Shorten sail ?

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ferroboat

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In may two friends are crewing for me to sail my boat from West Mersea to La Coruna, they are both very experienced blue water sailors so the plan will be (weather permitting) to keep going. Should i as a matter of course order to shorten sail for the hours of darkness? Thanks in anticipation.
 
ferroboat said:
In may two friends are crewing for me to sail my boat from West Mersea to La Coruna, they are both very experienced blue water sailors so the plan will be (weather permitting) to keep going. Should i as a matter of course order to shorten sail for the hours of darkness? Thanks in anticipation.
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Why?

The wind may not be blowing hard

Your crew is experienced

You'll be taking your turn on watch through the nights

Seems a funny question. Admittedly to a coastal, not blue water, sailor.

Cheers
 
ferroboat said:
In may two friends are crewing for me to sail my boat from West Mersea to La Coruna, they are both very experienced blue water sailors so the plan will be (weather permitting) to keep going. Should i as a matter of course order to shorten sail for the hours of darkness? Thanks in anticipation.
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Better to hove to, set a riding light and retire to the sleeping cabin, a la Hiscock!
 
Prefer not to have a spinnaker up at night unless with a full racing crew. Otherwise no change from daylight unless something in the forecast indicates sudden worsening of weather.
 
It is prudent to shorten sail just before darkness falls....Weather in Biscay can be unpredictable...and change for the worse with amazing speed. On one occasion I remember , the wind rose steadily from 7 knots to 37 knots ......in just 2 minutes..completely unforecast...just after it had got completely dark... Reefing in the dark, sometimes with the help of a bleary-eyed crew, is never a completely pleasant experience...no matter how seasoned a sailor you are....and with noise and seas rising....the last thing you need is the extra instability in the situation induced by being overcanvassed... ... Ok ..so you might not attain your maximum expected speed....but there is something deeply satisfying about being `comfortable`...and `ahead of events`
 
You should decide at the time on the basis of forecasts etc. Around here wind drops after dark so more sail needed but Biscay may be different. Just remember you are captain and must decide. If you go conservative you may well be glad or regret but it is not a race. You can't rely on old adages... good luck olewill
 
William_H said:
You should decide at the time on the basis of forecasts etc. Around here wind drops after dark so more sail needed but Biscay may be different. Just remember you are captain and must decide. If you go conservative you may well be glad or regret but it is not a race. You can't rely on old adages... good luck olewill
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+1 There is to much to consider to make it a rule, just remember that your crew will support you much more if they are involved. They will be standing the watches to, "I recon tonight we will be fine with full sail, what do you think?". At the end of the day its your decision and your responsibility just does not mean the crew have no input..
 
Depends on the weather and how well the boat stands up to more. If has been F2 for half the day then no. If the wind has been increasing, and you consider a good chance of needing to reef over the next few hours then yes I would reef early. I wouldn't pre-plan an automatic reef before you start - just trust your instincts when out there. If you get it wrong, reefing in the night (or even shaking one out) can be carried out perfectly safely, especially if you heave to first.
 
Someone once said to me: "If you're thinking about putting a reef in, do it; if you're thinking about shaking a reef out, have a cup of tea and think about it. If you still think you need to shake the reef out when you've finished your tea do it." We use this as a rule of thumb and it seems to work well enough. Doesn't matter if its day or night, the same principles apply. That said, all our reefing is done from the cockpit, so there's no stumbling about round the mast in the dark, which might make it more sensible for the OP to reef the main at dusk.
 
Shortening sail at dusk is a waste of time if you are passage making. The risk of not shortening sail at dusk is being slammed with a violent gust when you have full sail up which can lead to all sorts of hassle, including de-masting. The question you need to ask yourself is what will the crew do if you get struck by a violent squall with full sail up? If you are confident that helmsmen and crew can manage the vessel properly at such a critical time them don't shorten sail for the sake of it. Then again what harm can it do if you do shorten sail, its just time.
 
ferroboat said:
In may two friends are crewing for me to sail my boat from West Mersea to La Coruna, they are both very experienced blue water sailors so the plan will be (weather permitting) to keep going. Should i as a matter of course order to shorten sail for the hours of darkness? Thanks in anticipation.
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A lot of time offshore I have one reef in the main anyway, boat seems to like if better and if a little squall comes through you can just ease the mainsheet for a few minutes. Saying that, I've also gone to bed offshore solo leaving a spinnaker up with a windvane steering. All depends on conditions but sometimes no harm in sticking another reef in if you think you might need it later when it's dark.
 
In my view, the watch system and familiarisation with the boat needs to be adequate so that putting a reef in in the dark is no big deal.
Depending on the point of sail, if reefing the main early does not cost you much speed, you might sail with a bit less main and a bit more genoa, that can easily be wound in should the need arise.
Regard the wind going from 7 to 37 knots in a few minutes, no early reef is going to help that much, as most boats would not make progress in 7 knots if reefed for 37.
Personally I have found an under-canvassed, heavy boat to be about the hardest most tiring thing to helm at night.
Although it's not a race, there is always a gain in making best use of your weather window. Once you know what a reef costs you in speed, you can make a proper judgement on its impact on the passage. This may vary as time goes on depending on whether you feel people are getting tired or becoming restless at not making best progress. Also if you lose confidence in the weather forecasts, you may want to make best progress.
I don't like formulaic rules, but it's up to you.
 
webcraft said:
If you are concerned, have a practice go at reeling in the dark at the earliest opportunity on the trip, before you need to in earnest.

- W
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Definitely.
Run through it in daylight first if possible.
All boats are just that bit different, finding the hand hold etc first time when you really need them can be a bit fraught.
Crew do these trips for the experience, we want to get better at seamanship, not just sit on a boat for a week or so.
So time spent practicising stuff and maybe improving the way you do things is not wasted, particularly if it does not stop you from making progress.
 
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