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Home arrow Your sails are your Insurance 2
Your sails are your Insurance 2
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The crews described in the fIrst two incidents found that sailing skills and handy sails were the key to their escape from danger. Although it's unlikely that there'll be absolutely no wind when your engine plays up, Murphy was a sailor, so we like to include anchors as the extra element in making sure that an engine shut down means only a smooth switch to sail-power or anchor-grip - and doesn't become the topic of water¬front gossip at your expense What allows you to make that smooth transition are handy sails and your personal sailing skills.

 

Handy sails
So, what are handy sails? To qualify, we believe these are ones that can be deployed in less than sixty seconds each, on any point of sailing. On the average 35 footer, this means either a jib with normal hanks, uncovered and with the halyard attached, or a roller furling jib with the sheets already rigged. The hanked-on jib is a bit slower to raise, but is simpler and therefore more dependable than the roller furling sail.
But the a jib alone may not be enough. If the situation is one where you'll need to sail close to the wind, you'll need a mainsail as well. The quickest mainsail to raise is the leg-of¬mutton Gib-headed or Bermudan) cut mainsail using claw-type slides on an external track (which have minimal friction, especially with the occasional rub of beeswax). Ideally, this sail will have no headboard or battens to hang up on spreaders or shrouds. Although not quite so handy, a laced-on batten¬less gaff mainsail with less than 400sq feet of sail area comes close.
Not-50-handy sails
Over the years, ideas from the racing fleet have filtered into all aspects of cruising and day sailing mainsail design; adding headboards, short battens, then full-length battens which enhance sail area and racing performance. These sails are usually diffIcult to raise unless the boat is head-to-wind. With alloy spars came internal track and extruded luff grooves that require the use of slug slides. This means extra friction that slows mainsail hoisting. Add cockpit¬led halyards, which mean more turning and fairlead block friction, plus the need to use a winch to hoist the mainsail and you have an unhandy sail that's too slow to be considered part of your 'sail insurance'.
It's wise to hoist this type of main¬sail before you leave or enter the harbour so it's ready to use should the engine quit. 'Sail insurance' also means having the appropriate sail area available for the situation. We have a strong preference for the Bermudan cutter rig since this means a staysail is always on deck, ready to act as an instant heavy weather headsail. Combine this with three sets of slab reefIng in the mainsail and you have quick sail reduction options that willl let you sail to windward in winds from fIve to 45 knots should your engine quit.
Engine Failure Drill
We've anchored in many roadsteads around the world which offered good protection from the prevailing winds, but left us feeling uneasy because of unsettled weather conditions: places such as the east side of Catalina Island, California, the sandy shores of Studland Bay on England's south coast, the desolate lee of Double Island Point, Australia or behind Cape St. Francis at the southern tip of Africa.
 
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