My channel is mainly about sailing and not about drama or bikinis. Cut to girls in bikinis. 😂 I suspect that was a deliberate editorial decision. Love it!
Excellent video, very well done Thomas. Getting knocked down at sea is never a pleasant experience and definitely gets the heart rate and worry factor way up. In my opinion your analysis of catamaran instability in high wind & seas is spot on. Many people believe that catamarans are more stable in a storm than a mono-hull, but the reality is actually the just the opposite, with their shallow heel angle and almost no righting ability, as you pointed out. Hopefully the information you have presented will be of benefit to other sailors that watch your channel. I know you have contacted all the sail lofts to no avail, sounds like we need to get a "Go Fund Me" account started to help you get new sails. I believe a new set of sails will be a around $15-20K US, but with the shipping and import duty fees to Indonesia could easily double that cost. Plus your cockpit Bimini was shredded as well, and that will probably cost an additional $5-10K! Keep up the excellent videos my friend! Hope your are starting to feel better, Fair Winds & Following Seas Thomas. 🙂
Thank you so much my friend🙏🏻 I received so many emails with really good questions so I choose to include it in this video. I hope sailors find this video interesting and valuable and even for experienced sailors. I just met a couple normally sailing in artic or Antarctic waters telling me this is the reason they prefer colder climates. The explosive conditions you can experience especially close to convergence zones is sometimes almost unreal. Thank you so much for your support and for being here🙏🏻
Ahoy Captain Thomas! Thank you for this interesting report. Your reflection on the incident is very valuable. I wish you all the best. Stay safe. Fair winds, following seas and many moments of joy. PS: nice humor ❤
Thank you so much for your kind words and even understand the risk by telling things as is. Luckily this channel in general attracts more upper level of the TH-cam audience, with intelligent viewers where even many are pretty experienced sailors. It’s truly a blessing and the rude and negative comments are so rare here it’s nothing to even focus on. Thank you for being here 🙏🏻
Your videos are educational, I bet you save more lives than you think! John Kretschmer level! IMO It's discouraging; not enough bikinis or pointless drama that warrants a sail maker donation or sponsor when it all boils down to safe sailing.
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻 Somehow Australians are the fastest growing nation on the statistics showing viewers at the moment. I don’t know why, but it’s really nice to observe. Cheers mate🍻
Very good. AS I Have a catamaran and been in excessive wind strength I am confident that if prepared in 70 k ots we should not have any issue...but obviously preparation is key. Love your stuff. You are one tough guy😊
Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words. Preparations are key, and in this comes safety and maintenance. Safe sails and fair winds my friend ⛵️
Thank you! We are in Indonesia at the moment (mid Sep) and have heard of two boats getting hit with 40knot plus winds out of the blue for several hours. Makes me rethink overnight passages as we make our way to Johor, Malaysia.
Hey! Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experience. Are you guys coming to Bali? If so please don’t be strangers! Cheers from BE FREE🍻
Hi Thomas, I'm very surprise you don't have storm sail on board with a system to hoist it. I'm french and here it is compulsory to have one . I have always though that a furling jib ( just one foresail) is not enough to sail in security Sailing around the world is not always easy life, you did your best ; we learn from our mistakes and you have the honesty to show them Fair winds
I do have a storm sail, but remember it was 12 knots wind. Predictions said gusting 14 average 10. No reason to change configuration for this. However my solution is absolutely not good enough, and demands a bit planning. Meaning predicted weather, or at least some timeframe from discovering something is coming. But this came out of nowhere. As explained in the aftermath I don’t believe any configuration would help in this extreme event. It’s like should had, could had… but in 12 knots of wind? My future setup will be different. I need a storm sail I can set without leaving my cockpit. This I have explained in my heavy weather strategy video. Thank you so much for watching and for being here 🙏🏻
I've also been knocked over at 90 degrees or more several times when I was aboard TeVega which is a 165 ft. long two masted gaff rigged schooner that is now called DEVA. We were headed west from Leningrad, USSR in 1985 and hit the tail end of The Perfect Storm that Hollywood made a movie out of. We had short notice that the weather was going to get rough so we started taking down all of our sails but didn't have time to take down the 2,000 sq. ft. main. It ended up getting shredded like your main did. The storm lasted for three and a half days. Solid blue water was splashing over our boat that entire time. We had to be clipped in with two chest harnesses when we were at the helm outside and unprotected. It was a working school ship like the movie White Squall but my boat was the Watermark Program through Landmark School. There were about 60 sols aboard and only two of the students didn't get sea sick. That was me and the other one person that passed the aloft test and both of us were able to go up into the rigging anytime we wanted.
Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating story and experience. I’m glad to know it went pretty well after all. Even with modern tech it’s still not fail safe or possible to 100% eliminate any risks. All the best and thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
I love all of your analysis Thomas, getting my 54DS ready to go for next year and your episodes are like free real world training, mixed in with some nice adventure and fun! Thanks!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻 A 54DS is a beautiful yacht and very capable of Blue water Sailing. I cant wait to see you offshore with it. All the best and Thank you for being here
My fav. yacht as now well into my 70s the electric winch's , Inmost main , self tacking staysail & of course that amazing aft cabin & Bountiful saloon , Perfect & yachts built in that time were just that much more robust in material use & Construction , Fair winds > ENJOY .
Just watching the video is terrifying, the end result would have been so much worse for a less experienced sailor. Even though I am too old to venture far offshore anymore, your videos and honest assessments are very appreciated, thank you for all the hard work you do to create them.
Thank you so much for your kind words and understanding. It takes ridiculous amounts of hours to make content like this, and even exposing myself for trolls with little to no experience. Still I believe it’s worth it. So your feedback is much appreciated 🙏🏻
@SailingwithThomas - Reading comments shows us that all too often those with the loudest, harshest voices are also those with little or no experience... Please never take them to heart!
Thank you so much for your kind words and, you are spot on there. Luckily this channel has so many intelligent people watching and a vast majority are actually quite experienced sailors. Normally my content does not attract the audience that use bad words or leave rude comments. So I guess I’m quite privileged here. I’m pretty confident in what I upload and always stand behind it 100%. That’s all I can do. What some choose to see, understand or not is out of my hands. Some can even have a bad day, and letting their steam out on people they don’t even know. It’s the downside of social media. But again I really don’t have much to complain about as 99,99% of my friends here are just amazing and supporting. Just like you🙏🏻
I used to race and joy sail Tornado catamarans and Nacra 6.0 catamarans. I've flipped, pitch poled and turtled both of these catamarans several times. One time I was solo sailing in a new area and didn't know the local conditions. I was caught off shore in a sun downer wind condition with full sails up. Main, jib and spinnaker. I've never sailed so fast in my life and was throwing a rooster tail and the rudders were vibrating really loudly. I've never heard any noise at all before but this day it was so loud that you could very clearly hear it. I was able to get the spinnaker down without it hitting the water by using my toes to steer the boat. Then I had to jibe the boat. I furled in the job and then jibed the boat almost flipping it. The only way that you can take down the main is by heading up wind and rotating the mast while pulling on the halyard to release the ring, then it slides down the mast. I ended up upside down and was somehow able to get the cat on it's side but the mast had filled up with water and I didn't have water bags to help with weight to right the boat. I ended drifting out to sea and got hypothermia and thought I was going to parish but the wind shifted and I washed ashore 40 miles down the coast.
