I mentioned getting the genoa made smaller yesterday. This sunrise picture shows the problem with waves hitting the foot (lower edge of the sail). The seas are not at all rough in the picture, the wind is light, but when the bow cuts into the waves, water is forced up and some of it still catches the foot of the genoa, which strains the sail and the furler it is attached to. Waves are not high enough in this picture to require reefing the genoa, but when they get a little higher, the genoa will need to be reefed (and the boat will go slower). Now that the genoa has been made smaller (cloth was taken out of it), waves hitting it are less of a problem than they used to be.