yachtsmans gale

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What is the Beaufort Scale?

02 February 2016

The Beaufort Scale is an Internationally recognised scale used by sailors to measure wind strength. Why is this important? Well, first of all, the strength, direction and time over which wind blows will have a dramatic effect on the sea state. Three days of Gales from the South West will make the English Channel a very unpleasant and potentially hazardous place to be, especially during Spring Tides.

But what is a Gale? Well, that’s where Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort’s Scale for the measurement of wind comes in. You see, whilst Admiral Lord Fitzroy had been issuing weather forecasts for shipping for some time, one man’s strong breeze might be another man’s Gale, dependent on their experience, constitution and size and type of vessel! In order to better define a wind state objectively, a scale was invented which could best identify the likely effect of a wind’s speed on the surrounding environment. 

A Gale was defined under this Scale to be a Force 8 on the Beaufort Scale, with ‘moderately high waves with breaking crests forming spindrift. Well-marked streaks of foam are blown along wind direction. Considerable airborne spray’. as opposed to a Hurricane, which is Force 12 and is described as ‘Huge waves. Sea is completely white with foam and spray. Air is filled with driving spray, greatly reducing visibility’.

Importantly, the wind strength is defined by reference to the sea state, so most sailors will quickly identify as Force 5 as the Beaufort Scale explains it to be 

• At Sea, moderate waves of some length. Many whitecaps. Small amounts of spray.
• On land, branches of a moderate size move. Small trees in leaf begin to sway.

The average day sailor probably considers a Force 3 to 4 to be perfect and a Force 5 to be a bracing days sailing, whereas the novice may feel rather battered by the experience of a Force 5, especially if sailing into it! In fact, a Force 6 is often referred to as ‘a yachtsman’s gale’.

Nowadays, with the advent of accurate wind instruments, many sailors also refer to wind speed in terms of knots. The easy way to make an approximate transfer from knots to the Beaufort Scale is by this simple calculation:

True Wind Speed = 20 kts To convert to Beaufort Scale, divide by 5 and add 1. So, 20/5 = 4 + 1 = Force 5

This works well as an approximation although each Beaufort Force is in fact a range of wind speeds with the rule of thumb set out above usually falling between the maximum and minimum parameters. It should be noted that gusts 40% higher than the forecast wind speed should be expected. This can make a solid Force 6 feel considerably more challenging, with gusts up to 38 - 40 kts!

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Yachtsman's Gale Hardcover – Import, January 1, 1960

• Print length 208 pages
• Publisher W. H. Allen
• Publication date January 1, 1960
• See all details

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0000CKMPA
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. H. Allen (January 1, 1960)
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.74 pounds

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YACHTSMEN'S GALES AT COWES

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References (1)

R. A. Fisher (1930)

• Volume 13 Issue 4
• Subject Areas /
• Earth and Planetary Sciences /
• Atmospheric Science

of the whole South Coast of England may be modified as it passes over the high and hot Isle of Wight to reach the anemometer a t Calshot ; whereas the low, creek-divided land between Tangmere and the coast in some peculiar manner prevents such a change. The increase of wind often experienced a t Spithead (to the east of the Isle of Wight) compared with the wind further west, is well known to yachtsmen entering Chichester Harbour. There was no period during which there was a direct comparison between Calshot and Thorney Island. The terrain around the latter is rather similar to Tangmere, though there is the wide space of Chichester Harbour nearby. It is Fig. I. The Solent and Spithead, showing Meteorological Reporting Stations somewhat noticeable in the records for the Thorney Island years, I941 to 1945, that force 6 was only experienced once, and that the average windspeed is well below the whole 3g-year period average. However, this evidence is not clear enough to show that Thorney Island winds are on the average less than Calshot or Tangmere winds. The main series of records, covering the 39 years from 1919 to 1957. has been analysed

Weather – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 1958

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YACHTSMAN'S GALE Hardcover – Jan. 1 1960

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• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 788 g

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The Load on Your Rode

Our time spent testing anchors has prompted some important musings; we offer the following thoughts regarding the forces and factors to be considered before purchasing anchors and rodes..

Without really meaning to, over the past six years, Practical Sailor has acquired a considerable reputation for testing anchors and anchoring gear. On more than a dozen occasions anchor makers have sent anchors to be included in these PS tests. Inventors, too, have sent prototypes. (The notion of a perfect anchor is so intriguing that inventors are, we’re positive, out there working right now.)

When PS first looked at this situation back in 1997, there had been dozens of tests run by manufacturers (and testing organizations in their pay), other magazines, independent authors of books on the subject, and even government-allied groups. Among these were the French APAVE, the U.S. Navy tests, the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) in England, the Boat/US-Cruising World magazine strength tests, the Dutch tests (done in a huge sandbox), the on-going tests by naval architect and author, the late Robert A. Smith, and the extensive “Seattle Tests” co-sponsored by the Safety at Sea Committee of the Sailing Foundation and West Marine.

Close examination of the results of these tests, plus careful readings of books, like Earl Hinz’s Complete Book of Anchoring & Mooring, Don Bamford’s Anchoring, and the revered Chapman’s (probably the best-selling marine book of all-time), suggested to PS that the tests were too omnibus (in most cases, the bottom was not even known or varied). The tests tried to do it all.

In our due diligence, we also checked a new book, International Marine’s Small-Boat Seamanship Manual. It came out in 2002 and is “Based on the U.S. Coast Guard Seamanship Manual.” All the many photos were supplied by the Coast Guard. Only six pages are allotted to anchoring and the only table is a very small one supplied by Danforth, giving three anchor sizes for boats 10, 30 and 40 feet in length.