Wow that’s an intense experience you shared here! I recognize the high frequency noise from rudder, and that was also when racing back in the days. I owned a 11MOD for some years, and when flying spinnaker surfing fast downwind the noise was similar to your experience. Thank you so much for your comment and for being here🙏🏻
A very expensive trip for you. I hope you can find a good used sail and bimini. I bet there are some in a boatyard on Bali from abandoned yachts. Or that the yachting community helps you out. One thing that always bugs me is cockpit hatches. How hard would it be for manufacturers to build a real water tight slanting door instead of a two piece sliding hatch ? It could slide into or behind the bulkhead like on airliners. Sometimes old school stuff just isn't good enough. As for catamarans, I still think the answer to their problems are Walker Wing sails. You dont need to reef the sail as it quickly turns automatically to the correct position for the wind. Plus, they can't broach, which is where most knockdowns happen. I look forward to your next episode and thank you for your reply to my previous comment. I would love to go sailing again but I'm 68 now and I have some health problems. So staying near a hospital is better for me than 500 miles out to sea. I missed the boat, so to speak. Skål !
Thank you so much my friend 🙏🏻 Even though the risk of exposing myself to less experienced people jumping to conclusions, my goals are to show that even fairly experienced sailors no matter how prepared and skilled can encounter situations you can not plan for. Except having a well maintained yacht and never neglect the importance of proper safety equipment for the journey, it’s always a risk for surprises and unexpected events. Thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
This channel provides the best information out there how to deal with things how to be safe and he’s totally upfront and honest. Thank you Thomas for everything and don’t sell yourself out. Keep your morals high sail will come your way.
Thank you so much for your kind words, it’s much appreciated 🙏🏻 It’s definitely challenges ahead, but there will always be a way. Thank you for being here🙏🏻
Wow, I am impressed. Congratulation for surviving such an odd weather extreme, the sail was a small price to pay compared to what could have happen. Bayesian yacht wasn´t so lucky.
Such an honest and clearly described video, well done. Sailing in the tropical regions is very different to northern climates. In my experience when you see Roll clouds like the type you Experianced you bring down all sail as fast as possible. Maybe leave only a storm sail for steadying purpose. Of interest is your need to come head to wind to lower the mainsail. My previous Bavaria had a ball bearing car mainsail system and fully battened main, this car system allows the sail to come down fast, even when going dead down wind. I have a similar system which I use on my current 56ft yacht and the main drops in seconds. With the mainsail in the lazy jack bag it creates windage so In severe weather I lower the lazy jacks and tie sail ties over the sail bag and completely over the boom to tie the sail as tight and as small as possible. I totally understand that you would not have had time to manage all these tasks on your own. We recently weathered a 72kn storm tied to a jetty, we are 31 tons and we were heeled well over with the boat whistling and creaking. The mainsail was tied down and we had removed the Bimini, the forecast was only 35 so I didn’t remove the roller furling sails. Had I known what we were getting I would have removed those too. You must have been truly concerned. Thankyou for a great video, you have identified many significant challenges.
Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words. This was an experience I hope to not repeat in the near future. It’s rare to encounter such extreme conditions that’s so local and unpredicted. Yet they do happen. Thank you for sharing your experience as well! All the best ⛵️
Catamaran Impi was caught in similar conditions for 3 days and survived with only a swim ladder lid being destroyed by following seas. They were in the same area you were but further South. Check their videos for more info. Sailing in that area at the wrong time of year can be very difficult as you and Impi both encountered hurricane force winds. I hope you get your sails replaced soon!
Wow that was intense,I’ve been knocked down once on a 38 foot Beneteau but only minor damage.pretty frightening to say the least.The good thing from yours is you found all your weaknesses so you can fix them.
Scary on how fast a storm can be on you. Even with radar, you can get caught! Thankfully it was not at night which makes it even worse. As a rule, I always have my hatch or companion way closed when I'm on deck or hunkered down. You gave an honest assessment on what happened and a good reminder of safety equipment you must have. Thanks John
Thank you so much for watching and for being here. Your kind words are also much appreciated 🙏🏻 As a sailor uploading to TH-cam I feel a huge responsibility to share the truth and reality. Even if some jump to wrong conclusions and call me things. Some even suggested I should familiarize myself with weather routing software… I seriously struggling to respond to such . I’m glad that my key message came through to those who are genuine interested. It’s not always technology can help as much as we want. And as you pointed out, radars picks up squalls but not before they contain any rain. All the best ⛵️
Thank you for not being a sellout for a sail loft I purchased my sails from a popular TH-cam sailing loft and believe it or not 4 times in a row it was either the sizing or the design and the only reason I bought from this company was a sailing show on TH-cam honestly quit watching them. I feel I was misled and lied to.!! Thank you
your vlogs contain so much valuable information, you are experianced and always so well informed and prepared, and still natures forces can be devastating…..hope you never have to go through such a unforseen event again…wish you smooth sailing and thank you for sharing all your wisdom and experiance
Hi Thomas, as I stated before here on your channel, I am still able to learn from you and your experience of 40+ years of sailing, even considering myself being an experienced skipper with 20 years experience in this sport. You never stop to learn, and there is always a new unknown situation to deal with in sailing. The main lesson here as a take home message is for now and forever: SAFETY FIRST! I am happy to be the Skipper on a Bavaria 50 Cruizer in Croatia in two weeks. I will think of you sailing an even bigger boat, and I will remember to be on the lookout for constant safety for the crew and me. Until then I am impatient to see your next video here, my friend! Best regards from Switzerland! Mitch
I watched a storm from the shore in a high side estuary in UK (River Yealm) There was a big mono, quite racy. She was blown on her beam end. Not far away was a heavy cruising catamaran, she just happily sat there. Looking a TH-cams from the Grenada hurricane, quite a few cats lifted and flipped. But there sitting in the lagoon was a big Wharram, seemingly unaffected. Many modern cats are awful and unseaworthy, far too much windage, and now we see big racy cats with relatively narrow overall beam.
You have a good strong boat there. Shame it the usual production boat issues. Essentials for me: Watertight bulkheads, three or more. Watertight hatches, definitely included main companion way. No big open spaces without adequate handholds. A mast head rig, so you can let the sail out 90deg, even better a free standing rig, sail out 180 deg.
