# What do you do when there is NO wind???



## NewportNewbie (Jul 30, 2011)

Yeah I know...not much right? Just curious. I am just getting really comfortable single handing and sailing with the wife and lately the wind has been nonexistent. Couple that with the days getting shorter I am just not getting any sea time. Ideas for enjoying the boat without any wind? Or how about a way to find wind! lol...I guess the Santa Ana winds are coming shortly and I hear those are a blast...literally. So maybe be careful what you wish for because before I know it I may be getting very gusty conditions...


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## jackdale (Dec 1, 2008)

Motor to an nice anchorage, spend the day reading or whatever, have a great BBQ (better without wind), dine al fresco, and enjoy a quiet night on the hook while watching the stars while sipping on a fine cognac.


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## MikeinLA (Jul 25, 2006)

You mean your boat didn't come with transom-mounted fans? It's been sucking up by Marina del Rey lately too. 

Mike


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

NewportNewbie said:


> Yeah I know...not much right? Just curious. I am just getting really comfortable single handing and sailing with the wife and lately the wind has been nonexistent. Couple that with the days getting shorter I am just not getting any sea time. Ideas for enjoying the boat without any wind? Or how about a way to find wind! lol...I guess the Santa Ana winds are coming shortly and I hear those are a blast...literally. So maybe be careful what you wish for because before I know it I may be getting very gusty conditions...


1. Just sit and bob around waiting for wind.
2. Drop the sails, sit and drink and eat.
3. Drop the sails, sit and read.
4. Drop the sails, snooze.
5. Drop the sails, go below with a wench and....
6. Quit and motor back to port.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

You charge the batteries. And since you are running the engine you just decide to motor to you next stop!


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## LarryandSusanMacDonald (Apr 3, 2005)

My daughter used to call it a "No wind situation."


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Motor to a nice anchorage and spend the night. Maybe there is a nice place that isn't so calm when the winds are up and this is the perfect opportunity. Dinghy around, run in for dinner. The dinghy ride back to the boat in the dark makes any anchorage feel remote.


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

Come on now! I can't believe you guys... You pull every sail outta the boat and fly them all until you are tremendously over canvased! 2-3knots of wind when you have 3 times the sail area! use kite string for sheets, and fly the darned spin and the jib... REACH baby!

Ok, mostly I just bob up and down and drink beer, but hey, it sounds better than, "woe is me, I got no wind."

Oh and I had MORE than my share of no wind this year!


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## bobperry (Apr 29, 2011)

Learn to sail damn it!
Any fool can make his boat go in a breeze but it takes skill to move the boat in very light air. We get plenty of light days in the PNW and some days no wind at all. But even if it's gusting to 3 mph you can move weight to leeward, ease some ( not too much) halyard tension, get the bow down so more of the pointy end is in and the fat end is out (this reduces the prismatic coeficient and wetted surface) and off you will go at a blistering 2 knots.

Or, sandwiches and beer.


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## JoeDiver (Feb 2, 2011)

Drift.....and sit happy and contented because I'm out on my boat.....


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## SHNOOL (Jun 7, 2007)

I've found that even when there isn't a fart of wind... that the boat will move (mostly with the current/tide).

Seriously, if you have to sail, or if you are a die hard sailor (guilty)... sit low side, sit still, topping lift to keep the boom up (or boom kicker/rigid vang), deep pocket your main (loosen outhaul), fall off and reach, sheet loose, traveller high side, boom low side, ease your genny (and run as big a genny as you got #1 or go drifter baby).

If you still aren't moving, then start throwing things overboard until you do! Ok not practical, but if you drink beer fast enough, it'll lower the weight of the cooler anyway.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

bobperry said:


> Learn to sail damn it!
> Any fool can make his boat go in a breeze but it takes skill to move the boat in very light air. We get plenty of light days in the PNW and some days no wind at all. But even if it's gusting to 3 mph you can move weight to leeward, ease some ( not too much) halyard tension, get the bow down so more of the pointy end is in and the fat end is out (this reduces the prismatic coeficient and wetted surface) and off you will go at a blistering 2 knots.
> 
> Or, sandwiches and beer.


Newp,
Print this response. Laminate it. Hang it in the cabin. A lesson on how to handle light air in less than 100 words- that may be the best light air tutorial I have ever read.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

bljones said:


> Newp,
> Print this response. Laminate it. Hang it in the cabin. A lesson on how to handle light air in less than 100 words- that may be the best light air tutorial I have ever read.


