Interesting assumption..., I follow the same sailing edict as Merrily so I have no explanation for a practice of leaving the bitter ends vulnerable.Assuming that stopper knots on spinnaker guys and sheets are not a good idea
The racing situation might lend some logic to why they didn't simply head up, heave-to, and retrieve the chute.. . . if you do lose these lines, what is the best way to drop the spinnaker? If you simply run out the halyard, the sail just flies out further from the boat.
Much will depend on your block, winch, and cleat layout.I'm not too sure about tying the sheet and guy together. I see where you are going but rather than do that I would use stopper knots.
. . . not to mention, loosing position on the race course.One of the yachts with the problem did come close hauled to try and get the chute coming astern, but had no success that way. I did suggest to my companions that if he tacked, gybed, and repeated that several times, he could actually use the masthead as a reel and wind it in that way..... common sense killed that idea straight away - imagine the mess that would cause!
I believe powercraft assistance during a race is strongly frowned upon.Another suggestion was to get a nearby rib to catch a sheet and bring it back to the yacht, but that could so easily give the rib a problem.
What you witnessed may very well have been the skipper's contingency for an escaped chute during a race ... simply let it fly until crossing the line or rounding the mark, where a course change brings it back within reach.The solution we saw was for them to run downwind and wait (pray) for the sail to drop into the sea and give them a chance of catching up on it. This was OK given that they had miles of water available to them, but is there a better solution?
. . . my attention was drawn to a yacht race.
. I don't understand this continuous sheet/guy arrangement, please clarify. Cheers