Great video. Glad you were able to get help with taking your sail off. Don't underestimate getting a sail sponsor. Sam Holmes and others got sails from Rolly Tasker sails. Was one of the companies that have also sponsored OGR. Hope you get your sails replaced without to much hassle. Good luck.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words 🙏🏻 I have received a few offers now but the terms and conditions are not good enough, so I will continue with what I have while finding a better solution. All the best ⛵️
That's really cool that you let your friends experience going up the mast and help in the boat maintenance. Hopefully they are inspired enough to get a boat of there own. I love the Be Free Bitch with those 6 beauties. I like the three on the right best.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment. My friends have been learning a lot about the reality of sailing. And I have learned a lot from them. It’s been such a pleasure having them back onboard. All the best
Great video. We have an in-mast furling main and experienced similar weather. To such extent that we were afraid the Bimini would go flying. The boat healing 60 degrees on just 1 meter of unfurled sail. Far worse than we ever experienced on North Sea despite being in the tail of a hurricane.. Asia is unpredictable.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and kind words🙏🏻 Things can happen even to the best prepared and experienced sailors. The outcome is often what’s separate a well maintained yacht and prepared crew from the less fortunate results. Not always but very often. Thank you for being here
Hi Thomas - thanks for your educational content. Two days before I came by your yacht, trying to wingsurf in Bali - not very successful :-) for me, looked like nobody was on board- all the best Robert
Thank you so much for watching Robert 🙏🏻 Your kind comment are much appreciated. I’m sorry I was not aboard. Might been at my neighbors or on shore. Lots of water sports going on around my boat every day. Sometimes quite fun to watch 😅 All the best
Good to hear from you, knew you were alright because you have it all under control, but it has been awhile. Looking forward to whose sails you go with. You will make the correct decision.Love your thought process!
Thank you so much for watching and for your input as well. I’m not sure if a drift/para anchor would helped much here. At least not when being surprised like this. Also I have been testing out several solutions over the years, and the main challenges on BE FREE is the windage and hull design. To keep this bow up against the wind demands quite some power. The size of the drogues would need to be many times bigger than the ones I have tested, both in parallel and even inline serials. Again I believe it proves there is not really one solution that fits all, hence the fact I try to communicate this is how I do things, or this works on this yacht. Another example are heave to that’s not as successful on a modern design as old school yachts. At least I have still not managed to achieve same efficiency as I managed with smaller and older yachts I have owned. That’s why I’m carful saying this is how to, or one size fits all. All the best⛵️
Great video and graphics!!!! enjoyed the information as a full time sailor in San Andres Columbia. I met you in Bocas Del Toro Panama when you came over to help me hoist my head sail. Sorry you lost your hat that day.......
Hey, yeah I remember you. I’m happy you enjoyed this video and it also was my pleasure to assist a fellow sailor. That’s how we do it where I come from. Hope you are doing fine! All the best and fair winds ⛵️
"The reality was much more brutal than I ever can explain." No truer words have ever been spoken, Thomas. Shame on sail makers supporting a$$ over sailing! That why I don't subscribe to their drivel. 🤦♂️ Thanks again for an exceptional teaching video. You're the best.👏
Thank you so much my friend for always supporting and leaving kind comments 🙏🏻 Im actually surprised some sail lofts even have not bothered to reply. I only asked if they could give me a good offer. So I guess sail lofts has to much money or to many clients, or they are tired of TH-cam sailors. Hard to tell when they don’t even reply. Some replied with good discounts but wants huge logos and names in the sails. That’s okay but I’m not paying for their advertising. So that’s thanks but no thanks. Anyway I have some ideas I’m working with⛵️ All the best
23:18 click, click,click,click,clicck,click,click,click,click 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Thanks for the info and explanation. Be Free , stay independant as long as you can . Too much bullshit puts me off, too many sponsorships are snake oil traps. But they do keep you sailing even though we don't get to know the strings that are attached. Good luck Thomas
Thank you so much for watching and for being here. I don’t have answers to your question, but a qualified guess would be that not only would the sail been shredded as well, but it would made a complicated and time consuming repairs as well. The tensions and the leftovers inside furler would most likely been significant. All the best ⛵️
A lot to think about there, thanks Thomas. I had a removable inner forestay added to my mast with a recent re-rig and have a new Hank on heavy cutter sail with one reef. I am imagining that a Hank on sail can be dropped more quickly. Question though is it safe to tie such a sail down to the deck and be left attached to the stay in rapidly changing conditions?
I believe the best solution would be a inner for stay with a furler for single handing would be the best solution for my yacht. This requires some serious modifications as it needs re enforcement not only under deck but also modifications on the rigging itself. It’s definitely on my wishlist. My storm sail is to time consuming and requires work on deck to be deployed. Meaning if weather changes fast and unpredicted there is no time for it. Nor a good time to be on deck. All the best
After 50+ years skippering , Delivering every thing from 30ft. Try's to 70 Ketches Im a great fan on a staysail (Not a Solent) a lower set staysail , Drop the main , Plenty of rolls in the Genoa & if 0ver 50 to 60 lay a hull or Motor sail or just motor into it any more start running so the rudder has good steerage . The only time iv had to change my undies was on a Cat in 60+.... Not good . Fair winds .
Nusa Dua Boatworks: Located in the south of Bali, Nusa Dua Boatworks is known for its quality sail repairs and custom sailmaking. They may be a good option for repairs or if you're looking for specialized sailcloth options or designs. Let me know what they quote you /marcopolo
Just as a point of design James Wharrams cruising catamerans used a lower aspect ratio rig and most of the larger versions were ketch rigged and the mainsails are his own design wingsails where the masts fit in a zip up tube pocket . They dont need any spreaders or lower stays...
Thank you so much for watching and for sharing interesting facts in your comment. Lots of different designs, solutions and types. Hence the fact I try to never say this is how to, because there is no blueprint as in sailing there is no one size fits all. In my opinion a video saying this is how you…. Only reveals lack of experience and understanding. So thank you for pointing out different solutions and engineering. All the best ⛵️
The UV is definitely strong in the tropics and destructive towards any fabrics. However most of the time stored inside the lazy bag, and compared to the miles I have sailed with the other main sail it’s hard to accept. The Hood sail has been serviced and well maintained and invested in several times at good sail lofts. First time it needed service and some re Stichting was already after only 5K nautical miles. So from my experience I certainly can not recommend sails from Hood. Elvstrøm has proven to be a significant stronger, better and longer lasting sails. So I belive there is a significant difference in quality. All the best
Hi Thomas. As i am planing to sail with my family around the world i am thankful that people like you exist where we can learn, what lack of experience can never teach us. So i ask you, If you put away the sails in good time and without going on the engine against the wind on the wrong direction, these boats will invariably orient themselves at a right angle to the wind and drift directly sideways with the risk of broaching. Do you think is wise to have a sea anchor ready with a bridal at the bow and just wait for the weather to pass? Thanks
Thank you so much for watching and for both your good questions and even kind words. There is not really any blueprint on how to, but there are some best practices. A drouge/sea/drift-anchor is always a good thing to have onboard. Even there you will find different patents, sizes and models. Different yachts will behave differently and like my yacht it doesn’t really work that well. I have tested serial, different size and types. Different lengths on the line etc. So my best advice is to test it out and familiarize your self and see what works. There are several things you can do anyway but offcourse it depends on the time to prepare. In this specific episode and what’s made it such challenge was I did not really get any heads up. But what I can say is this is extremely rare, and in this specific situation I’m positive sure no setup in terms of sails would been good. I’m lucky the sail was ripped to pieces. Also proof of importance having the the mast and rigging in top condition. If you want to chat directly you could alway consider to sign up on my Patreons. All the best and fair winds ⛵️
There is lots of theories regarding this topic, and even lots of myths. Even some insurance companies demands solutions that’s are not even evidence based science behind. In general the risk of taking a direct hit are quite small, but to be honest if anchored in locations with lots of thunderstorms like Panama I prefer to anchor close to a catamaran. Statistically they are more likely to be hit, and this even match my real life experience. But for sure having a piece of metal stretching itself 25 meters above the sea level is sometimes uncomfortable when intense thunderstorms are passing. Well knowing the fact a lightning always would find the fastest and most efficient way to release it’s energy. All the best
A curious question if you don`t mind. When the actual guest happen and you were heeling over, did you get this typical feeling of a daggerboard boat ... everthing out of controll it will capsize now what ever I do... or was the boat still feeling like it wants to go up?