Bah. I'm out there intending to overcome adversity, not subject myself to it's mercy. There is no 2 kt wind that is ever going to fill our 200 lb Jenny. Pull on whatever you want.


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

I have a 3 oz nylon 130 I put out on light wind days, amazing how little a zephyr this sail will catch, as the maestro says, "off you go at 2 knots in 3 knots of wind! Great feeling!

Marty


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

forgot the as my sons say "open a beer and be happy" me I open an iced tea or dr p! and be happy! maybe throw out a fishing line if I had one handy.......


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## nolatom (Jun 29, 2005)

Absolutely no wind? (happens a lot in summer on Lake Pontchartrain). Go do something else useful. A "watched pot" doesn't boil, so stop the angst, the wind (or flat-ass calm) has its own clock.

I sail mostly with students. Flat calm means we practice knots. Or break out a chart and show how to find lat/long, take a bearing, get a fix. Or look at the syllabus and name parts of the boat. Before you know it, since you weren't concentrating on putting pressure on the Wind Gods, you see a zephyr and it fills in and you're off.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

Have a politican start jabber jawing... The wind from his/her speach will fill your sails


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## junkrig (Jun 3, 2011)

Boasun said:


> Have a politican start jabber jawing... The wind from his/her speach will fill your sails


Never met a sailor that desperate. :laugher


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## smallboatlover (May 11, 2011)

motor??? that will help you.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Go to a movie. Play golf.

Catch up with the ToDo list and don't tell me, there's no long list of maintenance and cleaning that needs to be done on your boat.


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

SHNOOL said:


> If you still aren't moving, then start throwing things overboard until you do!


Item 1: Throw them over the transform. For every action...



> Ok not practical, but if you drink beer fast enough, it'll lower the weight of the cooler anyway.


Item 2: Yeah but the weight is transferred to your bladder. See item 1.


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## captflood (Jan 1, 2011)

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS. you practice all those things you where taught at school try fixing your position with as many methods as possible try out all the sail confugrations that your vessel can handle dry out all your bedding varnish paint clean polish cook eat list plan but most of all ENJOY. THE SEVEN Ps RULE PLANNING PREPERATION PRACTICE PEVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE GO SAFE


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

bobperry said:


> Learn to sail damn it!
> Any fool can make his boat go in a breeze but it takes skill to move the boat in very light air. We get plenty of light days in the PNW and some days no wind at all. But even if it's gusting to 3 mph you can move weight to leeward, ease some ( not too much) halyard tension, get the bow down so more of the pointy end is in and the fat end is out (this reduces the prismatic coeficient and wetted surface) and off you will go at a blistering 2 knots.
> 
> Or, sandwiches and beer.


Bob, gusting to 3 is a normal summer sailing breeze here, not a "no wind" situation. 

Thanks for the tip on trimming the prismatic - I learned a lot about boat trim on my quarter tonner but it always seemed to really "stop" with weight on the bow so I never tried that in extreme light wind. Of course those boats didn't really HAVE a fat end, just a beer belly.  Weight to loo'ard sure made it move though.


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## INMA (Sep 13, 2011)

20+ years ago, I spectated on the J24 world championships. The start of the race was a no wind situation with the fleet becalmed.

The defending world champion set a course, moved the crew to the lee and loosened everything off so the mainsail and jib looked like wrinkled bed sheets. 
they barely moved but they did move and after about half an hour they were a couple of hundred meters ahead of the fleet. The wind slowly kicked in and they held that advantage to win the race.

I learnt efficient yachts can make some way and start to produce their own wind as they move if you are keen enough to try and patient enough to succeed.

If it was easy everyone would do it. Bigger yachts have the advantage and disadvantage of the extra weight but if they can get moving, a skipper can use that movement to find more wind.

I have a 2mm spinnaker sheet for the days of light winds, I have sat a crew member on the lee rail holding the spinnaker out to get whatever draft possible and keep a bit of motion. Of course once your stopped then there is no steerage and the rudder is just more wetted area.

Generally after about half an hour I give up and motor to an anchorage to claim the best realestate before others arive.

Swimming is another option.

If motoring, consider going to a anchorage that suits sailing in the forecast conditions for tomorrow.


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## Sublime (Sep 11, 2010)

I've managed to get my boat to move in some very light winds...like, the water is smooth and shiny and the tell tails just hang light winds. 
You're down close to the water which slows wind down. You might be getting a little something higher up the mast. It's all about patience. Sit there long enough and you'll eventually get some wind. 