Another book we examined was Staying Put, by Brian Fagan, who enjoys a strong reputation on the California coast. The book has a minimal table showing boat size (20 to 50 feet); the recommended size of chain (both proof coil and high test) and nylon rode, and what size anchor, as long as it is a CQR, Delta, West Danforth type, or Bruce.

One of sailing’s acknowledged authorities, John Rousmaniere, in his tome The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, uses tables from both the American Boat & Yacht Council and the Earl Hinz book mentioned above. The Hinz table deals only with Danforth-type, plow, Bruce, and yachtsman anchors, but does make chain and line rode recommendations. Rousmaniere also makes the puzzling statement, “Nylon rode should be half-inch in diameter for every nine feet of boat length overall.” Going by that prescription, a 40-foot boat needs a hawser more than two inches in diameter!

Another authority, Steve Dashew, in his huge (1,232 pages) Offshore Cruising Encyclopedia, tap-dances for a half dozen pages around the subject of anchor loads, but summarizes with: “You should carry the largest possible anchor and use it for everyday anchorages.” He also “suggests” as a main anchor “the largest Bruce you can carry, twice the size of what everyone else suggests…,” and a big Fortress as a second anchor. He likes a chain rode. We think it’s good, conservative advice.

Dealing with the Conflicts Because of all the conflicting and imprecise data, Practical Sailor concluded that anchor testing should be broken into small sections that can be assembled by a boat owner to suit his or her needs. It was determined that the predominant “sections” were:

1. Setting (if an anchor doesn’t set, it isn’t an anchor). 2. Holding (with dragging as a derivative). 3. Re-setting (or holding) when veered.

PS settled on four other factors to be considered, after the above three. They are: (1) the difficulty of breaking out; (2) weight on board; (3) quality of workmanship, as it pertains to long-term utility, and (4) ease of handling and stowage, either at the bow or in an anchor locker. For some owners, self-launching and automatic retrieval might be added to the list.

The next question is, of course, in what? Fine sand, coarse sand, that crusted sand found in tropical waters, good solid mud, gravel, the deep thin mud found in Massachusetts’ Nantucket Harbor (which was from 1800 until 1840 the whaling capital of the world), or the soupy ooze encountered in the tributaries of the Outer Banks of the Carolinas? That question led to the decision to conduct separate tests in clearly identified bottom conditions.

Next question: What kind of boat and what wind and water conditions? Along with bottom composition, these factors are vital.

After winnowing wearily through the possibilities for testing, PS settled—because we had to settle on something—on a 30- to 32-foot sailboat, in sheltered water, with no more than 40 knots of air (which is classified as the top end of a “fresh gale” or Beaufort 8).

Boat length and wind velocity are the two components in the tables usually seen in marine catalogs, manufacturer’s data, and general marine reference books. And a few include the boat’s beam.

The real questions for any boat owner are:

A. In what kind of conditions—wind, bottom and waves—do I expect to anchor?

B. For the conditions, how much of a load, or “pull,” will be exerted on the components (anchor, rode, shackles, etc.) in my anchoring gear?

Getting to that single figure isn’t easy. But without it, how can one select an anchor? Or a rode, or whether it should be nylon line or chain? And it’s even more difficult to reconcile this quandary with the customary tables that are intended to help you select an anchor.

West Marine’s 2004 catalog has an “Anchor Selection Guide” featuring tables that specify different styles of anchors (fluke, plow, Bruce, etc.) and specific models relative to boat length from 0 to 120 feet LOA. There’s also a full-page Advisor on anchor rodes.

(A pause here, if you please, in defense of such tables, which can’t possibly place on a single grid all the conditions that affect anchoring. The worst omission, however, is leaving out wind strength, a vital factor that could be stated in a single line.)

The 2003 Defender catalog has half a dozen tables supplied by manufacturers, such as Fortress, Guardian, Danforth, and Simpson Lawrence. The Fortress and Danforth charts show holding power in pounds, but only the Danforth data supplies wind strengths (20 knots and 60 knots).

The 2002 Boat/US catalog uses boat length and holding power in pounds for anchors made by Suncor, Danforth, CQR, Bruce, Fortress, Delta, and others. Stating the holding power is admirable, but for what wind strength?

“Holding power” (Item B above) is at the heart of anchor and rode selection. Put another way, it begs the question, just how hard does your boat pull on that anchor? And an integral part of the problem is (Item A above), “In what bottom and with what wind and waves?”

The ABYC vs. Robert Smith The American Boat and Yacht Council calls holding power “Typical Design Horizontal Loads in Pounds.” Robert Smith, a naval architect and engineer who spent many long days testing anchors, calls it “Calculated Rode Tension in Wind and Waves.”

The ABYC data comes in a table reproduced in abbreviated form above. Smith’s table included in a sidebar at the end of the article. A cursory examination will tell you that they are wildly dissimilar.

For wind strengths, the ABYC table gives a set of figures for “Lunch Hook,” “Working Anchor” and “Storm Anchor,” which corresponds to winds of 15, 30, and 42 knots. If you expect to anchor in 60 knots (typical in summer thunderstorms), you multiply the “working anchor” value by four.

Along the other side of the table are boat lengths from 20 to 60 feet, in five-foot increments, but modified by a second column giving a boat’s beam (for both power and sail). A footnote says that for your boat, use whatever combination gives the highest load.

