Here’s a great video taken in this year’s Race to Alaska that shows the crew of SHUT-UP AND DRIVE reefing their main while blasting down waves. The boat is a Figaro 2, which is a 33-foot one-design created for shorthanded ocean racing. The wind was blowing a steady 30 with puffs up to 40 knots. Take a look and note the following details:
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All three on deck were wearing PFDs – a good thing.
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With the wind pressing the luff of the sail against the shrouds and spreaders, a downhaul had to be attached to the reef point so they could pull the reef tack down to the reef horn on the boom.
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The driver was doing an amazing job of keeping the boat flat despite having a chute up in following seas and experiencing unpredictable puffs.
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At about 1:35 into the video, the driver gets the boat accelerating down a wave, which lowers the apparent wind. This reduced the pressure of the main against the shrouds and spreaders making it a bit easier to lower the main. She then continued to sail a little high to reduce the load on the main during the reefing process, all the while keeping the cleated spinnaker full.
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The reef was finished in under five minutes. Good seamanship, boat handling, and nerves of steel.
Zoom, Zoom!
For a good article on how to reef properly, go to the Learning Center of the UK Sailmakers website, click here.
