{"id":3103,"date":"2023-11-10T10:16:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T09:16:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev01.pacific-rope.com\/?p=3103"},"modified":"2024-07-22T16:31:22","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T14:31:22","slug":"heavy-weather-sailing-with-beneteau-oceanis-473","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/about-sails\/heavy-weather-sailing-with-beneteau-oceanis-473\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Weather Sailing with a Beneteau Oceanis 473"},"content":{"rendered":"

For heavy-weather offshore sailing: When do we actually need dedicated storm sails<\/a> like a storm-jib<\/a> or a trysail<\/a>?<\/strong> These sails need to be on board any ocean-going yacht, but there are more options. This is an interesting sail set-up on the 47-foot yacht \u201cPolaris\u201d, a B\u00e9n\u00e9teau Oceanis 473<\/strong> which is operated commercially by a professional skipper, Andr\u00e9 Freibote<\/strong>, taking paying guests on ambitious sailing trips. The boat is sailed out of Bremerhaven in northern Germany, the cruising area is the entire North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean as far as Iceland. Shorter trips are sailed in the southern North Sea to Helgoland or London, some of them very late or early in the season. The boat\u2019s season lasts until the end of November and again starts from the 1st of May onwards.<\/p>\n

\"B\u00e9n\u00e9teau<\/a><\/p>\n

Rolly Tasker Sails for Peace of Mind<\/h2>\n

Skipper Andr\u00e9 has chosen a complete set of Rolly Tasker Sails for his boat, which covers a significant mileage each season. He prioritizes their performance, but more importantly, values the reliability and strength of these sails, providing him with peace of mind.<\/p>\n

\"Heavy<\/p>\n

This is significant, as with this schedule, the boat and her crew do encounter more than their fair share of heavy weather. Also, the skipper needs to be able to safely sail his B\u00e9n\u00e9teau Oceanis 473 by himself under any conditions, should the crew not be able to actively take part in sailing the yacht.<\/p>\n

Heavy Weather Sail Set-up<\/h2>\n

The \u201cSlutter\u201d Rig<\/h3>\n

No wonder then that Andr\u00e9 has given careful consideration to the sail-plan and how to strike the best balance between performance on one hand and safety and ease of handling on the other. The boat is a production B\u00e9n\u00e9teau Oceanis 473, but has been modified in parts. Originally it came with a standard sloop rig<\/strong> which has been adapted by the skipper to incorporate a second, inner forestay<\/strong>. However, this stay which would otherwise be a cutter stay<\/strong> is attached high up the mast not far below the masthead. Instead of a classic cutter, this configuration is referred to by some as a \u201cslutter\u201d rig, a cross between a sloop and a cutter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Foresails<\/h3>\n

\u201cRolly Tasker Sails have made the perfect sails for this rig\u201d, Andr\u00e9 explains, \u201cwhich is not so common. We discussed and designed the cut and some detailing of the sails, and it all worked out wonderfully.\u201d Unlike a traditional cutter rig, Andr\u00e9 has the performance benefit of a full-size furling Genoa<\/strong> that can be adjusted in size when reaching or downwind sailing. \u201cThe other day we sailed to Helgoland in a force 8 on a broad reach, under the partly furled Genoa only. Exhilarating sailing, surfing down the waves, always under control with no anxiety at all.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Heavy<\/p>\n

Upwind in heavy weather conditions like these, he furls away the Genoa<\/a> completely, unfurling the small, non-overlapping inner jib<\/a> instead. This is cut high like a blade or a Solent jib<\/strong>, giving perfect drive upwind. As visibility can often be bad in these conditions, and as the yacht is sailing in waters with a high amount of shipping, this sail is made in bright orange<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As tacking or gybing the large Genoa is not easy with the fixed inner stay, Andr\u00e9 also uses the blade jib for short tacking in inshore waters. \u201cBut a soon as we are out at sea, or on a stable reaching course, we unfurl the Genoa<\/a> \u2013 and off we go!\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

The Mainsail<\/a><\/h3>\n

The mainsail is fully-battened<\/strong> and set on ball-bearing cars that absorb the pressure of the battens and make the sail go up and down easily, without undue friction. Andr\u00e9 specified three reefs for the main<\/strong>. Reef 1 and 2 are easily operated by one-line reefing systems from the safety of the cockpit. \u201cOnly for the third reef I need a tackle\u201d, he explains. \u201cBut this is so deep that in effectively reduces the size of the main to that of a trysail<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trysail<\/a><\/h3>\n

The deep-reefed main<\/strong>, Andr\u00e9 finds, is much better for North Sea or coastal sailing, as it is still attached to the boom and the boat is easily maneuverable. The trysail<\/a>, on the other hand, is set without the boom \u2013 also in case this may have broken \u2013 and made for use in the open ocean, probably even when lying hove-to, but not for tacking in more confined waters. It is also cut high so that breaking waves will wash through underneath the foot of the sail. Which, again, might not necessarily be relevant when sailing in the North Sea.<\/p>\n

The Storm-Jib<\/a><\/h3>\n

Much the same can be said for a dedicated storm-jib<\/a>. Again, this is more made for the open ocean. Andr\u00e9 prefers to have a second, smaller blade jib<\/strong> that he can set on the inner stay when the going gets really rough: \u201cThat sail is just a trifle larger than our storm-jib<\/a> which we have so far never used in anger \u2013 only to test the set and to demonstrate the sail to our crew!\u201d However, despite this Andr\u00e9 fully acknowledges that both of these dedicated storm sails<\/a> are an essential piece of the sail wardrobe on every bluewater, ocean-going yacht. Which is, of course, why he also carries them on board.<\/p>\n

Summary: Heavy Weather Sailing with the Beneteau Oceanis 473 of Andr\u00e9 Freibote<\/h2>\n

The rather unusual \u201cslutter\u201d rigged sail plan has definitive advantages for the ambitious sailing that Andr\u00e9 Freibote and his guests do. Unless he has to reduce the main down to the third reef, Andr\u00e9 can sail the boat under all conditions by himself and from the cockpit<\/strong>. And as the handling of sails is so easy, he is always quick to adapt his sail plan to the actual wind: \u201cWe reef early when it starts to blow. But we also make more sail again as soon as the wind goes down!\u201d<\/strong> Thus, keeping performance up and still staying on the safe side. \u201cBut what we don\u2019t do is to hang on to reduced sails for too long, because it is so easy to adapt the sail area to the actual wind!\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit Andr\u00e9\u2018s website (in German language) to find out more about his sailing trips:
\nhttps:\/\/www.segelpartner-nordsee.de\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Heavy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Insights into skipper Andr\u00e9 Freibote’s sail setup, specifically tailored for heavy-weather offshore sailing on the 47-foot yacht “Polaris,” a B\u00e9n\u00e9teau Oceanis 473<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,34],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-3103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-sails","category-storm-sails","tag-sail-set-up"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rollytasker.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}