# Fear of Heeling



## TSOJOURNER

I''m a rookie in this new venture of sailing. I really have no fears of adventure, having done things like whitewater rafting in a kayak, parasailing, rock climbing, hiking the Main coast, etc. But heeling makes my hair stand on end. I''m trying to get used to it, and logic tells me this is what sailboats do. But how do I get over this fear I so desperately want to do? Is this a girl thing or is it just me?


----------



## TSOJOURNER

I, too, am new at this and heeling freaks me out. I totally love sailing and want to be good at it. From what I understand, it is normal, but just takes experience to reach a comfort level with it and to know how to properly react to it. I prefer to be an asset, not a liability, while sailing so I am determined to conquer this one! I guess more time on the water may be what it takes.


----------



## TSOJOURNER

Fear of heeling is a normal reaction. We spend our whole lives identifying level and solid with security. My wife too initially had a tough time with heeling. Standing in the forward end of the cockpit where she could brace herself with the cabin made all the difference. now you can''t scare her on a boat. I think being able to control things with your legs gives a feeling of security. try it and see, Jim L


----------



## eds928gt

My wife too was very uncomfortable whenever the boat heeled more tha 5 degrees. A sailing lesson with an with an experienced instructor solved her fears. He put the boat through it''s paces and had it heeling at 25 degrees - all along saying "THIS is what''s is supposed to happen" and "this is why sailboats have rounded hulls". After sailing this way for an hour or so, my better half was completely at ease with heeling, especially when she''s at the helm.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~


----------



## TSOJOURNER

Carol, 

It''s natural, don''t freak out. 

Try steering for a while, and letting the boat actually heel while you are steering. Once you feel you are in control you will be able to begin to be less afraid. Some of the fear comes from not being in control of the vessel. Then you have to learn to trust those steering. Helped me. Course I had 3,000 miles under my belt before I knew what the bottom of the boat looked like!! Talk about freaking out!! 

And don''t be afraid to stand in some ungodly poses while steering. On one trip to the BVI I spent what seemed like years with my knee in my armpit. (Not really, but you know what I mean.) We had really bad weather, but needed to make the headway.

Something that also may help is "surfing" while someone else steers. That''s nothing more than standing in the cockpit and obtaining a great stance with your balance, but it''s fun and teaches you balance and to be able to look out over the bow and both rails and not be so afraid. Now, never have one of your hands more than a few inches away from a secure handhold, for safety''s sake, please, but it''s fun when you can ''surf'' through all kinds of bounces and bumps and heels.

Fair Winds,
MaryBeth


----------



## bullseye

its not you carol,its a girl thing  (i hope thats not sexist)
my girlfriend was petrified of heeling at first,& when she started to steer,she was constantly pinching(sailing too close to the wind)the sails.so the boat would not heal.
this fear is quickly overcome by doing some sailing on a large yacht,in good steady wind,there will be no chance of a knockdown,compared to dinghys.

all yachts are designed to heal.
most yachts are tippy at first when they start to heal,which can be unsetteling,but once they reach a certain degree of heal,they become very solid & it will be very difficult to heal it further.

male friends can tell you all sorts of things,but nothing builds confidence faster when you start sailing,then doing a sailing course,through a good sailing school.

good luck


----------



## bullseye

actually the person ive seen most scared of healing was my father,& hes not a girl


----------



## TSOJOURNER

Bullseye,

Sorry, it''s a girl thing, but when you say all yachts are designed to ''heal'' that''s true in an aesthetic sense, I guess. I feel great on boats. To heal is to cure, to heel is to list seriously to one side. 

Females have a much more sensitive inner ear. More than 70% of Meniere''s disease sufferer''s are female, I am one of them. I have never, ever been seasick in all that I have been through,(which has been some nasty crap, let me tell you, often taking care of those who were seasick) but after a few years on land I began to feel dizzy and sick. Long story short, after 2 surgeries, the last 6 months ago to have one of my inner ears removed, I have regained balance and sanity, tho I am deaf in one ear. Feel great now. I am just sooo glad that over the years I treated those with seasickness with respect and great care and tenderness. Karma comes around.

Unfortunately, one of the causes of that nasty, queasy feeling is fear. Not being in control causes fear. Thus my statements on steering and seeing that you are in control of the situation. Not to mention that oft times when it''s the "boyfriend" on the boat, he is sometimes a bit harsh and quick to bark direction and reprimands.

