I thought we could use a new thread on this (moved over from the T500)

What are the best ways to get out through heavy surf with the wind blowing almost straight in ?

On the N20, what I've learned so far:

1) Most important, after the push, make sure you GET ON THE BOAT *cough*

2) Keep the jib travelled in but not too tight and main center-traveled but loose. Don't want it to weathervane after a hit from a wave. The trim on the jib is to give the leech a little more curve, and thus a bit more oomph.

3) crew weight either at the front beam or in front hanging on for dear life. There's no shame in paddling either.

4) As the wave approaches, pinch a little but not so much that you'll hit it square or you get into the wind. The wave will push your bows down and help you get powered through the drag of the wave. If you're good, then you can sheet the main in real quick to get powered back up but make sure its loose again before hitting the next wave.

5) Don't put your rudders down until you clear the breakers.

Big waves on a reach are no issue for me. I rather enjoy busting thru and jumping out the back. Its the big waves with wind on the nose that gets tricky quick. I never use a pusher so I walk the boat out, crew and myself. I like to get on first and get the rudders down(not locked) and one dagger slightly dropped. I also keep the main centered and loose, powering out with the jib. I like to hit the waves square on, power up, hit the wave, fall off and power back up again. I usually start cranking the main in as soon as I have solid forward momentum. I never like the way it feels to climb the wave with one hull and the other get hit by the break, straight into them and falling off on the crest works best for me.

In the big stuff that will flip you backwards even if you square up to it and have your crew on the bow (from the other thread).....Simply put; Look beyond the next wave. Previously, every time we made it through a set and had a little flat spot, I tried to use it to regain upwind speed and to get more distance away from the beach. I dealt with each wave as it was 10 feet from our bow - which was wrong. Instead, use the flat spots between sets not to get distance from the beach but to regain reaching speed and look to find the valley between the next incoming sets from left to right and use that flat spot to run like hell for the valley. Waves do not span the entire coast line...in fact, they're quite short (20 to 30 yards max). Stay out of the peaks. Go for the valley. Look beyond the next wave and recognize the patterns. Make easy incremental gains. It's amazing to watch the guys that know what they're doing in that stuff. Most of them don't think about it and can't explain it....that's my theory anyway. If you can't win the battle face to face, go around it.

Agree with Jake here - don't try to win it all at one go and try to avoid the centre of the wave, aim for the 'end' and keep your speed up. For this reason I don't centre the traveller but have it about half way out (say 2' off centre) I'll sheet in and jump on, daggerboards in but not necessarily down (ready to be pushed down at first opportunity), leeward rudder still up (dagger rudders on the Stealth) and I'll hold the windward rudder most of the way down by hand. In almost 40 years with all sorts of cats I've never yet had a failed launch in surf (had some pretty close calls though!) and I've sailed in some HUGE conditions.

With the Tornado, launching in such conditions was even easier as with centreboards and kick up rudders you could afford to push them down (not locked) knowing they'd knock back up if you grounded in a trough. The secret is not to try to point too high but go for speed without sailing too low - the jib is incredibly useful here as it can provide some assistance with keeping the boat driving and also prevent coming up too high into the wind.

If there isn't much room down the beach then you've got to compromise and go for speed in the troughs but as the wave approaches, point up to gain distance to windward with the speed you've built up and once over the crest bear away hard to accelerate again.

If you've got a crew, then he/she needs to be pretty mobile around the boat - as you bear away, they get to windward to balance the boat and get in to the centre as you point up. Above all they need to hold on tight and work with you to keep the boat driving.

The key to it all is NEVER HESITATE, the slightest hesitation and the wave will have you no matter what - all movements and decisions have to be positive, if you think for even one moment that you're not going to make it, then you won't.................

Ohh, and another thing - pick your set of waves. They definitely have a pattern so take a few minutes before launching to watch them. For example there might be a particularly big set of 3 followed by 4-5 diminishing in ferocity followed immediately by the first of the next large set of 3. If you think you can get a good distance out on, say, 3 of the 'smaller' waves then go just as the first one of that set breaks. If it's touch and go and you'll need all 4 then go immediately behind the last of the big set.

The structure of the waves themselves also make a difference. Tall waves that barrel have less body and are easier to break thru. Typical east coast waves are more like mounds with white water on top. Driving thru this type of wave is not possible you must go over the top. Picking your time and avoiding peaks are excellent points. Running for the shoulders is excellent advice! What about a beach start with boats on each side where there is little room to navigate?

