to achieve consistently higher speeds when sailing downwind.

YACHTING.COM TIP: Want to learn how to pilot your boat in waves under all conditions? Sign up for a course and get your skipper's license . Experienced instructors will explain everything in detail and you'll get plenty of practice being at the helm. 

Sailing in the waves downwind

Modern boats can reach quite respectable speeds in waves when on a downwind course. However, the faster you go downwind, the more experience you need to have to manoeuvre your boat safely and reach your destination. 

Several factors come into play when steering a yacht in downwind waves. When you are surfing a wave at high speed , the rudder becomes much more sensitive than usual, and you only have to make subtle adjustments when steering. Otherwise, you risk sudden and abrupt changes in course, in the direction of the real and apparent wind and incoming waves, which can rock or even capsize the boat. The second factor is to choose the angle at which you ride the wave so that you are heading in the right direction into its trough. A good example is surfers who never ride a wave straight, but always at a perpendicular angle to its direction .

Match boat speed to wave speed

In practice, this means that as the stern of the boat starts to rise and the nose drops down, you should ease out of the waves slightly (that is, angle the rudder to leeward, turn the boat more upwind and possibly trim the sails) to give the boat more speed. The bigger and faster the wave is, the more you need to change course so that the boat's speed is as close to the speed of the wave as possible. The moment you start to surf the wave, do not head straight down into the wave. If you do, you will very likely dig the boat's tip into the previous wave, slow down sharply, the wave will roll past you, and the direction of the apparent wind will change substantially.

YACHTING.COM TIP: Wondering what kind of winds blow in the Mediterranean and how to sail in them? Take a look at the 7 most common winds you'll find in the Mediterranean .

In addition, when a wave hits a boat , it transfers its energy to the boat , and if the boat is comparatively small in relation to the wave and moving slowly, it cause it to capsize . The ideal is to angle the boat so that it glides along the side of the wave (regardless of whether you are riding it "uphill" or riding it "downhill"  so to speak). In addition to extending the surf time on the wave, this will keep the boat at a constant speed.

Sailing in waves against the wind

Riding upwind and against waves is much more difficult and uncomfortable than riding downwind in waves. Even a slightly undulating surface can significantly reduce your speed and ability to stay on course . This can sailing quite a bit longer and you will also be less comfortable. However, if you have no choice but to sail upwind in waves, you'll want to know how to guide the boat so that you don't have to use the engine as additional propulsion. As in any situation, strategy and tactics depend on specific conditions, but the basic lessons remain the same.

A wave is created by the movement of a mass of water in a cycle — upwind at the top and downwind at the bottom. As always, you must ride the waves so that you can use their energy to your advantage and increase the speed of the boat. The general rule of thumb is that when riding a wave "uphill", you should tack the boat slightly , and on the crest of the wave when going "downhill", you should be able to ride the wave  (that is, the helm should be deflected to windward, the boat will start to turn downwind and the helmsman or trimmer should ease the sails so as not to risk capsizing the boat). This manoeuvre is done to spend as little time as possible with the boat on top of the wave while keeping a more or less straight course despite manoeuvring into the waves.

The apparent wind also plays a role here. When you slow down as you ride up a wave, the apparent wind changes direction and allows you to climb more and tack . Conversely, when riding down a wave, the boat speeds up and the apparent wind matches your need to drop off downwind. The disadvantage of this method of sailing into waves is that frequent course changes make it difficult to set and trim the sails optimally. If the waves are not too high, just set the sails on a straight course. As long as the wind strength or direction does not change, you can be pretty sure you have the trim right. In stronger winds and bigger waves, trimming is much more challenging. If your sails are too tight or loose, you will have a hard time trimming and dropping.

YACHTING.COM TIP: You should always take into account wind direction and strength, and the accompanying waves, when you're taking the boat out for longer crossings. Check out  how to plan your sailing route properly .

How to set your sails in waves

The best way is to set the sails to have the best possible performance over the widest possible range of  different courses . This will deal with changes in boat speed and associated changes in apparent wind. If the waves are really high, the reference point for setting the sails should be based on the maximum speed you can reach at the top of the wave. In waves, you should also reef the sails much earlier than in normal conditions. Another good trick and alternative to reefing when sailing in stronger winds and bigger waves is to furl the sails , that is, to set them so that the top half near the backstay releases some of its power. It is common on racing boats in regattas to have the trimmer working with the sails constantly as the waves come up.

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When to start using the engine in waves.

If you and your boat are struggling to ride the waves, it's time to start thinking about using your engine to help you. Especially in lighter winds. While using the power of the engine makes sense when sailing upwind in waves  and gets you to your destination faster, using the engine doesn't make much sense when sailing downwind in waves. Downwind, the boat usually has enough speed and the only result will be that you will use more fuel without achieving the desired performance.

For experienced skippers, helmsmen and crew who have logged many hours at sea, riding the waves is a fun and adrenaline-filled experience. However, if you have more beginners on board or crew members who are prone to getting seasick , or if the situation is generally beyond you, there is no point in worrying and continuing your journey. In these cases, always keep a list of marinas on your route handy to fall back on in challenging conditions.

Riding the waves on autopilot

Autopilot and waves don't usually get along. Of course, technology is always evolving, and new systems of auto-navigation and auto-steering of the boat are becoming more and more sophisticated, allowing them to adjust the heel, change course and even work with apparent wind. Yet no instrument can replace the experienced eye and hand of the captain or helmsman. Technology and instruments should serve as an aid rather than an all-powerful tool . Even on a boat without the latest technology, it is often easy to rely on the system's calculations instead of just following the compass. So, if you want to use the autopilot in waves, you should be sure it is flawlessly and correctly set up.

YACHTING.COM TIP:  If you are sailing downwind in waves and you know that the boat will accelerate as it comes down from the crest of the wave into the trough, set the autopilot to follow the  true wind  direction. When riding waves upwind, the autopilot may actually maintain a better course than the person at the helm. In this case, it is worth setting the autopilot for  apparent wind  because the course changes are much smaller .

Tame the waves and enjoy a sailing adrenaline rush

Sailing in the waves has its own set of challenges that need a certain amount of skill and feel for steering the boat, as well as knowledge of navigation and navigational aids. However, if you grasp the fundamentals and understand the different sorts of waves and how they behave, riding the waves can be an unforgettable experience. As is always the case at sea, you need to be well prepared, assess your experience and strengths correctly, and don't put yourself at any unnecessary risk.

Take a look at our offer of sailboats:

Do you need advice on choosing the right boat for your holiday contact us..

Denisa Nguyenová

Faq: how to sail in big waves.

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HOW TO SAIL SAFELY THROUGH A STORM

Tips and tricks to help you get home safe.

Compared to the quick response and sudden nature of a squall , sailing through a storm in open water is an endurance contest. In addition to big wind, you’ll have to deal with big waves and crew fatigue.

Sailing in Waves

Sailing in big waves is a test of seamanship and steering, which is why you should put your best driver on the helm. Experienced dinghy sailors often are very good at heavy air steering, because they see “survival” weather more often than most cruisers.

Avoid sailing on a reach across tall breaking waves; they can roll a boat over. When sailing close-hauled in waves, aim toward flat spots while keeping speed up so you can steer. To reduce the chance of a wave washing across the deck, tack in relatively smooth water. A cubic foot of water weighs 64 pounds, so a wave can bring many hundreds of pounds of water across the deck.

Sailing on a run or broad reach in big waves is exhilarating, but be careful not to broach and bring the boat beam-to a breaker. Rig a preventer to hold the boom out.

Storm Sails

If reefing isn’t enough to reduce power, it’s time to dig out your storm sails — the storm trysail and storm jib. They may seem tiny, but since wind force rises exponentially, they’re the right size for a really big blow. Storm trysails are usually trimmed to the rail, but some modern ones are set on the boom. The storm jib should be set just forward of the mast to keep the sail plan’s center of effort near the boat’s center of lateral resistance. This helps keep the boat in balance.

Storm Strategy

The first decision before an approaching storm is the toughest: Run for cover, or head out to open water for sea room? With modern forecasting, a true storm will rarely arrive unannounced, but as you venture further offshore the chances of being caught out increase. While running for cover would seem the preferred choice, the danger lies in being caught in the storm, close to shore, with no room to maneuver or run off.

Two classic storm strategies are to try to keep away from land so you’re not blown up on shore, and to sail away from the storm’s path — especially its “dangerous semicircle,” which is its right side as it advances.

Storm Tactics

Storm tactics help you handle a storm once you’re in it. There are several proven choices, all of which aim to reduce the strain and motion by pointing one of the boat’s ends (either bow or stern) toward the waves. No one tactic will work best for all boats in all conditions.

Sail under storm jib and deeply reefed mainsail or storm trysail. This approach provides the most control. Sails give you the power to steer and control your boat in the waves.

Run before the storm with the stern toward the waves, perhaps towing a drogue to slow the boat. This tactic requires a lot of sea room, and the boat must be steered actively. Another concern is that you will remain in front of an approaching storm, rather than sailing out of its path.