Fair Winds,
MaryBeth


----------



## paulmcquillan

I teach some in my free time, and have found someting that works to build an understanding of heeling and reduces the concerns.

It''s sort of a personalized righting-moment test.... a take off on how racing rules committes actually measure the stability of a sailboat.

At dockside, pass the spinnaker halyard to a few friends. Cleat the other end to a big cleat on the boat. Let all the freinds pull and try to heel the boat. It will go over some, and then become VERY difficult get to to heel any further.

Other approach, install a clinometer in the forward part of the cockpit. You drive, or your get to tell the driver when to ajust sail trim/reef to reduce heel.

Hope those ideas help.


----------



## Sailormon6

Carol b,

Look at it from the perspective of the wife of a guy who just bought his first sailboat. She goes out with him on the boat and it heels to an angle of 25 degrees. Common sense tells her that when something leans over that far, it is about to fall over. Hubby assures her that everything is o.k., but she knows that he is just learning to sail, and, even though he thinks he''s an old salt, she knows he''s just an old windbag. She has no confidence in either the boat or the skipper. To dispel her fear, you have to prove to her that the boat is not going to fall over, and that the skipper and crew can control it. 

I think 928 frenzy has the right idea. He took the wife out with an experienced instructor, who was credible to the wife, who showed her how stable the boat was, and who showed her how she and hubby could control the angle of heel. Her fear was displaced by knowledge. 

Go sailing, and when the boat heels to an extent that makes you uncomfortable, ease the mainsheet. You will soon realize that you can control the extent to which the boat heels, and you won''t fear what you can control.

Good luck.


----------



## harvh

Carol, heeling also freaks guys out at first. The way I overcame that out of control sensation you get when the rail starts to bite down was to sail dinghies.

Go find a good 10 foot sail boat. If your in cold water, rent a wet suite. Now go sail the boat right over on itself. Yep tip it over and get wet. You will learn sail ballance, how to recover from a knock down and how to right your vessle. Try it a couple of times and you will figure out the exact point that you loose control. It is way beyond what you think it is now.

Then go back on your fixed keel boat and relax. It will never be as scary as the ding. There is an old saying that " dinghie sailors are the best sailors". I think its true. If you take a small boat sailing course, this is one of the first things they teach you.


----------



## RobGallagher

About a month ago I was sailing in 20 25 knot winds close hauled, healing nicely and sailing fast  A large powerboat passed close (to close) on our leeward side. He was moving full throttle and makeing a nasty wake. Just as he passed us the wind gusted to maybe 35 knots. It was not a gusty day and we didn''t expect the gust or the powerboat.

Needless to say, alot more that the rail went under water. I remember looking over and seeing the powerboats wake hit the cabin top. I brought the boat into the wind and it came up ok, but it was scarey. Seeing the crew of other sailboats standing up and staring at us meant it probably looked as scarey as it was..lol

Anyway, one of my usual sailing buddies (female, if it matters) is now really paranoid of healing. When she is out with us I take it easy hoping she will snap out of it, but if we start to heal much she starts shaking and getting scared. I even tried putting her on the mainsheet/traveler so she can dump the main if heal becomes to much for her. Nothing seems to help.

Any advice?


----------



## DuaneIsing

Rob,

If I understand your story correctly, the combination of the gust heeling you over a bit more and the powerboat wake hitting the leeward side of the rail made for a lot more water than usual shipping over the gunwales.

The bad news is that everyone aboard may have experienced the need to really hold on to avoid being thrown out of control, and maybe they didn''t realize just how far over a boat can go. The good news is that the boat handled that and she came up on her feet just fine. What I would hope to take away from that experience is that it takes a lot more than that to capsize a boat.

Having said that, I don''t have any advice for how you get your crew to look at it that way. Good luck and smooth sailing!

Duane


----------



## RobGallagher

DuaneIsing,

Thanks for your advise. Thats about how it happened. I think the Powerboat wake hitting the deck also helped to push us over a bit more.

Myself and crew have already tried telling her about sailboat stability and how it would take a lot more than that to capsize, etc.

