R22 Discussion Group

Don't forget the "and survive" clause. Next of kin get nothing. His logic

Re the furling jib. We were cautious with it, knowing the downsides but 
didn't worry about it in storms.

We sailed Fretless for 18 years on the Chesapeake. We always tried to 
avoid thunderstorms which can be pretty fierce on the Bay. Because 
visibility is pretty good, we never got caught in one sailing. We did 
get caught out in one once. We furled all sail and motored into the 
wind. We were in an area where fetch was short so the waves didn't get a 
chance to build. The wind was strong enough to blow the tops off the 
small waves flattening them. When we could finally see again (it rained 
really hard as well), we found we had been blown backwards about a 
quarter mile as we motored into the wind under bare poles. Storms on the 
Chesapeake tend to be short. This one was over in about 30 minutes. We 
didn't worry about the jib. It was securely furled.

We've also been caught at anchor in strong storms a few times. We always 
made sure the jib was tightly wrapped and well secured but again never 
really worried about it. We kept a careful eye on the weather at all times.

We've seen boats with jibs blown out. For the most part they were racing 
and had too much sail out for conditions or they were at the dock in 
sustained winds - think tropical storm or microburst type winds. We 
always made sure our jib was well-secured at the dock. We made sure it 
was tightly wrapped and then tied it off with a piece of line. For a 
tropical storm, we put extra wraps on the jib. If a hurricane threatened 
we removed the sail or hauled the boat and dropped the mast.

A sudden strong gust may heel you and come close to putting your mast in 
the water but if your gear is in good shape, it shouldn't damage the 
sail or the equipment. In 18 years of sailing, we never had a problem 
furling the jib. It was a little harder to do in higher winds but it 
always furled. The General Boats furler was bulletproof. We later 
replaced it with a Schaefer Snap-Furl as we wanted the ability to remove 
the sail without dropping the mast. It was a little more finicky but 
once set up and adjusted properly at the beginning of the season, it 
always worked well. We never went out without knowing our gear was in 
good shape and that the furlers were working well.

Not sure if any of this really addresses your sailing situation but hope 
some of it is helpful.

Mary Lou

ex Rhodes 22

now Rosborough RF-246

The Rhodes 22 Discussion Group

Mary Lou Troy

Seaworthiness and survivability thoughts.