[PCW] Sea Anchor Vs Drogues

[bob Austin]

So far I have not had to use either a Sea Anchor or series Drogues,
fortunately.  I am aware of at least one cat which parished when riding to a
sea anchor in a very bad storm.  I agree with Dennis, I would rather keep
moving if at all possiable.  One of the other features of a series drogue is
to prevent pitch polling, when the height of the waves begin to equal the
waterline.   I was once in a situation where it was very close to this.  I
surfed the boat down the quartering waves--not directly down wave.  I had a
about 20% of the "usual" sail area in a storm staysail foreward, which kept
the center of effort forward of the center of lateral resistance, and the
engine ticking over to be sure that I always had a flow of water over the
rudder, even in the turbulance of the waves.  I feel that this is a trick well
worth remembering, because if the rudder stalls, you risk loosing control and
broaching or taking a path which may not be the best for the vessel's
survival.  This was in a monhull, but I feel that the principle remains the
same.  Control is important.

Bob Austin