Roth H. Handling Storms at Sea. The 5 Secrets of Heavy Weather Sailing

International Marine / McGraw-Hill, 2009. — 269 p. — ISBN13: 978-0-07-164345-0Before we begin, lets put this storm business in perspective. I know my own experiences best, so let me talk about them. During the past 40 years I've sailed some 200,000 miles on the worlds oceans either alone or with my wife. These voyages include eleven trips across the Atlantic, five voyages across the Pacific, and three trips around the world — including two via the Southern Ocean when I sailed to 58° south. I've gone around Cape Horn three times, anchored in the outer Aleutian Islands, circled the big island of Newfoundland twice, and had a hard look at the long coast of Labrador. Impressive, huh? A wonderful or a foolish way to spend one's life? Yet in all those seagoing passages — some up to 52 days in length — I've never seen prolonged winds of hurricane strength and only one violent storm of Force 11.A look at the ocean
An Overview
What Is an Ocean Wave?
More on Big Waves
Responding with onboard controls
A Few Notes on Reefing the Sails
The Wind’s Up: Let’s Heave-To
Let’s Lie A-Hull
Running OffResponding with off-boat controls
What Is a Sea Anchor?
Parachutes in the Sea
Parachutes in Action
What Is a Drogue?
A New Idea
Do Drogues Really Work?
Bow or Stern: Which Scheme Is Better?Planning, chartwork, hurricanes, and fear
Passage Planning: The Best Time to Go
The Chart Game, or Where Am I?
Is a Storm Coming?
A Hurricane: The Evil Eye
Fear and UncertaintyGlossary: A Sailor’s Words
References and Notes
Addresses for Equipment and Organizations
A Sailor’s Log for a Stormy Day in the South Atlantic
FitzRoy’s Meteorological Pamphlet
Acknowledgments and Photo Credits