Heave-to on a close reach with the jib trimmed to windward. Heaving-to can be an excellent heavy weather tactic, though some boats fare better than others.

Deploy a sea anchor while hove-to or under bare poles. A sea anchor is a small parachute set at the end of a line off the bow. A sea anchor helps keep the bow up into the waves so the boat won’t end up beam to the seas. One concern is the load on the rudder as waves push the boat aft.

Another alternative is lying ahull, simply sitting with sails down. This passive alternative is less reliable than the other tactics, as you lose the ability to control your angle to the waves and may end up beam to the seas. Furthermore, the motion of the boat rolling in the waves without the benefit of sails can be debilitating.

Want to order a storm trysail or storm jib for your boat? Contact a North Sails Expert here .

How to Heave-To

Wouldn’t it be great if, during a heavy air sail, you could just take a break, and relax for a bit? Imagine a short respite from the relentless pitching and pounding: a chance to rest, take a meal, or check over the boat in relative tranquility. Well, you can. The lost art of heaving-to allows you to “park” in open water.

To heave-to, trim the jib aback (i.e., to the wrong side), trim the main in hard, and lash the helm so the boat will head up once it gains steerageway. As the jib tries to push the bow down, the bow turns off the wind and the main fills, moving the boat forward. Once the boat begins to make headway, the lashed helm turns the boat toward the wind again. As the main goes soft the jib once again takes over, pushing the bow down. The main refills, and the rudder pushes the bow into the wind again.

The boat won’t actually stop. It will lie about 60 degrees off the wind, sailing at 1 or 2 knots, and making significant leeway (sliding to leeward). The motion will be much less than under sail, and dramatically more stable and pleasant than dropping all sails and lying ahull. You will also be using up less sea room than if you run before the storm at great speed.

Achieving this balance will require some fine tuning, depending on the wind strength, your boat design, and the sails you are flying. Also, fin-keeled boats do not heave to as well as more traditional designs.

In storm seas, some boats will require a sea anchor off the bow to help hold the boat up into the waves while hove-to.

Alternate Storm Strategy: Don’t Go

If conditions are wrong, or are forecast to worsen, don’t go. If you can avoid the storm, then do so.

If you’re at home, stay there. If you’re mid-cruise, button up the boat, make sure your anchor or mooring or dock lines are secure, and then read a book or play cards. Relax. Enjoy the time with your shipmates. Study the pile of Owners’ Manuals you’ve accumulated with each piece of new gear. Tinker with boat projects.

Put some soup on the stove, and check on deck every so often to make sure the boat is secure. Shake your head as you return below, and remark, “My oh my, is it nasty out there.”

If your boat is threatened by a tropical storm or hurricane, strip all excess gear from the deck, double up all docking or mooring lines, protect those lines from chafe, and get off. Don’t risk your life to save your boat.

Misery and Danger

Although everyone will remember it differently years later, a long, wet, cold sail through a storm can be miserable. As the skipper, you need to make the best of it: watch over your crew, offer relief or help to those who need it, and speak a few words of encouragement to all. “This is miserable, but it will end.”

Take the time to marvel at the forces of nature, and at your ability to carry on in the midst of the storm. Few people get to experience the full fury of a storm. It may not be pleasant, but it is memorable.

While misery and discomfort can eventually lead to fatigue, diminished performance, and even danger, do not mistake one for the other. Distinguish in your own mind the difference between misery and danger. Don’t attempt a dangerous harbor entrance to escape misery; that would compromise the safety of the boat and crew, just to avoid a little discomfort.

Interested in a new sail quote or have questions about your sails? Fill out our Request a Quote form below and you will receive a reply from a North sail expert in your area.

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Staying Safe In Heavy Weather

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Hard-won advice from a search-and-rescue expert on staying safe when the weather kicks up.

Taking waves at about a 45-degree angle to the bow, as this boat is doing, is the safest and most comfortable way to navigate large waves. (Photo: Albert Bartkus)

A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it's not always the fastest, safest, or most comfortable route. One cold, windy day as I patrolled Lake Meredith in the Texas Panhandle, I received a report of a small boat drifting about eight miles away. Lake Meredith is a long lake and the wind was blowing hard at a slight angle across the water and toward me.

Battling the fierce head sea, it would take me almost an hour to reach the disabled craft, and the ranger who reported the problem doubted a rescue could be made before the boat crashed into the leeward shore. After evaluating the situation, I turned beam to the sea and crossed the lake. Once in the shelter of the windward shoreline, I cruised in nearly calm water to a point above the disabled vessel. Running with the waves, I swooped in and made the rescue. Although I had traveled farther than if I had taken a direct route, I completed the rescue in less than 30 minutes.

Handling heavy weather in small boats means paying attention to conditions and using whatever advantages you have to protect the boat from the waves. It's safest to take the waves on the bow, operate near the windward shore, and stay away from the leeward shore.

But the skipper must be prepared to manage the boat in all three basic sea conditions — head seas, beam seas, and following seas. Each has its own characteristics and dangers. Each requires different operational maneuvers and techniques.

When you're taking the waves on your bow, you're running into a head sea. This usually poses little danger to the average powerboat. However, open-bow boats (referred to by lake-patrol rangers as "water scoops") are at greater risk than closed-bow boats. Most small, open-bow or low-freeboard boats should not be operated in heavy weather on large bodies of water at all. Larger vessels have a bow designed to meet waves. With an experienced skipper, they can safely handle moderate to severe conditions so long as the boat is trimmed (leveled) properly and operated at an appropriate speed. When trimming the boat, pay attention to the center of gravity, at the bow, the stern, the trim, and list. Here's how:

Trim the boat so it's flat:

A bow trimmed too low will cause the boat to plow through the water and plunge into and under oncoming waves, giving everyone a wet ride while taking on dangerous amounts of water. A bow trimmed too high may provide a drier ride, but the boat will pound and be very uncomfortable. The stern, already a vulnerable area, will be even lower in the water than normal. Engine trim should be adjusted so the props don't cavitate as the boat pitches, rolls, or makes sharp maneuvers through breaking waves. Generally, this means the outboard or outdrives should be in the full down position. Prevent list: Canting from side to side, or listing, reduces stability and is very dangerous. Vessels equipped with adjustable trim tabs or planes and engine trim provide the operator with options for improving the boat's ride and performance in heavy seas. As a general rule, trim tabs should be set so the vessel rides as level as possible.

Lower center of gravity:

Passengers and heavy objects should be moved to the center of the vessel to lower the center of gravity and increase stability. Gas cans, ice chests, and heavy gear need to be secured to prevent loose items from tumbling about and causing injury. In heavy weather, there's enough to worry about without dodging flying gas cans. Even a well-trimmed boat can get into trouble if it isn't operated at a proper speed for the conditions. Almost everyone tries to go too fast. Pounding is hard on the vessel and crew and should be avoided. One boat I saw that had been operated on a choppy day for only a few hours by an inexperienced Park Service employee looked as if it had been in combat. Pounding through waves had stripped screws and loosened the cabin bulkhead; the dash was held in place only by the instrument wiring. Heavy-weather boating is displacement boating. Don't even think about getting up on plane. Never go fast enough to fly through the wave crests or cause the props to clear the water. Too much speed can result in the bow plunging under waves as the vessel pitches over the crest into a trough. I've seen good, seaworthy boats flooded or sunk because the operator didn't slow down and let the bow rise with each wave. The bigger the chop, the slower the speed. Operating in head seas requires constant tending of the helm and throttle to allow the boat to ride up and down with each wave. Slow down and angle into and through each crest, then resume course and speed up. If your prop comes out of the water as you pitch over a crest, throttle back to avoid racing the engine. In choppy seas over four feet, you will just barely make headway when meeting the seas on your bow.

One of my worst experiences with a head sea occurred one winter day when I was dispatched to rescue a sinking vessel in the main body of the lake. I headed out of a protected cove into the largest combers I'd ever seen (a comber is a large wave that has reached its peak and broken into foam). As each successive wave struck, it buried the forward half of the boat in swirling, foaming water. In those conditions, I could not continue meeting the waves head on. Instead, I began tacking into the seas, zigzagging to take the waves on the bow quarters. Taking the waves at an angle converts some of the severe pitching motion to rolling motion, giving a more comfortable ride at a slightly faster speed. To tack in a head sea, select a course that meets the seas at an angle of about 45 degrees. After traveling in one direction for a while, change direction 90 degrees to take the seas at roughly 45 degrees from the other side. How long you stay on one course before changing direction to the other angle is a judgment call. Because turning in high seas presents some risk and requires an alert, skillful operator, travel as far as you can in one direction before changing course.

The Art Of "Heave To"

There can come a point when the seas grow so large that it's no longer safe to try to make headway. When this happens, you can "heave to." Head into the waves, reduce speed while maintaining steerageway, and hold your position. Heaving to under power allows you to wait for the storm to pass while taking the seas from a relatively safe direction. This survival technique will reduce pitching and reduce or eliminate rolling, the motion that frequently causes seasickness. As one wit put it, "Heave to or your crew will heave, too!"

