New book for 2018: "Philosophy of Sailing: Offshore in Search of the Universe" by Christian Williams. Preview here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o91zlbRhlq64gnWH.html

Lovely. Literate. Instructive. What a breath of fresh air on the KZfaq machine.

Mr. Williams, as a part-time Bay sailor and instructional designer, I found your video clear, concise, and informative from an intermediate sailor's point of view. Was that you intended audience. Your use of proper nomenclature is especially refreshing. While it may be challenging for a beginner, it reinforces the need for clear communication, especially during heavy weather. Passing on your experiences is much appreciated and a gift to the sailing community. Thank you, sir.

You speak...I listen....I learn. Bravo Chris.

One of the best sailing short films of all time.

from italy jumped in your video, happy to find someone who speaks clear,knows how to frame,doesn't put in unbearable music.ciao

Thanks for making these, Christian. I love the style of your videos, a sort of quiet introspection with great images of sailing.

Bravo. when a smart, experienced sailor like you takes the time to practice, it's all the reason the rest of us need to do the same. thanks again.

Really appreciate the way you narrated this important topic. I've been sailing for more than half a century, but I still go out in all weathers to check that my gear works ..... and that I can use it right ..... and to learn something new! Keep up the awesome videos, thank you for sharing them.

Man! I truly wish I could train under your watchful eye. Thank you again for putting out these videos Mr. Williams. Dreaming in Alaska, Paul Williams.

In my humble opinion, one of the best down to earth, educational, interesting, colorful, Sailors Vlog Channels. Much appreciated. Thank you, Christian Williams & GOD, bless

When I lived in San Francisco I sailed with a coworker often. We didnt go out much unless there was a small craft advisory and we were in a small craft. I was so much younger and stronger than I am now. But what a blast coming out from under the bay bridge into thirty knots up the slot. Listen to the rig load up, feel the boat accelerate, turn tight on the wind and make for sausalito. I miss it like an old friend.

You are so right in what you say here . I used to avoid anything more than 20 knots, but have learned the importance of practice and making sure nothing can foul.

there's nothing those of us still learning appreciate more than an actual (effective) teacher in an ocean of know-it-alls. Thank you.

This is the 2nd video of yours that I have watched. I've enjoyed your wisdom and the style in which it is presented. You remind me of a wise old uncle. Willing to take more risks that perhaps a father would ever allow but still knowledgeable and wary of the ever present danger. Calm, caring and wisdom not just for sailing but for life. I love your style of delivery. Don't change a thing.

Great video Christian. Very informative and instructional. I love your narration style. Great fan of your writing and audio book as well.

I appreciate your calm, humble, and helpful analysis! Thanks.

Best video on sailing I have seen - just the facts but put into a living and breathing perspective like no other. Well done!

Christian, another very well done piece. I like the way you threaded the Redondo incident into a learning point about our own vessels and our learning the aspects of heavy weather and our capabilities. As a life-long surfer, we used to say that if we only surfed on perfect waves we'd never learn or expand our capabilities as when we take to more difficult and often sloppy waves which would hone our skills better. Certainly sail planning and handling on higher wind days makes for strengthening our toolkit aboard. Thanks again.

This is another excellent Christian Williams video and is an example of his calm instructional style while in an exciting environment! I always learn something of value....thank you Christian.....

Sailing, except under the most benign conditions, requires proficiency. Much like flying an airplane, knowing your craft and how it behaves when everything is working is a joy. If something does break, or un-forcast conditions occur, it becomes just a nuisance; some discomfort that will pass. At the end of an eventful journey like this, you call it "Adventure". Our family has adopted the definition of Adventure as: Misery in retrospect. I think there is a tattoo in there somewhere.

Words of sailing wisdom, Thank you for sharing Much appreciated. I really enjoyed watching your vids Brought back memories of my Hawaii Sail.

You are so right. I can think of no other sport that I have done where experience counts as much as it does in sailing. Getting out there when it is howling gives you the experience you need to, inevitably, be caught in heavy weather. I have had the privilege of sailing with some very experienced sailors before the age of KZfaq. Thank you for sharing your experience to aspiring single-handers.

I just finished listening to the "Philosophy of Sailing" this morning on my way into work, Thanksgiving day. Being a Nurse means you work when others are with family and celebrating the Holidays. I found your KZfaq channel and was glad I watched this video, it allowed me to see you and your boat and get a better picture in my mind of your adventures to Hawaii and back. Thank you for sharing your stories for those of us who are locked in a job as well as the land and are not able to explore what the world has to offer.

I always find your videos informative which I need as a beginner single handed sailor . Thanks Christian .

This has got to be one of the best! Fabulous advice!

A fantastic video with gobs of great info for practical sailing knowledge. Chris, you have a knack for this sort of thing that seems natural. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

Great content thank you for making my evening a bit more enjoyable.

love your videos Christian. Keep them coming.

