The Marinervideo
Sailing Questions Answered : Mid-Atlantic
11 April 2026 · 24 min · 3K views · Atlantic Ocean
Sailboat surfs wave in open ocean, golden light
What this video covers
Chris, sailing a Volvo 60 across the Atlantic toward Madeira and the Canary Islands, answers viewer questions from his previous heaving-to video while underway in 20 knots with a J5 and three reefs in the mainsail.22:31
The main technical clarification distinguishes fore-reaching from heaving to.1:27 Fore-reaching is an active helming technique for heavy upwind conditions: drive up the wave face in a pinching angle, pivot at the crest, then bear away down the back — cycling continuously to manage a pitching, wave-leaping hull.5:31 Heaving to is passive, leaving the boat to manage itself while the crew rests.9:02 Chris attributes viewer confusion to his 21-foot-wide traveller, which drops the boom 10 feet to leeward while the mainsail still appears sheeted tight.2:08 For multihulls, he recommends sea anchors over heaving to, citing the absence of a keel and the side-load risks on backed headsails.11:06 On drifting 50 miles overnight while hove to in 55 knots in Lyme Bay, he notes it was acceptable because he needed sea room to the south anyway; with a lee shore, he would drop all sail and heave to under bare poles.13:43 His greatest fear is falling overboard and never seeing his son grow up — not knockdowns or gear failure.16:41 He also announces a transatlantic passage in August with eight of twenty crew slots filled, and a full crew for the Newport Bermuda race.21:49
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