The Josephine sped bravely before the gale, unmindful of the stormy billows blustering after her, her speed enabling her easily as yet to outstrip the rollers, although she was only scudding under close-reefed topsails.
Staunch and well-found, the Plymouth Adventure went reeling off across the spray-swept leagues of water, showing only her reefed topsails and courses.
From the topsail yards fluttered mere ribbons of canvas where the reefed sails had bellied.
We did but just fetch in with Footooba, between which and Kotoo we spent the night, under reefed top-sails and fore-sail.
At first it blew a gentle gale; but afterwards increased so as to bring us under double-reefed top-sails, and was attended with snow and sleet.
A strong wind, in which a ship is reduced to storm-staysails and close-reefed main-topsail.
That which reduces a ship to double-reefed top-sails, jib, and spanker.
That strength of wind under which close-reefed top-sails and storm-staysails are usually carried when close-hauled.
When a top-mast is sprung in or near the cap, the lower piece is cut off, and a new fid-hole cut, by which the mast is reefed or shortened.
A fresh gale is a still further diminutive, and not too strong for a ship to carry single-reefed top-sails when close-hauled.
One which is used in revenue cutters and smacks; it can be reefed by sliding in, and has fid holes for that purpose.
That which stretches the foot of the fore-sail in many small square-rigged merchantmen; particularly used in whalers among the ice, with a reefed fore-sail to see clearly ahead.
A small boy in grotesque man-trousers, reefed and rolled, intruded himself and his baby-charge in her way.
In five minutes the first burst was over, and we were running before it under our close-reefed foresail only.
By this time the French craft was within a distance of a quarter of a mile, running down at a great pace under her reefed sails.
In half an hour the Sea Lion was bending to a little gale, with her canvass reduced to close-reefed mainsail and foresail, and the bonnet off her jib.
Ten minutes later, the Sea Lion was under reefed sails, stretching off to the southward and eastward, in perfectly clear water!
Sail was shortened in stays, and by the time the little craft was ready to fall off for the passage, she had nothing on her but a foretopsail, jib, and a close-reefed mainsail.
At that moment both the schooners were under their jibs and foresails, each without its bonnet, and double-reefed mainsails.
The wind gradually increased in strength, and sail was shortened in the schooners, until each was finally brought down to a close-reefed foresail.
He had also single-reefed his mainsail and foretopsail.
The ship now encountered an adverse gale, and for three whole days was under close-reefed topsails; she was always a wet ship under stress of weather, and she took in a good deal of water on this occasion.
Then Cooper, without a word, double reefed the cutter's mainsail and told Welch to keep as close to the ship's quarter as he dare.
Day broke, and the first sight it revealed to them was a brig to windward staggering along, and pitching under close-reefed topsails.
The little schooner was under a single close-reefed top-sail, and seemed fluttering over the waves like a crippled bird.
Beyond her there rode a little schooner with reefed mainsail and boom foresail thrashing, while the musical clinketty-clank of her windlass betokened that she was just going to sea.
Jimmy wondered what she was doing there in that weather with only one jib and a reefed boom foresail set, until his glasses showed him that her mainmast was broken off.
It was soon more than we could do to carry any but a reefed foresail; and all day long some of us were hard at work at the pumps.
There was the Englishman with her main-mast gone, and draggled about the bows, beating up under reefedsails for the coast.
Under close-reefed sails, the sturdily built little Otter battled wind, waves, sleet and snow.
A shriek of rending canvas, and the close-reefed sail, crackling with ice, was torn away.
It was still what sailors call "a close-reefed topsail breeze," but the commotion in the elements had none the less considerably diminished.
At 11 strong gales with thunder and lightning and rain: hove to under balance: reefed main-sail.
Eventually, however, he rejoined the convoy, which stood to the westward under close-reefed top-sails.
They ought to’ve reefed her,” exclaimed the Captain, trying to make himself heard above the roaring of the wind.
We soon made her out to be an hermaphrodite brig, under her close-reefed topsails and trysails.
We had reefed our sail, and made everything as snug as we could, but the sea rising fast, and the boat taking in more water, we considered it prudent to lighten her, which we did by throwing overboard all the turtle.
The mainsail was taken off her and trysail set, the topmast housed and bowsprit reefed in, the second jib shifted for a spitfire, and the foresail double-reefed.
Fortunately, no heavy sea broke on board as we lay to under double-reefed main storm-trysail, the engines slowly turning ahead.
Egeria's' skipper knew well what he was to expect in the Channel, he reefed mainsail and bowsprit, and housed topmasts.
The little boat tore before the wind under a reefed mainsail and jib, running her nose and stern alternately level with the water, until it became evident that we should be swamped in a few minutes.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "reefed" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