Head Seas: If your destination is upwind, tack into the head sea by traveling at 45 degrees to the waves and then changing direction 90 degrees to take the seas at 45 degrees from the other side. Beam Seas: If your destination puts the wind and waves on the beam, tacking is still the safest approach, but in this case take the seas on your bow quarter and then change course approximately 90 degrees to take the seas on your stern quarter.

I have not often had to heave to. Once, however, when operating during a storm at night near a shoreline with reefs, I decided it was better to heave to than risk going aground. After the storm passed, I reestablished my position and again made headway. Gerry Spiess tells of a similar experience in the book Alone Against the Atlantic that he wrote with Marlin Bree. He was under power on White Bear Lake, Minnesota, testing his sailboat Yankee Girl in a lake storm before attempting a North Atlantic crossing. After some difficulty bringing down the sails in screaming wind and pouring rain, Spiess scrambled into the safety of the boat's cabin and hove to. He says, "I needed power to maintain my position in the center of the lake. I headed Yankee Girl directly into the jaws of the wind. We seemed to be blowing backwards, so I turned the throttle up to three-quarters power. Even with the added boost, Yankee Girl made barely enough speed to give us steerageway. Still, she was holding her own."

In a beam sea, the vessel is broadside to oncoming waves. These waves strike the craft's sides and cause it to roll from side to side. The effect of a beam sea depends on the vessel: its width, how top-heavy it is, its freeboard, and hull design. Beam seas cause two problems. First, the rolling motion is very uncomfortable for passengers and crew. Second, when wave height equals or exceeds boat width, there's a very real danger of capsizing. In my 21-foot patrol boat, I avoid taking the sea on the beam any time the waves are higher than four to five feet.

Even though an experienced helmsman can operate a large boat in a moderate beam sea, successful maneuvering requires constant attention. The operator must watch for big waves and turn to meet them on the forward quarter. At this point it's a good idea to get the seas off your beam by using the zigzag-tacking maneuver described in the last section. When you tack in a head sea, you angle into the wind, taking the sea first on one side of the bow and then the other. When you tack in a beam sea, you angle first into the wind and then angle away from the wind.

First take the seas on your bow quarter, then change course approximately 90 degrees to take the seas on your stern quarter, but beware, there are special risks and steps to take when the seas are on your quarter, as we'll discuss below. In most cases you should make the tacks as long as possible and be extra vigilant when the seas are on the stern quarter. A combination of slowing and turning to meet the waves at an angle will reduce your risk of capsizing. Tacking is a slow way to get where you're going, but it's more comfortable and safer than being hammered on the beam.

Following Seas

In a following sea, both the vessel and waves move in the same direction. If the waves are moderate, a following sea presents only a small risk for larger powerdriven craft. But one Coast Guard manual warns boat operators that running before heavy seas is potentially their most dangerous option because it can easily lead to broaching or pitchpoling (see illustrations). Handling following seas requires careful attention by the helmsman and constant use of throttle and rudder. Should you find yourself in this dangerous position, try to stay on the backside of a wave through controlled use of power. Surfing down the front of a wave will cause the bow to bury into the trough and could lead to pitchpoling (see illustration). If you find yourself racing down the front of a wave, immediately throttle back. Should the stern start to yaw, counter this tendency by turning slightly to that side. Correct a sideslip as soon as it happens, or the boat could broach — turn sideways to the waves — and get rolled (see illustration). Most small planing boats are capable of going faster than the waves and can easily stay on the back of a wave.

In a following sea, the danger is that the boat will be pitchpoled or broached.

Displacement vessels, such as sailboats under power and houseboats, may not be able to outrun the waves. When the seas are going faster than you are, slow down as the following wave approaches and let the wave pass quickly under the boat, then increase power and chase it until the next wave approaches. And never, never stop in a following sea. When a boat stops, the wave following it hits the transom and splashes up and over into the boat. One big wave can swamp a small boat. The next wave can capsize or sink it. Many seamanship texts devote several pages to turning in heavy seas, but for most inland boaters it's rarely that big a deal. For the majority of small power-driven boats in heavy weather, a smartly executed maneuver is all that's required. In extreme conditions, however, it's important to avoid being caught broadside to the seas, which can lead to a rollover. The critical factor is timing. As your vessel comes up on a crest, put the helm over hard and punctuate the turn with a burst of power. With most small boats, this will bring you about quickly enough to avoid a rollover.

Having issued these words of warning, I must stress that most boats are seaworthy. You're safer than you think! In almost all cases, your vessel will be able to ride out even the worst of storms. There are many stories of disabled boats being found, while the passengers and crew that abandoned them during a storm were never seen again.

Final Safety Tips

• Wear a properly fitted life jacket.
• Avoid operating small boats with open bows, low freeboard, or shallow transoms in heavy weather.
• Adjust trim and lower the center of gravity.
• Place crew and heavy objects near the center of the boat and as low as possible.
• Take the waves on the bow if you can.
• Head for the nearest windward shore when caught by a storm. Remember: It is much better to spend the night in a protected cove or on a windward shore than to never make it home at all.

— Chris Landers

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Chuck Luttrell

Contributor, BoatUS Magazine

A search and survival specialist, Chuck Luttrell is a Department of the Interior-certified instructor in motorboat operation.

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How to sail in Waves – 10 tips for sailing in the sea

For inland sailors, the annual pilgrimage to the class championships usually means more than just sand, salt water, and ice creams — it can also bring big seas!  Mark Rushall solves some common problems that racing in waves pose. 

Sailing in waves can be some of the most fun you can have afloat, and with the big breezes we’ve been enjoying this summer chances are most sea venues — and even some inland ones — will have kicked up a good chop.

But handling waves also requires some specific techniques, we get some top tips…

Sailing in the Waves Tip 1

‘Inland, or on the sea in flat water, I am as fast as anyone. But as soon as we are sailing in waves, I struggle for height upwind. How should I steer the boat?’

Literally: with trim! Inevitably when steering in waves you have to use some rudder to get the boat to turn quickly, but the more you can instigate the steering with weight and trim, the less drag you will induce through the rudder, and the faster you will go (this principle applies to all the ‘steering’ advice in this feature).

To luff, sheet on and allow the boat to heel slightly to leeward. To bear away, hike harder and if necessary, ease a click of main.

To accelerate the bear away, ‘bounce’ the boat to windward which will momentarily flick the leech open, helping the turn.

But read Rule 42 carefully before getting too enthusiastic about using kinetics in waves. Before we deal with your actual steering question, just a point about rig set up. To drive the boat upwind through the waves you need extra power.

However, the power available from the wind will vary depending on which part of the wave you are on, and which way the rig is moving at the time. It’s easier to keep the boat flat by working extra hard or easing sheets momentarily in the apparent puffs, than to find extra power when the rig is depowered for the peaks. Therefore, set the rake, rig controls, etc for the minimums, not the maximums, and work harder to keep the boat flat through the peaks.

Powering up by pulling extra hard on the leeches will not work when the rig is bouncing around: the sails will just stall. The waves affect your apparent wind direction as well as its speed. This, rather than bad steering, may be the cause of your height problem.

To avoid this, sail with deeper, more twisted sails than you would in flat water: the boom as close as possible to the centreline, but top telltale streaming most of the time: jib twisted to match with a nice parallel slot. The depth could come from an extra chock, more strut or lowers, spreaders forward, or a very slight outhaul ease.

A deeper jib will also give a nice big ‘groove’: allowing you to steer the boat around the waves as much as possible without a stall. This should give you a powerful rig but one which will cope with the constant change, and be kinder to steer to. Now back to the question of waves. In typical regular waves, in moderate conditions, the waves are travelling directly downwind.

The water in the waves is moving in a circular motion: downwind at the top, upwind at the bottom. Luff as you climb the face of the wave so that you spend as little time as possible in the peak: bear off as you cross the peak onto the back of the wave. The bigger the waves, the more extreme the motion needs to be. That is the basis of sailing upwind in regular waves: take every opportunity you can to watch the fast sailors in the conditions of the day, and practice getting ‘in phase’.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 2

‘In light winds, the waves come too quickly to use this technique: I can’t turn the boat fast enough.’

Depending on the speed of the waves, your boat, and its manoeuvrability, there is always a lower limit where it is simply not possible to steer around the waves in the way described above. The waves just shake the boat and rig around; the rig stalls; and the boat bounces up and down going nowhere. Whereas in moderate winds the crew should concentrate weight together as much as possible, to reduce the amount of power needed to lift the bow over each wave, in light winds the power lost through a bouncing, stalled rig is far more significant. So, move further apart (in the fore/aft direction), to try to reduce the bouncing.

Twist your sails even more, and sail as free as is necessary to keep the boat moving forward, with rig and foils working. Now you can simply steer to make the most of the flatter patches of water; sheeting on and sailing higher, and minimise the effect of the really bumpy bits by easing the jib a touch and steering slightly free as they approach, until you are through.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 3

 ‘When seas are really confused, and there are no obvious regular peaks and troughs, how should I sail through this?’