Exactly what Jake said. With competitors on the line, you need to get separation by either capitalizing on their mistakes or slowing down and crossing behind them to run from the waves. I got pinned under someone in this year's Tybee and ended up having to let a wave back me down and run South(the wrong direction) to be able to get clear. In the long run it came out better than getting beat up in the surf and inching through. The surf king himself,Jamie Livingston,clued me in to those tidbits.
Tybee/Worrell Surf rules dictate that the boat going perpendicular to the surf has rights , so keep that in mind when turning down or up.
As far as wave structure if the wind is onshore(on the nose) it will be closed out, offshore will be barreling.

In general, I agree with the prior posts.

What amazes me is that, as sailors, no one has mentioned taking the wind angle into account.

The wind is almost never straight onshore. Even a 5 degree difference in one direction or another will make a huge difference in the tack you want to be on at launch. You DON'T want to tack in surf, and you DEFINITELY want to be on the tack that is taking you out to sea fastest. It gives you more options for being able to bear off without ending up back on the beach, forcing you to tack, etc.

Most of the wipeouts I've seen were caused by getting too sideways, trying to tack, etc. in the surf, and those situations were almost always caused by the boat going out at the wrong angle.

Think about it like stating a race. Watch the wind for at least 15 minutes (30 minutes is better) prior to launching to track any trends, oscillations, etc. If you're just launching (not doing a LeMans start), wait to launch until the wind angle is best (or is starting to swing in your favor).

Hope this helps.

Mike

There's not much left to add here. Just keep looking ahead and be conscious of where you're pointing. After the first wave hits you and pushes you sideways be ready to adjust your angle immediately; don't let the next waves broadside you.

I'm sure a lot of you have some nice pictures of surf launches.. lets see them

I have one more tidbit to add. Launch just after the last wave in a set. If you time it right, as the last wave backwashes it will help pull the boat out and give you some added initial momentum.

Where I sail we have a steep drop off and I keep my traveler centered and sheet out instead of traveling out. I want the ability to power up quickly only using only the mainsheet.

With the shallower beaches like Daytona where you have to go farther out before you can lock down rudders, you need to travel out a bit to use the mainsail to steer.

I'll second that one.

Also... If racing... don't go just because the gun goes off. You have to time the sets. They typically come in a pretty fixed pattern (ie 11 waves and a break... 11 waves and a break). Maybe more so out here on the west coast, but I'd guess real surf is the same in the Atlantic. You want to be in the white water as the last large wave is hitting. If you are still on the beach... you have lost some time. I do a lot of kayak surfing these days and hover just inside the beach break. Then try to get moving as the last of the set rolls in.

All good advice.

My experience (mostly TX gulf coast), is to 'steer' with the sails. As in sheeting in the main hard to point just as the wave is hitting, then quickly easing so the the jib will help you fall off and gain speed for the next one, etc.

I also agree with not locking the rudders too early. I've seen castings and transoms ripped off b/c a wave 'backed' the boat up onto a sandbar with the rudder locked down.

I also agree that sometimes the course direction is not the best direction to navigate the surf. Once thru the surf, tack over to the course direction.

The 2 biggest mistakes I see are
1. No board down. You need some board in the water. The windward works best because if it you put to much down and touch the crew is right there to pull it up a little bit..
2. Skipper goes to the back of the boat to lock a rudder down and during that time they are not concentrating on driving the boat. The boat either stalls or starts to round up. Keep the boat moving. The last thing you want to do is get hit by a wave with the boat stopped.

One year at the start of the GT300, going out on port was favored, so I yelled down at the boats on the line that we were taking off on port. They did so too. Traffic is my biggest concern first in the surf, since I've had two collisions due to someone driving accross the front of me while I was trying to stay as square as possible to the waves.
A little windward board, dragging the rudders and adjusting the mainsheet for speed without putting too much pressure on the rudders.
If you run down the beach to dodge a wave, you gotta pass to the rear of the boats that have right of way.

If it's remotely questionable, I poll the two boats above me and under me to make sure we all agree on the direction out of the surf.

It seems that the boats beneath you dictate what you can do more than those above unless they loose control. From watching some of the videos you could see boats get stuck by a leeward boat and loose headway only to get hit by another wave as a sitting duck. It would appear that breaking free of the pack early is critical in tight quarters and waves. It got pretty hectic in Surfside, SC this year due to wind angle. I got hit by an unmanned H16. Had to hold it off my boat. Should have watched Lloyd and waited at the start for a clear hole

In my experience the more difficult trick is getting through in light onshore air.

If it's light pretty much your only option is to have the crew pull the boat out through the surf by the forestay

Light air sucks. We've had several events cancelled because there wasn't enough wind to get past the surf, typically this is after a storm has passed, especially a large offshore storm.

Mike