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Reefing during a race

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kevinmac
Admiral

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USA
732 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/09/2007 : 09:49:25

We may have strong winds for our race tomorrow (for a C250 anyway). Can someone explain the procedure you use for reefing while underway upwind? I am not talking about the single line (or whatever) reefing on a C250, just regular slab reefing. But how do you get the reef in while beating - do you do it quickly during a tack, or ...?

I know, if you think you are going to need to reef, reef before you leave, but I am talking about when the wind comes up after you are out in a race.

New to racing a boat that can reef, thanks in advance for the advice.

Kevin Mackenzie
Former Association Secretary and Commodore
"Dogs Allowed"
'06 C250WK #881
and
"Jasmine"
'01 Maine Cat 30 #34

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2007 : 16:30:24

Reef before the race for the first windward leg, let out once around the windward mark, reef again before the leeward mark, round back onto the wind reefed.

That is what I do, I do not reef into the wind unless forward motion is not a consideration. If I do reef on the wind you simply sail on the head sail and luff the main, then reef.

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 07/09/2007 16:31:36

kevinmac
Admiral

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USA
732 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2007 : 18:17:22

You know, that is such a wonderfully simple answer that I feel clueless having heard it now. Duh. So much to learn. Thanks Frank.

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2007 : 18:28:28

Unless you are doing a long leg (5-10+ miles) you need to suck it up until the end of the downwind leg. Until that point dump as much main as possible.

Before the leeward mark, lower the main partially, reef the tack and the clew. Be sure to crank back up on the halyard as you still want the best shape possible on the main. I would do this during the same time you would normally tighten the outhaul, backstays, cunningham, and boomvang. Roughly about the same time you raise the jib if you are sailing spinnaker. This is something that doesn't hurt to practice. If the next upwind leg is long then I'd consider putting in the smaller reefing lines at the reefing points. Frank mentioned shaking it loose once you round the mark - if it is blowing hard enough for you to need to reef upwind, there is a good chance shaking out the reef isn't going to help any. I don't know the 250 so you'll need to track your windspeeds and boat speeds to find out where the line is. Be sure to factor in the planing effect of pumping the main into that equation.

Generally speaking, it has to be blowing the dogs off chains for me to reef. I will switch to my number 2 or three jib first - so we are talking mid 20's and up. By that point I'm questioning racing at all.

If you have to do it underway it is roughly a 2 or 3 step process. You need to take in on the reefing line while someone else is letting off on the halyard. It is not by anymeans easy and the guy on the halyard really needs to go slowly. 1A. Depending on the setup, the tack needs to be put into the reefing hook. 2 Then you tack, on the tack you tension the halyard. 3. Tie any other mid point reefing lines into place.

Because you are still sailing the boat at this point you will need a full extra set of hands to do this efficiently without losing too much ground.

The bigger boats will actually do a genoa change to a #3 or #4 upwind instead of reefing. But they can lay one up inside the other and peel the old sail off after a tack.

They will then reset the headsail again with the bigger sail on the downwind leg while the spin is up. Then they can reef at the leeward mark so that when they douse the spinnaker they are set to go upwind. In general though, they avoid reefing on a W-L race course while going upwind. By the way, when this happens the skipper better be buying the foredeck guy a few cocktails after racing and the crew better help fold and pack the sails. He's working his hind end offfff....

Edited by - Champipple on 07/09/2007 18:39:27

kevinmac
Admiral

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USA
732 Posts

Response Posted - 07/09/2007 : 19:28:06

Thanks Dwayne. You don't get the award for simple answers though... ;-)

The 250WK is more tender than a 250. I light air, I move out a lot sooner, and I think I can point higher, but about 12 to 15, I am just going to be way overpowered. I want to experiment tomorrow with leaving it unreefed and reducing my roller furling jib (I know, not a racing rig), but I was trying to imagine how I would get the main reefed if things were just not working...

Again, thanks to you and Frank for the answer to the "newbie" question.

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5894 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2007 : 08:55:09

Kevin, I know the race that prompted this question is over, but I think about reefing a little differently.

I tuck in a reef while underway the way that Frank suggests. When beating to windward, I luff the main completely and release the boom vang. In a lot of wind, the boat will continue to make good speed, sailing on the jib alone, long enough to tuck in a reef. (With a little practice, it doesn't take very long to reef the mainsail.) Then I ease the main halyard, put the reef hook in the reef grommet in the luff of the mainsail, re-tension the main halyard and cleat it. (To do this, you need a topping lift, to prevent the boom from dropping into the cockpit when you ease the main halyard.) Then I pull on the reefing line, which brings the end of the boom up to the reefing grommet in the sail's leech, and cleat it. (This is the reason why you need to release the boom vang before you start to reef the sail. If you don't release the boom vang, then you won't be able to pull the boom up to the reefing grommet.) Finally, I haul in the mainsheet and re-trim the mainsail for the close-hauled course. After reefing, I usually don't tie the sail down to the boom at each reef point. It's not necessary. You can usually roll up the extra sailcloth and tuck it between the foot of the sail and the boom. Moreover, those reef points aren't strong enough to withstand much stress, and I've seen them tear a hole in the mainsail all too often. The last time I saw it was two days ago, on a 38 foot Beneteau that I crewed on for the past 2 days.

When you talk through it, step-by-step, it sounds more complicated than it really is. It isn't nearly so intimidating if you practice it a few times in moderate winds.

Think about your competition. Who are you racing against? If you're doing club racing in a PHRF fleet, the competition won't usually be that tough, and you can afford to give up a little time to tuck in a reef. Most of them won't know how to reef while underway, or they will be reluctant to do it, so, you can gain a lot of advantage in club racing by reefing when necessary, while your opponents are still grossly overpowered and trying to make the best of it. If you're racing one design in a national regatta, everybody who is competitive will know how to reef while underway, and they'll be reefing when necessary, and, if you don't, you won't be competitive. In either case, you really need to know how to reef while underway.

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