Last week,, my son (22 yrs) and I sailed out of our cove on Lake Champlain into a larger bay. He was at the helm and I manned the jib.
Out in the bay the wind picked up suddenly. We were alternating beam and broad reaches. Numerous whitecaps appeared with 2-3 foot seas. This tested our resources quite a bit. Though the wind was somewhere between (I'm guessing) 15 and 20 knots and manageable for a Daysailer, certain factors made the going less than comfortable. It was also, by the way, our first time out in her under those conditions.
We weren't too concerned about the boat, as it was handling fairly well (the helmsman earned some points out there!). Only one time did the leeward rail kiss the water. I quickly learned the virtue of a well-timed hike-out (and wished that our beloved coamings would bend just a little as I sat over them). The bothersome thing was watching how the mainsail reacted. I should mention that it was NOT reefed (we have roller reefing and it should have been done back at the mooring -- certainly not out in that water!) and the precious boom vang was not in use! On top of that we lost two battens as they worked their way out of the pockets -- zing -- (I'd like a word with Neil Pryde) thanks to the irregular flogging the main was taking.
We could do one of three things: turn to port and head into the wind but with even worse conditions ahead; gibe to starboard and risk losing whatever control we had; or hold steady and head to the opposite shore where the waters were calmer, which we did. At that point, we did a controlled gibe and made as direct a heading for the cove as possible. We got back, and my normally imperturbable son said 'That was a bit more than I was expecting'. Anyway, had I been at the tiller we may well have capsized.
We learned something...not quite sure what, but I bet that having the main reefed, the vang trimmed and the battens in place would have made for a somewhat less anxious outing...
(at least I got a good soaking while hiking out for all I was worth)
Words of wisdom, advice??