Thank you for watching and for your questions. It was only reefline 3 that was attached and thight. I don’t believe it would made any difference as I explained in this video. All the best
You raise some interesting issues with what happened to the portion of the sail in the bag and the fact it's really not properly contained. Do you have any plans to make this better (ie additional holes in the sail at the reef points that you can use more sail ties?). I was only here for the bikinis btw 😂
Thank you so much for being here even though it’s rarely bikinis in my videos 😀 My episode 196 or 197 will be a T&A overdose though😂 Such extreme unpredicted weather are luckily very rare. When I know it’s gonna be rough I either zip the bag, or lash down the sails as I showed. So no plans in adding old school reef lines for now. There are many opinions about the effects, and I guess in the extreme event I encountered I’m not sure if any sail or solutions would survive. All the best⛵️
It’s almost impossible to capsize BE FREE due to the really good weight in keel ratio. Also the sea state was not in a condition it could contribute in any way either. When you heel over the wind lose power as the windage are significantly reduced. The only thing that could happened in worst case scenario is if the sail had not ripped my rigging could had come down. Still even this is almost unlikely due to the fact I take maintenance seriously, and did a full pin to pin refit not long ago. One of the reasons I did it before scheduled was for two important reasons. #1 My plan was to cross the Pacific and I was prepared something like this could happen. #2 I had already sailed through several violent storms and one cyclone prior to the full refit. So I believed a full pin to pin refit was in place. Most likely I would do a full refit again when I reach back to either the Caribbean or Europe again. Hope this was a good answer to your question.
Thank you so much for watching and for your honest question. I did not sail into it, I was surprised by it😅 I added several hundred nautical miles to this journey to avoid the weather that was predicted on the shortest route. My detour was quite significant and well planned for two main reasons. First of all to avoid the huge front systems, secondly to stretch out the time to wait out the weather before dipping south. So the key takeaway here is actually even with wast amounts of experience, well planned and all the knowledge and understanding even assisted with lots of technology and tools, you can still be surprised. That’s why I shared this honest and raw to create awareness about safety and that things still can happen. I hope this was a good answer to your question. Thank you for being here🙏🏻
Tusen takk 🙏🏻 Storseilet ligger på mellom 70-90K NOK ca 130-150 for begge seilene. Ny sprayhood og Bimini er ca 50K NOK plus diverse. Så ble en dyr seilas
@@SailingwithThomas Helt klart ikke helt billig. Men du kom gjennom det i god form. Flott å se på og høre hvilke vurderinger du gjør før du går løs på "problemer".
Don't think you could have done much different in that situation. Obviously you could say you should have done this or that, but that is easy after the fact. Your supposed to move towards your destination to. I bet you had more than 72kn for a minute or two. Your habit to close your companion way, which most youtube sailors in a "storm" keep open for some reason, payed off big time. I will put a barometric "sudden drop" alarm on my todo list. Not sure it would have made a difference thought.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment as well. It’s lots of things you see on TH-cam that’s not necessarily best practice. That’s on of my main purpose to be here, trying to share some truths and reality to this platform. Raw and unpolished in its simplicity without any scripts. All the best
Scandinavian sail lofts are famous for being really good. I’m not sponsored by Elvstrøm and probably should not give them so much free advertising. But the Elvstrøm sails have been impressive and in a different league compared to the Hood sails. So there is clearly difference in quality. Thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
Great video, and great content as usual. None of the fluffy garbage most other channels pander to for sure. Would help if you threw in some bimbo and bikini time though LOL.......
Thanks for Share. Your a good saylor, but you get what you are asking for... Distroy material its not good and makes it not a good sailor, we all can leave and learn😊
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏻 Yes we all knows what works, but even though focus on bikinis would attract more viewers the average quality in the audience would drop equally. Thank you for being here ⛵️
You are a rare kind of TH-camer. That is transparent and truthful. Thanks for sharing, Thomas. Best regards from Jarle
Thank you so much Jarle 🙏🏻
My channel is mainly about sailing and not about drama or bikinis.
Cut to girls in bikinis. 😂
I suspect that was a deliberate editorial decision. Love it!
Thomas is a class act!
that's the humor of Thomas/some Norwegians, especially coming from North-Norway
Chasing latitudes sent us. Great work! I’m going to check this out. I’m excited.
Thank you so much for coming along here as well🙏🏻
Excellent video, very well done Thomas. Getting knocked down at sea is never a pleasant experience and definitely gets the heart rate and worry factor way up. In my opinion your analysis of catamaran instability in high wind & seas is spot on. Many people believe that catamarans are more stable in a storm than a mono-hull, but the reality is actually the just the opposite, with their shallow heel angle and almost no righting ability, as you pointed out. Hopefully the information you have presented will be of benefit to other sailors that watch your channel.
I know you have contacted all the sail lofts to no avail, sounds like we need to get a "Go Fund Me" account started to help you get new sails. I believe a new set of sails will be a around $15-20K US, but with the shipping and import duty fees to Indonesia could easily double that cost. Plus your cockpit Bimini was shredded as well, and that will probably cost an additional $5-10K! Keep up the excellent videos my friend! Hope your are starting to feel better, Fair Winds & Following Seas Thomas. 🙂
Thank you so much my friend🙏🏻 I received so many emails with really good questions so I choose to include it in this video. I hope sailors find this video interesting and valuable and even for experienced sailors. I just met a couple normally sailing in artic or Antarctic waters telling me this is the reason they prefer colder climates. The explosive conditions you can experience especially close to convergence zones is sometimes almost unreal.
Thank you so much for your support and for being here🙏🏻
Ahoy Captain Thomas!
Thank you for this interesting report.
Your reflection on the incident is very valuable.
I wish you all the best. Stay safe.
Fair winds, following seas and many moments of joy.
PS: nice humor ❤
Very good info. Thanks 🙏
Kudos for being true hart Scandinavian
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
Thank you for taking us along Thomas,
Sharing your experiences,even the not so pleasant ones, is a very important public service.