I can't expressed how happy I am I found this channel. How entertaining it was for me to watch this

Christian I'm not a sailor but I love watching sailing videos. You seem to be able to create a steady wind of mindfulness, Wonderment and steadiness in your videos. With so many sailors posting on KZfaq yours stand alone in their ability to inspire and impresss. Thank you michael

I'm a single handler sailor too and I've learned to read the sea and always prepare way ahead as you see the whitecaps far away aproaching

This was WAY more educational than I expected, thank you

Another excellent and informative video.. Thanks Christian, fair winds.

Gearing up to purchase a live-aboard in a few years. Doing my research now...or at least starting the research now. This video is a good reminder of why we practice in difficult conditions. Reminds me of going out in the winter to do winching practice with the Land Rover club in Portland. Doing night-runs and practice navigating using paper maps and compass. Learning how to chain-up at night, in the wet, in the snow, when things are controlled and we can take our time. Everything you mentioned about sailing in 30 knots is something I've practiced in another venue with a different type of vehicle. I'm glad that the mindset is already there...now to learn the tools and the equipment. Thanks so much.

Ten minutes of some of the best sailing information one can find.

Thank you for taking the time to explain so completely!

Thank you Christian. Very well done.

Magnetic voice and nice sentences. Please to watch! Thank you, Christian.

One of the best advice videos I’ve seen - thanks.

Christian: All your videos are fantastic. Thanks!

Always an inspiration. I love your stuff.

Excellent advice, I learn something every time I watch. Thanks.

Very well presented; even for us 'experienced' sailors. We often forget or get lazy when preparing our boats. Thank you

A very sober view on our sport/hobby/pleasure. Such releif to hear, such a joy! (breathe out)

Another great and sobering video Christian...thanks for the insightful reminders!

I love all your post. Thank you.

Great Video. Did this recently in a "new for us" boat. We were not nearly as well prepared, which taught us why we should be more prepared. Gusting to 30 and found weaknesses in the traveller cleats, the mainsail cleat and the cam cleats for the sheets. We also fouled on the heater vent and when we tried to tighten the main. Great exercise. Still had an exhilarating sail and we will be more prepared next time.

This is an excellent video of checking one’s running rigging. Thanks.

Thank you for your style in presenting this information, it made it real.

I have never even been on a boat /yacht in my life and i love watching these great video's , in fact i cant get enough of them

Very well said! I love your videos. Looking forward to your next.

Good job! Awhile ago, I was prepping for a solo transatlantic trip. I practiced mains'l ops at the mast base blindfolded to the point that it was automatic...something that eventually became necessity. Attitude is the first step.....

Great video. On a very important topic - being able to sail in strong winds. My slip neighbor next to me and his 7 y.o. boy were not as lucky as those guys at the pier. He capsized his San Juan 21 named Sunny Side Up (it had a yellow hull above the waterline), and they both didn't make it. The hypothermia got them. I never considered him a bad sailor either.

Brilliant! Thank you for taking the time to do this video.

I loved your book as well. These videos keep us going here in the Northeast waiting for the season to start. Please keep up the great work!

I love your narration. It reflects experience and calmness. I grew up in Palos Verdes, and I sailed an Ericson 35 out of King Harbor in Redondo Beach in the late 60s and early 70s. Taking sailing lessons in a Naples Sabot when I was a 9-year-old kid might just be the best time in my life. Of course, Los Angeles was burning in 1965, and I was concerned only about my sail trim. Thanks you so much for these videos. You have set a high standard for KZfaq.

Great video. Thank you for sharing the need to "practice" and get back to basics. I very much enjoyed this. Keep up the good work.

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the very interesting video. It gives a sailor a lot to think about. I never thought about your idea of pushing the boat to find the issues.

Keep up the great videos. You mentioned in one "who will I teach?" I believe you were speaking about splicing lines. The answer......so many of us! Great job!

Excellent training video, thank you very much.

I like your approach to sailing in higher speed winds winds - especially practicing in controlled conditions. This is an outstanding video short. Well done and thank you!

What did your boat neighbor think of you shaking the jib and sheets around?! "Man, he must finally have gone nuts..."

Well done! Thanks for all the excellent advice

Enjoyed listening Christian Thank you!

Words of wisdom... excellent advice.

Nice video, made total sense. Its surprising how the stress level can affect logical thinking. But as you say, practising in rough conditions will make things much easier when confronted in a real situation.

Thank you for this video. great tv personality and very helpful.

Loved your Book! These videos are always great little documentaries themselves. I appreciate the effort you put into them

Great videos, instructive on many levels. The prep work on a boat can be fun, occupying, and challenging (and of varying expense) as you show by example. The sailing experience can range from sublime to 'eyes wide open' sometimes... and you know it's a good video when there is not a single troll in the comments. Thanks for the effort... off to Amazon now. :^)

What a great video. Sailing wisdom is so valuable.

Thanks This vlog contains some very good advice. The key message is ‘preparation pays dividends’

Thank you for these great videos, Christian...and the effort you put into them. They have helped me on many levels. SV Soleil

Great video and a interesting view of treating sailing like a sport practice makes perfect

Beautifully done - camera work, content, narration. We race C&C115 (38-footer) double-handed and after a particularly tough distance race a few years ago with winds hitting 40-knots, we started working on building that 'second boat.' With the help of UK Sails, we have a mainsail that only requires one person to reef it, using up-and-down lines, and a heavy air reef-able jib built from Uni-Titanium with a very wide wind range of 10-35 knots. Those two project alone allow us to stay in the cockpit and away from the bouncing foredeck.

