Storm sails may be the last item on the safety gear list but never avoided while sailing

Safety concerns are very important while venturing out in the open sea and all protective gears are put in place for the safety of the crew members. But, storm sail which are also called as storm jibs are given last preference despite their crucial role play in bad storm.  Most of the sailor keep go by the perception that the best safety technique while going for sailing is to plan the sailing during favorable weather and the storm sails will remain unused forever in some cramped corner. However, it must be remembered that storm sails are like seat belts or air bags in the car which play crucial role during bad accident and manage to save lives. 

The storm sail functions well in strong and disturbing winds as it offers very less sail area as compared to other sails making it easy to move the boat downwind. The other bigger sails trap more wind and generating more power which very easily stalls the boat.

Storm sails are used in storm to maintain just the minimum sale area required to maneuver the boat out of the situation because of its smaller size. They are made of bright orange colour so that the boat can be spotted easily in bad weather condition against the grey backdrop, so that rescue team can easily reach them and move them out of the life threatening situation. They must be made up of heavier cloth and must be heavily stitched, heavily reinforced in the corners and must be cut flat for strong winds.