Certainly a watch spent reefing topsails in the rain was less tedious than that everlasting bridge of to-day: Tramp!
Urged on by Tim Rooney, though, the men forward were too smart for those aft, and had handed their topsail and were hoisting away at the halliards again before those reefing the main-topsail were all in from their yard.
Use your eyes and ears, my lad; and then we'll see you shortly reefing a royal in a gale!
Every one of the runaways was stationed for each of the various evolutions of getting under way, making and taking in sail, reefing and tacking.
They were divided into two watches, and their places for making and taking in sail, reefing and tacking, were assigned to them.
In the lull of the blast, the young commander overhauled the sail, and corrected the non-nautical reefing of his companion.
A piece of canvas sewed across a sail to strengthen it in the part where the eyelet holes for reefing are made.
No alluvial gold has been discovered on this field; reefing has been the only way of working the gold, which is more or less connected with refractory ores.
This was one of the first reefing districts opened in the North of Queensland, but owing to the expense of carrying on the mines on account of the cost of carriage, labour, and mining appliances, none but the best mines have been worked.
Reefing has been carried on of late, but not to any great extent.
Croydon, a reefing field on the waters of the Norman River was discovered about 1886 by W.
There was nothing to be done but to watch the ship and the wind, which promised in due time to be a gale, but as yet was not even a reefing breeze.
I remember one day in a reefing job, the downhaul parted and came down on deck from the peak of the spanker.
To the above knowledge should be added also the science of reefing the sails of a boat quickly and neatly, so that she will stand up under a great pressure of wind.
And here let the writer beg all persons who desire to be advised at all, not to delay reefing too long; and always put in two reefs rather than one, if the weather looks very dirty.
Reefing before bad weather reaches one is quite another thing than trying to reef down in the middle of a thunder-storm in which one has been caught by holding on too long.
The third knot that must be acquired is what is called the square knot, or reef knot, and is used in reefing the sails.
His object was to throw the ship into the wind, so as the better to admit of close-reefing the topsails.
Reefing is the most exciting part of a sailor's duty.
No liberty was allowed, and we were kept hard at work exercising the guns and reefing sails.
The very first day I got on board I saw five men flogged for not being smart enough at reefing topsails.
If we could only manage to pull up our strength again, we might still succeed in furling the main top-gallant sail, and reefing the topsail before change of weather came.
I had burst open the ends of my fingers at the very first, and during the reefing I had worked with tears of pain running down my cheeks.
But I had not reckoned upon the colossal task the reefing of three sails meant for one man.
While close reefing the main top-sail, one of the seamen was pulled over forward of the yard by the sail, and instantly killed as he struck the deck.
The first stormy night we had plenty of work to do, reefing the top-sails, and all of us were tired and sleepy when our watch went below.
This, that we've got over the alluvial days, if they ever did exist industrially, and are in the thick of reefing fields and syndicates.
And when a reefing field gets old it's as bad as a coal-field or a factory town.
This topmast will do to bear the strain of the spare main-yard, unless there come another gale, and by reefing the new mainsail we shall be able to make something out of it.
From this time until we got to Boston the mate never suffered any one but our own gang to go upon the mizzen topsail yard, either for reefing or furling, and the young English lad and I generally took the earings between us.
At eight bells, nothing is said about reefing the topsails, and the watch go below, with orders to ``stand by for a call.
That's the place for holding on to the sheer-rails; for reefing topsails.
As we have said, no abler mariner existed; no one like him for reefing a sail, for keeping a vessel's head to the wind, or the sails well set.
Defn: A piece of canvas sewed across a sail to strengthen it in the part where the eyelet holes for reefing are made.
Reefing bowsprit, a bowsprit so rigged that it can easily be run in or shortened by sliding inboard, as in cutters.
Reef pioints, pieces of small rope passing through the eyelet holes of a reef-band, and usedreefing the sail.
The rope rigged below a yard, upon which men stand when reefingor furling; -- formerly called a horse.
The foreboom was being hauled amidships preparatory to close-reefing the foresail, when a solid wall of green water came combing over the port bow and swept the deck like an avalanche.
Most of the following week was spent inreefing and unreefing and tacking this way and that at the caprice of the wind.
She did not reef as you and I do by sane reefing points, but in a gimcrack fashion with a long lace, so that it took half an hour to take in sail.
The gale increased; the sea ran high; the English frigates were seen to bereefing topsails.
Before the evening was over I had been out on the yards with little Clem to assist in reefing the topsails, and he had shown me how to steer and box the compass.
The post of honour among seamen in reefing sails is the weather earing.
While reefing the sail, on hauling out the earing, from the strength of the wind, and from his anxiety to get it done quickly, he did not haul the first turn sufficiently taut.
In what are called temperance ships, no grog is served, neither after reefing topsails, nor at any other time; but what is very shameful, in many instances no substitute is allowed.
A grog is now served out, and we go below, to sleep out the rest of our four hours, one of which we have been deprived of by this reefing job.
The above list will hopefully give you a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "reefing" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this word.
