Hey Dan,

...and simply furling the jib is the simplest way to reduce sail quickly... But I often sail downwind under a reefed main alone in heavier breezes, anyway, works pretty well on my boat. One of the advantages of having such a small, high-aspect main - there's not a lot of projection of sail area outboard from the centerline of the boat, so very little tendency towards a weather helm is created, the helm remains quite balanced and light. As my spreaders and shrouds are all inline, when the boom is eased all the way out, the main seems to lie against it all smoothly, little issues with chafe, as long as the vang and preventer are on tight, and the boom doesn't ride up and down...

One type of sailing I've seen a lot of on this trip, is that apparent wind angle of around 150 degrees or so, where the jib is becoming shadowed by the main, but poling it out leaves little margin for error from becoming backwinded... Combine that wind angle with some of the very sloppy and confused sea state I've seen in places - crossing the Gulf of Maine shortly in the wake of Hurricane Arthur, and the Cabot Strait between Nova Scotia and NFLD, for example - flying the jib can be a real challenge... I hate that condition where the rolling or motion of the boat can cause the genoa to spill its air, and then become refilled with a lot of pressure, and a BANG that causes the furler and entire rig to shudder. Punishing the sail and rig like that scares the hell out of me over time, and you get none - or at least much less - of that sort of abuse when sailing under the main alone, at least on my boat...

When the breeze is really up, what works quite well for me is running off under a staysail alone... I have a shorter whisker pole dedicated for that sail alone, works very nicely... My primary line control adjustable whisker pole has taken a beating on this trip, I spent the better part of a day in Baddeck fixing the internal breakage I had coming across the Gulf of Maine when the end of the line inside the pole was torn free, and there was no way to keep the pole extended beyond its shortest length. That slowed my passage time out to Cape Breton slightly, as a saw quite a bit of wind in the range where I could have been able to carry to genoa fully unfurled, and the pole fully extended. I hadn't had that pole apart in years, had to wait until I got to a dock to get it off the boat to attempt a fix, and it was definitely one of those "So, how does this thing come apart, and go back together, again?" deals... (grin)

I don't know how people cruise without a downwind pole, yet it's amazing how little I see them being put to use out there, or how many boats I deliver that it's obvious the pole aboard is NEVER put to use...

I'll be moving on from Norris Point today, this is one of those spots that's tough to leave... It's a delightful place, my favorite of the trip so far. A bustling little place, a couple of tours boats of Bonne Bay run out of here, and a ferry runs back and forth between here and Woody Point, the community in the distance. The people here are wonderful, and the Cat Stop Pub and Cafe is a popular local hangout at the end of the dock that has had live music every evening, there are some VERY talented local musicians around here. Had breakfast there yesterday morning while watching the German Grand Prix on their big screen, the start of a perfect Sunday just farting around with little boat projects, and a tour of the terrific museum and aquarium run by the university marine center here... I think my brief stay here will likely remain one of the highlights of this trip - I had almost bypassed this place in the desire to take advantage of the favorable conditions and press on, but I'm really glad I decided to come in, with the thought of climbing Gros Morne once again...

best regards,

Jon