Originally Posted by
Kabuki12
That reminds me of sailing my friend's Hobie 18 home from the island passing power boats!
Had a 26' sloop handle a bit like that in a 50kt gale, once. All day long, and all the following night and next morning. 20'+ following seas the next day. A very reefed main and the small fores'l on. Was about all that the two of us could handle. Lost the painter, so the skiff was lost in the crossing. Came into the cove a bit frazzled. Hair everywhere, eyes wide ... but didn't lose a sail, didn't dump the boat, and hadn't flooded below decks.
Again, I'm more of a Cherubini 48 Schooner guy, myself. Particularly these days, getting older. The hyper-sensitive boats, high-wind-speed crossings and whatnot ... those are for younger pups. I'm okay with that, these days. Still have all my parts, and can still get around. Could've been worse, given some of the "scrapes" we got into back in the day. Whew.