Do you remove your head sail?

[RupertW]

I think this happen when people put it away before dealing with it first .
We fill our dinghy up with a mix of vinager and wool light , we let it soak in if for some time then hang it up and give it a good wash with fresh water , let it dry then pack it away , it's them put in our front berth with every thing else we not going to use , next time we pull it out it smell fresh and it has nice soft cresses just like a new sail.
It stands to reason if your useing the boat over winteryour not going to do all that ,
Lots of people here say it's never happen to then and fingers cross it never will , but the once that it has happen too , I bet before they had the problem they would had said the same .
What ever everone doesn't , hope your boat stay safe be it in a marina or no the hard .

Thanks, that's useful advice

[RupertW]

Where to put them? Take them home and store them in the loft, better still drop them off at the sailmaker get them washed and valeted, it really does extend their life.

Not by EasyJet I won't. And I love the idea of "the sailmaker". Finding somebody trustworthy in whatever random new country we leave the boat for the Winter is not easy. Always been possible to find a marina with a good reputation but some have no sailmakers or yacht boatyards in a hundred kilometres (Sani in Halkadiki being one), and some with the kinds of local tradespeople who are fine if you are there with cash in your hand but who you would never leave possessions with if you wanted to be sure they wouldn't be stored outside, lost or sold a few months later. Very different if you've been based somewhere a year or two and got to know people but we tend to move on after a season or so.

So we make a few small compromises and jib up is one of them (but reconsidering that after Vics comment on how to simply get them clean before storing below).

[JumbleDuck]

There was that wee Hurricane Bawbag in 1968, but not a puff of wind since then.

It's the absence of rain which gets me. And I almost miss the midgies since they all died out in '73.

[Praxinoscope]

RupertW yes I can see your problem, being based in the same place does make life easier for sail valeting.
sailaboutvic’s suggestion seems like a good alternative.

[lpdsn]

... but not a puff of wind since then.

That's all happened since they started metering it.