Again, it’s a damage limitation exercise. When the waves are not regular there are always high and low spots. As helmsman your focus needs to be on the water a half boat length or so in front of the bow. Steer for the obvious low spots as they appear, and avoid the biggest highs: the larger the differences between highs and lows, the further it will be worth deviating from the mean course to minimise the effect of this obstacle course. If there are no obvious high spots and low spots, sail freer and faster through the worst bits: your speed will at least ensure that the rig and foils are working, whereas trying to sail high and slowly will stall both and contribute to a slide to leeward.

‘What should I do when the wind and waves are not from the same direction?’

A leftover swell from a storm on the day before gives good opportunities for gains from accurate steering. There are three effects to consider: your boat goes faster downhill; the water at the top of the wave will push in the direction of the wave, that in the bottom against it; and this circular water flow in the wave will affect your apparent wind, in both strength and direction. The best steering technique depends on the relative directions of wind and waves, the wind and wave speed, and the type of boat.

With a different ‘right’ answer for every combination of wave size and direction and wind strength, my advice is to spend plenty of time before the start sailing in the racing area to work out the best steering technique on each tack. If the swell is big and the wind light the sails will have to be continuously trimmed as well. Watch the other boats, both before the start and during the race: the bigger the difference the effect of good and bad steering, the more obvious the winning technique will be.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 4

‘Downwind, when should I be concentrating on trying to catch a wave, and when should I just be concentrating on sailing the boat fast through the water?’

Double Olympic medallist Simon Hiscocks says: ‘Don’t chase a wave unless you are certain that you are going to catch it.’ When running in nonplaning conditions in both symmetric and asymmetric boats; the focus downwind is on soaking as much as possible without stalling the spinnaker: sailing higher than this to try to catch an impossible wave will simply result in extra distance sailed. The steering objective when the waves are not big enough — or you are not going fast enough to have a realistic chance to surf them — should be to use the extra speed to gain ground to leeward, with a slight luff just as the boat slows to keep the flow going. In these conditions, steering can all be done with body weight: roll the boat to windward (with a simultaneous ‘squeeze’ of guy and sheet of a symmetric kite) to scoot down to leeward. If the waves are irregular, it’s also unlikely that you will get any assistance: the objective in these conditions as with steering upwind is to aim for the obvious low spots and avoid the ‘mountains’. Keep a good eye out for larger patches of flatter  water: it may be possible to gybe or sail high for a short period to find a more helpful part of the race track.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 5

‘What about when I’m going downwind at about the same speed as the waves — should I be trying to surf them?’

The problem with this situation is that the wave speed is potentially limiting your downwind speed: it feels great to be surfing the wave behind but all you do is run into and get held up by the one in front. In theory the whole fleet could be travelling at exactly the same speed, limited by the wave speed. On the run, the gains are made by using the steering technique described above. Use any extra speed to steer further downwind, getting closer to the mark, rather than just pushing water. But keep an eye out for any low spots in the wave crests ahead: every time you find one low enough to break through you will make a gain on the boats around by sailing high and finding enough reaching speed to do just that.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 6

‘What is the technique in real surfing conditions?’

In classic surfing conditions, there is not enough wind to keep the boat continuously planing. The waves are not so big and fast that their speed can’t be matched by sailing on your boat’s fastest point of sailing (with the help of whatever kinetics are allowed by your sailing instructions: a part of your repertoire does have to be an understanding of Rule 42!). There is no doubt that the best sailing surfers are those who have tried real surfing: that’s the first recommended training process! If you want background reading, Garry Hoyt in Go for the Gold describes the processes common to surfers and surfing sailors. Just as the stern begins to lift, accelerate the boat by luffing to a reach. The bigger and faster the wave, the earlier and more extreme an angle change is required to get you boat speed close to that of the wave.

Achieve maximum acceleration by pumping, and move sharply forward in the boat to get the bow down, bearing away to stay with the wave. The timing of the pump is critical: you want the pump to add to your boat not to maintain it. Once surfing, don’t steer straight down the wave: you’ll hit the one in front, stop, and the wave will roll past. Turn so the boat slides along the face of the wave, upwind or downwind of the wave perpendicular, to maximise the ride. In a dinghy, the steering can once again be done by moving body weight. In a keelboat or Sportsboat, a couple of pumps of the tiller may turn the boat then unload the rudder at the critical moment of acceleration.

If the waves are really fast, aim to reach in the trough, pump and bear away as the following wave catches, then use the surf to sail below the rhumbline, staying with it as long as possible. Now you are set up to luff to accelerate in the next trough. In all cases, begin the next cycle while you still have momentum, luffing to keep speed on for the next opportunity.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 7

  ‘What about when I am sailing faster than the waves?’

Modern high performance boats are in this mode in most conditions downwind. There is no point steering down the wave just to put the nose straight into the wave in front. In these conditions we are back to sailing around the obstacle course. On the larger scale keep looking for any flatter areas to aim for; on the small scale looking for the local low spots to steer through without deflecting from the optimal downwind angle for the conditions.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 8

‘How do I stop my Fireball nose diving on the run?’

Once a traditional performance boat runs into the wave in front in a breeze, the result is usually wet! In non-extreme conditions it should be possible to bear away or luff to lift the bow over the back of the wave at an angle, rather than straight into it.

As you bear off, (assuming you are sitting to leeward) sit out hard to keep the boat flat: the crew should lean in at the same time.

As you luff, step into the centreline of the boat and sheet on to keep the main driving. Trapeze crew should be clipped on and ready to step out to help balance. If these techniques don’t succeed, it’s probably windy enough for apparent wind sailing. Give up on pointing at the leeward mark, luff up to a broad reach with the crew trapezing as high as possible and the helm perching on the windward side deck. There is now no danger from the waves, and if you get the wind shifts right the gains will be enormous!

Sailing in the Waves Tip 9

  ‘Are there any special steering techniques for cross-wave sailing?’

In light winds, as when beating, keep the rig as still as possible, by steering along or down the waves as much as possible. This will minimise stall and maximise drive. Use the same technique on a beam reach when wind and waves are aligned.

In medium winds, power up the rig as much as possible: ease the outhaul, use moderate vang. Steer to surf down the bigger sets of waves: sail higher between the big sets to keep speed on and maintain direction.

Sailing in the Waves Tip 10

‘What is the best way to improve my wave technique?’

If you want to understand the theory, try reading Frank Bethwaite’s High Performance Sailing . But there is no substitute for getting on the water and doing it: preferably with a tuning buddy, outside a racing environment. That gives you the chance to experiment, and to develop a ‘feel’ for what works. A good coach might help to accelerate this process.

Practising in waves is fun, and the rewards from getting it right are huge. As Garry Hoyt writes, ‘There’s gold in them thar hills!’

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The Dos and Don’ts of Navigating Big Waves When Boating

We all want to boat in calm, pleasant weather, but sometimes that’s just not the case. When the weather turns on a dime, you want to be prepared to handle it with care, expertise, and precision. Our Smooth Moves team has tips for boating in big waves, which can help you safely navigate back to shore.

How Waves Are Measured (And Why It Matters)

There are four elements we look at when measuring waves:

• Height (Bottom of the wave to the crest)
• Length (Crest to crest)
• Steepness (Angle from the crest to the bottom of the wave)
• Period (Time between crests)

Noting these elements, even simply eyeballing them, can help inform your plan. Are you noticing an increase in wave height or steepness? Stay put, especially if you’re far from shore—conditions are getting worse.

Is wave length or the time between waves increasing? That could be a sign that the storm is dying down. Watch the direction of the waves to see how the wind is moving.

Successfully Boating in Big Waves

If you’re caught out on the water during inclement weather, the best thing you can do is keep your head. Making educated decisions will help get you, your passengers, and your boat safely back to shore.

→ Do watch out for waves that are comparable in size, power, and shape to your boat. Your best bet is to wait where you are until the waves die down.

→ Don’t forget to put on your life jacket. In fact, this should be mandatory for everyone on your boat. Boating in big waves can make plenty of passengers nervous, and rightly so—this safety step helps calm nerves and protect everyone onboard.

→ Do look up the standard wave heights for the waters you’re heading to and prepare an escape plan before going out. However, remember that those standards are just a guide, and waves can be larger.

→ Don’t immediately head back to shore without a plan. The closer you are to the shore, the more shallow the water gets, which means the waves can be bigger.

→ Do orient your boat so that oncoming waves break along either side of it instead of head-on.

→ Don’t go too fast through the waves trying to race back to shore. Instead, reduce your speed and concentrate on strategic steering.

What Wind Speed Creates Choppy Water? Wind at or higher than fifteen knots, or 17 miles per hour, can lead to choppy, unmanageable water.

Sick of the Swells? Make Your Ride a Smooth One

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Want more boating content? Stay tuned to our Smooth Moves blog for more boating and fishing tips. Our articles are for passionate anglers like yourself looking to take care of their backs while enjoying all the water has to offer.

