It was the first time I had to reef this year. The sensible side of me said, stay at the dock and let this one go, but I had not been out sailing for a couple weeks and thought that maybe the wind would lay down later in the day. It didn't.
After sweeping the slush off the deck, and despite the big gusts coming down the creek, I decided to poke Synergy's nose out into the Bay. and see what it looked like out there. I ususally don't reef before sending up the mainsail even if I expect to need to reef. But this time there was no debating the issue so I tied in a reef before the hoist.
After bashing around in the cold wind and the occasional flurry under just a reefed main, and for less time than I would normally bother to go out for, I decided, frankly, going out was dumb! So I bore around, Jibed and went back into the slip, calling it quits for the day. .The docking was a dicey with strong cross winds and a bit of current. Even getting a decent flake into the mainsail was a bear.
By now, I should have known better,
Jeff