When sailing a shift pattern, if you have to wake the other person up, it really cuts into your sleep pattern and lack of sleep causes issues.

So when starting a night shift, reef down ahead of any need. You might slow a little, but surprisingly probably not much and you’ll avoid the need to wake up the sleeping crew to reef if the weather picks up.

Work out the best compromise between speed and ease when shorthanded overnight and life will be safer and easier for all around.