Mainsail up!!!

As we approached the entrance to Oyster Pond in St Martin, a friend from another boat was taking photos of us. Once at the dock, he commented about us keeping our mainsail up while motoring until we were in the marina.
He had arrived shortly before us and had come in without any sails up. They did, however, have a plan in place to unfurl the genoa if an emergency had arisen.
The question here is, when should the mainsail be hoisted and taken down? The mainsail is the more difficult sail to deal with whether hoisting or dowsing. In almost all instances a person must go forward to the mast to guide it and/or help with the strain on the halyard. This one reason alone should dictate to us that this operation should be done in the protection of a harbour or anchorage. All to often we see boats racing out into open water under full throttle, then trying to raise the mainsail fully exposed to wind and waves.
There are a couple of other reasons for performing this operation in protected waters though. Having the mainsail up will go a long way to help stabilize the boat and provide additional power while motoring in larger seas, making the ride more comfortable and safer. Finally, there is also the possibility of engine failure. Having your mainsail up will provide you with instant power to maintain control of the vessel and the situation, averting an emergency.