Parachute Anchors?

I've done a fair bit of time in the Caribbean - and my sister lived there for many years on a boat first in the Bahamas then St. Thomas, USVI. She kept her boat (56' Cheoy Lee trawler) in Puerto Rico during hurricane season on a cradle. My sister is a commercial USCG licensed captain (under 500 tons), and ran charter operations there for years.

Americans tend not to realize that the United States is much like Disneyland - and when you go outside the fence you are in another world. New legal systems, new priorities and very different societies, rights and values. In the Caribbean, YOU are the foreigner, and the local government's first obligation is to their citizens - not you. West Indian culture is very different than in the US, and I dare say many people here are completely unprepared to live there. Someone from Nashville dropped into St. Thomas may not be perfectly safe in a lot of areas. And the USVIs are the most American of destinations in the Caribbean. Think about the college girl murdered in St. Maarten. Your rights as an American stop at the border.

I'm going back down to the Bahamas next month and I'm willing to bet many things have changed since my last visit.

Don't even think about cruising from the US anywhere without having some experience bareboating or chartering in the Caribbean first. Find out how much you like it there first. Living on a small boat, especially if on a budget can be a miserable nightmare. Trying to live in summertime heat there without air conditioning can be pretty hellish. Docking fees and connections to utilities and phone service can cost thousands per year - for my sister it was cheaper to buy a condo with included marina dockage than to pay marina fees by the foot - we're talking a hundred thousand dollars here.

When you are there, you are source of cash to the locals - not an interesting buddy they'll put up for cheap.

To operate and live on a boat in the Caribbean, she was charging 6-8,000 a week to her guests - and the operation was barely break even as the peak season is not long, broker's fees are high, operating costs are high and boats never stop costing money and always need maintenance. Varnish twice a year. Anti fouling paint and haul outs once a year. Engine servicing. Generators, desalinators, running gear, safety equipment and tenders aren't cheap. A major engine problem or refit time, and you've got to travel to Florida.

Keeping food means running refrigeration. Refrigeration means generators or shore power. Everything costs. A US registered hull has to carry insurance - expensive insurance - every US registered hull should have a USGC licensed captain, especially true if you carry any passengers. Health care is NOT free, and your HMO is most likely going to say you are on your own if you show up in a foriegn hospital.

Most people think of Caribbean cruising as anchoring in quiet lagoons in crystal clear water in 80 degree temperatures sipping umbrella drinks. Think again. You may have those moments, but you'll also have clearing customs, taxes and fees for everything, diesel generators running at least eight hours a day and sitting in laundromats washing clothes. Everything is kind of third world, and you aren't a citizen. No one moves fast, and you aren't going to be able to understand the locals talking if they choose not to be understood.

Hope this opens eyes a little.

 

Here's the Jordan Series Drogue!!!!!

A Captain friend of mine bought some drogues for military cargo parachutes. He has a few left and offered me one. It peaked my interest. He says he tested them by pulling them behind a speed boat with a 454 at full throttle and they held up really good. I'd be careful of trusting my life and vessel to one though, as it is not intended for such purpose and if it failed it would be at the very worst of times and could foul prop, rudder or who knows what else. I have since read on websites of a couple of commercially available sea anchors and about how to rig them. There is more involved than I had imagined. Weights, swivles, trip wires for retreival and such. Then I stumbled across the JORDAN SERIES DROGUE (with copyright symbol attatched). It is out on the web so I guess I can build one but maybe not sell one (advice you law types?). It is intended to be rigged astern of the vessel (maybe under idle power?) to heave to and slow the descent into the troughs. I suppose it could be rigged equally well ahead of the vessel to face into the seas. The idea, I suppose; is to ride still with the water, not to move with or against the waves. Remember, the water doesn't move much in a wave; except up and down unless the wave is breaking. The droguetts seem easy to construct, assemble; deploy and retreive, so I'd love to have one made up (volunteers anyone?). I'd hate to have to weather a hurricane with one but if deployed you might at least be able to get some rest and wait it out. Some fishermen claim that riding at sea anchor saves much time and fuel as they awake refreshed, still in the fishing grounds. Personally, I'd still have to post an anchor watch. Anyway, let me see if I can attatch the design/construction PDF file so ya'll can see what you think!! Later, Mark

 

Things are better than they used to be. Mexico doesn't torture people as punishment, but I have heard there are lots of drug wars going on, so that is reason enough to stay away from the South for a while until that settles, but there are a lot of American owned businesses too there, and getting a map, researching the islands are definitely the route to go.

The way politics are going, the US citizens may not be able to leave the US. This war was not a popular one abroad or local and it's a heated issue and getting more heated until after this election. Maybe things will cool down and there will a breakthrough, but I agree about traveling abroad.

Another thing is to travel in groups. No boater is probably going to go alone, so a small group or large group traveling together is a good idea. I'm sure there must be group trips or maybe just follow a group that won't mind until you lose them. Motor boats and racers are going to do triple time, but a group of slow dopey boats can get together and travel nicely. There must be checkpoints for coastguards and the like. There are so many islands, I don't see communications slipping out of reach, but I might be wrong.

