Tom: I have rigged a downhaul in the past, and still have the line and block for it. Perhaps my line is too small (I think 1/8"), but for whatever reason, I found it always got itself fouled on something and when I did try to use it, it would not work. So I stopped using it. What I've found is I can reach the halyards from the cockpit, and will let those go first......and if trouble still remains, let all the sheets fly and head to the foredeck. I'm not young, but still agile enough I can get up there like a bolting rabbit. If the boat is moving.......its always one hand for the boat and one hand for me. I'm always holding on to something until I can get down onto the deck, firmly wedged into the pulpit area. In a blow, it's amazing how much power is in even a small piece of sail when you are gathering it in. On the topic of rope and wire halyards, a benefit of the wires that may get overlooked is when you are dropping the sails, you can let those halyards fly if need be, without worry that they will run to the top. They stop when the splice hits the masthead, the ends still dangling somewhere near deck level. They might fly out at a 45 degree angle for a while, but they eventually come back. The flip side of that is you can never, ever let go of the wires when you are unclipping the halyards from the sails. The weight of the rope will drag them to the top of the mast, where they will stay until you drop the mast to retrieve them. On Aug 17, 2009, at 6:13 PM, Tom Smith wrote:
Howard, do you have a jib downhaul rigged? Given you only had 30 seconds or a minute, I'd a turned up some and dropped that baby like a rock. A reef would have been good too, but I personally can't tie one in in less than a minute or so, and that might not have been fast enough. I've sailed in some nasty stuff under main alone, and though it's not terribly efficient, it works pretty good for as long as you need to do it.
After dropping the jib, I'd then go onto a broad reach, allow my spincter to thighen up, then prepare to loose the mainsheet and point up some. It's really a judgment call. t