The ABYC data is good, conservative stuff, which is where one should be positioned when buying an anchor and a rode that will stand up to the extremes. The selection should be made on a thoughtful pre-determination of the worst conditions in which one expects to anchor. The problem is, of course, that after building an anchor system based on 42 knots you find yourself stuck in a rather open anchorage during a two-day gale that wasn’t supposed to happen.

In sharp contrast to the ABYC data is the data published in the table of the third edition of Robert Smith’s 1983 book called Anchors—Selection and Use (see table at end of article).

Smith told PS (a year or so before he died in June of 1997) that he obtained his data from testing in a level area of the Columbia River that has a fine sand bottom and a fetch of four miles to windward. He used several boats, both power and sail. With a 30-foot boat anchored in 30 knots of wind, the ABYC says the load on your anchor system will be 1,200 pounds. Using Smith’s figures, the load will be only 341 pounds. The figures, if used to help you determine what size anchor and rode to use, will produce radically different choices.

One more example: if you have a 30-foot sailboat and get caught on a night when a 60-knot squall goes through the protected harbor in which you’re anchored, the ABYC says the pull on your anchor rode will be 2,800 pounds. Smith says it would be 765 pounds. The ABYC figures are about 3.5 times greater than Smith’s. When asked to explain these wild discrepancies, Smith said, “I don’t know how they got their figures; mine are real, developed by actual testing.”

As originally explained by Tom Hale, then the ABYC’s technical director, the ABYC data was developed in the 1950s to indicate the strength required of an anchor bitt or cleat. Hale said it is not unreasonable to apply the figures in the chart entitled “Ground Tackle Loads” to the entire anchor system (as has been done in various catalogs and books). Hale said the ABYC tests (done with a 40-foot boat by Bob Ogg, who developed the Danforth anchor) assumed a “worst case” situation, including sea state and surge. Hale also said the figures were subjected to a hefty, but now unknown, safety factor that over the years has made the table a trustworthy guide.

Philippe Ras, the ABYC technical director until 2003, said the much-used Table 1 in H-40 of the “Anchoring, Mooring, and Lifting Section” of the ABYC’s voluminous standards now is entitled “Design Loads for Sizing Deck Hardware.”

Feel Like Some Tough Math? If you want information that’s less general, something more specific to your boat, you can calculate the load (or drag) on your ground tackle—that is if you’re very patient, meticulous, and mathematically inclined.

It’s all based on Isaac Newton’s wind-drag data, developed in the late 1600s, which became highly refined after the precision of aviation research subsequently improved.

As presented in Don Bamford’s book, Anchoring, the formula for drag (D) in pounds per square foot remains (see right):

Cd is the coefficient of drag, p is the density of air, V is the wind velocity in knots, S is the boat’s cross-sectional area (in square feet) taken at right angles to the wind.

You can, for p, substitute the U.S. standard atmospheric air density of .0023779.

For S, you’ll have to measure and do some geometry on your hull, mast, cabin, boom, dinghy, lifelines, stanchions, pulpit, and everything else (including any pretty girls you habitually carry up on the bow) that creates wind resistance. You then need to increase some of the figures for however much your boat yaws at an anchor.

For Cd values, Earl Hinz, in his book, The Complete Book of Anchoring and Mooring, supplied some general guidance with this table:

Angular tramp steamer – 1.2 Cabin cruiser – 1.0 Morgan OI-41 – .9 Oil tanker – .85 Cruising trimaran – .55 Racing trimaran – .45 Airplane – .09

Even better, Bamford says a sailboat with a “really sleek” superstructure will run as low as .70, but a blocky pilothouse or even a dinghy strapped on deck would push the figure to 1.00. He simply suggests using 1.00.

If you anchor in a current—say five knots, with a 40-foot boat, Hinz says to add 300 pounds to the load. Bamford says to add 10 percent.

For surge loading from wave action, Bamford says it isn’t important in normal anchoring, if you have a sure-fire way to prevent snubbing. Hinz says that in severe conditions, the up-and-down jerking can double the load, especially if the boat is heavy displacement.

Both Bamford and Hinz are emphatic in noting that the load increases as the square of the wind velocity. In other words, if the wind doubles from 30 to 60 knots, the load is four times greater.

Intimidating, isn’t it?

Further Beclouding the Issue Neither the manufacturers’ data nor the Smith tables mention wave action; presumably, you’re supposed to anchor in very sheltered water, as we’d all prefer to do.

And in none of the data is there any mention of the bottom conditions, which is probably the greatest variable of all. Despite that getting the hook to “grip” is sometimes the most difficult facet of anchoring, the tables simply presume that you’ve induced the anchor to take a very firm hold on the bottom—be that sand, soft mud, hard clay, rock, shingle, coral, sawdust, or an old shipwreck—and that it will not drag in any wind shown on the table. (Perhaps the most surprising fact that emerged from PS’s many anchor tests is that an anchor never, ever stays put exactly; even a light load “works” an anchor in the direction of the pull.)

We firmly believe that anchors should be tested under different conditions to derive useful data. Good engineering practice holds that tests must support theoretical or calculated data (an anchor’s “holding power” often is calculated as “frontal area” by the manufacturer.) And with anchors, testing is not easy, not only because of the many variables, but also because it’s plain hard work.

As mentioned, there is no dearth of tests. Some are independent tests; more often they are sponsored by an anchor manufacturer or inventor. We’ve never seen a sponsored test that did not come out favoring the sponsor’s anchors; those that don’t must get unpublicized burials. Peculiarly, even the independent tests never have produced results that point a shining light on the perfect, all-purpose anchor, the one that sets every time and holds better than all others, in all bottoms. That has led most experienced sailors to conclude that you should carry two, or even three, different types of anchors.

