If you go back to my posting   1446580  in 2013 (this was before I had even tried my FUP on Frøken Sørensen), I suggested adding a second  (“offshore”)FUP, running parallel with the first “inshore version”, but then terminating it up at the tip of the yard. David Tyler then suggested trying it with a span between the yard and upper batten ( posting  1449203 ), which makes sense.

Since I don’t do ocean voyaging, I guess I will do fine with my single FUP:  That may let the two top (fully lowered) panels fan up for a moment, but the FUP will clamp the batten 2 (from top) to the bundle and thus prevent serious problems.

Arne

 

Our Freedom 40 has a really large poop deck and center cockpit, and I've always wondered what the proper storm tactics would be - other than avoiding them.  Running with the wind has some advantages with regards to steerage and speed made good, but the transom hung rudder may be more susceptible to damage, and how safely can one turn the bow into the wind if that tactic becomes more preferred?  Junk sails don't really come to play in this, I think.

Erik

Annie Hill wrote:H/McL's yard downhaul might have done the job.  We had them on Badger, but for all I know, so did Bob.  Certainly they gave me peace of mind, but maybe we were just lucky.

yes, we have the yard downhauls too, and that would keep a sheeted out bundle under control.

Gary King wrote:

My reading of the story was Bob doused both sails, so doesn't matter which one first. Fanning up from a bundle sounds radical, need a huge gust for that to happen (70+ knot?), but i think Easy Go's battens are really light, skinny 25mm alu tubes.

Also sheeting out the bundle isn't necessary in 40 knots, bare poles is enough to propel along at 4 knots or so. Sheeted in there is no way a fan up could happen, not that would have saved her. There’s still the issue of comfort and nutrition for the crew.

Bob knew his boat well, but was exhausted. Big swell, and/or waves, boat dips deep at the bow, sheets work loose: maybe up goes the bundle. Arne's fan-up preventer might have stopped it, or a line up, over and if doable round the bundle to hold it down in the boom crutch. If sheeting the bundle out then obviously you can't hold the bundle down in its crutch. Might have been possible to wrap the line around the bundle before easing the mega-reefed sail out. Operative word is 'might'; depends on your condition at the time.

My reading of the story was Bob doused both sails, so doesn't matter which one first. Fanning up from a bundle sounds radical, need a huge gust for that to happen (70+ knot?), but i think Easy Go's battens are really light, skinny 25mm alu tubes.

Also sheeting out the bundle isn't necessary in 40 knots, bare poles is enough to propel along at 4 knots or so. Sheeted in there is no way a fan up could happen, not that would have saved her. There’s still the issue of comfort and nutrition for the crew.

From our experience it doesn't take much of a blow to make cooking impossible, 35 knots and steep 5' waves would do it, maybe a gimballed stove would have been a better idea, because its cold canned food from then on. Several days of that makes life hard, but fortunately we've never gone more than 6 to 7 hours like that.

I think there are potentially similar conditions on the east coast of Aust, a 3 to 4 knot south setting current against that super storm, 70+knots southerly, there were reportedly 30 to 40' swells out there.