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Puzzled by storms

C

Cap'n Buckeye

Landlubber
Ahoy mates! Every time I get in a storm, my turning is all messed up. I'll try to make a turn but my ship goes in the opposite direction very fast. It looks like I'm a huge top out there. Is there any tips for a new sailor?
 
Yes, put your sails up and wait it out, you will sustain alot less damage if you trike your sails.
 
Yep as Doober said. Currently storms are a waiting game, rather than being like an actual storm to sail in. So the best method currently is to stop sailing(stirke the sails, let go of the controls), which is of course completely contary to what you should do in a storm!

I'm hoping in the future to enable real storm sailing conditions( i've had quite a bit of real-life exp to draw on), that would see the player have to actualy sail through the storm to reduce the damage taken, so this is aplanned future mod for a future build. In the meantime just do as Doober suggests <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
 
it's important that you read the whole text (for you lazy ones <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" /> )

i know that you (in real life) shouldn't have the wind blowing from the side, as you would be under serious threat of capseizing. maybe you should recieve more damage if you do and that you would be pushed around by in a direction that you would have the wind in the back. this could be a problem for the player, as he is sailing in the direction that the storm if going. you would stay much longer in the storm. the quickest way would be to face into the wind, strike all sail, and throw out the anchor. the anchor is thought about elsewhere. the anchor wouldn't be needed in this case, as your ship will never move by itself if you have furled all sail(it's programmed that way). it would be cool if you could hoist storm-sails.(only having one sail hoisted at the rear and the front) these sails would be the square sail at the back (if appropriate(i mean the one pointed from front to back))and a triangular sail at the front (if appropriate). in other cases, it should be the top sail at the fore- and/or mizzen-mast. example:(lugger) you have a triangular sail at the front, and a square topsail at the back. if you do have a square sail pointed front to back,( i think it's called a gaff sail ) it should be absolutely straight, as the sails are in reality only meant to keep the ship pointed in the right direction.(so it wouldn't get the wind from the side). the reason that in other surcumstances the top sails should be hoisted, and not the lower ones, is that the pressure shouldn't be in the centre of the mast, creating the risk of breaking the mast. the data for hoisting sails should be there somewhere. it should control the sail animation for every seperate sail, so it should be possible.
 
well technicaly how you would best get through a storm depends alot on your ship and the severity of the storm. I'll give a quick example here.

In a small craft in a large storm(say +gale force 6 (so winds over 25knots in game)) your best bet is to run with the storm. I've been in 30 foot storm conditions myself(in a 22" small yaught) and there was no way i'd have survived going into the storm, my boat would have been bashed to pieces! The pounding the hull and structure takes as you ride up the +20Foot waves, to come crashing down onto the next set of waves is not to be underestimated.

So in a small craft you try to sail with the storm, aiming at an angle you hope will get you to the storms edge as quick as possible - if you just run before it in the exact directions its travelling you are stuck in it for longer than neccesary.

Other ships(bigger types) and differing conditions require a different approach.

This all something i hope to see simualted in an eventual port-to-port mod - more realistic weather patterns and an actual storm screen where you have to use your sailing skills to sail out of danger.
 
Two historical schools of thought on this (and my third post on the subject): The first, which is still used today, is to take in all sail and put your bow <i>to the wind</i>. That way, the incoming waves are cut by your bow and the energy is dispersed roughly equally on either side if the vessel.

The second, which works well for smaller ships, is to do as Doober suggests and "lie ahull"; that is, take in all sail and wait it out. Many merchant ships of the period could actually find their own "calm point" within a raging storm by lying ahull.
 
<!--quoteo(post=170889:date=Nov 11 2006, 08:15 AM:name=Mad_Jack)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mad_Jack @ Nov 11 2006, 08:15 AM) [snapback]170889[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Two historical schools of thought on this (and my third post on the subject): The first, which is still used today, is to take in all sail and put your bow <i>to the wind</i>. That way, the incoming waves are cut my your bow and the energy is dispersed roughly equally on either side if the vessel.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

yes, that's what i meant.
 
<!--quoteo(post=170889:date=Nov 11 2006, 05:15 PM:name=Mad_Jack)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mad_Jack @ Nov 11 2006, 05:15 PM) [snapback]170889[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
...... That way, the incoming waves are cut by your bow and the energy is dispersed roughly equally on either side if the vessel.

The second, which works well for smaller ships, is to do as Doober suggests and "lie ahull"; that is, take in all sail and wait it out. Many merchant ships of the period could actually find their own "calm point" within a raging storm by lying ahull.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

he he well for the first point when i did head into the oncoming waves - i nearly lost my fillings, the +20 foot drop as you went down the other side of the wave - to be met by another wall of water taller than my mast, just wasn't going to do it for me that time, and there was certainly no soft parting of the water by my bow(which generaly went under the oncoming wave i do recall). But as i said different conditions call for different methods, you got to think on your feet.

The second could have been an option, but the captain and myself decided that as we were on the very edge of the storm, and well it was pretty darn big already(like i said waves over the height of our mast when in the trough of the wave), and we were only a few miles from our destination port it was worth running with her. we took in all sails and used just the engine, but not before loseing the top-sail sadly. Anyway it was an adventure and i enjoyed it very much <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sailr.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":sail" border="0" alt="sailr.gif" />
 
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