Torries

UNDERWAY

A CRUISER GOES FOILING

REEFS:

HOW MANY & WHEN

Reefi ng your sails is an excellent way to

enjoy big breeze

WHY SHOULD I REEF?

Reefi ng, folding one edge of the sail in

on itself to make the sail smaller, can

protect your boat from damage and make

your outing more comfortable in heavy

winds. It can also increase boat speed

and make your ride more fun on a boat

with a shorter draft.

BASIC STEPS IN REEFING

1 Apply luff tension.

2 Release outhaul and vang before

dropping mainsail into reef position.

3 Secure the tack of the reefed main.

4 Take up on halyard.

5 After luff is tight and secure, take up

slack on the reef line on the clew.

6 Finally, ensure tension on the halyard

and across foot of sail.

HOW MANY REEFS

SHOULD I CONSIDER?

ONE REEF: Most common because it

reduces the most sail area.

TWO REEFS: Used less frequently, but

still a great tool for heavy winds.

THREE REEFS: Sometimes added for

offshore work—not necessary if your

equipment includes a storm trysail.

Using a single line to control both the reef

tack and clew has become popular. One

should recognize that single line systems

introduce a great deal of friction which

can make it harder to reef. For offshore

sailing, some sailors opt for two reefs at

slightly deeper locations than normal and

opt for a storm trysail.

It’s important to know the limits of your

boat and to be prepared for breezy

conditions. Reefi ng can help!

QUANTUM SAILS

CRUISING

TIPS

S

ummer in Newport, Rhode Island,

offers no shortage of sailboats of all

persuasions. From graceful 12-Meters to

100-foot racing sleds to cruising boats

of all stripes and plenty in between,

the view is never boring — particularly

if there are any foiling boats out. For

years, I’ve watched Moth sailboats flit

around Narragansett Bay, barely touch-

ing the water, and thought that it must

be such a rush to do that; I didn’t think

it was something that I might actually

get a chance to try. But then the Red

Bull Foiling Generation team rolled into

town, and my colleague Ben Meyers and

I had our chance.

The Red Bull Foiling Generation is a

series of regattas targeted at sailors who

are 16 to 20 years old to give them oppor-

tunities to learn to sail and compete in

high-performance foiling cats. It just so

happened that the U.S. qualifiers and

world finals were being held in Newport

last October. A PR team reached out to

members of the local sailing press, and

against my better judgment, I signed on to

go for a “ride-along” on one of the boats.

(“You’re going to be impossible to live

with after this,” my husband said when I

told him about the gig. Since our cruis-

ing ketch, Lyra, tops out at 8 knots or so, I

think that he was just jealous.)

As it turned out, there was very little rid-

ing along involved. The Flying Phantom

18 is an incredibly physical doublehanded

boat. Climbing aboard the catamaran,

feeling cumbersome in my wetsuit, PFD,

harness, helmet, and borrowed gloves and

booties, I thought it necessary to mention

to the helmsman that this was not only

going to be my first time foiling, but my

first time out on a trapeze as well. And I

should add that the helmsman was Hans-

Peter Steinacher, who won Olympic gold

in sailing for Austria in 2000 and 2004

and is one of the founders of the Foiling

Generation. To say I was intimidated

would be a severe understatement.

The winds were light (thank God) as we

sailed out toward the bay entrance, giving

me time to find my sea legs. What breeze

there was completely died for a brief lull,

and while Hans-Peter and I sat on the

boat waiting for Newport’s reliable south-

westerlies to fill in, he joked, “See, it’s not

much different than your cruising boat!”

Funny guy.

A maybe 8-knot breeze filled in, and

then off we went: It was suddenly nothing

like my cruising boat. But what a ride it

was. With my feet planted on the hull and

my body out on the trapeze, it was like

walking on water. And then up we went.

The boat needs only about 7 knots of

wind to foil, and the feeling is incredible

— more like flying than sailing, which I

suppose it is. Once the hulls are out of the

water, the ride is nearly silent, which just

adds to the flightlike experience. I would

do it again in a heartbeat.

After the adrenaline and obligatory Red

Bull finally left our systems, Ben, who I

should mention is younger than me and

more experienced with dinghy sailing,

said, “You know, even if I sailed one of

those boats for years, I don’t think that I’d

ever really get the hang of it.”

I’ll admit that I was relieved to hear

him say that, but we both agreed that it

was a total rush.

To learn more about the Red Bull

Foiling Generation events, visit

foilinggeneration.redbull.com.

— Jen Brett

Cruising World

digital editor Ben

Meyers (forward

crew) flies high.

COURTESY OF RED BULL FOILING GENERATION

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