what is 'grinding' in sailing
Depending on wind & circumstances and size of the vessel there can be hundreds even thousands of pounds of pressure on the sail and the line, so winches are an important tool for the sailor. Grinding (and tailing) is the act of rotating the winch handle to pull on the line inorder to tighten a sail. On larger sailing vessels, the crew operating the winch is often referred to as the Grinder. Because the winch wonât pull a line tight unless the line is tight on the winch, both grinding and tailing actions need to occur simultaneously. On the American Cup vessels (for example) while one person can do both actions, It takes two - or one person for each action when speed and every second counts.