Furling the sails

Rolling up the genoa

Rolling up the genoa does not pose any particular problems. Whilst a crew member keeps the genoa taut with its sheet to avoid it flogging, another one rolls up the foresail.

To furl the mainsail

To furl the mainsail, you must begin by putting the boat head to wind. We therefore start the engines to put the boat into position. To avoid any ‘tangles’, check carefully that the main halyard is free to run. The ideal is to coil the halyard in a figure 8. This technique is used in racing and allows you to ensure the halyard will run with no problems.