V8 Sailing the Indian Ocean - Gybes in the Night

Day 7 - Sailing, more or less

Settling the boat - and especially the sails - for the night was the most important task before sunset. What I wanted to avoid was an accidental gybe in the night that could seriously damage the rigging.

A gybe is when the stern of the boat passes across the direction the wind is coming from. The effect is to push the mainsail and the heavy boom (and foresails) from one side of the boat to the other. Gybing is straightforward and not dangerous when controlled. Uncontrolled - the boom can fly across the boat with frightening speed and enough force to rip the boom from the mast and seriously injure anyone who gets hit by the boom.

I have witnessed this - while doing my RYA Yachtmaster Offshore training in the English Solent in winter time. The helmsman lost control of the boat for a moment, the back of the boat passed through the wind and a moment later our instructor was slammed by the boom and knocked off his feet.

I reached out to grab him - and did - but a moment too late. He was only stopped from being thrown overboard by smashing his face into a winch! Nose broken, blood everywhere.

A few days after this video, I myself was caught by the boom in an accidental gybe. Fortunately I had a "gybe preventer" set up so the boom swung across the boat relatively slowly. But it was still enough to catch me unawares as I was preparing to adjust sail at the mast - in half a second I was trapped between the boom and the safety bars around the mast. After the initial shock, I was fairly sure I'd not broken a rib but the pain persisted every time I moved for more than a week.

Of course, this was not something I wanted to report to friends and people following my progress, in case they worried.

Books published:
– A Walk Along the Ganges – 3000 kms across India
– Amazon – big rivers, small canoe
– Savages, The Life and Killing of the Yanomami – documents their fight to survive the illegal invasion of their lands in the late 1980s

– Canadian Retreat Guide – 140 places for personal quiet and spiritual reflection

– Marine Diesel Basics 1 – VISUAL guide to maintenance, winterizing and recommissioning
– Maintenance Logbooks – value-added logbook for single and twin engine Installations

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B4X58RFG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

Видео V8 Sailing the Indian Ocean - Gybes in the Night канала Marine Diesel Basics