
Other than that, you should plan passages to avoid unfavourable seasons, e.g. In this case, the yacht can be flipped over end to end (pitchpoled). This also applies to a following sea with breaking waves. This is due to the rotational power of the waves. Breaking seas present a risk to all yachts no matter how good their stability rating is. You can attempt to escape as far away from the low as possible, and ensure that you are some distance away from any shelving seabed which could increase the likelihood of breaking waves. But once you are out on the sea, far from a harbour, and the forecast predicts a deep low in your vicinity, you might not have enough time to avoid the system. You should generally stay in the harbour if bad weather is predicted. That is why it is important to plan, execute and monitor passages properly, with a good weather forecast in your hands and an alternative strategy in your mind. Sailing up a sea storm is very hard, sometimes impossible. In today’s world of satellite communication and more accurate weather forecasts, it is certainly easier to avoid heavy weather than before.
Sail forth steer for the deep waters ocean how to#
Beating in heavy weather on the Atlantic How to avoid heavy weather Nonetheless, strong winds and high waves can wreak havoc on a sailboat and any sailor should know how to stay safe in heavy weather. Many sailors fear storms as the greatest danger on the water, even though more emergencies and fatalities occur during times of relative calm.

As an example, heavy weather for small boats could start already at force 6 or 7, for larger boats this might be 8 or 9. It depends on the wind and wave conditions, sailing area (coast upwind, leeward), type of boat and people on board. However, there is no strict definition of which conditions heavy weather occurs. Heavy or bad weather is a situation in which navigation for both the boat and its crew is hard. With modern forecasting, a true storm will rarely arrive unannounced, but as you venture further offshore the chances of being caught out increase. Heavy weather sailing preparation and tactics.