Even the French-made Spade does not top all others in all of the PS tests.

The Bottom Line So, what’s a body to do? What size anchor do you need? And what size nylon or chain rode should you use to hook it up?

It depends, of course, on what kind of anchoring you expect to do. If you never venture out in anything even slightly resembling threatening weather, you can go with the recommendations of most manufacturers and those based on Robert Smith’s tables. Generally speaking, this data would appear to fall in the minimum category. Remember: You’re going with the minimum and there’ll be trouble if you get caught in any conditions other than that.

If you’re the type who prefers to be prepared for anything, you’ll need powerful gear based on the ABYC tables, which, compared with other advice, call for much heavier gear—both anchors and rodes.

Even when so equipped, there are places so notoriously bad for anchoring (such as off some of the California islands and the old, ooze-filled whaling harbor at Nantucket, south of Cape Cod) that savvy sailors don’t even attempt to anchor in these locales; they pick up moorings, go into docks, or leave.

In the final analysis, consistently successful anchoring calls—most of all—for good judgment based on knowledge and experience. And, here and there, a goodly helping of pure luck.

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

The ABYC table indicates “design load.” Design load is defined as

“The total load on a structural system for the most severe combination of loads and forces which it is designed to sustain.” ( https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/design_load )

“…prescribed minimum load requirements are actually based on the expected maximum load […] over its lifetime. As such, design load requirements will exceed the true live load that a structure will actually bear.” https://www.nishkian.com/live-loads-explained-for-structural-design/

This I suspect is the major difference between the ABYC table and Mr. Smith’s empirical measurements. They’re both right; one way to think of it is the ABYC table includes a safety factor of 3.5x. But you want to size your system and equipment around the design load, not the live load.

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Gale Warning

My parents (Mother is saying that Force Six is a “yachtsman’s gale”. Father isn’t listening)

Mother had a rule: If there was a gale warning on the Shipping Forecast, we didn’t go out.

Actually, we didn’t go out in Force Seven either, in case the Shipping Forecast had got it wrong.

And, just in case Father started getting ideas, Force Six was categorised as “A yachtsman’s gale”.

It wasn’t until I was 18 and we were ambushed by a completely un-forecast “hurricane” off the Ile de Batz and spent the night in survival mode, that I discovered what all the fuss was about.

I suppose it was inevitable that, over the years, the idea of Force Eight should lose its terror. All the same, when it came up on the shipping forecast in the middle of the passage from Poole to the East coast, there was something instinctive about hunting through the almanac for a bolt-hole.

Since the route had taken us round the back of the Isle Wight, this didn’t leave a lot of options: The only safe haven with any water in it – and enough water over the entrance when I needed it – was going to be Portsmouth. It was only about 15 miles away and I could pick up a mooring (getting gale-bound in a marina can be ruinously expensive).

In fact, I had spent an hour back-tracking before I started thinking of this logically: Already, I knew I was in for a hatful of wind. The picture on Windguru was distinctly red. But on the other hand, there was no sign of purple which is what they use for gales. Moreover, the nastiness seemed to concentrated in mid-channel. If I stuck to the coast, it looked as though I would find nothing worse than 20knots which is, what… about Force Five.

Besides, an offshore gale is a lot less menacing: Years ago, I took three teenagers off for a week. I had never met them before and knew only that they could sail dinghies – they had been volunteered on me by my old school’s sailing club and their “get them into bigger boats” program.

The week coincided with a week of gales but I could hardly send them home (their parents had probably nipped off for a mini break). Nor did a week gale-bound seem attractive, cooped with three bored teenagers.

So, we tied down two reefs and went out every day to thrash around the Solent. Largo , being a Rival 32, thrived in a blow. One way and another, it was a fantastic week. We visited five different harbours, dried ourselves out each evening over my pasta-and-tins repertoire and got to know each other very well indeed. Boring it was not.

Well, now I have another Rival 32. And Samsara’s sail plan is even more suited to a blow than Largo with her too – big furling genny.

So, I dismissed Portsmouth, turned round and resumed the course – and guess what? The next forecast talked only of “possibly gale eight” – and that was for the whole sea area, all the way to the French coast.

And what did we get? Nothing more than 22knots apparent. What the forecasters might have called “occasionally Force Six”. In fact, the wind fell lighter and lighter until we ended up becalmed and going backwards off Dover – only the heaviest concentration of shipping in the world…

That was when Dover Port Control told me they had some work going and the anchorage was closed…”but you could go in the marina…”

I thanked them kindly (and politely avoided any comments about “ruinously expensive”) and went and anchored on a sandbank in the middle of nowhere. It’s an old East Coast trick. Nobody’s going to run down, anchored on a sandbank.

It was oddly peaceful.

Stop Press: The following morning the Dover Lifeboat turned up to check that I was all right. Apparently they don’t get many people anchoring for the night on the Goodwin Sands – someone had seen me from the shore and reported that I was “not making way”. The Lifeboatmen were terribly polite. I told them that I’d once been advised by an old fisherman that if ever I wanted to anchor without the risk of anyone disturbing me (or worse, running into me), I could do a lot worse than a sandbank.

___________________

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

How would you tackle a berth in a gale?

• James Stevens
• January 5, 2023

Would you know how to berth in a gale? James Stevens answers your Questions of Seamanship

One person has stepped ashore in a gale. How do you prevent the boat from being damaged? Credit: David Harding Credit: David Harding

Jim is the skipper of an 11m chartered yacht, Zenith , which he has booked for a week. He has three crew, John, Rick and Nick.