Related Reading: What You Need to Know When Driving a Boat in Rough Water

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How to navigate using waves

• Katy Stickland
• February 18, 2021

Developing a thorough understanding of what the waves are telling you can provide you with a 'sixth sense' when it comes to navigation, says Dag Pike

Paying attention to the waves helps build your situational awareness to back up what the plotter is telling you. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

When voyages of discovery were being made 500 years ago and navigators had to make landfalls without any charts, being able to navigate using waves was a valuable technique, writes Dag Pike .

Indeed many of the ancient sea-going cultures also relied on waves for navigation.

The waves breaking on the rocks or reefs of an island would often be the first sign of land, but there are also more subtle and varied ways of reading the waves too.

Learning to interpret them is an art rather than a science, but is one that will give you an invaluable sense of your surroundings, and will alert you to danger when something doesn’t feel right.

Electronic navigation has taken over our lives as navigators, even before GPS in the days of Loran C and Decca.

Satellite navigation is more accurate than ever, and with the advent of satellite receivers that can derive a position from several separate satellite constellations, they also have redundancy built in.

A chartplotter screen gives the impression of indubitable accuracy, but datum shifts or, more likely, inaccurate or out-of-date chart data can throw a spanner in the works.

Add in shifting coastlines, river mouths and sandbanks, and it would be foolish to rely solely on what the little glowing screen tells you about your location.

This is why learning to navigate using waves is such a vital skill to have in your armoury.

Spotting shoal patches

If there is shallow water and there is a swell running then you will almost certainly see the waves breaking on the shallow patches.

The problem of course is, what comprises a shallow patch?

The entrance to the River Deben is notorious for its dangerous bar. When you navigate using winds, remember sandbanks and shoals move frequently, so charts are rarely correct. Credit: Clynt Garnham/Alamy

Much will depend on the size of the waves but you can be fairly sure that there will be breaking waves in any depth of less than 2.5m (8ft) when there are ocean waves rolling into the shore and these will allow you to identify the shallows.

Think about making an approach to a shallow entrance with a shifting seabed in an onshore wind, such as the Deben on the East Coast, Chichester Harbour bar, or Caernarfon Bar in North Wales.

The charts and buoys may tell you one thing, but if there is breaking water across the entrance ahead, it would be foolish to plough on regardless, and better to stand off.

Patches of broken water, however, may confirm where the shallows are and reveal where the channel has shifted to.

Finding deeper channels

You can use the same technique in narrow channels where there are shoal patches or rocks that can be a danger.

Trying to sail through the narrow Jack Sound on the west coast of Wales can shorten the distance when heading north or south but the deep water channel between the rocks is just 200m wide and the rocks are mainly underwater.

SatNav positions should be accurate enough to position you in the middle of the channel but you can supplement this by actually being able to ‘see’ the rocks by the disturbance on the surface.

Following the charts here may land you in trouble, so pay close attention when you navigate using waves. Credit: Angela Chalmers/Alamy

The current runs strongly through the channel and this creates patches of white water around the rock areas so you aim between the breaking waves to find the deeper water.

It can be an exciting trip but being able to ‘see’ the rocks helps to give you confidence.

You can use a similar technique to pick out the inside passage around Portland Bill, even in poor visibility.

Jack Sound in Pembrokeshire has a safe channel but with submerged rocks either side

The first visible warning you are likely to get is when you start seeing breaking waves ahead.

Now you know that you are entering the area where the converging tides are meeting and you will need to take steps to counteract the drift in order to follow a course close into the headland.

Once you are in that inside passage you can see the safe areas because they are the ones without breaking waves.

Approaching land

There are a number of wave characteristics that may denote proximity to land.

Wave reflections, where incoming waves hit a vertical or near vertical face and get reflected back, can create quite dangerous clapotic waves.

On Orkney’s west coast, the cliffs reflect waves which can be felt a mile out to sea. Credit: UK City Images/Alamy

You can get this phenomenon on the west coasts of the Orkney Islands where the cliffs go straight down into the depths so the cliffs reflect the incoming Atlantic swells for up to a mile offshore and they are a good warning about your distance off in poor visibility.

You can get the same type of reflected waves off the breakwaters of Dover harbour where there can be a nasty bit of sea on the west side as you approach the Western Entrance.

Much as with spotting shoal patches or rocks by breaking water, waves will often become shorter and steeper the closer to shore you are.

Continues below…

How to interpret wave patterns for comfortable sailing

Ken Endean explains how to read the water to find fair tides and avoid rough water

Understanding sea state for better passage planning

Consider sea state - wind and waves - when planning and, as Norman Kean explains, you'll be able to predict…

Sailing through overfalls: how to sail safely through them

Overfalls should be respected but they don’t always have to be avoided. Ken Endean explains how to handle them

There are two factors that may give rise to this.

There tend to be stronger tides closer to land, along coastlines and the waves these create – either breaking crests and short waves wind over tide, or flattening the sea off when wind with tide – can be sign of land.

Secondly, shallow water slows the underside of the wave, shortening the wave length and making the wave faces steeper.

Anyone who has sailed in the North Sea will know how uncomfortable this chop can be, but it is a good indication that the seabed isn’t far away.

As you move into deeper water the motion should ease, though the change can be very gradual.

Working the tide

More dramatic can be the changes in the waves that you see when the tide turns.

When the wind is with the tide the wavelength is increased and there is less tendency for them to break in fresh winds.

Being able to navigate using waves can guide you out of the worst of wind-over-tide conditions. Credit: Matthew Diggle

You are much more likely to see breaking seas when the wind is against the tide and in places where the tide runs strongly.

The change can be significant, making you think that it might be time to run for shelter.

You certainly need to be aware of the cause and effect of wind against the tide when planning a cruise.

Of course it can also make life more difficult because if you are using a favourable wind the tide will be setting you back and to a certain extent you can judge this by the format of the waves you can see and perhaps seek a weaker tidal stream closer inshore.

Again the stronger and weaker tide areas should be visible by the steepness and anger of the waves.

Using radar to navigate using waves

Reading the waves is a valid way of navigating in the daytime but at night there are still possibilities if you have a radar.

Waves tend to start breaking when they have a gradient of around 18° and the more vertical face of these breaking waves will make them a better radar target.

You may be able to detect wave clutter on radar as a sign of shallow water

This means that areas of breaking waves should show up on the radar display.

This is a technique that those ancient explorers did not have but it may help you to get a better ride if you know where the breaking seas are, though be aware that radar will more easily ‘see’ wave faces heading directly for your boat.

Steering by the waves

As anyone who has steered a yacht by hand for any length of time will know, holding a course when not heading towards a fixed object can be tricky, as the compass card swings and wobbles around the lubber line.

Using the wave pattern to judge your course can give you a useful reference point outside the boat.

Using your angle to the waves can help you hold a consistent course. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Whilst not enormously accurate, waves offer a visual representation of the wind direction, and keeping the boat at roughly the same angle to each wave ridge can help you orientate yourself within your environment, and get your head out of the boat rather than staring only at the instruments.

Changing course

Sailors of old would reckon that every seventh wave in a wave train was always the biggest.

If you need to manoeuvre the boat, such as tacking or gybing, and it will take more than one wave to complete, watch the waves until you have an idea of the pattern of larger and smaller waves coming towards you, then wait until the ‘seventh’ wave has passed, then take your chance in the smaller waves that follow.

Predicting weather

It isn’t easy to predict the weather from reading the waves, but knowing what the weather is doing can help inform what waves to expect.

Most notably, as a low pressure system approaches, it will bring a front with it.

As the front passes, the wind will veer by 30° or more.

The time between waves, and the boat’s motion are good indicators of a changing sea state that you need to pay attention to. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Two separate wave patterns will then collide, leaving you with confused seas and potential for much higher than average peaks.

You may also get some warning of a storm approaching by the arrival of a long, fast-moving swell ahead of the wind picking up.

This is caused by the large waves created at the centre of the storm overtaking the smaller waves ahead of them and travelling faster than the weather system.

If this is the case then the chances are it’s time for you and your crew to hurriedly seek shelter.

Problems reading waves

There are two caveats to all of this.

Dag Pike is one of the UK’s best-known nautical journalists and authors, covering both sailing and motor boating for many years.

Firstly, there is no easy way to measure waves, other than the time period between peaks and a guesstimation of their height.

Wave height can also vary within the same train, and you will often have more than one wave pattern interacting at the same time, giving rise to waves much higher than the average.

Any changes in wave pattern can be difficult to identify when you navigate using waves.

There are also a large number of variables affecting the surface of the water, so attributing any change to one cause is not a precise science.

Secondly, you can see very little of the seastate at night, and without visual clues it can be hard to make sense of the boat’s motion.

However, a good sailor will have an eye for what a big wave is and it is this ‘sense’ that is vital to good seamanship.