As far as not being a citizens and not to expect anything, Yes, if we are in another country we should show respect to their customs and try not to interfere with their citizens. Tourism is appreciated, but I don't see anyone wanting to pay 8,000 a weekly rate for a place. That is sick. I am not going to have to need as much for a small boat, but the prices will be high anyways. I will have to check into the costs. If things don't get better, I won't leave US waters. Florida sounds good and that is where Alaska can become a very nice alternative, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, maybe even Ireland, England, Scotland! equally as far maybe, but only if I leave from New York. If you were to start in Victoria, Canada, you can island hop all the way to Europe in safer territory, or maybe not. The US isn't welcome any where nowadays, even in England. Canadian waters would be still a great sailing experience, and they are very near Iceland, owned by Denmark, so that's two countries I've never visited. Maybe safer. I will look into the deal on safe and unsafe travels all around the Caribbean. Thank you for the reminder. A safe trip, not causing any trouble is all I want to take. I've heard good things about the Caribbean by other travelers on cruise ships, so there must be some good places to stop.

 

JORDAN SERIES DROGUE

They look like they would work very well. A company named Ace Sailmakers makes them and also offers a kit form. It looks like a bunch of small cones sewed around a rope like a series of bells. Not so heavy and even if some of them surfaced between waves dumping out the water holding the boat still, there would still be other parts of the cones in the anchor rope filled. Maybe that's the way to go. I'll book mark the page, plus if they offer a kit, if it's worth making it myself, I might try it. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy it than it is to make it, or it takes too much skill, but it really doesn't look that hard, tedious, but not hard. It's an alternative that doesn't take up a lot of room. Would you think to keep, one bell or mushroom type anchor, one drogue/parachute type, and one metal pointy one that might get hooked on something for shallower or muddy waters? One huge parachute anchor and this little gem would be more than enough for coastal waters?

 

BD, Yeah I thought Jordan had a good idea. His system spreads the timing of the strain progressively rather than with a jerk. I appreciate the heads-up about Ace sailmakers. I'll try to find them on google since I'm not too good at sewing. I do have a friend who is, so maybe I can pick up a couple of kits and give him one to sew me one. We'll see - no rush. I too stay cooped up too much in inland waters. I've been puttin' 'round Chattanooga, Tn. on and off for decades. Seems like I keep marrying girls from around here! The waters here are great though. Mostly on the Tennessee River we're dealing with maybe 5 1/2 mph current and 45' or so of water or less anywhere you'd likely anchor. Useually much less. The main thing is to get ahold of the bottom and mushrooms are not too great for that unless they're pretty heavy. On your little boat weight has it's penalties. On my smallest boat, a 16' Seadoo Speedster dual jet. I have a smallish Danforth type because it stores flat and doesn't weigh too much. I do make up for it's small weight with 6' of chain and a long rode. It's amazing to watch the crowd at our local River Bend Festival each June. Hundreds of boats, many very large, nice yachts; in one crowded spot (mostly piloted by durnks) and hardly anyone has enough rode to grant sufficient scope to keep from dragging in our paltry current! It's maddening, every year some bozo fouls my rode and there's always lots of draggin' goin' on. I don't take any of my boats down there anymore. Too dangerous! Remember, depending on conditions you'll need 4-5 times the water depth to hold the bottom. More if conditions warrant. I do sometimes use a mushroom for a second anchor astern or for a carribean rig if there's eddys about or here on Nikajack Lake because it can run backwards when the Racoon Mtn. spillways are open. Remember too, on your home waters there's lots of large tow boats sometimes pushing 15 barges. Anchor well clear of the channel and use your anchor light. If you have no power, get a solar/battery type. It's critical. My oldest son is a tow boat Captain and the horror stories he brings home are fit for Halloween. Don't let me hear of him having rammed you under!! Get out there and be safe but have fun! Mark

 

BD, Ace Sailmakers was very informative about the Jordan Series Drogue. Thanks for the tip. I may have to save that much $ and make my own though. Go ahead, call me "cheap." Later, Mark

 

Good luck on your anchor White Knight and thanks for the warning about the tugboats. I'll have to make a note of the 4 to 5 length to the anchor length. I don't plan to anchor at all mostly, but know it's something that has to be done every once in a while, so I'm prepared to buy the right kind at the right length.

We see a big barge pass through Danville all the time, but that's most of the boat action here. Most are fishermen, not sailors. There's big catfish, lots of them. On the Cumberland you see some ships and tugboats, but mostly in Clarksville.
I'll stay clear of the tugboats for sure!

 

Does anyone know if you can use a bowspirit for a jib for a storm sail to hove to? Thanks!