On the day they arrive the weather is foul; a full gale complete with horizontal rain.

Jim, who as an instructor knows that morale is higher if they move every day, has decided to motor to a marina up the river, set in farmland with a few houses and a café.

On arrival they are allocated a hammerhead berth with a yacht in front and the wind blowing diagonally off the pontoon.

Jim realises he has to moor with the wind on the port bow and that it’s going to require lots of power and an agile crew to secure the lines.

Credit: Maxine Heath

Jim turns the yacht with some difficulty downwind of the hammerhead and powers into the wind.

He has positioned John on the bow line, Nick on a midships line and Rick on the stern with instructions to take a turn on the pontoon cleats as soon as possible.

On arrival, Nick jumps ashore but the other two are too late and are still on board.

By the time Nick has secured the central line to the pontoon cleat, the bow has been blown half a boat length to starboard. He is still on the pontoon.

The yacht is held by one bar tight midships line and the stern quarter is being damaged against the pontoon. What does Jim do now?

Continues below…

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If there was no yacht in front, Jim could motor forwards and try and spring in, although in that wind it might not be possible.

Motoring ahead with a stern line would also be difficult.

Even with two crew on board it is going to be impossible in a full gale to sweat the midships line in to bring the yacht alongside.

Leading a long bow line to the stern and across to Nick is a possibility. He could secure it as a bow spring and Jim could motor ahead.

The problem is that the bow line might not be long enough and while they are extending it the stern is getting damaged.

My preference would be to release the midships line leaving Nick on the pontoon and go round for another attempt.

This stops the quarter being damaged and on the second attempt it should be possible to hand Nick the bow line.

Once that is attached it should be easy enough to pass the other lines to Nick. Any attempt at throwing lines to windward would be futile.

It might be slightly easier to approach the pontoon astern, without the difficulty of preventing the bow being blown off.

However, unless the yacht has a cockpit tent, being stern to wind in a gale and rain on a pontoon is pretty miserable and wet.

Handling a yacht under power in a gale in a marina is certainly not for the faint hearted. It requires large bursts of power and skilful steering.

Enjoyed reading How would you tackle a berth in a gale?

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Yachtsman battles gale-force winds

A video has emerged of a yacht caught in gale-force winds in Cornwall, UK on May 5. The boat was tossed around perilously close to the harbour wall as the sailor tries to get into Newlyn harbour.

A yacht caught out in severe gale force winds battles the elements to get safely in to harbour at Newlyn in Cornwall. Strong, gusting winds and short, choppy seas created testing conditions. The sailor can be seen strapping everything down to battle the storm, as the boat is tossed and turned perilously close to the harbour wall.

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Nominees > Contributor , Sailing , Technical

Deceased , Historic

1908 - 1987.

Pictured above: Harry Nye (right) and Leeds Mitchell (left), Cuba, 1938 (Credit: Mystic Seaport Museum Collection)

Harry Gale Nye, Jr., was born in Chicago in 1908. As a boy in the early 1920s, Harry’s first sailing experience was on Powers Lake, Wisconsin in a rowboat using a bedsheet as a mainsail. He and his younger brother, Bunty, soon talked their way onto a C Scow, and Harry found a man on Delavan Lake who offered to teach him to sail if he varnished his old C boat. By 1928, Harry placed 2nd overall in the Inland Lake Yachting Association (ILYA) C Championship, which he then went on to win in 1929 and 1930, and again in 1933, the year he started Murphy &Nye Sailmakers with Jim Murphy who had learned how to hand-sew sails for the commercial square rig and fore-and-aft rig schooners frequenting the port of Chicago.

Back on Delavan Lake, with his younger brother as his loyal crew, Harry had success in a tired old A Scow he acquired from Harry Melges, and by the early 1930s he had moved into E Scows, where he won two class championships and became known for testing the limits of the rigging with an innovative parachute spinnaker made in his Chicago loft.

Murphy& Nye was one of the first firms to use synthetic materials for sails, and Nye held multiple patents on sailmaking, including originating the technique of pre-roping the sail (ie, a pre-made luff and foot rope inside of a tape). The prominence of M&N sails soon expanded from scows and iceboats to larger yachts when Lynn A. Williams won the Mackinac Cup in 1934 using M&N sails on the 51-foot schooner Elizabeth .

By the late 1930s, Harry had left Delavan Lake to race on the international stage, with his one design sailing centered on the Star Class, participating in his first Worlds in 1936, and using his own sails of course, winning his first Silver Star in 1938, followed by another in 1941. By 1942, Nye and his crew Dr. Stan Fahlstrom, had perfected one of the first boomvangs used on a Star (which they called a “go fast”), and Nye won his first Gold Star that year. By the time Nye won the Star World’s again in 1949, the other boats had caught on and were now using vangs as well. Perhaps prophetically that year at the Worlds was also the debut of the 19-year- old Lowell North as a skipper, who although placing only 5th, captured a lot of attention. Murphy & Nye would remain the sailmaker of choice for the Stars through the late 1950s, at which point North Sails ascended.

The following is an excerpt from an article from the Northwestern Ice Yacht Association in which Jane Pegel shared some memories:

“Harry Nye was an outstanding soft water sailor. His family spent summers on Delavan Lake where he successfully raced scows. When the family business struggled during the Depression, Harry started a sail loft under the label Murphy & Nye. Harry Nye left scow sailing to race on Lake Michigan. He named his boats Gale and won Mackinac races and International Star Class World Championships. In the 1950s and’60s, Harry’s daughter, Judy, crewed for the Chicago YC team helmed by Jane Pegel that won the Adams Cup, awarded to the North American Women’s Champion.”

