Heaving-to is a way of stopping a sailing boat: tack without letting the jib across, so it is backed, let the mainsheet out, and tie the tiller to leeward. The boat then lies quietly about 50 to 60 degrees off the wind, drifting slowly sideways.
A sailing boat has no brakes, but she can be stopped under sail by heaving-to. It is a calm, controlled way to pause: to put in a reef, to have lunch, to sort out a tangle, to look at the chart, or to give a seasick crew member a rest.
How to heave-to:
- Sail close-hauled.
- Tack the boat, but don't let the jib across. Leave it sheeted on the old side, so it is backed, with the wind on the wrong side of it.
- Let the mainsheet right out.
- Push the tiller to leeward, as if trying to turn back up into the wind, and tie it there. With a wheel, turn it to windward and lock it.
Now the backed jib is trying to push the bow away from the wind, and the rudder is trying to turn it back up. The two balance each other. The boat settles about 50 to 60 degrees off the wind, moving slowly forwards and drifting sideways, and the motion becomes much easier and quieter.
Every boat heaves-to a little differently. If she keeps sailing forwards too fast, ease the mainsheet further. If she tacks back through the wind, the tiller is too far to leeward or the main is too far in. Try it in a moderate breeze to learn how your boat lies.
To sail on, untie the tiller, let the jib across to the new leeward side and bear away.
Safety: a hove-to boat is still drifting downwind, perhaps a knot or two, and she is still a vessel under way. Make sure there is plenty of open water to leeward, clear of rocks, shallows and shipping, and keep a lookout the whole time.
More in the book: Chapter 10, When the wind gets up