Imagine: you left the Canary Islands this morning, pushed by a light suffering breeze, which didn't even know if it was from the North, the South, or the Esteuros. The crew, highly motivated, had promptly set the gennaker in order to "take advantage" of this wind manna.
Knowing how to adapt your canopy
But Aeolus, this sometimes adored, often decried, always feared divinity, sometimes proves to be in a teasing mood. So, during the day, the code zero had to give way to the genoa, which soon had to be amputated by a few turns of the furler. And then, in the afternoon, it was soon necessary to take a reef in the mainsail. The maneuver had been a bit laborious. There was some shouting, heartbeats and other associated noises. But in the end, the sail was properly reefed. Then, the sun took its leave to enjoy its quarter of rest, quietly behind the horizon, leaving the place to a moonless night
The night was going to be serene, but... Alas, around 1:30 am, a raging squall had brought back his bad mood. Dressed in his dark clothes, he scared the hell out of all the neophytes on board by happily exceeding thirty knots, with the anemometer in "true wind" mode. The skipper soon made his reasonable decision: "We'll take the second risk!
This is where know-how and experience provide either a nice maneuver that generates well-being, or a moment of great stress that will definitely disgust the less experienced.
Reefing downwind on a multihull
Contrary to some preconceived ideas, this operation does not require to bring the boat into the wind. I would even go so far as to advise against it in many situations, to limit the boat's movements and to keep the apparent wind lower.
Here is a sequence of actions to be carried out promptly in order to reduce the mainsail to downwind speeds (i.e. more than 120° from the true wind), in a joyful and good mood!
- bring the boat to 165/170 degrees from the wind
- partially roll up the genoa to a third of its total surface
- slightly shock the mainsheet in order to reduce its power
- bring the boom to 45° from the axis of the boat
- adjust the boom restraint to prevent an unintentional gybe
- shock the mainsail halyard. It will sag very little, quickly prevented by the friction.
- hoist strongly on the second reef line. This will force the headboard to come down without damaging the battens
- gradually take up the luff slack by hand and continue to raise the line until the tack hook is level with the gooseneck
- ensure the tack
- luffing up the luff
- tying up the reefing line
- install a strap or dyneema around the boom to take the stresses of the boom
- relieve the bump of a few centimeters in order to make the bracelet work and not the bump
- store the canvas correctly in the lazy bag
- take up the slack of the third reef so that it is immediately operational in case of need
- get back on the road
- adjust the genoa surface to fit this new configuration
Settings to be monitored during the maneuver
When reefing the luff, the boom restraint and mainsheet should be watched. They may need to be relieved if the clew of the reefed sail is located higher than before.
If the boat is equipped with long "automatic" reefing lines, it is absolutely essential to have created marks on the halyard beforehand, so as to pre-position the tack eye at the right height.
Precautions guided by marine sense
Of course, before undertaking this maneuver, it is essential to be sure that you have enough water to run.
If, out of great caution, you have greatly reduced the area of the headsail, you will be well advised to make a few turns of the furler so as not to drag yourself the rest of the night. After the squall, do not hesitate to unfurl it, even entirely, knowing that it is much easier to maneuver than the mainsail and that its reduction takes only a few seconds.
