Ever race a 3 mile course with three spinnaker sets and three spinnaker repairs? Life is too short and the race is even shorter. Where is the time to gawk at other boats when you banging around the inside of a J-24 trying to get the sticky side down on the sail?
You know that fast patch stuff. Firsts you have to cut out (sharp pointy things in your hand to calls of “Headed, no it's lifting!”) a shape to match the hole, then peel the back off, which requires finger nails, then get it to cover the hole. Just when you about to stick it down, you hear “Tacking, helm down!” Next thing you know the dam things stuck to the cabin hatch cover with your hair under it.
Now normally it takes about 2 minutes to pack the shoot. But by the time you get the old thing fixed they want the turtle on deck set to fly, now, and your looking at 200 plus square feet of twisted rip-stop with no idea where the top is. So in a record 12 seconds you jam the thing in and toss it on deck with just enough time to tie the sheets on. The foredeck ape is already pulling on the halyard, and up it goes. Sure looks nice up there. Till you notice day light coming through; shit more holes. You wonder if its gonna hold or if this time it's going to blow out.
Thank you Joe
Sean Trew, Tahe