Dropping a spinnaker: pole off, halyard released, sail down leech first – with notes on the Mexican drop and a list of typical mistakes to avoid.
The honest answer upfront: when dropping the spinnaker the crew hands the sheet to the helm, takes off the pole and pulls the sail down on the windward side – first the leech, then the foot – while the helm releases the halyard and already looks at the next mark. That is how RYA teaching describes it for the bag spinnaker [1]. It sounds like choreography, and that is exactly what it is.
Hoisting is a show, dropping is craft: anyone who cannot get the spinnaker down cleanly loses time, sail and sometimes their nerve.
This guide gives you the sequence and honest notes on the variants. You learn the fine points for your boat in a course.
Decide early when you want to drop. A US coach for keelboats advises making the decision a little earlier than feels right, especially when approaching on starboard tack, because the sail is harder to get to the windward side there [2]. That is a hint from the U20 class, not a general rule. Milestone: you state the decision before the manoeuvre.
The crew hands the sheet to the helm, who plays it while the pole is taken off [1]. Milestone: the helm plays the sheet, the sail stays under control.
The crew takes the pole off the mast, then off the spinnaker, and stows it [1]. Milestone: the pole is secured, nothing dangles.
The helm releases the halyard. The crew pulls the sail down on the windward side, working up the leech first and then the foot [1]. That way the sail twists less on the next hoist [1]. Meanwhile the helm looks forward to the mark [1]. Milestone: the sail comes down under control.
Put the sail cleanly into its container, clear the lines, take up the course again. A cleanly packed spinnaker is the hoist of the next leg. Milestone: nothing in the water, nothing tangled.
The Mexican drop combines gybe and drop in one manoeuvre. It is used in racing practice when approaching at speed on port tack [2]. This is a variant for advanced sailors and belongs in a course.
in the first session you run through the drop ashore and fold the spinnaker cleanly afterwards. In the second session you drop on the water in little wind, without a mark and without time pressure. In the third session you drop before a buoy serving as the mark and decide beforehand when you start. In the fourth session you time how long the drop takes and try to start slightly earlier in the next round. You spare yourself the Mexican drop until everything else is in place, and then practise it only with an instructor.
When dropping, the crew at the bow or mast is under demand. On yachts bow and mast crew are more affected by acute injuries [3]. The RYA also cautions, for land drills, to make sure nobody gets hurt, for example by falling out of the dinghy while dropping a spinnaker [1].
This guide explains and motivates, but it does not replace supervised training with an instructor.
A word on crew coordination (practical note): when dropping, at least two people work in a fixed order. Agree beforehand who holds which line, who calls and who watches the mark. In racing every second counts, but even in relaxed practice a clear agreement prevents the spinnaker from falling into the water or wrapping around the bow.
Plan the spinnaker drop already when hoisting: anyone who packs the sail cleanly has it easier at the next hoist. RYA teaching justifies the order leech before foot with exactly that [1].
The crew hands the sheet to the helm, takes off the pole, the helm releases the halyard and the crew pulls the sail down on the windward side, first the leech, then the foot [1].
RYA teaching justifies it by saying the sail twists less on the next hoist [1]. That spares you a twisted sail on the next leg.
A Mexican drop is a combination of gybe and drop in one manoeuvre. It is used in racing practice when approaching at speed on port tack [2]. It belongs in a course, not in self-experiment.
Rather earlier than later. A US coach advises dropping the spinnaker a little earlier than feels right, especially on starboard tack [2]. That is a hint from a keelboat class, not a universal recipe.
Roll Tack: Tacking With Roll and Weight Shift