You’re ’caught in irons’ – what to do now?
The Lubber’s Guide
35
Ignore the jeers of the crowd in front of the clubhouse, the desperate screams from the owner of the 60 foot yacht
that you are now drifting towards or the crashing of breakers on the razor sharp reef that spells doom for all the souls
aboard, or the imagined bollocking by the colic Admiral or the screams of the irate crew/wife etc. Adopt a Heroric
Posture and take the following action:
In a sloop (single mast) or a single sail boat:
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If there is water in the boat – get it bailed out asap
Do NOT let go of the tiller (never let go of the tiller on a Bermudan sloop when you are sailing)
Completely let go of the mainsheet
Sit facing the boom on one or other side of the boat, move your weight, and the crews slightly further back than
you normally sit to bring the bow up
Push the tiller away from you to about 45 degrees from the centre
At this point the boat will slowly start to sail backwards and will turn so that you are on the windward side
Wait until the boat is at 90 degrees to the direction of the wind
Pull the tiller back towards you to straighten it
Slowly pull in the mainsheet, the boat will now start to move forwards again and is now out of irons
Note
Getting out of irons in a sloop will mean that you are heading back on the original tack. It will take some seconds/
minutes (depending on your boat) before you can build up enough speed to attempt to tack again. It is VERY IMPORTANT to ensure that when you attempt to tack, you have enough room (sea room) between you and whatever
clubhouse, rocks, expensive yachts, flagship to allow for getting caught in irons. In a 15’ sailing dinghy this could be
up to 200’ if the wind is strong. In boats that are new to you or don’t tack easily then leave plenty of room for cock
ups.
right - it is imperative that when
beating to windward, enough sea
room is allowed to ensure that,
should your craft be caught in irons
when tacking, there is enough space
to recover and attempt to tack again.
Failing to allow enough sea room can
have very expensive consequences.