Sailing and Camping

If you are anything like me, a trip to the foredeck on a pitching, rolling small cruising sailboat doesn't rate high on your "most fun" things to do. Did you know that you can use your mainsail to make this much safer and easier? Learn how to sail a boat better than ever before with these five easy steps for savvy sailing skippers

Even with roller furling or reefing headsails, there will be times when you need to go forward--or send your sailing crew to the bow. You may need to:

* Fix a jammed roller furling line inside the drum

* Change to a smaller headsail in heavy weather

* Check your ground tackle

* Prepare a full or asymmetrical spinnaker for hoisting

* Reef the headsail

If takes a lot of effort and a slow pace to move from the safety of the cockpit to a wild, pitching foredeck. Heeling, pitching and rolling combine to put your crew in peril--even when they're clipped on to jacklines. Make this task drier, safer and easier with these simple steps:

1. Fall Off the Wind

Ease the sheets and fall off to a broad reach. Any sailing course off the wind will level the sailboat deck and create a drier, more stable work platform.

2. Ease the Mainsail

Ease the mainsheet all the way out. This way, the mainsail creates a huge wind block and puts the headsail in an area of relative calm. Next, sheet in the headsail close to the centerline. That keeps the headsail sheets from whipping back and forth and puts you in control.

3. Lower the Headsail

Furl the headsail. In extreme marine weather, remove the furling sail and stow it below to prevent damage. Hoist a smaller headsail in the mainsail shadow. Sheet in the new headsail close to the centerline to keep the sheets under control and out of the way of the foredeck crew.

4. Return to the Cockpit

If you have the sea room, wait for all of your crew to return to the safety of the sailboat cockpit before you change course. That way, each crew member has a stable, dry platform to work their way aft along the narrow side-decks.

5. Round Up Back to Course

Haul in the mainsheet, trim the headsail, and return to your original sailing course.

Follow these five easy steps and you will learn to sail your boat better than ever before. Keep your crew safer, drier, and happier when you add this mainsail shadow technique to your sailing skipper-skills.