tom wrote:
Did he do the right thing? Or should something else have been done?


Well, you lived to tell about it, so how wrong could it be? But there
may be better ways to handle the situation.


Wally wrote:
I guess the answer is that the jibsheet should have been released sooner.
Maybe the helm should be looking after the mainsheet as well as the tiller?

I think that's a good answer. It's universal on small boats.


I crew on a 22.5-footer, and the helm handles mainsheet and tiller. If we're
short-handed while out in a blow, I lead the free end of the cleated
jibsheet (goes from coaming, to coachroof winch, down to a clamcleat on the
bulkhead) over to the high side and drape it round the other winch. If
things go pear-shaped, I can dump air from the jib without having to move
around the boat.


The big payoff is when the sheets are trimmed pro-actively, with
feedback from the hand on the helm. As the boat gets overpowered, the
helm loads up and easing the main keeps the boat on her feet and
driving... at some point, as the main is eased, the force on the jib
tends to push the bow to leeward so that helps the boat balance too.

But if the boat heels too far and the force on the jib too great, it can
not only lay the boat on her side but also spin it to leeward... a bad
scenario. My philosophy has always been to start easing the jib sheet as
well as the main, any time the gust is bad enough to require easing more
than, say a foot or so, of mainsheet.

It all require some forethought. FOr example, the time to think about
putting in the hatchboards is not when the water is already pouring in!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King