
Sailboats do the same, but with a less exaggerated motion. This can make for some interesting or even dangerous moments.

The combination of shapes and forces make the stern want to go to the side, and the boat wanting to turn parallel to the wave’s face, tilting away from the rising wave. This means that when that big wave comes at the stern, it lifts the stern while pushing on that flat surface. The basic design of most powerboat hulls has a broad, usually flat, surface for the following wave to push on, along with a more or less square corner (the quarter). Heading downhill requires more touch, and more attention to your helm. If you’re paying attention, you’ll find a periodic flatter spot between waves that will allow you to make the turn ( tack) without wrestling the boat over a bigger wave. That’s nice, you’re thinking, but at some point I have to make up for that angle away from the harbor mouth. Not steering at your mark seems counter-intuitive, but any racing sailor can tell you that it works. You don’t get the big flying spray, and you don’t get the big pounding crash, either. If you steer at an angle somewhere between 20 ⁰ and 45⁰ off the face of the wave, the boat is a lot more comfortable, and is actually faster than heading straight into the sea.
#Boat technique into the waves driver
Going into the waves, while often scarier, is easier on the boat and the driver when you do it right.ĭon’t worry about your specific destination – as long as you’re making up distance to the mark (technically VMG – Velocity Made Good), you’re doing well. Practice going into the wind, downwind, into the waves and away from them. If you see other boats of your type in the vicinity, go out and play. You check the weather, then look out the harbor entrance. Learn what make the boat feel and respond best under current conditions. When you go out, and it’s lumpy, take some time to drive the boat both uphill (into the wind and waves) and downhill (away from the wind and waves). Then you gain the confidence to try it yourself. Then when you trade places and you’ve got the helm, a calm voice in your ear, coupled with the positive results, can help you learn a lot, and apply it at the same time. If you are next to the helm on one of those days, and the driver is calm and under control, it’s amazing how much you can learn just watching and listening. Often the difference between the emotion “We’re gonna die” and the comment “That was a big one” is usually perception and a twitch on the helm.

Second- There’s no better teacher than experience, but try to gain that experience with an old hand aboard to help you learn.You’ll wear yourself and the crew out, and the boat won’t be real happy either. Or, you are experienced, and you’ll make it. The crew may never get on the boat again. You’ll beat up the boat, and scare the pants off your crew and yourself in the process. You are relatively inexperienced, but you’ll probably make it.

You leave for home on Sunday afternoon, and there 32 knots of breeze pushing some healthy wind waves along with a big swell rolling down the channel, and you’ve got 20 to 30 miles to go with that on your beam or under your quarter. You left the mainland early on Saturday, and it was flat with no wind, so you zoomed over (zoom speed is relative – maybe six knots from the Yanmar in the sailboat, and 30 knots from the twin Volvos in the cruiser). The classic example is the trip back home from Catalina Island. Getting back on Monday morning isn’t worth risking the safety and sanity of your crew. Getting macho can get you and your passengers in deep trouble. First -If conditions scare you, don’t go out.There are some basic rules that can help: All that matters is that the waves are challenging you, and you’re nervous about handling them safely. Any wave that makes you feel that you and your boat are in danger is a big wave.

#Boat technique into the waves tv
First – what’s a big wave? Is it the 100-foot wave from The Perfect Storm”? Could it be the waves from a TV show called Bering Sea Gold, when they tell us there’s a storm, and it looks like all of 12 knots of breeze and two-foot chop?
