Have you ever tried reefing a sail while pulling on the "reef points?" Though there are alway discrepancies based on who tells a story, the end result cannot be denied. With green crew three days out of port on a Trans-pac to Hawaii...you see where this is going already, don't you...the reef points were ~ahem~ either really old and decayed or pulled on too tightly. Most likely, it was somewhere in the middle ground. Unfortunately, a new main was not in the budget at the time, and turning back was not an option as we were on the clock. So, what do you do? What any Captain would; double reef the main. Oh, and get the wife to stitch in the reef points whilst sailing. Hey. It worked, and the main is still on that boat. Stories like that, we can never get rid of the thing now.
The lesson? Never leave home without sail tape, a sail needle, waxed thread and a wife!
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