Sixareen Sailing with Squaring Reef

A fresh October breeze yesterday and we beat south through Lerwick harbour with two reefs in. This gave a great opportunity to take the helm in some bigger waves in Breiwick, and get the feel of the boat. It also makes tacking and working the square sail rig more challenging and provides good experience for the crew in rougher waters.
We had headed south along the Bressay shore and lowered the sail to tie in a “squaring reef” for the return downwind leg, and slipped out the lower two reefs. The tack was tied to the waring and moved further aft, about mid-ships. The “squaring reef” takes out the peak of the sail leaving a more square sail, this was used in the days of the Haaf fishing for downwind sailing in rough seas and strong winds, helping make the boat and sail more controllable. This was the first time we had tried the “squaring reef” on the ‘Vaila Mae’, and skipper, Brian Wishart thought it was perhaps the first time in over 100 years that a squaring reef had been tried in a sixareen sail.
With these sailing trips we are learning about and rediscovering how this traditional rig performs on the sixareen. Brian Wishart explained that they modelled the sail of the ‘Vaila Mae’ on that of the sixareen ‘Industry’, dating from 1891 on the westside of Shetland. The sixareen square sail on the westide had evolved with this higher peak to improve sailing to windward, but retained the top “squaring reef” point so they could lower the peak of the sail to the older form of square sail. The square sail used on sixareens in other parts of Shetland had the peak in the sail but not quite as extreme. It would have been a very familiar rig in its day, and the fisherman new the benefits of retaining this option of squaring off the sail, for a more balanced downwind rig. You hear of accounts in heavy seas and gales where the “squaring reef” was put in and the three “normal” reefs taken in. The towsman on the halyard lowering and raising the sail to control power as they negotiate the waves.
Thanks to Gordon Henderson for filming from the shore, and I managed to get a few clips in the boat. Jordan Clark also filmed a few clips of me trying the helm, with Robert Wishart coaching!
Nice to have Sam Holmes aboard for a sail, check out his TH-cam channel, Sam Holmes Sailing. / samholmessailing
The tunes are:
The Greenland Man’s Tune - Trad Shetland
Willafjord- Trad Shetland
Da Yaakie Drogan - Trad Shetland
Maurice Henderson - Fiddle
Ewen Thomson - Fiddle

[@user-fu9vj9ix3g]

Hauling the mail on the downhill run.

[@gwheyduke]

Wonderful to see this traditional boat sailing as sailing was meant to be!

[@hellapellanyc6465]

Bless you

[@afloatinawoodenboat]

Good heavens - those are big waves! Gorgeous boat

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

The swell still running after a recent gale gave us a flavour of what it would be like to sail the boat out at sea. This type of boat was used in a summer fishery called the haaf fishing, meaning deep sea. The fishermen would row or sail these boats 20-40 miles out to sea from Shetland on a two day trip into the Atlantic, or North Sea, setting about 5-6 miles of longlines. They were made of strong stuff.

[@loydsa]

Excellent video, a wonderful experience for you all.

[@patrikcalloch7953]

ha ce n'est pas la côte d'azur et on aurait du mal à y tremper le bout des doigts de pieds mais , diable , quel joli bateau qui fend la mer et les flots . bravo! ( et en outre , on a la musique qui va avec )

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

Thanks for the nice comment 🎻@patrikcalloch7953

[@johnlamb3128]

Really good sailing seems a strong sound boat full of happy men. We have sailed Tasars and scorpiions when we where younger might have ricked that weather in a modern rigged scorpion, but not in the Tasar

[@andrewwestcott8643]

thanks for this

[@thierrylenglart6723]

Génial !

[@rossbarnett3759]

Real sailors

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Heavy air sailing....light wind means rowing for sure....might assist the oarsman a little, but as seen it takes a hell of a breeze to get going hull speed. Those were conditions most small craft sailors would avoid .

[@johnburgess5534]

Great video but we still didn’t see how they got all the running gear OUTSIDE the shrouds.

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

We have two sets of sheets, unclip the clew, pass the clew out around the stroods, around the mast and pass around the stroods on the other side, clip on. You’ll see it being clipped on here, although doesn’t show unclipping, I never thought that to be anything unusual so didn’t really focus on it. Hopefully gives you the idea. th-cam.com/video/A32Oerky8v4/w-d-xo.html

[@shanevan4106]

Wow - sailing well in some decent breeze! - so this is a sixareen hull ?

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

Yes, this is a sixareen hull, also known as a sixern. The hull was built at Shetland Museum boat shed in 2008 by boat builders Jack Duncan and Robbie Tait. The hull is based on the lines of the sixareen ‘Industry’ built in 1891, preserved in the Shetland Museum collection. LOA: 30’, Beam: 8’ 3”, LWL:26’ 9”.

[@shanevan4106]

@@MauriceHendersonShetland awesome - thanks for the info, I've just started sailing a Ness yawl (iain oughtred design) with standing lug and looks like a lot of similarities in shape. Surprised at how efficient the rig is and this looks like another option to learn in heavier conditions!

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

@@shanevan4106 that sounds like a great boat. There is a clip of a traditional Ness Yoal sailing in this film, built in 1904. about 1min 20secs in. You see her next to a sixareen. The Ness Yoal had a more moderate peak in the sail. About 120sqFt. The sixareen a much larger hull and 240 sq ft of sail. th-cam.com/video/NGArANF-gQE/w-d-xo.html

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

@@shanevan4106 I think the standing lug would be a nice rig. I have a 85sq ft standing lug on my 16Ft Shetland model ‘maid class’. No boom, easy to lower into the boat for fishing. There is a nice book on the traditional Ness Yoal that you may have seen. shop.shetlandtimes.co.uk/products/the-shetland-boat-south-mainland-and-fair-isle?_pos=20&_sid=8de8b54b1&_ss=r&variant=3933100802059

[@MinSredMash]

I think you invented a lug

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

I suppose we are just learning about and rediscovering how this traditional rig performs on the sixareen. The sail of the ‘Vaila Mae’ is modelled on that of the sixareen ‘Industry’ dating from 1891 on the westside of Shetland. The sixareen square sail on the westide had evolved with this higher peak to improve sailing to windward, but retained the top “squaring reef” point so they could lower the peak of the sail to the older form of square sail. The square sail plan on sixareens in other parts of Shetland had the peak in the sail but not quite as extreme. It would have been a very familiar rig in its day, and the fisherman new the benefits of retaining this option of squaring off the sail, for a more balanced downwind rig. You hear of accounts in heavy seas and gales where the “squaring reef” was put in and the three “normal” reefs taken in. The towsman on the halyard lowering and raising the sail to control power as they negotiate the waves.