Reefing sequence for the SC - Is this a reasonable guide?

[Joseph]

Regardless of waves (assuming no rollers and chop) and independent of personal preferences, does the following scheme sound as a reasonable guide for the Sun Cat? Winds are considering average speed (i.e. gusts can be twice the speed of the average wind and the pressure on the sail, four times as much). The sail area to be deployed in winds of different intensity may also depend on the point of sail: i.e., I am guessing that beyond 25 kts sailing close-hauled and tacking may be difficult and sluggish with a sail at minimal expression, and that that gybing and running may also be difficult, if not outright dangerous, after 20-25 kts even with a second reef on.

<1 kts (Calm, Beaufort 0) ... "Iron spinnaker"...
1 - 2 kts (Light Air, Beaufort 1) ... Full sail
3 - 6 kts (Ligth Breeze, Beaufort 2)  ... Full sail (Great sailing!)
7 - 10 kts (Gentle Breeze, Beaufort 3) ... Full sail (Great sailing!)
8 - 15 kts (Moderate Breeze, Beaufort 4) ... Full sail with gaff down (scandalized) (Still Great sailing!)
16 - 20 kts ... (Fresh Breeze, Beaufort 5) ... First reef (Maybe still Great sailing...) 
21 - 26 kts ... (Strong Breeze, Beaufort 6) ["Small Craft Advisory"] ... First reef & gaff down or 2nd reef 
27 - 33 kts ... (High wind, Moderate Gale, Beaufort 7) ["Small Craft Advisory"] ... Second reef & gaff down, or no sail, motor on, aiming to port
34 - 37 kts ... (Fresh Gale, Beaufort 8) ... No sail, motor on, seeking shelter ["Gale Warning"]
38 kts and more ... (Gale, Beaufort 9 and up) ... Moored or at anchor ["Gale Warning", "Storm Warning"]

Thank you.

J.

[Les]

I would not "scandalize" as a routine method for spilling wind, it is hard on the sails. I would use it only for an emergency to keep from going over.

Les

[hitchhiker]

I second that.  I won't have my gaff down in order to size down the sail. When I reef the sail, I release a certain length of my main halyard and peak halyard to have my gaff down a little to release the wind then I tighten my mainsheet in to have my boom settle on my gallows. After that, I haul the tack of the sail, then outhaul. Now I release the mainsheet. I usually reef my sail in around 16 kts. when I start to see white rabbits are hopping on the sea. I decide to quit sailing in 20 kts to hurry back home. I think SC is not the boat to straggle in the strong wind. Let's enjoy her as she is.

[Joseph]

Ok, I'll try again. Better?

<1 kts (Calm, Beaufort 0) ... "Iron spinnaker"...
1 - 2 kts (Light Air, Beaufort 1) ... Full sail (round)
3 - 6 kts (Ligth Breeze, Beaufort 2)  ... Full sail (round) (Great sailing!)
7 - 10 kts (Gentle Breeze, Beaufort 3) ... Full sail (Great sailing!)
8 - 15 kts (Moderate Breeze, Beaufort 4) ... Full sail (flat) (Still Great sailing!)
16 - 20 kts ... (Fresh Breeze, Beaufort 5) ... First reef (Maybe still Great sailing...)  
21 - 26 kts ... (Strong Breeze, Beaufort 6) ["Small Craft Advisory"] ... First reef or Second reef & seeking shelter
27 - 33 kts ... (High wind, Moderate Gale, Beaufort 7) ["Small Craft Advisory"] ... Not underway. if caught: Second reef or no sail and motor on, aiming to port
34 kts - and up ... (Fresh Gale, Beaufort ["Gale Warning", "Storm Warning"] ... Out of the water.

First reef : >15 kts
Second reef: >25 kts
Comfort limit: around 20 kts
Gaff down: only as an emergency measure

[tmorgan]

To me, above 20 kts becomes uncomfortable, particularly given the waves that come with the wind.  Lowering the gaff a few inches really dumps wind from the top of the rig, helps heeling and really settles the boat down off wind.  But scandalizing doesn't seem to me to be a good idea to continue to sail. 

[Craig Weis]

When the main sheet reaches it's phiscical end near the jam cleat and still too much wind fills the sail and no more can be dumped, it's too late, but maybe the main ought to have been reefed long ago.
The skipper is too busy sailing to measure the wind. Waves come into play as well as comfort. Is she banging and spray flying? Is the boat out of control?

Beaufort is a nice guy but irrelevant here. The Beaufort scale was long in use as a system for estimating wind speeds. It was introduced in 1806 by Adm. Sir Francis Beaufort (1774?1857) of the British navy to describe wind effects on a fully rigged man-of-war sailing vessel, and it was later extended to include descriptions of effects on land features as well. Today the accepted international practice is to report wind speed in knots (1 knot equals about 1.85 km, or 1.15 miles per hour).

The Beaufort scale is divided into a series of values, from 0 for calm winds to 12 and above for hurricanes. Each value represents a specific range and classification of wind speeds with accompanying descriptions of the effects on surface features.
Use common sense. Here it is.
0 (calm): 0?1 knot, smoke rises vertically, and the sea is mirror smooth.
1 (light air): 1?3 knots, smoke shows the direction of the wind.
2 (light breeze): 4?6 knots, wind is felt on the face and leaves rustle in the trees.
3 (gentle breeze): 7?10 knots, wind extends a light flag.
4 (moderate breeze): 11?16 knots, loose paper blows around, and fairly frequent whitecaps occur.
5 (fresh breeze): 17?21 knots, small trees sway.
6 (strong breeze): 22?27 knots, wind causes whistling in telephone wires and some spray on the sea surface.
7 (moderate gale): 28?33 knots, large trees sway.
8 (fresh gale): 34?40 knots, twigs break from trees, and long streaks of foam appear on the ocean.
9 (strong gale): 41?47 knots, branches break from trees.
10 (whole gale): 48?55 knots, trees are uprooted, and the sea takes on a white appearance.
11 (storm): 56?63 knots, widespread damage.
12 (hurricane): 64 knots and higher, structural damage on land and storm waves at sea.

Dad and I would watch for two red pennants flying at the Colombia Yacht Club in Chicago, indicating storms and good for us 'good sailing winds' before we took out our Star Boat .
skip.

[Joseph]

The Beaufort scale? Some even think that it is sheer poetry. Check the following book:

Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale and How a 19th-Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry (Kindle Edition)
by Scott Huler, Three Rivers Press (December 18, 2007)

Beaufort 2 to 5!

J.