Thanks a lot for having the balls to do so!
Thank you so much for your kind words and even understand the risk by telling things as is. Luckily this channel in general attracts more upper level of the TH-cam audience, with intelligent viewers where even many are pretty experienced sailors. It’s truly a blessing and the rude and negative comments are so rare here it’s nothing to even focus on. Thank you for being here 🙏🏻
Your videos are educational, I bet you save more lives than you think! John Kretschmer level! IMO
It's discouraging; not enough bikinis or pointless drama that warrants a sail maker donation or sponsor when it all boils down to safe sailing.
enjoy your stuff. Hello from Western Australia.
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻 Somehow Australians are the fastest growing nation on the statistics showing viewers at the moment. I don’t know why, but it’s really nice to observe.
Cheers mate🍻
Such a great TH-cam sailing channel!! My favorite!! ❤
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏻 Much love from BE FREE ❤️
I’m watching you guys taking down that thrashed Sail. Awesome video!!!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
Very good. AS I Have a catamaran and been in excessive wind strength I am confident that if prepared in 70 k ots we should not have any issue...but obviously preparation is key. Love your stuff. You are one tough guy😊
Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words.
Preparations are key, and in this comes safety and maintenance. Safe sails and fair winds my friend ⛵️
Thank you! We are in Indonesia at the moment (mid Sep) and have heard of two boats getting hit with 40knot plus winds out of the blue for several hours. Makes me rethink overnight passages as we make our way to Johor, Malaysia.
Hey! Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experience.
Are you guys coming to Bali? If so please don’t be strangers!
Cheers from BE FREE🍻
Hi Thomas,
I'm very surprise you don't have storm sail on board with a system to hoist it. I'm french and here it is compulsory to have one . I have always though that a furling jib ( just one foresail) is not enough to sail in security
Sailing around the world is not always easy life, you did your best ; we learn from our mistakes and you have the honesty to show them
Fair winds
I do have a storm sail, but remember it was 12 knots wind. Predictions said gusting 14 average 10. No reason to change configuration for this. However my solution is absolutely not good enough, and demands a bit planning. Meaning predicted weather, or at least some timeframe from discovering something is coming. But this came out of nowhere. As explained in the aftermath I don’t believe any configuration would help in this extreme event.
It’s like should had, could had… but in 12 knots of wind?
My future setup will be different. I need a storm sail I can set without leaving my cockpit. This I have explained in my heavy weather strategy video.
Thank you so much for watching and for being here 🙏🏻
I've also been knocked over at 90 degrees or more several times when I was aboard TeVega which is a 165 ft. long two masted gaff rigged schooner that is now called DEVA. We were headed west from Leningrad, USSR in 1985 and hit the tail end of The Perfect Storm that Hollywood made a movie out of. We had short notice that the weather was going to get rough so we started taking down all of our sails but didn't have time to take down the 2,000 sq. ft. main. It ended up getting shredded like your main did. The storm lasted for three and a half days. Solid blue water was splashing over our boat that entire time. We had to be clipped in with two chest harnesses when we were at the helm outside and unprotected. It was a working school ship like the movie White Squall but my boat was the Watermark Program through Landmark School. There were about 60 sols aboard and only two of the students didn't get sea sick. That was me and the other one person that passed the aloft test and both of us were able to go up into the rigging anytime we wanted.
Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating story and experience. I’m glad to know it went pretty well after all. Even with modern tech it’s still not fail safe or possible to 100% eliminate any risks.
All the best and thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
I love all of your analysis Thomas, getting my 54DS ready to go for next year and your episodes are like free real world training, mixed in with some nice adventure and fun! Thanks!
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
A 54DS is a beautiful yacht and very capable of Blue water Sailing. I cant wait to see you offshore with it.
All the best and Thank you for being here
I have a 2008 54DS if there's anything I can help you with please pm me.
My fav. yacht as now well into my 70s the electric winch's , Inmost main , self tacking staysail & of course that amazing aft cabin & Bountiful saloon , Perfect & yachts built in that time were just that much more robust in material use & Construction , Fair winds > ENJOY .
Just watching the video is terrifying, the end result would have been so much worse for a less experienced sailor. Even though I am too old to venture far offshore anymore, your videos and honest assessments are very appreciated, thank you for all the hard work you do to create them.
Thank you so much for your kind words and understanding. It takes ridiculous amounts of hours to make content like this, and even exposing myself for trolls with little to no experience. Still I believe it’s worth it. So your feedback is much appreciated 🙏🏻
@SailingwithThomas - Reading comments shows us that all too often those with the loudest, harshest voices are also those with little or no experience... Please never take them to heart!
Thank you so much for your kind words and, you are spot on there. Luckily this channel has so many intelligent people watching and a vast majority are actually quite experienced sailors. Normally my content does not attract the audience that use bad words or leave rude comments. So I guess I’m quite privileged here.
I’m pretty confident in what I upload and always stand behind it 100%. That’s all I can do. What some choose to see, understand or not is out of my hands. Some can even have a bad day, and letting their steam out on people they don’t even know. It’s the downside of social media. But again I really don’t have much to complain about as 99,99% of my friends here are just amazing and supporting. Just like you🙏🏻
the Good, the Bad and the Ugly...Thank You Professor 😎
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻
I used to race and joy sail Tornado catamarans and Nacra 6.0 catamarans. I've flipped, pitch poled and turtled both of these catamarans several times. One time I was solo sailing in a new area and didn't know the local conditions. I was caught off shore in a sun downer wind condition with full sails up. Main, jib and spinnaker. I've never sailed so fast in my life and was throwing a rooster tail and the rudders were vibrating really loudly. I've never heard any noise at all before but this day it was so loud that you could very clearly hear it. I was able to get the spinnaker down without it hitting the water by using my toes to steer the boat. Then I had to jibe the boat. I furled in the job and then jibed the boat almost flipping it. The only way that you can take down the main is by heading up wind and rotating the mast while pulling on the halyard to release the ring, then it slides down the mast. I ended up upside down and was somehow able to get the cat on it's side but the mast had filled up with water and I didn't have water bags to help with weight to right the boat. I ended drifting out to sea and got hypothermia and thought I was going to parish but the wind shifted and I washed ashore 40 miles down the coast.
Wow that’s an intense experience you shared here! I recognize the high frequency noise from rudder, and that was also when racing back in the days. I owned a 11MOD for some years, and when flying spinnaker surfing fast downwind the noise was similar to your experience.
Thank you so much for your comment and for being here🙏🏻
A very expensive trip for you. I hope you can find a good used sail and bimini. I bet there are some in a boatyard on Bali from abandoned yachts. Or that the yachting community helps you out. One thing that always bugs me is cockpit hatches. How hard would it be for manufacturers to build a real water tight slanting door instead of a two piece sliding hatch ? It could slide into or behind the bulkhead like on airliners. Sometimes old school stuff just isn't good enough. As for catamarans, I still think the answer to their problems are Walker Wing sails. You dont need to reef the sail as it quickly turns automatically to the correct position for the wind. Plus, they can't broach, which is where most knockdowns happen. I look forward to your next episode and thank you for your reply to my previous comment. I would love to go sailing again but I'm 68 now and I have some health problems. So staying near a hospital is better for me than 500 miles out to sea. I missed the boat, so to speak. Skål !
