Online Book: Heavy Weather Tactics

We strongly believe that the series drogue designed by Don Jordan is the best storm survival option. A belief based on good science and interviewing some of the best offshore sailors of our time about their experiences. John continues that learning and data gathering process in this article.

John analyzes two alternatives to chainplates for attaching a series drogue to our boats.

Several questions have repeatedly surfaced within the hundreds of comments on our Heavy Weather Tactics Online Book. So I have pulled those together in this chapter and added my thoughts.

There are few subjects that offshore sailors like to discuss and argue about more than which is the best storm survival strategy and related gear. But it’s time to stop the debate because it’s a solved problem.

The most common reason for yacht abandonment at sea is being capsized by a rogue wave. But is rogue a good description of these boat-killing waves? And are there things we can do to reduce roll-over risk?

Trevor Robinson updates what he has learned about using and maintaining a series drogue built to Don Jordan’s design. This is not theory, but true testing over a gruelling circumnavigation in the Southern Ocean, including multiple deployments in gale and storm force conditions. Anyone who goes to sea in small boats will benefit from reading this.

Some of us write about extreme heavy weather survival at sea based on a few experiences accumulated over decades, combined with not a little guesswork and conjecture. And then there’s Trevor. Few offshore sailors have even one-tenth the first-hand survival storm experience that Trevor shares in this article.

Anyone who goes to sea needs to read every word in this chapter with great care and attention.

So how can we be sure whether or not heaving-to will result in a knock-down or roll-over in heavy weather? John tackles this difficult but vital question.

Changing survival strategies in the middle of a storm at sea is not something that any of us want to be faced with, but here are some thoughts from John about how that might be done safely.

There have been a couple of well-publicized cases of series drogues, based on Don Jordan’s research and design, deteriorating after as little as ten hours’ use in strong gale conditions. John investigates and shares what he intends to do to upgrade his drogue.

Ever wondered about the safety of those big pilot-house windows that we increasingly see on modern designs? John has too.

We have covered a lot of ground and many details in this Online Book. So I have ended with a chapter the key points in this chapter.

It’s a sad fact that most production boat companionways are potential boat-sinkers. But it does not have to be that way. In this chapter I provide solid suggestions on how to stormproof your companionway.

Theory is great to learn from but real world experience is always better. In this chapter I relate an email interview we conducted with a reader who survived a killer storm south of New Zealand using some of the techniques that I have discussed in this book. It’s a long chapter, but read it carefully because doing so and acting on the information could save your life.