You’ve come a long way, Baby!
It has been less than a year that we have owned our boat but in that short time, our confidence in handling her has grown immensely. Yesterday, knowing that some big winds and rain were in the forecast, we decided to head for the marina. But instead of motoring, what we might have done last year, we were actually looking forward to a brisk sail. Although it may not have been immediately necessary, we decided to put a single reef in the main as we headed out, considering it good for practice. After having done so, we still had more than enough power, consistently sailing around 8 knots or so. A great sail!
Reefed main.
Plenty fast enough!
A long way indeed! Ya’ll should be proud of the progress you’ve made and shared with others. Glad you enjoyed the sail!
The funny thing is, if you were to read our blog from the beginning, that our original plan was to just go to Florida and buy a boat and begin from there. I can’t even imagine how that would have turned out now!
Practicing reefing is always a wise thing, good on ya!
Thanks Cindy. We agree. Better to have it down when it’s not really necessary than to be caught unprepared when it is needed.
Two old sayings that we live by on Eolian:
o When to reef? When the thought first crosses your mind
o It is easier to shake out a reef in light air than to tie one in
in heavy air.
I concur!
“When to reef? When the thought first crosses your mind”
Especially true on a cat. The multihull seamanship books always say something along the lines of “monos reef to suit the lulls, multis reef for the gusts”. Katana is a long way from the over-canvassed racers that end up inverted so frequently, but no boat is invincible- caution and prudence will go a long way towards keeping you happy, dry and right-side-up.
We have heard, and abide by the “reef to the gusts” rule.
When you can see light under the hull.
Oh yeah. That was the Stiletto. I have never and will never do that on a PDQ!
A reasonable rule on the PDQ is to think about it when you start hitting 9 knots, unless you are willing to pay very close attention. And of course, you are placing additional strain on the equipment.
Speaking of growing, I was thrilled this past weekend when my daughter, really for the first time, demanded helm time in breezy conditions (20 knots + gusts, 1 reef) and did well, working the puffs and watching the sails. Suddenly, just in the last year as she became 14-15, she has attention and interest and is becoming real crew. She’s getting more out of it, as she moves from child to adult. I never pushed it, I just did what I could to keep it fun. I’m thrilled, as that trip to Bermuda is looking more and more possible. Last year she took the required MD safety course and quickly became very good under power and with the tender. This year, it seems to be sail!
That sounds excellent, Drew. I look forward to hearing more about the Bermuda trip.
I think she needs one more year, so I’m thinking June 2011. Maturity comes with time and mistakes. She will have started driving (arg!) which should help too. The reality is that though I can try to look at it a bit as a solo trip and do most of the nasty bits, I need some sleep and the no-one-on-watch thing is not very good. I have to feel she can do moderate weather shifts safely.
Makes sense of course. By June 2011 we hope to be in Grenada but we’ll be able to read about your adventure from there.
As a devout coward, I tend to reef early and often. If I look silly sailing reefed when everyone else is running full sail, so be it!
When we first practiced reefing on our sailing course the winds were only about 5 knots. If it weren’t for the Offshore Sailing School logo on the boat people would have been wondering what we were up to.
Yeah, about the 3rd day I had the PDQ we went through all of the reefs, put sails up and down, and jibed and tacked all over the place… in 5 knots. Must have been quite a show, since it didn’t all go according to plan.
Of course, you need to practice reefing in a blow as well. I find the main thing when it is blowing hard is to THINK first. Do everything in the right order. Flake ropes out so they don’t tangle. If all else fails, profanity makes you stronger!
Excellent advice!
OK, I can’t resist. What’s up with that extra line going around the back of the boom? To my way of thinking, you should remove it (the crinkle in the sail at the cringle shows it’s too tight).
Fair Winds,
Mike
I was waiting for someone to comment on that. I put that line there as a backup. If the reefing line failed then my thoughts were that the additional line would give me a moment to do something before all hell broke loose. Contrary to what the image might imply, I don’t think it was too tight as I couldn’t really get too much leverage to crank it down.
Back-up…hmmm that’s not a bad idea if the current reefing line has some chafe. I would be worried though about using that as a “permanent” solution due to chafing and the danger to you when you’re trying to tie it in when the wind/waves are up.
Fair Winds,
Mike
The lines don’t have any chafe. I was just thinking that some redundancy might be nice. Chafe might be an issue. I would have to monitor it. I would definitely have to make a judgement call if I thought it would be dangerous. If it was that rough out I would no doubt be tethered on. Getting whacked by the boom might not be pleasant though. Thanks for your insight, Mike!