SAILING

Emergency Loose Jib Sheet Drills

On July 21, 2022
By Kimberly

Emergency Loose Jib Sheet Drills

A flogging jib sheet is a hazard. It can snap your body, break items on deck, and knock the glasses off someone’s face. Whatever you do; don’t run forward and try to grab it by hand.

Getting a jib sheet under control quickly does not mean running forward to grab the slapping line, even with a boat hook. To run the Emergency Loose Jib Sheet Drill, when things are under control otherwise, release one of your jib sheets and practice retrieving it safely. Here are a couple methods to try:

Method One: Roll Her Up!

One pretty fast and easy method is to simply roll up the jib if it’s not crucial. Roll up the jib, then reload the jib sheet appropriately. If the boat is unknown to you – follow the jib sheet that did not get loose, and use it as a pattern for where/how to reload the loose jib sheet.

Method Two: Tack

If you have lost a jib sheet and have sea room to do it; simply tack the jib over to the other side.

Now you have a stable platform for moving forward.

Also, the lazy sheet will lie along the deck, ready for you to pick up and re-lead.

Method Three: When It’s Caught

Sometimes your jib sheets get caught on something on the front of the mast – a whisker pole eye, or even one of the cleats to the side. Again, don’t run forward!

Instead, put pressure on the other jib sheet that is not caught. Take a strain on it. Often, this will put a bit of slack into the caught sheet and it may free itself and drop to the deck. It might not – and you might have to move forward and release it. But now, you will have a stable platform to move on, and no tension on the trapped bit.