Thank you for the wonderful instructions

This was really useful, especially as a beginner to learn the importance of preparation. Thanks!

I really enjoy watching you videos from Kuwait. Thank you.

Sailed yesterday in 25kts, think it gusted up to 35kts at some point, and I tried to reef a boom roller furling system, one of these old ones. I wanted to replace it earlier, but c'est la vie, and then it happened: Never practised reefing this boat, and while I left the helm to run forward and roll the boom the jib shackle broke. Now back in the cockpit I noticed "Damn, the main doesn't look right". That was due to the mainsheet wrapped around it, which then also caught the topping lift, too. It was a disaster. In high winds, in a channel (and not open sea) I had to climb forward to fix the jib shackle (and almost was knocked out by the flapping sail..) and then also had to secure the main somehow and get the mainsheet off. So I climbed up and tip toed in crushing waves to just about reach the end of the boom where the mainsheet fouled around and it was under tension, due to the wraps and thetangling with the topping lift, that was almost impossible. I also had the issue now that a nuclear submarine was passing by, and they have huge wakes, also they required me to get out of their way, as the navy has right of way. So while I was fixing that, a gust caught the main and blew the boom out, which I was hanging on and I swung out to sea, and swung back.... At the end I managed, I fixed it. I rolled the mainsheet off, I tried my best to save the topping lift (but ended up cutting it), and I ran back to the cockpit and below to find a new shackle, went forward and fixed that (almost impossible to get a hold on to the clew).... What a story! I made it, my boat made it. But it's all preventable, just practice and keep your boat in good shape. But I came here to find out about sailing techinques in high winds, not that I am disappointed, it's a nice video, but I do would like to learn how I make better headway close hauled. I think I made like 9 nautical miles in 6 hours or something like that. Not sure why I couldn't get up to speed. Was it the waves that slowed me down? Was it sailshape? I do not know. Maybe I reefed too early, the waves slowed me down and I had the sails too close in (trying to sail like lower winds)?

Excellent instructional video, many thanks

This captures the mindset of the sailor really well. Most people just wouldn’t get it.

Great advice! Thank you for sharing.

Appreciate the video and lessons. Information is GOLD.

Wow, I love this video. Really common sense information that is a huge help. I was pretty intimidated the first time I sailed in 30 knots on my UFO 27, but once I got confidence in the boat and its layout I am much more comfortable. Biggest issue on mine is the waves smashing over everything which gets a bit tedious, but not had anything major fail.

Wow! I don’t sail but I learned a lot from this video! God bless you and yours!

Excellent advice... thank you!

Great video, thank you Sir for this lesson from an experienced sailor ; everybody should find something to lear in it

Fantastic and very true. When you practice in controlled conditions you learn both that the boat will be fine and that you can easily handle it and enjoy the ride (and get in safely). It is my experience that the first few times you are out in those conditions there is a little anxiety. Now, after a few great 30+ sails, it is exhilarating . - Also. There is another reason to pull winch handles. If one of the winch pawls lets go under load, the winch handles can spin becoming aggressive arm breakers. Thanks for the video..

Thank you for posting. Invaluable information.

That looks like an absolute blast!

Stumbled across your video. Wasn’t sure what I was watching I must it is an excellent video and every sailor should watch it. We’ve ALL made dumb mistakes that could hav been avoided in heavy wind. Alas, there is still nothing like it.

excellent thoughtful video.

Dear Christian: finally a go to the point, instructive and plain vídeo, which i absolutely loved! It is your first video i see, and my friend, u got me hooked. Cherio from Portugal!

Was out last Saturday in Catalina 27 in the South bay of San Francisco. Coming into Redwood City Creek on a deep broad reach with 30+ knots with a 1.5 ebb was quite challenging as this part of the bay is shallow which makes waves every 3 seconds and as you come into the channel the waves get bigger and faster, and I needed to be on a beam to miss the Green Channel Goverment mark...but on a beam the waves were forcing her down...I had a 100 yard target...and of course as this video notes: BROKE our jib furling line which caused the head sail to be fully out...not what you want. But I di learn and we got safely back. We did have the main double reef and we did fix the furl line with a sheet bend knot...next time will check my jib furling lines. Great video Captain.

Very Garrison Keillor-esk narrative. I never feel bored watching your videos :-)

great lessons for non-racers who might get caught in high winds while cruising. sailing is a sport that does not have a "time out"

One of the best sailing videos I have seen. I sail quite a bit but rarely use things of a "high wind" boat. Big wind small sails. Small wind big sails. Great video. If things are going to happen, I want them to happen on my $500 boat in the middle of the lake. Not on a $500,000 boat in the middle of the sea.

Excellent advice. Hope to see you in MDR!

You are a Gem Christian, thanks for the tips!