Puget Sound Storm Sailing

Posted By: Jerry Becker
Date: 4/5/10 12:19p.m.

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We availed ourselves and our M-17 to another character building experience last Friday in Puget Sound. A deep low pressure system hit the NW coast and gave us some very strong winds. Prior to leaving the marina I checked the anemometer at the marina office and winds were sustained 40 kn with one gust to near 60. Quite a bit of noise and shrieking through all the rigging of all those boats at the marina. We put in the third reef in the main and tried different amounts of foresail to balance the tiller and headed out. Quite a ride with 10 foot waves due to winds and opposing flood tide. It was wet! Breaking waves broadside and broaching a few times created substantial water in the cockpit. We put in the bottom hatch cover board to prevent water from flowing into the main cabin. We worried about that water later and used the bilge pump after returning to the dock. As I mentioned in another post after a heavy weather sail last fall, I feel that the cockpit drains are way too small. We did drain, but not fast enough. For wet sailing, I would order larger drains with rubber flipper valves on the transom to prevent following seas from entering. We also felt that some sort of latch or spring should be attached to the sliding hatch cover because it kept sliding forward when we went down the backs of the waves and pounded off the crests. Had to keep pulling it back into place to keep the substantial spray out of the cabin. We never felt at risk at all and the boat handled well except surfing downwind with the wind off the stern quarter. The rudder stalled out with little control and we tended to round up into and across the face of the waves. We timed the waves and adjusted the jib sheet to spill wind which seemed to help a lot. Hard to power down in winds like that. Straight downwind we did fine. So the Montgomery is a great boat in foul weather and can handle at least up to 40+ knots. Being the only sailboat out in this storm meant that we were really confident and/or trying to win the Darwin Award. Some people we met at the dock were incredulous we actually went out, "In that little boat?" We were joyful and wet after our voyage and had a few minutes of drying out and cabin maintenance/tidying up to do at the dock. But otherwise had an exhilarating experience, again! Proud to own and sail a Montgomery 17. You don't need a big boat to have fun. I wouldn't try storm sailing in any other small boat. Safety first, a trustworthy boat, life jackets and thick skin mandatory. Check out the pictures on the album below. Jerry Becker M-17 Jumping Jack Flash