Reefing the sails   

    • Locate the reefing lines and cleats on that particular boat
    • Decide early if reefing is needed, don't wait for the big gusts to build up. As a general guideline, if the wind is building up past 17 knots, you should reef the sails. The wind trend is more important than just measuring the gusts. If the wind tendency is upward, you should consider reefing even earlier because the sea state will also get rougher and pose a challenge during reefing.
    • Assign tasks to crew
    • Furl in the genoa to reduce it to 100% by bringing the clew in front of the shrouds. You want enough jib to keep driving the boat. If you have a very small jib, it may be better not to shorten it just yet.
    • As the genoa is rolled in, the jib car needs to be moved forward to maintain the angle through the sheet, roughly bisecting the clew. The aim is to balance the load along the foot and leech, so that there is not too much twist in the sail or too much fullness.
    • Bring the boat to close-hauled heading but leave the mainsail in close-reach position by easing out the mainsheet to depower it completely.
    • The jib should be trimmed in enough to provide some drive to keep the boat moving in a controlled fashion. This is especially important if the sea state is rough.
    • Keep the boom inside the boat's lines for easy reach (do not reach outside the lifelines to work on the boom)
    • Ease out the boom vang
    • Tighten the topping lift
    • Ease down the main halyard and put the boom horn thru the cringle on the mainsail if the reefing system is set up this way. Some boats have the reef lines led thru grommets on the luff and you establish the new tack by taking up on the lines from the cockpit. You should figure this out for that particular boat before departure.
    • Tension the luff by cranking in the main halyard to raise the sail.
    • Tighten the reefing line to establish the new foot. Make sure that the reef outhaul and halyard are tensioned tight. If those controls are loose, the sail will become too full, and full sails make you heel more when the wind is howling.
    • Tie the reef points loosely to secure the foot of the sail that is now hanging down to tidy up. Bungee cord is preferred for reef point lines in case the clew gets released accidentally, not to rip the sail. It is risky to tie the reef points around the boom. They are used to tie up a loose-footed mainsail, not secure the foot of the sail to the boom.
    • Ease out the topping lift
    • Tighten the boom vang
    • If you are going to be reefed for a long period, good seamanship calls for rigging a safety line that goes through the reef clew and around the boom. Rigging a safety line like this will keep your sail from getting ripped if your reef outhaul breaks or the clutch opens. You can also roll up the extra sail cloth below the reef point and tie it with the same sail tie as you put the sail tie thru the grommet for the reef clew.
    • Trim the mainsheet and sail away.
    • If the wind continues to build up, repeat the process to put in a second reef or consider putting away the mainsail and motoring. Leaving a small jib out could help with steering in rough seas.