Raising rigs

Marsali Taylor sails an Offshore 8M, Karima S. She’s a dinghy instructor and author of The Shetland Sailing Mysteries starring liveaboard sleuth, Cass Lynch.

Any interaction between boats and cranes unnerves me – and it can’t be avoided because there’s the twice-yearly ritual of Masts. Sometimes it goes smoothly. Sometimes, when taking them down, it’s someone else’s boat whose forestay or backstay refuses to come loose, but usually, no matter how carefully I pre-loosen them,’s refuses to undo.