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Sailing Downwind in Waves – MC Scow

In the last race at the recent MC Train Wreck regatta, with winds gusting into the high 20’s, several sailors capsized and/or buried their bows in the waves. SailZing asked Zack Clayton and John Porter to discuss sailing downwind in waves. Here are their thoughts.

Scows and Waves

As we know, scows have a round nose and have the tendency to ride into a wave rather than over. The MC and C are more susceptible to nosediving downwind as there is no spinnaker to help lift the bow downwind, unlike the E and A.  To add to the downwind fun, the length of the MC seems to fit nicely into some lake wave patterns, just asking for the excitement of a nosedive and subsequent spin-out or the dreaded death roll.

At the recent MC Scow Train Wreck regatta at Lake Eustis, the final day of sailing allowed for these conditions to come into play and many of the fleet ended up going for a swim. The casualties were spread throughout the fleet from the leader to the tail of the fleet. The reasons for the capsizes were all different. In the front of the fleet it was a single-handed sailor pushing to gain as much of a lead as possible to hold off a double-handed yacht on the final beat. In the back of the fleet, the culprit is almost always not enough boom vang (letting the sail twist at the top) and not working on up-turns and down-turns to avoid hitting the wave directly and submerging the bow and then losing control and either gybing with a following tip, or a death roll.

Options for Sailing Downwind in Waves

Risky & fast.

• Windward board down 1/4
• Significant windward (reverse) heel
• Sail out to sidestay
• Vang tension to allow top of leech to twist off some. This allows you to sail by the lee when needed.
• Body position at center thwart
• Aggressively pushing past dead downwind (by the lee) when on top or backside of wave

Slow & Safe

• Both boards down 1/4 to 1/3
• Slight windward (reverse) heel
• Hard vang tension to keep the upper leech less twisted
• Mainsheet sheeted in 2-3 feet
• Body aft in cockpit
• Broad reach angle to go over top of waves (non-surfing)

Managing Risk

• Medium windward (reverse) heel
• Aggressively work boom vang to control top third of leech
• Mainsheet – just off sidestay and adjust depending upon current wind angle
• Body slightly aft – about 6 inches aft of center thwart
• Up-turn and down-turn to position bow to avoid hitting the face of the wave

In the recent Train Wreck Regatta, speaking with the teams that were in the top group, everyone took a slightly different approach and nobody was perfect. I think everyone will tell you they stuck the nose into a wave or six. In the front of the fleet, the Risky& Fast option was working perfectly for a single-handed sailor until it wasn’t (race over). One skipper (John) was playing the Slow & Safe mode dead downwind, another was sailing a higher, skip off the top of waves mode, and I (Zack) and the two boats next to me were in Managing Risk mode with significant rudder, sail and vang adjustments to go as fast as possible, yet still finish the race.

Vang Tension

Playing your vang downwind can help keep you out of trouble. The MC rig is very flexible above the spreaders. As the wind builds, the top of the sail pushes forward, allowing the sail’s flow to push the top of the rig away from the sail. This can bring on the dreaded death roll. Pulling hard on the vang reduces this sail twist and the associated instability of the boat, but at some point, no amount of vang will overcome the flexibility of the mast.

Steering to Surf and Keep the Bow Out of the Waves

Where to focus.

The key is to focus on connecting one wave to the next while keeping your bow out of the waves. So where should you  look to connect these waves? The answer is not that simple as two feet in front of the bow, or one wave to leeward of your boat, since each angle of sail and each wave and wind direction is different. Depending upon your speed, the waves and your angle of attack, you may be looking directly in front, to your windward quarter, leeward quarter. Also, look behind you occasionally to see what’s coming.

Wave Speed vs. Boat Speed

As we approach waves downwind, the boat will either be going faster or slower than the waves surrounding the boat. Usually, the waves will be faster than the boat in lulls and the boat will be faster in puffs.

When the boat is slower than the waves, it is often possible to “surf” the waves to gain distance down the course faster than if you were sailing in flat water. A single pump of the sail per wave is allowed per RRS 42 to help initiate the surfing. In addition to the pump, steering perpendicular to the wave and moving your weight forward can help to catch each wave. Be careful not to make that forward movement quickly and/or in violation of RRS 42’s prohibition on ooching. As the wave passes, you have either initiated surfing and are cruising fast toward the windward side of the next wave or the wave has passed underneath you and the bow is about to face the windward side of the wave.

Keeping the Bow Clear

If you surf or are just sailing faster than the waves, your bow will approach the windward side of a wave. Now you need to make a snap decision. At each wave, you have to aim for a spot that keeps the bow up and allows it to go over the wave.

• If you are surfing and the wave is long, with plenty of space before the next wave, look for the high spot on the wave you are surfing and drive toward it. See how long you can surf! It helps to hold one part of the mainsheet to make it 2:1 so you can quickly sheet in or out. 
• If you can’t keep surfing, look both ways and decide which direction of turn will get you toward the nearest low spot in the wave that is coming. Every wave has a low spot. Aim for it. As you approach, it helps to approach at an angle. This angle can be reaching or sailing by the lee. Reaching makes it easier to keep the bow out safely, but usually takes you further from the mark. By the lee is fast, but the risk of the death roll is higher.
• If you are in a puff, you have two competing concerns. First, if the puff is strong, you are likely experiencing twist of the sail. This is forcing your mast to windward trying to induce a death roll. Second, you are now going faster than the waves, so you are doubly concerned about sticking your nose into a wave.

Big Gains are Possible

In all instances, your goal is to make progress to the leeward mark. Each wave you can sail over is like a ladder rung on the racecourse. If the waves are faster than the boat, the more you surf, the more you gain on the fleet. If you are faster than waves, the more waves you pass successfully, the more boats you pass.

Recovering from a Nose Dive

• If you have just started to dig the bow in, move the tiller back and forth as though you were trying to “shake” the bow 12” in either direction.
• If the best option is to turn to windward, trim the mainsheet in rapidly to help spin the boat. If you are running with only the windward board down, this can help unload the forces driving you into the wave because as you turn away from the board in the water, that board will lose flow and allow the boat to “flutter” out of the water.
• Be wary of the turn to leeward, but if you can make that turn without risking a capsize or are forced this way because of other boats around you, ease the sail and turn to leeward while being aware of your weight.
• Move body position aft in the cockpit and bounce up and down to shake the bow free.
• Also, experiment with releasing some vang when the nose starts to bury. This will reduce the forward driving force. However, watch for stability as you release. 

Zack Clayton and John Porter

Related Content:

Video by Jon Emmett – steering in waves. Gain Dinghy Handling Skills With Fresh Insights – great video from Steve Cockerill about sailing downwind in a breeze Sailing by the Lee: a Primer

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Forespar's Point of View

Steering smaller boats in big waves.

First – what’s a big wave? Is it the 100-foot wave from The Perfect Storm”? Could it be the waves from a TV show called Bering Sea Gold, when they tell us there’s a storm, and it looks like all of 12 knots of breeze and two-foot chop?

The answer is yes. Any wave that makes you feel that you and your boat are in danger is a big wave. All that matters is that the waves are challenging you, and you’re nervous about handling them safely. There are some basic rules that can help:

• First -If conditions scare you, don’t go out. Getting macho can get you and your passengers in deep trouble. Getting back on Monday morning isn’t worth risking the safety and sanity of your crew.

The classic example is the trip back home from Catalina Island. You left the mainland early on Saturday, and it was flat with no wind, so you zoomed over (zoom speed is relative – maybe six knots from the Yanmar in the sailboat, and 30 knots from the twin Volvos in the cruiser). You leave for home on Sunday afternoon, and there 32 knots of breeze pushing some healthy wind waves along with a big swell rolling down the channel, and you’ve got 20 to 30 miles to go with that on your beam or under your quarter.

You are relatively inexperienced, but you’ll probably make it. You’ll beat up the boat, and scare the pants off your crew and yourself in the process. The crew may never get on the boat again. Or, you are experienced, and you’ll make it. You’ll wear yourself and the crew out, and the boat won’t be real happy either.

•  Second- There’s no better teacher than experience, but try to gain that experience with an old hand aboard to help you learn. Often the difference between the emotion “We’re gonna die” and the comment “That was a big one” is usually perception and a twitch on the helm.

If you are next to the helm on one of those days, and the driver is calm and under control, it’s amazing how much you can learn just watching and listening. Then when you trade places and you’ve got the helm, a calm voice in your ear, coupled with the positive results, can help you learn a lot, and apply it at the same time. Then you gain the confidence to try it yourself.

• Third – Practice. When you go out, and it’s lumpy, take some time to drive the boat both uphill (into the wind and waves) and downhill (away from the wind and waves). Learn what make the boat feel and respond best under current conditions. You check the weather, then look out the harbor entrance. If you see other boats of your type in the vicinity, go out and play. Practice going into the wind, downwind, into the waves and away from them.

Going into the waves, while often scarier, is easier on the boat and the driver when you do it right.