Meanwhile, you could use the time to eat a tasty sammich! 
Or, as far as I know, they've yet to figure out the meaning of life so you could ponder that. See? There's always something to do.


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## sailjunkie (Nov 4, 2009)

Find a pretty bay to go to, drop anchor and enjoy life.


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## RobGallagher (Aug 22, 2001)

If you have the right crew, sex is an excellent way to kill time till the wind kicks up.

In fact, my experience dictates that as soon as things get interesting the wind pipes up.

Make sure you have the auto pilot set and the sails trimmed a bit.

Having your head sticking up through the forward hatch is considered keeping watch.


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

RobGallagher:780035 said:


> If you have the right crew, sex is an excellent way to kill time till the wind kicks up.
> 
> In fact, my experience dictates that as soon as things get interesting the wind pipes up.
> 
> ...


Not sure about that one. We were almost run down by fellatio in August.


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## Ajax_MD (Nov 24, 2009)

AdamLein said:


> Not sure about that one. *We were almost run down by fellatio in August*.


Now _that's_ funny.

There's little to no breeze on the Chesapeake during the summer. Since I like to race, it's just one more opportunity to sharpen a skill set. If I have 4 kts of breeze, and I can achieve 3kts of boatspeed, it's a victory. I hoist every rag I can, until I get some motion. A whisker pole to keep the jib out and full, is a big help.

Even if you don't race, it helps if you have sails suited to the conditions. A heavy cloth, 150% genoa is going to suck in light air. I know a lot of folks like to get that one "all-purpose" genoa, stick on the furler and call it good, but I feel that can limit your abilities.

It's sort of like the SUV of sails- It does everything mediocre, and nothing really well. Don't be afraid to own more than one sail, and to change them out.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

Actually if you are superstitus: Just start whistling and a storm will come up...
I would do it, but I'm a retired Boatswain mate and Bo'suns use a bo'sun's pipe all the time and it don't work with us.


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## Ulladh (Jul 12, 2007)

Patience, the wind will return,maybe.






This was Monday afternoon on the Delaware River poled out wing on wing in less than 3kt wind against a 2kt current, making 1kt SOG. About 30 min later I was doing -0.5 kt SOG


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## ArcherBowman (Jul 1, 2009)

*Negative Knots*

I've done that. Here's the word problem:
If Bill's boat is pointed north, with all sails properly trimmed with the wind blowing at 3 knots and the current headed south at 5 knots, when does he get to New Orleans.

(I sail in Knoxville, TN)


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## 75R20 (Jun 20, 2008)

Swim. Clean the hull, check the bottom, check the thru hulls for....... check the prop and zinc's and rudder and....swim.
It s easy and i do it all the time when the wind is not helpfull. 
Best of luck
Kary
S/V Mariah
#49080


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## Tbrad (Aug 15, 2011)

SloopJonB said:


> 1. Just sit and bob around waiting for wind.
> 2. Drop the sails, sit and drink and eat.
> 3. Drop the sails, sit and read.
> 4. Drop the sails, snooze.
> ...


What kinda wench are ya talking about?? A pipe wench or a socket wench??


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

Tbrad said:


> What kinda wench are ya talking about?? A pipe wench or a socket wench??


the kinda wench that you use a wench handle on. I see them for sale all the time on Craigslist.


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## Lubrdink (Sep 1, 2011)

If you're male you need a socket wench; if you're female you need a pipe wench. Silly. Never been to the plumbin' department at the hardware store?


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## Lubrdink (Sep 1, 2011)

Step to bow, throw anchor as far as possible. Repeat. Or see notes about swimming and wenches above.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

Lubrdink said:


> If you're male you need a socket wench; if you're female you need a pipe wench. Silly. Never been to the plumbin' department at the hardware store?


Females generally don't like the rough edges on pipe wenches. I find they prefer an extension bar for a socket wench.


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## rgscpat (Aug 1, 2010)

A word, young feller: Incense. Well, we have a friend who uses his Marlboro 100s to suss out very light and fickle bits and scraps of wind and detect subtle changes and shifts. Light air is really tough on the helm and crew's concentration and watching for wind is useful.

Other details are being very careful about things that will kill momentum -- people jumping around on the boat, un-necessary tacks and tiller adjustments, getting caught in someone's wind shadow. And, especially near shore, currents and eddies and tides become great subjects of study.

Incense may be cheaper, more enjoyable, and less dangerous than either Pipe Wenches or Cigar Wenches.


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## Coastal Cruiser (Sep 19, 2011)

Add Content


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## tempest (Feb 12, 2007)

Fish...


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