Cool guy and honest you are Thomas. Also funny 🙂 these reasons make your channel and videos great to watch. Thank you.
Thank you so much my friend 🙏🏻 Even though the risk of exposing myself to less experienced people jumping to conclusions, my goals are to show that even fairly experienced sailors no matter how prepared and skilled can encounter situations you can not plan for. Except having a well maintained yacht and never neglect the importance of proper safety equipment for the journey, it’s always a risk for surprises and unexpected events.
Thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
@@SailingwithThomas keep it going Thomas. I enjoy your honesty and sail experience while me I sail in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian waters.
This channel provides the best information out there how to deal with things how to be safe and he’s totally upfront and honest. Thank you Thomas for everything and don’t sell yourself out. Keep your morals high sail will come your way.
Thank you so much for your kind words, it’s much appreciated 🙏🏻 It’s definitely challenges ahead, but there will always be a way.
Thank you for being here🙏🏻
Great instructive video, thank you Thomas!!
Wow, I am impressed. Congratulation for surviving such an odd weather extreme, the sail was a small price to pay compared to what could have happen. Bayesian yacht wasn´t so lucky.
Such an honest and clearly described video, well done.
Sailing in the tropical regions is very different to northern climates. In my experience when you see Roll clouds like the type you Experianced you bring down all sail as fast as possible. Maybe leave only a storm sail for steadying purpose. Of interest is your need to come head to wind to lower the mainsail. My previous Bavaria had a ball bearing car mainsail system and fully battened main, this car system allows the sail to come down fast, even when going dead down wind. I have a similar system which I use on my current 56ft yacht and the main drops in seconds.
With the mainsail in the lazy jack bag it creates windage so In severe weather I lower the lazy jacks and tie sail ties over the sail bag and completely over the boom to tie the sail as tight and as small as possible.
I totally understand that you would not have had time to manage all these tasks on your own. We recently weathered a 72kn storm tied to a jetty, we are 31 tons and we were heeled well over with the boat whistling and creaking. The mainsail was tied down and we had removed the Bimini, the forecast was only 35 so I didn’t remove the roller furling sails. Had I known what we were getting I would have removed those too. You must have been truly concerned. Thankyou for a great video, you have identified many significant challenges.
Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words. This was an experience I hope to not repeat in the near future. It’s rare to encounter such extreme conditions that’s so local and unpredicted. Yet they do happen. Thank you for sharing your experience as well! All the best ⛵️
Catamaran Impi was caught in similar conditions for 3 days and survived with only a swim ladder lid being destroyed by following seas. They were in the same area you were but further South. Check their videos for more info. Sailing in that area at the wrong time of year can be very difficult as you and Impi both encountered hurricane force winds. I hope you get your sails replaced soon!
Wow that was intense,I’ve been knocked down once on a 38 foot Beneteau but only minor damage.pretty frightening to say the least.The good thing from yours is you found all your weaknesses so you can fix them.
Really enjoyed the analysis of what happed Thomas,very interesting thank you
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words. All the best
Scary on how fast a storm can be on you. Even with radar, you can get caught! Thankfully it was not at night which makes it even worse. As a rule, I always have my hatch or companion way closed when I'm on deck or hunkered down. You gave an honest assessment on what happened and a good reminder of safety equipment you must have. Thanks John
Thank you so much for watching and for being here. Your kind words are also much appreciated 🙏🏻
As a sailor uploading to TH-cam I feel a huge responsibility to share the truth and reality. Even if some jump to wrong conclusions and call me things. Some even suggested I should familiarize myself with weather routing software… I seriously struggling to respond to such . I’m glad that my key message came through to those who are genuine interested. It’s not always technology can help as much as we want. And as you pointed out, radars picks up squalls but not before they contain any rain.
All the best ⛵️
Thank you for not being a sellout for a sail loft I purchased my sails from a popular TH-cam sailing loft and believe it or not 4 times in a row it was either the sizing or the design and the only reason I bought from this company was a sailing show on TH-cam honestly quit watching them. I feel I was misled and lied to.!! Thank you
@@Grand-paws can you say which one it is or hint sufficiently please? Save me the same headache
your vlogs contain so much valuable information, you are experianced and always so well informed and prepared, and still natures forces can be devastating…..hope you never have to go through such a unforseen event again…wish you smooth sailing and thank you for sharing all your wisdom and experiance
Thank you so much for your kind words, and for being here🙏🏻 Much appreciated
Great information Thomas, you are very intelligent.I am always super stoked every time you post a new video.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for being here🙏🏻
Thank you for sharing Thomas, i enjoy all you videos.
Thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
Thanks for the nice video.
I never miss one.
Thank you so much for still being here 🙏🏻
Hi Thomas, as I stated before here on your channel, I am still able to learn from you and your experience of 40+ years of sailing, even considering myself being an experienced skipper with 20 years experience in this sport.
You never stop to learn, and there is always a new unknown situation to deal with in sailing.
The main lesson here as a take home message is for now and forever: SAFETY FIRST!
I am happy to be the Skipper on a Bavaria 50 Cruizer in Croatia in two weeks. I will think of you sailing an even bigger boat, and I will remember to be on the lookout for constant safety for the crew and me.
Until then I am impatient to see your next video here, my friend!
Best regards from Switzerland! Mitch
Eye opening video , we have been sailing for years and almost forgot something like this can happen , love your videos thomas keep it up😊
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻 I’m glad to know you found this episode interesting.
All the best and fair winds ⛵️
Great update! All the best!
I watched a storm from the shore in a high side estuary in UK (River Yealm) There was a big mono, quite racy. She was blown on her beam end. Not far away was a heavy cruising catamaran, she just happily sat there.
Looking a TH-cams from the Grenada hurricane, quite a few cats lifted and flipped. But there sitting in the lagoon was a big Wharram, seemingly unaffected. Many modern cats are awful and unseaworthy, far too much windage, and now we see big racy cats with relatively narrow overall beam.
You have a good strong boat there. Shame it the usual production boat issues.
Essentials for me:
Watertight bulkheads, three or more.
Watertight hatches, definitely included main companion way.
No big open spaces without adequate handholds.
A mast head rig, so you can let the sail out 90deg, even better a free standing rig, sail out 180 deg.
Great video. Glad you were able to get help with taking your sail off. Don't underestimate getting a sail sponsor. Sam Holmes and others got sails from Rolly Tasker sails. Was one of the companies that have also sponsored OGR.