Don’t worry about your specific destination – as long as you’re making up distance to the mark (technically VMG – Velocity Made Good ), you’re doing well. If you steer at an angle somewhere between 20 ⁰ and 45⁰ off the face of the wave, the boat is a lot more comfortable, and is actually faster than heading straight into the sea. You don’t get the big flying spray, and you don’t get the big pounding crash, either. And, you’ll be under control.

Not steering at your mark seems counter-intuitive, but any racing sailor can tell you that it works.

That’s nice, you’re thinking, but at some point I have to make up for that angle away from the harbor mouth. You’re right. You do. If you’re paying attention, you’ll find a periodic flatter spot between waves that will allow you to make the turn ( tack ) without wrestling the boat over a bigger wave.

Heading downhill requires more touch, and more attention to your helm. The basic design of most powerboat hulls has a broad, usually flat, surface for the following wave to push on, along with a more or less square corner (the quarter). This means that when that big wave comes at the stern, it lifts the stern while pushing on that flat surface. The combination of shapes and forces make the stern want to go to the side, and the boat wanting to turn parallel to the wave’s face, tilting away from the rising wave. This can make for some interesting or even dangerous moments. Sailboats do the same, but with a less exaggerated motion.

With some practice, you can learn to anticipate your boat’s tendencies, and start steering up the face and down the backs of oncoming waves, into the direction that swinging stern takes ( It’s called “Yaw” ) on following seas.

• Fourth – Watch Your Speed. If you pay close attention to your boat speed relative to the waves, and adjust accordingly, you’ll find the sweet spot. Wind waves are usually moving at speeds from 13 to 18 knots, so you want to work around that basic datum. If you’re steering into the waves, and in a hurry with 15 knots of boat speed, you’re meeting big walls of water at 30 knots (just under 35 mph). The air is getting under your hull, and you’re flying a bit. That is a lot of energy your boat has to absorb when you hit the next wave. A lot of wear and tear on the boat and the bodies aboard.

When steering off the wind, some of the math works for you. If the waves are moving at 13 knots, and you throttle back to about 13 knots, keeping the bow down enough to increase your waterline (hence control and comfort), you’ll find that steering the boat and managing the course is a great deal easier. The waves are coming at you a lot slower, and you have much more time to make your adjustments to steer a comfortable and productive course. With some practice, you’ll find yourself actually surfing the boat.

Think safe, learn well, practice and slow down. Your boat, your backs and your butts will be much happier.

Mike Dwight

About Mike Dwight

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How To Drive a Boat in Big Waves: Step by Step Guide

You have probably heard of big waves, but you have never experienced one if you’re a new boater.

What if one day, you’re driving your boat like a perfect gentleman (or lady) and then you see a big wave encroaching: 3, 4, 6 feet high coming towards your boat?

You have never experienced this, your heart begins to pump faster. You know that this could be a thrilling experience. But part of the thrill is also the risk. In fact, the high risk makes it more thrilling.

At this point in time, you’re more concerned about safety. As you hold the steering wheel tight, and maybe feel sweaty palms, you wait in anticipation.

Driving in big waves is a common part of driving a boat. Even if you’re a new boater, you’re bound to experience it sooner or later in the future depending on the size and depth of the water body you drive in. It’s better to be prepared for that big wave than to be caught unawares.

The first step of your preparation is to get all the important information you need about driving in a big wave.

You have come to the right place as this guide will prepare you for heavy weather especially if you have never experienced it. What are the things you need to know about driving your boat in Big waves?

First of all, check the weather before you set out

Prevention is always better than cure. Before you drive out into the water, you need to know what is the weather condition. What’s the speed of the wind?

Do you have big waves rolling around? Through your VHF radio, you can monitor the weather before you set out.

The best way to handle a big wave if you don’t have the necessary experience or a capable boat is to avoid the big wave completely. When you set out with your boat, it’s a bad idea to go dark. You must know what to expect.

This is important for even experienced skippers. Because big waves are in different sizes. And some big waves are so big that even cruise ships will stand no chance against them.

For instance, no matter how experienced you are about riding in big waves, the probability of your boat surviving a rogue wave is probably none.

Having the knowledge of what’s happening offshore could be the most crucial step you can take before you drive your boat out into the waters.

You also have to strap your equipment to the boat especially if you’re going fishing . You don’t want your equipment in the water when your boat takes a hit from the waves.

What to do in a big wave

Now, you’re facing a big wave and as the driver of the boat, you have to be calm. If you panic, then all the crew members will definitely panic too. You want to avoid this as it can lead to more problems.

Tell the people on board to hold on to something. As the boat moves around trying to navigate a big wave, it moves rigorously and this can lead to falls and probably injuries for someone who’s holding nothing.

Let everyone have protective gear on (a life jacket light enough but able to carry the weight of the person wearing it and a safety harness). You can also assign small tasks to members of the crew to keep them busy and less worried about the big wave.

Ensure the steering, engine, and other parts of the boat are in good working condition. Check the battery and connections to ensure they’re secure with no movement. This is to avoid any engine failure while trying to navigate the wave.

Switch to the fuel tank with the most amount of fuel as driving a boat in rough conditions use a lot of fuel. Secure all hatches.

Close all the ports and windows because you want to keep the water outside the boat as the boat is easier to control that way. When water starts entering a port or window, it could turn into a disastrous situation very fast.

Approach wave at 45 degrees, approaching at 90 degrees or angles close to that could get your boat to capsize. Apart from that, you want your bow to be above the wave but also without blocking your view.

For some, it’s easier to approach the big waves head-on but these are skippers who are much more experienced with driving in big waves. So you can adapt to what works for you when you get more experience considering the size of the wave and capability of the boat you’re handling.

When you encounter heavy waves, you must slow down. You’re not in a tournament and you don’t need to drive fast.

In fact, driving your boat at high speed through big waves can lead to broaching. This occurs when your boat travels too fast down the crest of a wave and the bow submerges under the next wave the boat encounters.

The pressure of the wave can cause the skipper to lose control of the boat as the propeller of the motor comes out of the water. When you slow down and move your boat at an angle to the wave, you can avoid broaching.

As you go through the waves, you have to make sure that you’re getting water out as it comes on board. You can use a bilge pump for this but if you don’t have it, a crew member can get the water out.

If your engine goes out or you end up losing control of your boat because of no backup engine, you can use paddles to navigate out of the big waves. You can drop your sea anchor from the bow of the boat to help keep the bow in the wind.

What if you find it impossible to control the boat?

Although you want to avoid this, by all means, it is possible to lose control of your boat and even get it capsized. This is why you must have your life jackets on while riding a big wave.

But before your boat gets capsized by the wind, fire a flare into the air to call the attention of other boaters. This is also to enhance visibility so that you can prevent collision with other boats. Call the emergency numbers to inform them of your troubles.

If bigger waves end up capsizing your boat, then you’re less concerned about your boat and how you can survive to live another day. The biggest risk when your boat capsizes is that you can get drowned.

That’s why the first thing on your mind should be how to float for as long as possible. Your life jacket helps you to achieve this and you can cling to objects on board like coolers that naturally float.

If your boat starts to sink, then having a tether that connects you to the boat could actually turn to a disadvantage because it could drag you downwards along with the boat. You have to untangle yourself from anything that could make you drown. You have to remove the harness.

In some cases, you can turn your vessel but that depends on how small your boat is. To improve your chances of getting help, make sure you’re as close to your boat as possible. A boat is far bigger than you and easier to sight than a human being floating alone.

Stay close to your boat so that you can be easily sighted. Also, avoid hypothermia by hugging your knees up to your chest if you’re wearing a life jacket.

Gain more experience to drive better in rough conditions

Before you can start driving in big waves, you need to be a passenger of boaters who are more experienced in driving in rough conditions. Watch them see how they approach the big waves and the general precautions they take.

This will give you a real-life feel of the condition out there and knowledge of what to do and what to avoid. Go out on your boat and practice to get better at handling the big waves and improve your confidence.

General safety gear to have while riding in big waves

Part of your preparation for a big wave is to have the necessary equipment that improves safety. This equipment includes:

Life jackets: it’s called life jackets for a reason. This is because it can be the difference between dying and living if there’s a severe accident that sees you end up in the water.

You don’t hope for this but you have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The life jacket on board must be able to carry the weight of the people on board and be small enough for easy carriage.

Paddles or oars: For those whose boats have no backup engine, it’s important to have paddled in case of engine problems while battling big waves. This way, you can paddle your boat to safety.

Marine radio:  If you have to go more than two miles offshore, you have to hold a marine VHF radio. This is essential for communication between other boats and can be used to call for help.

Distress Flare: When you’re out in the sea, it may seem lonely even when you’re struggling with the big waves attacking your boat. The use of a distress flare alerts lifeguards to come to your rescue and also improves visibility so that you can avoid collision with other boats.

Bilge Pump:  When you start accumulating water on board, there is a likelihood of sinking your boat. But with a powerful bilge pump, you can pump the water out and keep your boat afloat as long as possible.

Waterproof clothing: When you’re battling with big waves, it can even get worse if you have to battle with the cold. Putting on waterproof clothing will reduce the cold you feel.

