Large waves crash into a Brittany Ferries cross channel ferry ship during a winter storm as it sails out of Portsmouth harbour in Hampshire England.

Sailing boat big waves. Sailing in the Waves Tip 2. All that matters is that the waves are challenging you and youre nervous about handling them safely. Sailing upwind try to pinch the boat to weather as it approaches a wave.

The size of your boat the power produced by its engines and how high the wave is would determine how you ride. Sailing in big waves is a test of seamanship and steering which is why you should put your best steerer on the helm. Your ride will be pretty uncomfortable with an annoyingly flopping head sail.

Experienced dinghy sailors often are very good at heavy air steering because they see survival weather more often than most cruisers. Any wave that makes you feel that you and your boat are in danger is a big wave. There are conditions where multihull sailboats perform worse than monohulls and that is in extreme waves.

It is extremely hard to capsize a catamaran. The headsail will become shadowed and depowered and your boat speed will drop even further. The safest way to transit large seas is by quartering them sailing upwind or running off on a broad reach with the boat at an angle to the waves.

Sailing big waves - YouTube. As the wave passes underneath and you slide off the back side your speed will drop significantly. If you will be single-handing your boat or if you will be sailing with one other person a boat.

Well help you find or build the Cobalt Boat of your dreams call us today to get started. If playback doesnt begin shortly try restarting your device. There is no exact science on how to drive your boat in a big wave.