Conference unifix::sailing

61.0. "When to reef..." by PSYCHE::GRANT () Sun Oct 07 1984 21:14

	I saw this in the August issue of Cruising World magazine.  For those 
of you who missed it, or those who don't read Cruising World, here it is.  
I don't know about you, but I've been there....


	There is a certain pride many sailors have in carrying full sail 
through thick and thin, as though the act of shortening sail somehow 
impunes one's will to drive onward toward port at all possible speed.  But 
the question of when to reef passes every skipper's lips, so we came up 
with a few simple guidelines for knowing when that time has come.

It's time to reef when you think you saw a fish through the leeward ports.

It's time to reef when the pots in the pot locker and the books on the 
bookshelf take it upon themselves to trade places.

It's time to reef when the kids start asking wistful questions about summer 
camps in the mountains.

It's time to reef when you mistake the reading on the anomometer for the 
depth-sounder.

It's time to reef when a salty crewmember spontaneously tells the story of 
the time he was pitchpoled in a Gulf Stream gale.

It's time to reef when eight bells strike on the ship's clock and no one 
dares to mention lunch for fear of hearing the skipper bark, "You thought 
of it, you make it!"

It's time to reef when you can stand on the leeward jib sheet without 
making it sag.

It's time to reef when the wag in the crew quips, "Remember gang, it's one 
hand for yourself and one hand for your hat."

And it's time to reef when you shout over the wind at your mate, "Get to 
weather!" and he or she replies, "I DON'T hate your mother!"

Amen to all the above!! One other maxim I've seen in a number of places
is, "If you think it's time to reef, it's already too late.". 

We became real fans of jiffy reefing on our old boat, Pearson 26. Whenever
steering became real work (let's hear it for precision metrics!!) instead of
fun we'd tie in a reef. The little girl'd flatten right out and go like a
bat.