Raising mainsail in stronger wind

I have a Hobie 14 that I launch from a protected beach on a small bay. The other day, it was blowing 20 knots and I found raising the mainsail alone was a real handful. I had the sail folded up on the tramp but as I was raising the sail, the wind caught the body of the sail between the boom and the part that was going into the mast and it just went all over the place and into the wet sand. Not pretty!! Does anyone have any strategies for doing this that make it a little bit less crazy?

Launch location on a calmer day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NskY8xDjcNS9qFyr7

Been there, done that…. The most important thing is just being aware that the sail can potentially take off on its own. Basically be ready to catch it and pull it back on the tramp before the whole sail blows away.

First off, the boat should always be pointing straight into the wind before hoisting. This will allow the sail to go up more easily. The quicker you raise the sail, the less opportunity there is for it to blow away. Cleaning the mast track and squirting some silicone spray lube in the track will also let it go up more easily.

The sail should be unrolled on the tramp, but neatly bundled close to the mast, right within arms reach so if it starts to blow away, you can quickly reach down and pull it back. Basically, the process is one pull down on the halyard, then reach down, pull the sail back in line with the mast, grab another bit of halyard and hoist, pull the sail back in, repeat.

I’ve never tried this before, but it might also be helpful to drop the gooseneck fitting down into the mast track before you start hoisting, so the bottom of the sail and the boom can’t blow backwards.

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