Beware of Bubbles: You may find an unlikely and unwanted subject in your images—bubbles. You might be able to stay in a single spot thanks to the reef hook, but your fellow divers’ exhaled bubbles will drift with the current. Try to place yourself ahead of the group in the current, or below the group, so that this isn’t a factor. Or, if you can’t a spot that’s bubble-free, make sure to take them into consideration when framing and timing your images. There are lots of benefits that make a reef hook more advantageous than a traditional pennant reefing system: Top five as rated by Upffront.com In this article we round up five of the best bottom up furlers on the market. Choosing the right furler is a question of boat size and SWL (safe working load), sail area, performance level and budget. Posted on 5 Oct Premium Ropes range - which rope to choose? What are your thoughts about reef hook diving? Have you ever used one? Did you ever fly like super man in sweeping currents? Shaking the reef out literally becomes a matter of shaking the knot out, and raising the sail all the way.

The reef hook enables underwater photographers to hover in one place so they can take amazing pictures, we all love to see and share. Reef hooks vary in size from 4 to 12 inches in length. The line also can vary in length, from just a couple of feet to several body lengths. Some reef hooks have a line on a reel or are just a sturdy long rope. (More below on choosing the right reef hook.) This questions is typically better suited for a sailmaker. Here are my two cents..I believe that the top reef is always at about the same location. The fabric weight can only handle so much and reducing sail beyond that would require a different (heavier) sail. The amount of reefs you have just break down the area below that top reef. Much like a transmission in a car, if you have a four speed you can still go 85 VS a 6 six speed, there are just more shift points before you get to 85. Does that make sense at all?Exporting quality and performance from Norway to the U.S One of latest additions to the upffront.com sailing hardware line-up are the Polyform fenders from the original Norwegian manufacturer - Polyform AS. Established over 60 years ago, Polyform AS is renowned for inventing the modern plastic buoy. Posted on 18 Oct Electric Furler from Facnor

Once you are attached to the reef hook, take some time to observe the surrounding environment. Look for interesting marine life, and take photos or video footage if desired. Be sure to avoid touching or disturbing any of the wildlife, and respect the surrounding ecosystem at all times. 5-Remove the reef hook You can either try to snap a few pictures in the 30 seconds it takes to drift past the action, or you can stay put, have both hands free and snap photos to your heart’s content. With the reef, hook deployed you can use both hands to snap away in hopes of that award-winning shot of all the sharks and schools of fish gliding by in the currents. I have a Beneteau Oceanis 50 with 3 single line reefs (In boom pulley cassette) Plus 2 cringles for reef 4. On this dive, the currents were so strong that the divers unhooked and just went with the flow to avoid any risks like losing regulators or masksLatching on the trend of boat electrification The sailing world is undergoing a sea change, embracing the power of electrification for unparalleled ease and convenience, especially for older crews and solo sailors. Electric systems are revolutionising boats. Posted on 11 Oct Best bottom up furlers And quite frankly, the sense of accomplishment and confidence you will have when you have navigated your vessel through your first heavy weather, successfully reefed sail and made it to the safe side of the storm to see the sun shine again, can not be overstated.

Once the reef hook is securely anchored, attach yourself to it by clipping your safety line or another attachment point to the hook. Be sure to use a strong and secure attachment point, and avoid putting too much weight on the hook or pulling too hard on the reef. 4-Observe the environment After a while, the dive group approaches the famed “Blue Corner,” an outcrop where pelagics and massive fish schools aggregate in the current. Now, there’s plenty of current and you’ll want to stop to take images. The dive guide will signal to “hook in.” You will note that your sail looks a bit smaller and perhaps even a bit awkward with all that extra fabric bunched up at the bottom and a bare pole at the top. Excellent post, charlesml3. I'm sure this thread is going to attract a lot of "to hook, or not to hook, that is the question." I'm not even gonna go there. Overall, the reef hook ensures your safety, the reef’s safety and simply helps you save on air and maximize your focus on all the potential action. It helps you to effortlessly get the most out of the dives you came to do in Palau!A reef hook is a metal hook designed to be anchored to the reef, allowing divers to attach themselves to a fixed point and remain stationary in strong currents. They are typically made of stainless steel and come in various sizes, depending on the reef's size and the current's strength. Reef hooks are not intended to be used as a permanent fixture on the reef and should only be used for short periods to allow divers to observe the surrounding environment without causing damage. Why use a reef hook? TIP: friction can easily be overcome by your winches, but be careful, because this is how things get broken! Single Line Reefing My rule is anything over 15 I would prefer to have a reef rather than not. But your boat might love a stiff breeze and only wake up at 20 so don’t go by my rules.

Picture a large submerged bommie or pinnacle that rises up from the deep and faces into the predominant current – where that current hits the reef first is where its velocity is low and the deeper you go at that point, the less that velocity will be. Originally designed for ocean racing multihulls, reef hooks are now being adopted by more and more cruising sailors, who are choosing to replace their current pennant reefing system with a hook. Know what reef systems your boat may have. Jiffy reefing systems, when they work, can be a great asset, but if they are rigged wrong, as they almost alway are, they can be a nightmare. Safety First: If you’re using a reef hook on a dive, it’s probably not for beginners. Diving in current is no easy task—even when you’ve hooked in. The hook can dislodge and separate you from the group. Powerful currents have even been known to flood or remove a diver’s mask. You can’t always predict what will happen, so make sure to put your safety above taking awesome images. Practice Your Hooking: Let’s just say you don’t want the first time you try to use a reef hook to be in a ripping five-knot current at 100 feet. It may seem silly, but try first taking your hook out and playing with it on a dive with zero current: You won’t be able to feel the sensation of hooking in and riding the current, but you can get accustomed to the length of the line, attaching, and putting away the reef hook. Then, give it a shot in moderate current.

Use Short Strobe Arms: If the current is significant enough where hooking in makes the most sense, then you probably want to consider using shorter-than-normal strobe arms. Longer arms may flail about in the current and will be difficult to maneuver. Plus, as discussed below, you won’t always be able to get super close to your subjects, so using more natural light and less strobe light comes into play. If you typically use 12-inch arms, consider switching to 8-inch arms. It is best to stay together as a group, hook in together and unhook and glide safely to the safety stop all as a unit. With all the boats cruising overhead and potentially unpredictable and strong currents, everyone deploying their reef hook at the same time helps the group stay together and stay safe. That is why some skippers don’t ever reef, because they don’t want to be out there when the seas turn gloomy.