I was hoping for some input from female sailors as to what to say to her to ease her fears. I''m not being sexist, just trying to get another view. Just for the record, I have other female crew and they are all just as good if not better than their male counterparts (nothing they have said has helped either). I doesn''t help that I''m male and always say the wrong thing )

Happy Heeling,


----------



## DuaneIsing

Rob,

Can''t help you much there; sorry. I have observed that fear is often irrational, and it is very difficult to logically convince someone that his/her fear is not justified. 

When I got my wife into a situation she disliked (or feared), I often heard the familiar, "you owe me a BIG piece of jewlery for this, buddy!" Fortunately, she was only partially serious. I now tell her we can''t afford trinkets and worthless (i.e. non-boat) stuff so that I can afford to buy us a boat that will make her more comfortable.

Good luck helping your wife over her fears.

Duane


----------



## TSOJOURNER

A little understanding of ballast and sail control can help this situation. What helped me when I first learned to sail (and girlfriends that I have taken out to sail since) is learning that there is a keel with a significant amount of lead in it under the boat. This is not always easy to understand so a verbal description to help them visualize the "fin" underneath is helpful, as well as how many pounds of lead it contains. When I told my "most fearful friend" that there were 5000 pounds of lead underneath us it helped to quell her fears. Also, demonstrating to them how some adjustments on the mainsheet/traveler can help ease the situation... (involve them in these controls if they are willing and able) will give them confidence that the boat is not out of control. Of course the most obvious is to stay ashore in questionable weather and provide a life jacket option to those who are uncomfortable.


----------



## TSOJOURNER

Deb, yes, this does help, but - you can''t really picture that big bulb underneath unless you''ve seen it out of the water, no matter how much you trust the woman who describes it to you. And, you''re right, steering the boat can alleviate most fears. But if someone in your party is so uncomfortable as to feel the need to wear a life jacket on a clear, flat, calm day; best for all to wear one to make her feel even less unafraid. In my experience, when it starts out like that, on a nice, calm day, you all end up enjoying yourselves. Unless, of course, there is the fear of the giant squid (hey, we all have our own ghosts)... But, we got over that, and enjoyed many a sail after.
MaryBeth


----------



## DuaneIsing

Mary Beth said: "Unless, of course, there is the fear of the giant squid (hey, we all have our own ghosts)..."

I say if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. If life hands you a giant squid, make calamari marinara!

Duane


----------



## Pelican1

Please don''t say it is a, "girl thing." When someone asks my husband, "How did you get your wife so enthused over the boat?" His reply is, "Its her boat." Yes indeed, it was my idea to sail. At first, heeling is uncomfortable for anyone, male or female. After a while though, you will trust your boat and you will know that it is a natural occurence especially in heavier wind. It will eventually make you smile and you will enjoy heeling. Just relax and let the wind and your boat carry you.


----------



## Sailormon6

I used to think it was a girl thing, but last summer I had a newbie couple on the boat in a strong breeze. The harder the wind gusted, the harder she pulled on the tiller until the boat was near broaching. Meanwhile, her husband was cowering inside the cabin in near terror. I think it''s a "mental conditioning thing." Heeling will scare you if you are not conditioned to cope with it.


----------



## TSOJOURNER

I have had this fear in the past as well, and with the understanding and assistance of folks I sail with, I have learned to get past it. Learning how adjustments on the main can ease heeling has made me far more confident about a boat heeling. 

Add to that just plain spending as mich time as I can on as many different boats as I can, and I''m getting there. Did my first "almost" single-hand a few weeks ago. Captain was on board, but he just sat and watched. Did all the dock work and everything else on my own! It was just too cool!!!


----------



## TSOJOURNER

I too have a fear of heeling. Don''t know that I will ever get over it. But I do cope. I was steering in about 15 - 20 knot winds when a gust of wind came and blew us over. My husband knew what was going to happen and never said or did anything to stop it. He wanted me to understand that the boat will come back up when the sail spills. I was almost standing on the side of the boat when it just popped back up. I do have a better understanding now but still have a fear of heeling. I am hoping that once we move aboard the boat and sail all the time that I will get over this feeling. I hate being afraid all the time and want to be a better sailor.
Fair winds and smooth sailing!!
Nancy


----------



## TSOJOURNER

I came from a motorcycling background so fear of heeling was not a problem when I started out sailing. 
It was the "gee we are taking a long time to get round this bloody corner!" syndrome I had to get over.


----------