Nye’s commitment to the Star Class continued beyond his own active sailing career. He served as Commodore of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association from 1955-1963. Following his death, the Harry Nye Trophy was established and is awarded to individuals whose extraordinary efforts contributed significantly to the success of the Star Class. The winner of the fourth race in the Star World Championship is also awarded the Harry G. Nye Trophy, in honor of Nye’s dedication and service to the Star Class.

Bill Parks, President of the Star Class from 1974 to 1978, remembered Nye:

“The Star Class has always prided itself on the caliber and level of sportsmanship involved in its racing activities. In the early 1950s I saw Harry Nye sail off the course in the last race of the eliminations for the World Championship when he had an insurmountable lead and was surely the one to represent our fleet in the World’s that year. The incident, as I recall, was a minor infraction; yet Harry never hesitated in withdrawing from the course and losing his chance to represent. This incident had a profound effect on me and perhaps is responsible for the fact that I still sail a Star rather than a boat of some other class.”

Following his retirement from competitive sailing, Nye was ahead of his time in recognizing the potential of foiling. Though the use of hydrofoils had previously been restricted to the Navy, in 1962 Nye launched the 40- foot Enterprise , the first hydrofoil to be Coast Guard-approved for commercial service, which operated as a commuter ferry between Atlantic Highlands, NJ and Manhattan.

Pictured above: Harry Nye (bottom right) and crew after winning the Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race in 1948

Accomplishments and Honors

• 1937, 1938 1st, E Skeeters NW Ice Yacht Association Regatta
• 1938, 1940, 1941 1 st , Bacardi Cup
• 1942, 1949 Gold, Star World Championship
• 1938, 1941 Silver, Star World Championship
• 1950, 1951, 1 st , Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac
• 1946, Nye served with New York Yacht Club Commodores Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and W.A.W. Stewart on a subcommittee of the North American Yacht Racing Union (now known as US Sailing) to write the revised International Yacht Racing Rules, originally codified by Vanderbilt in 1934
• 1956, won the Star Class Olympic Trials, but was unable to compete due to a health condition
• 1955-1963, Served as Commodore of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association
• Following his passing, the Harry Nye Trophy was established and is awarded to individuals whose extraordinary efforts contributed significantly to the success of the Star Class.
• The winner of the fourth race in the Star World Championship is also awarded the Harry G. Nye Trophy, in honor of Nye’s dedication to the Star Class.

Excerpts from the Obituary for Harry Gale Nye, Jr, Chicago Tribune, September 22, 1987

By Kenan Heise

HARRY G. NYE, CHAMPION YACHTSMAN

Harry Gale Nye Jr., 79, one of the nation`s most respected yachtsmen and former owner of Murphy & Nye Sailmakers and Nye Tool Co., twice won the Chicago-to-Mackinac race and was two-time world champion in yachting`s International Star class.

Mr. Nye, a Chicago native, was attending Yale in 1932 when his father died. The family tool and die business was suffering during the Depression, and the young man was without work. He loved sailing and began mending sails as a hobby and then as a business. By the outbreak of World War II, when canvas and other sail making equipment was no longer available, he had hired 15 workers to cut and sew sails. He sold the company in the late 1950s.

The Nye Tool Co., the tool and die firm founded by his father in 1904, was sold in 1964 to an Indiana company.

His sails had gone around the world, and Mr. Nye used them himself in 1942 to win the International Star world championship. He repeated the feat in 1949 against a field no longer reduced by a world war.

Mr. Nye captured the ”Mac” in 1950 and 1951. He also won the Detroit-to-Mackinac Race. In 1965, he was named Chicago-area Yachtsman of the Year. He won the Olympic trials in 1956, but did not go on to compete because of his health.

Over the years, he owned more than 50 ships, all called ” Gale ,” a family name.

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• Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt

Do's and Don'ts of sailing in Gale/Force 8+

• Thread starter duncan_m
• Start date 3 Nov 2009

Hi all, I was out sailing on Sunday in the Solent in some pretty windy conditions (30-35kts gusting 40kts) in a 37ft Sun Odyssey which was great fun. It struck me while I was out that while my intuition lead most of my decisions and overall it was a cracking sail, that there must be a raft of advice and tactics to sailing in these conditions. Based on who I had on the boat I kept things very simple and took beam reaches for the worst of the sea with only enough Genoa out to give the sail some shape (avg speed was ~8kts)... Comments, advice & ideas invited!  

Well-known member

Your real enemy is large breaking waves. If you see one at your side, turn before it's too late!  

ChattingLil

duncan_m said: Hi all, I was out sailing on Sunday in the Solent in some pretty windy conditions (30-35kts gusting 40kts) in a 37ft Sun Odyssey which was great fun. Click to expand...

cOAST OF DEATH !!!!! According to the local paper a Norweigian yachtsman cheated death hen his 40 footer hit a submerged object a mile offshore.He was able to sail the boat to the coast and sramble ashore near Muxia...la costa de muerte.Now awaitinf insurance payout to get new boat..he thought the natives kind and helpful Voz de Galicia To day  

mogy said: According to the local paper a Norweigian yachtsman cheated death hen his 40 footer hit a submerged object a mile offshore.He was able to sail the boat to the coast and sramble ashore near Muxia...la costa de muerte.Now awaitinf insurance payout to get new boat..he thought the natives kind and helpful Voz de Galicia To day Click to expand...