Hope you get your sails replaced without to much hassle. Good luck.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words 🙏🏻 I have received a few offers now but the terms and conditions are not good enough, so I will continue with what I have while finding a better solution. All the best ⛵️
That's really cool that you let your friends experience going up the mast and help in the boat maintenance. Hopefully they are inspired enough to get a boat of there own. I love the Be Free Bitch with those 6 beauties. I like the three on the right best.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment. My friends have been learning a lot about the reality of sailing. And I have learned a lot from them. It’s been such a pleasure having them back onboard.
All the best
Great video. We have an in-mast furling main and experienced similar weather. To such extent that we were afraid the Bimini would go flying. The boat healing 60 degrees on just 1 meter of unfurled sail. Far worse than we ever experienced on North Sea despite being in the tail of a hurricane.. Asia is unpredictable.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and kind words🙏🏻 Things can happen even to the best prepared and experienced sailors. The outcome is often what’s separate a well maintained yacht and prepared crew from the less fortunate results. Not always but very often.
Thank you for being here
Fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching and for leaving a comment as well 🙏🏻
Hi Thomas - thanks for your educational content. Two days before I came by your yacht, trying to wingsurf in Bali - not very successful :-) for me, looked like nobody was on board- all the best Robert
Thank you so much for watching Robert 🙏🏻 Your kind comment are much appreciated. I’m sorry I was not aboard. Might been at my neighbors or on shore. Lots of water sports going on around my boat every day. Sometimes quite fun to watch 😅 All the best
Great informative video as usual! Thank you for sharing your insight
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻 I also appreciate that you even take time to leave a comment. All the best
another great video
Thank you so much 🙏🏻
Excellent video
Thank you so much for watching and for being here🙏🏻
It will be interesting to hear the results of the inquiry into the loss of the Bayersian in light of your comments
Good to hear from you, knew you were alright because you have it all under control, but it has been awhile. Looking forward to whose sails you go with. You will make the correct decision.Love your thought process!
Thank you so much for being here and for your kind words. Much appreciated 🙏🏻
All the best ⛵️
Great episode and info.,
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment🙏🏻
Para anchor would help in this situation.
My sailmaker always advised me not to wrap ( tighten ) reefing main around boom because it can rip sail.
Thank you so much for watching and for your input as well. I’m not sure if a drift/para anchor would helped much here. At least not when being surprised like this.
Also I have been testing out several solutions over the years, and the main challenges on BE FREE is the windage and hull design.
To keep this bow up against the wind demands quite some power. The size of the drogues would need to be many times bigger than the ones I have tested, both in parallel and even inline serials. Again I believe it proves there is not really one solution that fits all, hence the fact I try to communicate this is how I do things, or this works on this yacht.
Another example are heave to that’s not as successful on a modern design as old school yachts. At least I have still not managed to achieve same efficiency as I managed with smaller and older yachts I have owned.
That’s why I’m carful saying this is how to, or one size fits all.
All the best⛵️
Great video and graphics!!!! enjoyed the information as a full time sailor in San Andres Columbia. I met you in Bocas Del Toro Panama when you came over to help me hoist my head sail. Sorry you lost your hat that day.......
Hey, yeah I remember you. I’m happy you enjoyed this video and it also was my pleasure to assist a fellow sailor. That’s how we do it where I come from. Hope you are doing fine! All the best and fair winds ⛵️
"The reality was much more brutal than I ever can explain."
No truer words have ever been spoken, Thomas.
Shame on sail makers supporting a$$ over sailing! That why I don't subscribe to their drivel. 🤦♂️
Thanks again for an exceptional teaching video. You're the best.👏
Thank you so much my friend for always supporting and leaving kind comments 🙏🏻
Im actually surprised some sail lofts even have not bothered to reply. I only asked if they could give me a good offer. So I guess sail lofts has to much money or to many clients, or they are tired of TH-cam sailors. Hard to tell when they don’t even reply. Some replied with good discounts but wants huge logos and names in the sails. That’s okay but I’m not paying for their advertising.
So that’s thanks but no thanks.
Anyway I have some ideas I’m working with⛵️
All the best
23:18 click, click,click,click,clicck,click,click,click,click 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Thanks for the info and explanation. Be Free , stay independant as long as you can . Too much bullshit puts me off, too many sponsorships are snake oil traps. But they do keep you sailing even though we don't get to know the strings that are attached. Good luck Thomas
Great video Thomas, I wonder how a fulrling main would have faired under such loads.
Thank you so much for watching and for being here.
I don’t have answers to your question, but a qualified guess would be that not only would the sail been shredded as well, but it would made a complicated and time consuming repairs as well.
The tensions and the leftovers inside furler would most likely been significant.
All the best ⛵️
@@SailingwithThomas I'm sure you are right some extreme conditions, good to see you and your friends enjoying where you are.
A lot to think about there, thanks Thomas. I had a removable inner forestay added to my mast with a recent re-rig and have a new Hank on heavy cutter sail with one reef. I am imagining that a Hank on sail can be dropped more quickly. Question though is it safe to tie such a sail down to the deck and be left attached to the stay in rapidly changing conditions?
I believe the best solution would be a inner for stay with a furler for single handing would be the best solution for my yacht. This requires some serious modifications as it needs re enforcement not only under deck but also modifications on the rigging itself. It’s definitely on my wishlist. My storm sail is to time consuming and requires work on deck to be deployed. Meaning if weather changes fast and unpredicted there is no time for it. Nor a good time to be on deck.
All the best
After 50+ years skippering , Delivering every thing from 30ft. Try's to 70 Ketches Im a great fan on a staysail (Not a Solent) a lower set staysail , Drop the main , Plenty of rolls in the Genoa & if 0ver 50 to 60 lay a hull or Motor sail or just motor into it any more start running so the rudder has good steerage . The only time iv had to change my undies was on a Cat in 60+.... Not good . Fair winds .
Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your thoughts and experience. Much appreciated 🙏🏻
Nusa Dua Boatworks: Located in the south of Bali, Nusa Dua Boatworks is known for its quality sail repairs and custom sailmaking. They may be a good option for repairs or if you're looking for specialized sailcloth options or designs. Let me know what they quote you /marcopolo
Thank you so much my friend for this valuable input! Much appreciated 🙏🏻
Just as a point of design James Wharrams cruising catamerans used a lower aspect ratio rig and most of the larger versions were ketch rigged and the mainsails are his own design wingsails where the masts fit in a zip up tube pocket . They dont need any spreaders or lower stays...
Thank you so much for watching and for sharing interesting facts in your comment. Lots of different designs, solutions and types. Hence the fact I try to never say this is how to, because there is no blueprint as in sailing there is no one size fits all. In my opinion a video saying this is how you…. Only reveals lack of experience and understanding. So thank you for pointing out different solutions and engineering.
All the best ⛵️
This sail may first be UV-damaged and secondly wind-damaged...UV will kill everything.
The UV is definitely strong in the tropics and destructive towards any fabrics. However most of the time stored inside the lazy bag, and compared to the miles I have sailed with the other main sail it’s hard to accept. The Hood sail has been serviced and well maintained and invested in several times at good sail lofts. First time it needed service and some re Stichting was already after only 5K nautical miles. So from my experience I certainly can not recommend sails from Hood.
