Guide to Avoid Broaching

DURING a New York Yacht Club regatta in Newport, R.I. in May, a fleet of racing boats encountered a cruise ship barreling along at about 15 knots. The ship kept bearing down, appearing not to change course. The sailboats had to move fast to get out of the way. And since they were all flying spinnakers, it was no easy task. Several boats broached in a mass of quivering rigs and thrashing sails.

Other than sinking, broaching can create one of sailing's most hair-raising moments. Broaching is when the boat heels too far to one side, or capsizes. The boat falls on its ear, its bow driving into the direction of the wind. The mast tips sideways, forcing its sails to sweep the water's surface or submerge. A broach can shred sails and toss crewmen overboard.

A keelboat usually will right itself because the keel acts as a counterweight; a multihull will stay upside down. In either case, there are ways to prevent a broach, or stop it before it gets out of control.

Steve Colgate, founder of the Offshore Sailing School based in City Island, N.Y., said that students live in fear of broaching. ''It is probably one of the most frightening situations because they don't know how it's happening or why,'' he said. ''Knowledge helps to relieve much of the concern.''

In broaching, a sailboat usually is moving through one of two points of sail: a run, with the wind coming from behind, or a reach, where the wind comes at the boat broadside. Most often, the boat is carrying a spinnaker and sailing on a close reach.

A wave usually triggers a broach, but it can also come from a sudden puff of wind or change in the wind's direction. When the boat starts rolling from side to side under spinnaker, the next errant wave may disturb the delicate balance between the boat and the power in its sails. If the rudder rises out of the water in heeling, there is no steering left in the helm and the boat sails out of control.

Preventive measures vary with the size and type of boat, but there are basic rules. Colgate suggests these guidelines: Let out the mainsheet immediately if the boat begins to round up into the wind; keep the boat as flat as possible in the water by having the crew sit on the windward rail; make sure you use the right size sails for specific wind conditions so as not to overpower the boat.

On more sophisticated boats, such as those that carry additional adjustments for the rig, Colgate has these tips:

If you're sailing in conditions that could force a broach - in rough seas or high winds - keep the backstay on downwind rather than letting it run free. This bends the mast and depowers the mainsail by freeing the leech.

If the boat has a boom vang, release the vang to stop a broach rather than easing the mainsheet. This is a quicker adjustment. It allows the end of the boom to ride up, forcing the top part of the mainsail, where most of the power is in the sail, to fall off to leeward first.

Select a flat spinnaker for reaching conditions rather than the fuller sail you would tend to use while sailing downwind. Keep the halyard tension tight to keep excessive fullness out of the sail. ''This is not the right time to start playing with halyard ease,'' said Colgate, referring to a racing tactic for getting more power out of a sail.

Keep the weight of the crew aft in the boat. Weight forward tends to force the bow of the boat down, a condition that can contribute to broaching by creating weather helm - the tendency of a sailboat to turn its bow to windward.

Richard Konkolski, an offshore sailor who has logged more than 150,000 miles at sea alone, cannot count the number of times he has broached by turning the boat on its side. Konkolski defected six years ago on a boat from Czechoslovakia and now lives in Newport, R.I.

He pushes his boats hard, but he knows how to be cautious.

''You mostly broach because you are carrying too much sail,'' Konkolski said. ''The trick is to keep good control of the sails and good control of the steering. You have to pay full attention to the spinnaker - to the direction of the wind, to the gusts, and to the sea.''

Konkolski considers the helmsman the most important person on a boat. An experienced helmsman will guide the boat down the face of the wave rather than letting it hit at an angle where the wave will roll the boat. He is then quick to steer back on course.