The main thing is........................ Not to panic! www.gerryantics.blogspot.com  

We were out racing at the same time. The OOD routed us round a mark where there are overfalls and it was the waves that caused us problems, not helped by being hard on the wind. So I guess the best advice is to stay in a protected area like the Solent.  

Deleted member 36384

Some Good Reading And Make Sure Your Anchor Is Ready Duncan_M this subject is as big as the planet in sailing terms. I suggest the following good books which cover all aspects of sailing in big winds; some of the guidance will be more relevant to ocean crossing but never the less plenty of good advice and tips for those coastal bashes: - 1. Heavy Weather Sailing; Peter Bruce 2. Close To The Wind; Pete Goss 3. Safety and Survival At Sea; ECB Lee and Keneth Lee 4. Venturesome Voyages; J.C. Voss Big wind sailing is much the same as normal wind sailing except that the loading on your equipment is massive and if it goes wrong it usually happens far faster and the solution is more difficult to execute. If your boat is well found and navigated with wind and tides in mind then all should be OK. My single bit of advice would be to check everything before you go out for a bash in strong winds and make sure that you can deploy your anchor without unnecessary delay. With a good blow, sails down, little sea room, and a sudden dead engine it may be the rapid deployment of your anchor which prevents a good sail becoming an expensive prang. Before I go out in big winds I walk through the boat and store everything properly and check that the hatches are closed. Friends and family's idea of wedging stuff behind bunks or the shallow shelves is not my idea of stowed properly.  

BlowingOldBoots said: Duncan_M this subject is as big as the planet in sailing terms. I suggest the following good books which cover all aspects of sailing in big winds; some of the guidance will be more relevant to ocean crossing but never the less plenty of good advice and tips for those coastal bashes: - 1. Heavy Weather Sailing; Peter Bruce 2. Close To The Wind; Pete Goss 3. Safety and Survival At Sea; ECB Lee and Keneth Lee 4. Venturesome Voyages; J.C. Voss Big wind sailing is much the same as normal wind sailing except that the loading on your equipment is massive and if it goes wrong it usually happens far faster and the solution is more difficult to execute. If your boat is well found and navigated with wind and tides in mind then all should be OK. My single bit of advice would be to check everything before you go out for a bash in strong winds and make sure that you can deploy your anchor without unnecessary delay. With a good blow, sails down, little sea room, and a sudden dead engine it may be the rapid deployment of your anchor which prevents a good sail becoming an expensive prang. Before I go out in big winds I walk through the boat and store everything properly and check that the hatches are closed. Friends and family's idea of wedging stuff behind bunks or the shallow shelves is not my idea of stowed properly. Click to expand...

snowleopard

Active member.

I once sailed in the Solent in a wind averaging 45 knots, gusting to 55. It was a heavy classic 40 footer operated by a sailing school (the punters have paid to go out so out we go). The first point is that the waves were short and no more than 4 ft high so nothing like the open sea. We beat up from Langstone to Cowes with the wind in the West, carrying a storm jub and 3 reefs in the main. The biggest problem was holding the boat's head into the wind. Once a wave pushed the bow away, the weight of wind in the jib made it hard to get her to head up so we made very slow progress. It is rare to get wind without waves and the Solent is a special case. Normally heavy weather sailing is all about coping with the sea, not the wind. For example, going to windward in the open sea with F8-9 blowing, the big problem is not being blown off course but stalling as you sail up the steep face of a wave or being knocked down by a breaking sea. A beam reach in those conditions can get pretty nasty as you get the maximum effect from the waves. As a rule of thumb, a breaking wave whose height is >= the beam of the boat is enough to cause a capsize. When the seas get big, either head into them or run off. Here are a few ideas for sailing in heavy weather short of survival conditions. - Everyone above decks to be strapped on. A big sea or a roll can happen with little warning and you're swimming. - Shut the hatches. A big sea going down the hatch is very inconvenient. - make sure you have everything you need ready rigged for the next reduction of sail - take whatever you need in the way of seasickness remedies. - pay careful attention to stowage above and below decks, stuff flying around loose can be stressful. - make sure that food and drink can be served. Performance can deteriorate fast if there is nothing but cold drinks and biscuits for hours. - remember that waves go down as well as up - you need to allow at least half the maximum wave height to your depth calculations when going into shallow water. And remember that the sandbank you sail across happily in normal conditions can turn into a killer when there are big seas breaking on it.  

duncan_m said: Hi all, I was out sailing on Sunday in the Solent in some pretty windy conditions (30-35kts gusting 40kts) in a 37ft Sun Odyssey which was great fun. How dare you take an AWB like that out in such weather! You know its not allowed as it will broach all over the place and probably fall apart. Hope you had a liferaft on board - ideally one for each crew member. Glad you enjoyed it. Click to expand...

Take care with beam reaches a breaking wave slightly higher than your beam width can roll you. If you can sail off wind the wake tends to calm the waves. Other obvious things: Reef early. As has been said, make sure everything is tied down or stowed securely. Check that the 'locks' on the top of the gimballed stove are closed and batteries are tied down. Make sure alll hatches are secure. Block the hole the anchor chain goes down. Most of those things should be done before any passage. One thing about sailing in strong winds is just how beautiful the sea is with foam running down the front of the waves. That's until the wind goes up over seventy knots and you can't see anything because of the spray in the air - not the bows or even the top of the mast, it's awesome.  

