Sailing Single-Handed

I have recently purchased a Mirror (1977 model) and will be sailing it single-handed most of the time. With the boat came an information leaflet showing, amongst other things, the Mirror being sailed single-handed. The photo shows the boat with just the mainsail hoisted, no jib and the mast in the forward position. However most of the references that I can find to sailing the Mirror single-handed (including those on this site) points to having both jib and mainsail raised with the helm controlling both. Being new to sailing this is quite alarming as I think I will have my hands full controlling just the mainsail without having to worry about the jib. My query therefore is, is it acceptable to sail the Mirror with just the mainsail hoisted and if so is there anything drastically different with rigging it this way (apart from not hoisting the jib of course)?
Any tips will be gratefully received.

You should sail you mirror in the way you feel most comfortable and secure - and not worry about anything else.

It is unusual to find the newer boats with the double mast step and two sets of chain plates and a lot of the contributors to the Mirror Web site are people who race.

Using two sails is alot faster than one, there is some debate to whether the spinaker makes a single hander faster. Tactics seem more crucial.

There are alot of Mirror owners who do not race at all and the MCA is giving this issue some thought at the moment. We shall include your single sail comment in these.

Angus - S/H rep.

The reason the forward mast step is no longer used is due to the fact the boat was hard to tack, this was because the mast was not actually still far enough forward. Most single handers found the boat more manageble with a jib although it means another sail to contend with.

Try tying your jib sheets together and have a go <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

Happy sailing

Paul <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>