The time to reef is before the wind gets too strong. Think of it as
defensive driving. You can sit hove to while reefing. To heave to backwind
the jib and push the tiller right out away from you.

I too think its a better idea to drop the main rather than the jib to
reduce sail in strong wind. That's because the mast is held up by the jib.
There is usually also a forestay but it may only be there to hold the mast up
when not sailing. Sometimes it's strong enough to allow sailing with the
mainsail alone in strong winds but I've seen dingy's where the bottom of a
steel cable forestay is only tied to the boat with a bit of string.
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