prendre un ris dans la grand-voile

English translation: to take in a reef on the mainsail

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:prendre un ris dans la grand-voile
English translation:to take in a reef on the mainsail
Entered by: Carol Gullidge

11:17 Jun 10, 2012
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Ships, Sailing, Maritime / parts of a schooner
French term or phrase: prendre un ris dans la grand-voile
L’oncle compréhensif envoya Gwendal, le teint vert pâle, se reposer dans le poste avant, pendant que les autres ****prenaient un ris dans la grand-voile****.

______

This is last part of a Breton "conte", where the young hero has embarked on his first ever voyage (from Brittany to Scandinavia) aboard his uncle's schooner. He has just thrown up over the side, and his uncle sends him to recover whilst the rest of the crew are otherwise occupied with "prendre un ris dans la grand-voile". I've found "take a reef in on the mainsail" (or "main sheet"), but, as this means virtually nothing to me, I need confirmation that this is suitable from someone with boating knowledge.

I'd be very grateful for any help from anyone who knows about these things - many thanks!
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:10
to take in a reef on the mainsail
Explanation:
oh gawd, too much to read in the yachting fraternity's discussion above but I'm sure they've got to the bottom of this already

in this context, a reef is a portion of the sail which is rolled up and there could be several reefs on the same sail

evidently the Bretons only took in ONE reef

the OED says it all:

1.1 Naut. One of the horizontal portions of a sail which may be successively rolled or folded up in order to diminish the extent of canvas exposed to the wind; they are usually three or four in number, and situated at the top of square sails and at the bottom of fore-and-aft sails. Freq. in phr. to take in a reef (also in fig. context).

And here's an example in use:

CF 180 Portsmouth – Gran Canaria | Tall Ships Adventures
tallships.org/.../cf-180-portsmouth-gran-canaria/
At the Dog Watch at 1600, all crew were on deck while the skipper, mate and watch leaders showed how to take in a reef on the mainsail.
Selected response from:

Graham macLachlan
Local time: 00:10
Grading comment
many thanks everybody! I don't think any of the answers were wrong, but this suits my purposes perfectly, with the rather fortuitous "... sent Gwendal to take a rest in the fo'c'sle while the others took in a reef on the mainsail", which has a good ring to it. This was originally posted as a Literary/Poetry question.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4to take in a reef on the mainsail
Graham macLachlan
4 +2to reef the mainsail
Drmanu49
4 +1to reef in the mainsail
Tony M
Summary of reference entries provided
take a reef in on the mainsail
José Patrício

Discussion entries: 11





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
to reef the mainsail


Explanation:
Je confirme

http://www.gdt.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=84229...

sailing.about.com/od/.../How-To-Reef-Mainsail.ht... - Traduire cette page
Knowing how to reef the mainsail when the wind picks up is a critical skill for all sailors. The traditional slab reefing system is easy to install and use. Here's how ...

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Note added at 15 minutes (2012-06-10 11:33:26 GMT)
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www.bethandevans.com/pdf/WhenReefing.pdf - Traduire cette page
Format de fichier: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Afficher
taking a reef. This will keep the boat on her feet while still sailing fast. De-powering the sails begins with flattening the mainsail and jib by tensioning the main ...

Drmanu49
France
Local time: 00:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 174
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks very much for the confirmation Drmanu!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michel F. Morin: Yes (http://www.e-frenchtranslation.com/fr/termes_nautique.htm#qu... de cercle)
2 hrs
  -> Thank you Michel.

agree  Sarah Bessioud: Yes, simply put and correct without the 'in'.
3 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to reef in the mainsail


Explanation:
I would say that the version with 'in' is slightly more natural nautical language.

Your proposal of 'to take a reef in on the mainsail' is perfectly correct technical language as a technical description of the activity — but is probably unnecessarily clumsy for your specific context.

I do, however, strongly feel that the term does need to include 'reef in'.

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Note added at 51 mins (2012-06-10 12:09:56 GMT)
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Your version is fine in a technical context, but a bit 'heavy' for a purely literary one. ;-)

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Note added at 4 hrs (2012-06-10 16:05:51 GMT)
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'to reef in' is a bit like 'to rein in' — it has the idea of reducing or restricting; of course, you can't 'reef out', but then not every phrasal verb is obliged to have a symmetrical antonym! However, we do 'let out' a reef, so I think the in/out doublet is justified.

Tony M
France
Local time: 00:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 150
Notes to answerer
Asker: sorry Tony - I was sure I'd already posted a thank-you message here! Anyway, many thanks, and no doubt my original version is unnecessarily clumsy!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Sarah Bessioud: IMO, you need to use a verb if you use the 'in'. Put a reef in, set a reef in etc.//Sorry, can only lay claim to 26 yrs of sailing experience. I agree with Nikki's comments in discussion box. (PS. It was only a 'neutral' by the way.)
3 hrs
  -> Sorry, no! This is technical nautical jargon, with which I am very familiar, and the phrasal verb 'to reef in' is widely used and perfectly correct.

agree  B D Finch
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, B!
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
to take in a reef on the mainsail


Explanation:
oh gawd, too much to read in the yachting fraternity's discussion above but I'm sure they've got to the bottom of this already

in this context, a reef is a portion of the sail which is rolled up and there could be several reefs on the same sail

evidently the Bretons only took in ONE reef

the OED says it all:

1.1 Naut. One of the horizontal portions of a sail which may be successively rolled or folded up in order to diminish the extent of canvas exposed to the wind; they are usually three or four in number, and situated at the top of square sails and at the bottom of fore-and-aft sails. Freq. in phr. to take in a reef (also in fig. context).

And here's an example in use:

CF 180 Portsmouth – Gran Canaria | Tall Ships Adventures
tallships.org/.../cf-180-portsmouth-gran-canaria/
At the Dog Watch at 1600, all crew were on deck while the skipper, mate and watch leaders showed how to take in a reef on the mainsail.

Graham macLachlan
Local time: 00:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 352
Grading comment
many thanks everybody! I don't think any of the answers were wrong, but this suits my purposes perfectly, with the rather fortuitous "... sent Gwendal to take a rest in the fo'c'sle while the others took in a reef on the mainsail", which has a good ring to it. This was originally posted as a Literary/Poetry question.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M
56 mins

agree  Clive Phillips
1 hr

agree  Michael GREEN: Right on, Graham...!
2 hrs

agree  Cyril B.
4 hrs
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Reference comments


24 mins peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: take a reef in on the mainsail

Reference information:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsISW4NgPFE

José Patrício
Portugal
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
Note to reference poster
Asker: many thanks spielenschach for the nice clear corroboration!


Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Tony M
11 mins
  -> thanks
neutral  Michael GREEN: Surely not "... a reef in on ...."// Yes (sigh), but "take a reef in on the mainsail" is clumsy... surely you can see the difference?
4 hrs
  -> take in (reduce) the reef on,,, - http://youtu.be/PsISW4NgPFE
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