Rigging according to Weather Conditions

Any Sailing Yacht or dinghy is best sailed in the almost upright position or slightly healed over in what ever wind strength is being experienced at the time. To achieve this large yachts carry onboard a selection of sails to suite the various wind strengths expected. By changing to smaller headsails or by rolling them up and reefing the mainsail as the wind strength increases the yacht can be rigged according to the weather conditions and resume sailing in the upright position.

Reefing Afloat
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The techniques of heaving to and reefing afloat come together to Asian Yachtmasters because the first is a necessary prelude to the second.

Reefing is the technique of setting the right amount of sail for the weather conditions. It is always better to reef before setting out or early in proceedings. In some ways you can think of reefing as the ability to predict the amount of sail needed for a particular wind speed.

The first step is to pick a suitable place to reef making sure that you have plenty of searoom to leeward so that the yacht doesn't drift ashore or into danger while you are reefing.

Your goal when reefing should be a sail reduced by the required amount which still has an efficient shape, with no wrinkles. The boom should be level and the boomvang should still be effective. With practice, you should be able to do the job in a boat equipped with roller reefing in about two minutes - much less if you have slab reefing.

Step by Step Reefing Procedure
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1. ‘Heave to’ on the favored tack.
2. Lower the mainsail by roughly a third and release boomvang.
3. Mastman hooks required reefing coringle onto the reefing horn at the boom gooseneck.
4. Re-tighten main halyard.
5. Take in the loose leech of the mainsail by tensioning on the desired reefing line.
6. Sheet on sails, secure excess sail at reef points, readjust boomvang and sail away.
7. Reverse this procedure to remove the reef ensuring the halyard is tightened and the reef line is released at the same time.

Reefing the Mainsail
These sailors in the Baltic Sea have reefed their mainsail, decreasing its overall surface to reduce their exposure to the wind. In stormy weather this practice helps sailors control their vessel.