Elvstrøm has proven to be a significant stronger, better and longer lasting sails.
So I belive there is a significant difference in quality. All the best
Hi Thomas. As i am planing to sail with my family around the world i am thankful that people like you exist where we can learn, what lack of experience can never teach us. So i ask you, If you put away the sails in good time and without going on the engine against the wind on the wrong direction, these boats will invariably orient themselves at a right angle to the wind and drift directly sideways with the risk of broaching. Do you think is wise to have a sea anchor ready with a bridal at the bow and just wait for the weather to pass? Thanks
Thank you so much for watching and for both your good questions and even kind words.
There is not really any blueprint on how to, but there are some best practices. A drouge/sea/drift-anchor is always a good thing to have onboard. Even there you will find different patents, sizes and models. Different yachts will behave differently and like my yacht it doesn’t really work that well. I have tested serial, different size and types. Different lengths on the line etc. So my best advice is to test it out and familiarize your self and see what works.
There are several things you can do anyway but offcourse it depends on the time to prepare. In this specific episode and what’s made it such challenge was I did not really get any heads up.
But what I can say is this is extremely rare, and in this specific situation I’m positive sure no setup in terms of sails would been good. I’m lucky the sail was ripped to pieces. Also proof of importance having the the mast and rigging in top condition.
If you want to chat directly you could alway consider to sign up on my Patreons.
All the best and fair winds ⛵️
Hi Thomas, any thoughts on lightning protection? Especially with a high mast like yours, would you not be a greater risk?
There is lots of theories regarding this topic, and even lots of myths. Even some insurance companies demands solutions that’s are not even evidence based science behind.
In general the risk of taking a direct hit are quite small, but to be honest if anchored in locations with lots of thunderstorms like Panama I prefer to anchor close to a catamaran. Statistically they are more likely to be hit, and this even match my real life experience.
But for sure having a piece of metal stretching itself 25 meters above the sea level is sometimes uncomfortable when intense thunderstorms are passing. Well knowing the fact a lightning always would find the fastest and most efficient way to release it’s energy.
All the best
My favorite bikini channel 😅
Ha ha😁 Thank you
A curious question if you don`t mind. When the actual guest happen and you were heeling over, did you get this typical feeling of a daggerboard boat ... everthing out of controll it will capsize now what ever I do... or was the boat still feeling like it wants to go up?
And how long did the nock down last?
Was the reefline 1 and 2 tighten? Or was it ontly reefline 3?
Thank you for watching and for your questions. It was only reefline 3 that was attached and thight.
I don’t believe it would made any difference as I explained in this video. All the best
You raise some interesting issues with what happened to the portion of the sail in the bag and the fact it's really not properly contained. Do you have any plans to make this better (ie additional holes in the sail at the reef points that you can use more sail ties?). I was only here for the bikinis btw 😂
Thank you so much for being here even though it’s rarely bikinis in my videos 😀
My episode 196 or 197 will be a T&A overdose though😂
Such extreme unpredicted weather are luckily very rare. When I know it’s gonna be rough I either zip the bag, or lash down the sails as I showed. So no plans in adding old school reef lines for now.
There are many opinions about the effects, and I guess in the extreme event I encountered I’m not sure if any sail or solutions would survive.
All the best⛵️
👏👏👍👍❤❤
did the sail rip helped you in the end not to capsize?
It’s almost impossible to capsize BE FREE due to the really good weight in keel ratio. Also the sea state was not in a condition it could contribute in any way either.
When you heel over the wind lose power as the windage are significantly reduced.
The only thing that could happened in worst case scenario is if the sail had not ripped my rigging could had come down. Still even this is almost unlikely due to the fact I take maintenance seriously, and did a full pin to pin refit not long ago.
One of the reasons I did it before scheduled was for two important reasons. #1 My plan was to cross the Pacific and I was prepared something like this could happen. #2 I had already sailed through several violent storms and one cyclone prior to the full refit. So I believed a full pin to pin refit was in place. Most likely I would do a full refit again when I reach back to either the Caribbean or Europe again.
Hope this was a good answer to your question.
I've always wondered why you sailed into that storm ?
Thank you so much for watching and for your honest question. I did not sail into it, I was surprised by it😅 I added several hundred nautical miles to this journey to avoid the weather that was predicted on the shortest route. My detour was quite significant and well planned for two main reasons. First of all to avoid the huge front systems, secondly to stretch out the time to wait out the weather before dipping south. So the key takeaway here is actually even with wast amounts of experience, well planned and all the knowledge and understanding even assisted with lots of technology and tools, you can still be surprised. That’s why I shared this honest and raw to create awareness about safety and that things still can happen.
I hope this was a good answer to your question. Thank you for being here🙏🏻
Interesant episode. Hvor mye vil det koste å erstatte de ødelagte seilene?
Tusen takk 🙏🏻 Storseilet ligger på mellom 70-90K NOK ca 130-150 for begge seilene. Ny sprayhood og Bimini er ca 50K NOK plus diverse. Så ble en dyr seilas
@@SailingwithThomas Helt klart ikke helt billig. Men du kom gjennom det i god form. Flott å se på og høre hvilke vurderinger du gjør før du går løs på "problemer".
Ja man får jo bare ta tingene som de kommer. Og så tenker jeg at det kan være nyttig for de som er genuint interesserte ⛵️
Håper du får tak i greie seil til en bra pris !!@@SailingwithThomas
Don't think you could have done much different in that situation. Obviously you could say you should have done this or that, but that is easy after the fact. Your supposed to move towards your destination to.
I bet you had more than 72kn for a minute or two.
Your habit to close your companion way, which most youtube sailors in a "storm" keep open for some reason, payed off big time.
I will put a barometric "sudden drop" alarm on my todo list. Not sure it would have made a difference thought.
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment as well.
It’s lots of things you see on TH-cam that’s not necessarily best practice.
That’s on of my main purpose to be here, trying to share some truths and reality to this platform. Raw and unpolished in its simplicity without any scripts.
All the best
The sail loft that Rann sailing used in Norway seemed like a very professional place.
Pardon me for the error the sail loft is in Sweden😮
Scandinavian sail lofts are famous for being really good. I’m not sponsored by Elvstrøm and probably should not give them so much free advertising. But the Elvstrøm sails have been impressive and in a different league compared to the Hood sails. So there is clearly difference in quality.
Thank you so much for being here 🙏🏻
Great video, and great content as usual. None of the fluffy garbage most other channels pander to for sure. Would help if you threw in some bimbo and bikini time though LOL.......
Thanks for Share.
Your a good saylor, but you get what you are asking for...
Distroy material its not good and makes it not a good sailor, we all can leave and learn😊
Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your opinions as well. All the best
You should definitely have 100K subscribers, may be you should add some bikini. The beautiful young lady climbing the mast could be a good start LOL.
Hi
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏻 Yes we all knows what works, but even though focus on bikinis would attract more viewers the average quality in the audience would drop equally.
Thank you for being here ⛵️
…and cute small children + fluffy dog!