Heavy weather sailing Here is my tuppence worth: PREPARATION FOR HEAVY WEATHER This may mean a Force 5 for a small family cruiser with inexperienced crew or a Force 8 for a well found large yacht and a strong experienced crew. 1. Obtain full weather forecast and be aware of weather changes pending and possibility of crossed seas from large wind shifts. 2. Plan passage so that ports of refuge are not on lee shores and away from tidal races, wind over tide situations and areas near shoals where the waves are refracted. 3. Issue sea sickness pills. 4. Charge batteries. 5. Remove mainsail, and stow in bag below decks, secure boom to deck, set up forestay for storm jib, if appropriate. Rig trysail. 6. Remove dodgers, fold or remove sprayhood. 7. Check all portlights, scuttles are fully closed. Fit or have ready ventilator covers. Attach hatchway and window storm screens. Fit dorade blank covers. Block hawsepipe with cork or plasticine. 8. Prepare in position any drag devices (sea anchor or warps) and associated gear as it may be difficult and dangerous to open cockpit lockers during storm. 9. Close all seacocks, pump heads through. Place a sign by engine starter button to say that engine inlet seacock is closed. 10. Plot position and, if a survival situation is anticipated, report position and intentions to Coastguard if within range. Keep a towel by the chart table to help keep charts dry. Continue to log the barometer reading regularly. 11. Check security of all gear below, particularly heavy items such as tool kits and batteries. 12. Put on appropriate heavy weather clothing. 13. Check grab bag is ready. Pack spare clothing, bedding, matches, lavatory paper, food, water, hand held VHF, spare flares, 1st Aid kit, TPAs and any other important items in heavy duty polythene bags if not already in grab bag. 14. Pump bilges. Check handles are secured close to pump with a lanyard. 15. Put washboards into position, check security lanyards. Consider rigging a rope lattice within cockpit. 16. Check security of all lockers and drawers down below. Tape up all lockers without positive locking arrangements. Rig lee cloths in saloon berths. 17. Check cockpit and anchor well drains are free. Use, if necessary, dinghy pump to blow debris clear. 18. Check all deck gear is secure, particularly: anchor, spinnaker pole, liferaft, winch handles, man overboard recovery gear. Check floating lights work. 19. Check halyards are free and well secured. Frap or secure all spare halyards. 20. Check navigation lights, hoist radar reflector if not permanently fixed. Check VHF, jackstays. 21. Stow inflatable dinghy below. 22. Consider changing gas cylinder and changing torch batteries where necessary. 23. Make up sandwiches and thermos of hot drinks. 24. Give everyone a good meal. 25 Secure all loose items below. 26. Position bagged sails to provide soft landing for crew. 27. All to know where grab bags, sharp knife are located, remind of need for good look out and knowledge of MAYDAY procedures. 28. Check location of rigging cutters, check lanyard is secure. 29. Establish watch system, if not already operating. No more than 2 hours on watch, depending on weather. Of duty watch to get as much rest as possible, warm waterproof clothing close to hand. 30. Check linkage on wheel steering, if wheel fitted. 31. Complete engine check. 32. Brief everyone IF IN DOUBT DO NOT PUT TO SEA Sticky  

KellysEye said: . One thing about sailing in strong winds is just how beautiful the sea is with foam running down the front of the waves. That's until the wind goes up over seventy knots and you can't see anything because of the spray in the air - not the bows or even the top of the mast, it's awesome. Click to expand...

KellysEye said: If you can sail off wind the wake tends to calm the waves. Click to expand...

- Stay clear of windward side of shallows, changing depths will alter the shape of waves, and usually not in a good sense. - Wind vs tide make a huge difference. Make sure you know your streams. - Parachute jumping: it's not the jump that kills you, it's the landing. Sailing: as long as you have sea room, you should be OK, it's the lee shore that kills. - Don't try to point to high. When the wind picks up, I keep the traveller to leeward. This keeps the boat a bit more upright, and gives me more speed/power to deal with waves. What I hate about heavy weather sailing is the three-wave-effect: over the first, the second stops the boat, and the third kicks your nose to windward. That's what happens with a 3-ton 31ft boat in hard weather. - Going downwind as the wind picks up is dangerous, before you know, you'll be over canvassed. Never cary more sail that you are willing to carry upwind. What if someone false over board on that nice downwind run? - A boat is happier when being pulled than when being pushed. So downwind it's better to have a large headsail and no main than the reverse. Contrary to the rule above, oversizing the headsail when running downwind makes for a stable boat. - Leave the kicker loose, so the main can spill wind in gusts. On the other hand a flat sail has less power. Anyone has an opinion on this one? - If an object falls out of its storage inside, do not place it back, it means the storage is not secure (always funny to see students go back inside and place the same book in the same spot three times in a row) - Heavy weather sailing relies heavily on preparation. When things don't go according to plan in heavy weather, even little things can be threatening, and they are hard to repair. Halyard breaks in F2: doh! Halyard breakes in F7: mother of f%*£%+/.//..£%*** - it's like drugs. Once you have sailed a bit in an F7, you wonder what all the hubbub was about when that F6 squall hit you last year. It gives you confidence in the boat.  

Thank you to everyone who has offered advice on this subject, it makes for good reading/learning, especially Sticky's succinct list. Think I might actually print that out and laminate it for my chart table in preparation for our trip to Egypt tomorrow.  

kingfisher said: - Leave the kicker loose, so the main can spill wind in gusts. On the other hand a flat sail has less power. Anyone has an opinion on this one? Click to expand...

AngusMcDoon

duncan_m said: Hi all, I was out sailing on Sunday in the Solent in some pretty windy conditions (30-35kts gusting 40kts) in a 37ft Sun Odyssey which was great fun. Comments, advice & ideas invited! Click to expand...

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