My son Charlie(age 4) and I went sailing Sunday for the first time at Lake
Anna, Virginia. Like many small inland lakes, it was very gusty as we
sailed from protected to open areas. I initially sailed on jib alone
(points much better then main alone), and then as I got more comfortable,
found a calm cove where I could raise the main. I decided to ere on the
side of caution, and attempted to reef the main before raising it.
After hooking the hook on the gooseneck to the sail, and looping the rope
from the reef points to around the foot (not around the boom), I realized
that I was not sure what to do with the rear reef point. The line through
that grommet has a loop at each end. Do I loop it around the foot the like
the other reef points? Or, do I connect it to it to the end of the boom?
Or both in some fashion? I looped the line around the foot, and sailed on,
but it did not look right.
It was not windy enough to really matter, but I'd like to know so when I
really need to reef, I won't be experimenting.
We had a great first sail of the season, and it took me under 15 minutes to
rig and launch (for those of you that are keeping track of these things).
Mike Canova
P15, 1830
Richmond, VA