| Author | Message | ||
     Scott Corder (Pastcommodore) Rating: N/A |
While we have staysails for reaching, we use a storm jib in the headfoil in very heavy air. We jokingly refer to it as our #4.5 (which I suppose is more true than not). We have only used it a couple of times with a single reef in the main in races where the breeze climbs (and stays) over 30 knots. Quite frankly, it has performed great! We really cleaned up both times! We even shook the reef and kept the storm jib up as the breeze dropped and found the boat to be very controllable and fast. Upon returning to the dock, everyone wanted to know what the heck kind of handkerchief we were flying out on the race course. (it was one of those days where nobody had the courage to fly spinnakers). (my foredeck would occasionally yell "Apparent is down to 38!") I agree that the notion of an inner stay is probably just too cumbersome to be practical. Our experience with a storm jib further endorses that notion. A storm jib is pretty low-tech, requires no special rigging (at a time when special rigging is probably not safe or timely) and shouldn't cost much to have made. You could probably even buy something used. We only have double reefs in our mains, as the boom is only rigged for two reefs. I suppose if we were REALLY in trouble, we'd only fly the storm jib to keep the nose of the boat under control. |
