Video from my 1st practice derby for the 2012 NCC. I had loaned out my Spot so I had to use my handheld GPS to record the trip locations. I’ll get my Spot back in two weeks and will use it thereafter in all subsequent practice derbies. I did just over 20 nautical miles.
In this trip I experimented with using continuous lines for the mainsail furling/unfurling as well as a continuous line for the spinnaker halyard/retrieval lines. This keeps the cockpit less cluttered because there is now never a time when lots of excess line is gathered at the cockpit. It does take some time to get used to the new arrangement and I had a bit more adventure working the lines than what I was previously accustom to. I captured one moment where I almost flipped the boat while inadvertently getting one part of the line cleated when I didn’t intend to.
I used 18 feet for the continuous mainsail furling/unfurling line. 20 feet might be better.
I used 38 feet for the continuous spinnaker halyard/retrieval line.
[EDIT2: I tested it in my backyard and with the spinnaker set-up with continuous lines, the lines were just long enough to be able to drop the mast without disconnecting anything. It looks like this configuration will work for me for the NCC.]