Safety Harness:  This is a nylon web harness worn in rough seas or heavy weather. It has a tether with a clip attached to the jack lines.

This ensures that even if you’re washed overboard as a result of heavy wind, you’re still connected to the boat and that reduces the possibility of drowning. Make no mistake, it’s still very dangerous. You don’t want to get washed overboard.

Learn what your boat can do

What is the size of your boat and the power produced by its engine? The smaller your boat and the less power its engine produces, the more difficult it is to control when you hit a big wave.

But handling your boat may not only be about the size of your boat. Many times, it can also be how well your boat has been designed or built to handle the rough conditions. It is important not to drive your boat into waters that exceed its designed capabilities.

There is no exact science on how to drive your boat in a big wave. Because driving your boat in big waves depends on many factors that are never exactly the same for two boaters, or even for two days out in the sea.

The size of your boat, the power produced by its engines, and how high the wave is would determine how you ride. This means you need to pay attention to the conditions of the sea and the safety and comfort of the people on board.

It can be part of the thrill of driving a boat to enjoy the big waves and most boaters would look forward to it, but safety is much more important than enjoyment. You don’t want to pose an unnecessary risk to your lives just to enjoy a day out.

If the big waves ever get too powerful to handle, you can always drive to calmer waters to either fish or enjoy your ride. If you can’t get to the calmer waters, then you need to call for help as soon as you can.

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Shipwrecking ‘rogue waves’ are raging through our oceans. And they have scientists puzzled

Extreme waves have recently sank cruise ships and fishing vessels .

Photo credit: Getty

Hayley Bennett

Seafaring folk have told of huge ‘rogue’ or ‘freak’ waves for hundreds of years. But it wasn’t until New Year’s Day 1995 when a 26m high surge was  recorded at a gas platform in the North Sea , that scientists started taking their reports more seriously.

The extreme waves have been blamed for numerous incidents at sea. In 2018, for example, eight crew members had to be rescued when massive waves hit and sank a fishing boat off the coast of Hawaii.

More recently, a rogue wave slammed into a cruise ship in the Southern Ocean, shattering windows and injuring several passengers, one fatally. However, it remains unclear how common rogue waves actually are. 

One study based on media reports captured just 210 rogue waves worldwide between 2011-2018 , but the real number is thought to be much higher.

It’s worth noting that rogue waves differ from tsunamis. The latter are large waves (or series of waves) that crash onto a coastline, usually following an earthquake or volcanic eruption under the water. Whilst tsunami waves can be tall, they are also long in profile.

Rogue waves, by contrast, have much steeper slopes and they don’t just break on shorelines – they can break in the open ocean. Technically, they’re defined as being at least twice the height of the surrounding waves, though, as University of South Florida researcher Laura Azevedo says, this definition can be misleading.

“It’s a bit of a problem because you can have a rogue wave that is one metre high and that won’t do anything to anybody,” she says.

She favours a threshold of four metres, which she says is the height at which a wave starts to become dangerous.

Exactly what triggers rogue waves is up for debate, but it’s known they’re not related to movement on the seabed. It’s thought that there are several different factors at play.

A team at the University of Oxford, led by engineer Dr Tianning Tang , are attempting to understand their root causes by combining computer modelling with lab-based experiments in large tanks that use paddles to generate waves.

The team has explored the influence of sudden depth changes, simulated using a step set up in their tank.

“This is a very important problem, for example, around continental shelves, where the waves propagate from the deep ocean to coastal areas,” says Tang. It also affects the banks created to house offshore wind turbines.

• 12 of the weirdest deep-sea creatures that lurk in the ocean's depths
• There are five oceans now, not four. A marine biologist explains why that matters…

However, the team’s results show that although depth changes do generate bigger waves, the effect is suppressed when the waves are spreading rather than all heading in the same direction. According to Tang, this means sharp drop-offs are less concerning in the ocean than in the lab, because real waves do tend to spread.

Interestingly, these results chime with what Azevedo found when studying ocean waves at Tampa Bay, Florida. Thanks to a monitoring buoy, Azevedo was able to get four years’ worth of high-quality data on wave heights at the entrance to the bay, identifying 7,593 waves meeting the technical definition of rogue waves (including 372 over four metres).

She says she “couldn’t find one specific reason” why they occurred, but they were more common when waves were travelling in one direction as opposed to spreading out.

“It’s understandable,” she says. “When you have all the energy of the sea creating that one wave, that’s a big wave.”

Her work also shows that Tampa Bay, at least, is relatively sheltered from the east, with most rogue waves coming from the west and more often when conditions are stormy or windy .

However, what causes rogue waves is not thought to be universal, so these results may only be relevant for bays comparable to Tampa’s.

All this means that it's difficult to predict when rogue waves will strike. But as understanding grows, scientists could use modelling techniques to make more accurate long-term predictions. This kind of prediction might, for example, tell the owner of an offshore wind turbine how many waves over four metres they could expect during the next 20 years in the location of their turbine.

But, as Tang notes, it’s much harder to make short-term predictions that tell crew members whether a rogue wave is going to hit their vessel in the next, say, 20 minutes.

That said, in 2016, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers did claim to have developed a prediction tool capable of spotting waves that could become a problem within the next 2-3 minutes.

Improved monitoring could boost efforts to understand and predict rogue waves. Right now, Azevedo says, most monitoring buoys don’t transmit maximum wave heights – they send ‘significant wave height’, which is an average of the tallest 33 per cent of waves over a given period.

“So you’re missing the big waves,” she says, adding that this would be simple to change. Better data could help those involved in designing and building for the open ocean to account for extreme waves – which, by some estimates, are already increasing due to climate change .

Azevedo suggests one solution could be for ship designers to make their ships resilient enough to withstand double the significant wave height, though they’d no doubt need some convincing due to the increased costs.

About our experts

Laura Azvedo is a graduate student based at The University of South Florida's College of Marine Science. Her work focuses on meteorological, oceanographic and weather data. Her work has been published in the journals Limnology and Oceanography and MDPI .

Dr Tianning Tang is a postdoctoral researcher based at The University of Oxford, where he specialises in machine learning. His work has been published in journals including the Journal of Fluid Dynamics , Applied Ocean Research and Ocean Engineering .

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6 exciting travel contests for free trips to the olympics and new york.

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44-Foot Whale Found Dead on Bow of Cruise Ship Coming Into New York

The endangered sei whale, usually found in deep waters, was discovered on the bow of a cruise ship as it arrived at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, marine authorities said.

By Livia Albeck-Ripka

As the cruise ship approached New York on Saturday, it was found to be carrying a grim, and unexpected, catch: The carcass of a 44-foot-long endangered whale, draped across its bow.

The whale, which marine authorities described as a sei whale, is known for its rapid swimming and preference for deep waters, far from the coast. Its body was discovered as the ship neared the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, and the authorities were “immediately notified,” said MSC Cruises, which owns the ship.

A spokeswoman for the company said in an email that it had “comprehensive measures” in place to avoid such collisions, including training deck officers and altering itineraries in certain areas to avoid them. “We will continue to evaluate and update our procedures with our partners and the authorities,” she said.

Marine authorities said that they had towed the animal, estimated to weigh some 50,000 pounds, from the bow, and transferred it by boat to a beach in Sandy Hook, N.J., where they conducted a necropsy on Tuesday.

The investigation is continuing, but preliminary results — broken bones in the whale’s right flipper; tissue trauma along its right shoulder blade; a full stomach and decent layer of blubber — all pointed toward the animal having been in otherwise good health when it was likely struck and killed by the ship, said Robert A. DiGiovanni, the chief scientist of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, which is leading the investigation .

The whale was already “pretty decomposed” by the time scientists began the necropsy, he added, so they worked quickly to collect samples that could be tested for contaminants and other biotoxins that would indicate any other relevant health issues. “It looks like the animal was alive and it was hit by a vessel,” he said, noting that investigators had not ruled out other factors.

Mr. DiGiovanni said that his conservation group, which is federally authorized to respond to marine mammal strandings in New York, had dealt with more than 100 whales over the past several years, many of which had been entangled in nets or struck by vessels. Most of those whales were humpback and North Atlantic right whales, he added, noting that it was more uncommon to come across a sei whale.

Sei whales usually live in subtropical, temperate and subpolar waters and are named after the Norwegian word for pollock, “seje,” because the mammals are often found together with the fish. Their long, sleek bodies are usually dark blue or black with a cream-colored underside, and are often scarred by shark and lamprey bites.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the whales were commercially hunted for their meat and oil, decimating their population, which is now designated as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act .

Mr. DiGiovanni said that the death was a reminder that humans shared the open water with many other mammals. “When you’re out there, these animals might be there,” he said. “We need to make people more aware about how to operate around these animals.”

A spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said by email that mariners along the East Coast were encouraged to slow down their vessels, stay alert, and report any sightings of dead, injured or entangled whales to the authorities.

Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects. More about Livia Albeck-Ripka