 

Long time no see Blackie, I don't know. I'm no real sailor. I'm trying to talk my oldest son into leting me have his sailboat. Fat chance, but; I've got a steep learning curve ahead and could use a trainer vessel. Anyway, I wrote back to add that the Jordan drogue is designed to be used off the stern, Maybe an anchor sail could help to orient your stern into the wind rigged from your bowspirit. I suppose a storm sail could run up there as well. Look at the storm sails and anchor sails at : http://www.bannerbaymarine.com/store/index.php?action=category&id=7

 

BD,

Yes a bowsprit could be used to heave-to in a storm, but it probably isn't a good idea. The trick to heaveing to is to properly balance the sails and keel so that the boat scallops on and off the wind. Trying to keep the bow into the wind and waves.

The problem with using a sprit is that you are almost definatly not going to get the boat balanced that way, since it will put a lot of torque on the jib. The other problem is that bowsprits are notoriously heavily loaded. When added to storm condition winds this will only be exacerbated. Plus the sprit is much more likely to grab a wave than the bow wich when combined with a backwinded jib is probably a guaranteed way to get it ripped off the boat.

 

A boat I was reading up on has 2 main sails only, and another has one bowspirit sail, one main sail and one mizzen? Do I have that right? A small aft sail. So it would be ok to use the main larger sail for a storm sail on either model?

Just asking and learning a little about sail types and storm saiils, not an important question.

 

The storm bag sounds cool, but for 900 dollars, I'll wait until I have no choice! But it is good to know they have something. I goes on the main mast, but on the opposite side of the mast towards the bow? That makes more sense. I just wanted to know how to use a storm sail on boats without a jib. I saw two boats that were interesting and one had a bowspirit, so I just thought it might be the only option. I see there are many ways to string up a storm sail.

Thanks!! And thanks for the website!!

 

I got a reply about the cone drogues you mentioned with prices.

Here's what he said:

"Hi,
Not an anchor for shallow water. DROGUE for offshore use:

Perhaps 8500 loaded?

MONOHULL PRICING - Based on loaded displacement.
8,000 lb displacement: Drogue would have 95 cones on 157' line with a 75' leader; total of 232'. Line would be 5/8" nylon double braid tapering to ½" nylon double braid for the last 75 cones.
Price:
A. Cones only: $380
B. Kit: $730
C. Complete: $1060

Thanks,

Dave Pelissier
Ace Sailmakers, LLC 3-D Colton Road East Lyme, CT USA
PH 860 739 5999 FAX 860 739 7999 AceSailmakers@yahoo.com
AceSails.com JordanSeriesDrogue.Com (Don Jordan’s website)


Jordan Series Drogue: Revolutionary Storm Survival Device

"There is a growing recognition among those using the Jordan Series Drogue that "Storm Tactics" are no longer required. When the weather deteriorates to the point where useful progress is impossible or even uncomfortable, they deploy the drogue and retire to the cabin with the knowledge that they are protected from anything the sea can bring on. The boat rides easily with less than 10° of yaw, and with a drift rate of 1.5 knots. The drogue loads are low, about 15% of the design load. The design load is only approached in the rare event of a 'worst case' breaking wave strike capable of catapulting the boat ahead of the wave. In this event the drogue is designed to align the semi-airborne boat with the wave, decelerate the boat, and pull it through the breaking crest without exceeding the allowable load on the drogue or boat." Donald Jordan

By Don Jordan, inventor, retired aeronautical engineer. (As of March 2008, Don is 92 years old. I, Dave Pelissier, met with him a few weeks ago, he is still working on numerous projects, some patent pending.)

The series drogue was developed to perform two separate functions:
1. To prevent the capsize of monohull and multihull sailboats in the event of a large breaking wave strike.
2. To improve the motion of the boat in storm waves and to reduce drift.

Most storms do not generate dangerous breaking waves. A vessel may go through a lifetime of cruising without being struck by a breaking wave even though hurricane winds have been encountered.

Although storm waves move at speeds up to 30 knots, the water in the wave moves at a much lower speed. A boat lying ahull is not subjected to high forces. Experience and testing have shown that a well found monohull with positive stability at 90 degrees roll angle has little risk of being damaged by non-breaking storm waves. A multihull, however may be capsized.
A dangerous breaking wave is formed by the interaction of two or more storm waves. This type of wave has a large mass of water at its crest moving at wave speed (20-30 knots). When a vessel lying ahull is struck by this moving mass of water, a very large force is developed. In a typical event the boat has been successfully riding out the storm for many hours, then, 10 seconds later it lies dismasted and damaged. It is the function of the drogue to turn the stern into this moving mass of water and pull it safely through.

The risk of breaking wave capsize is dependent on the weight of the vessel, with small light boats being at high risk. Above a length of 40' the risk is diminished, and above 60' few, if any breaking wave capsizes are on record.

On a conventional monohull sailing yacht the underwater lateral surface is located aft of the center of the boat while the topside area is greater towards the bow. When struck by a moving mass of water the bow of such a vessel is driven down by a powerful turning moment. Therefore it is necessary to use a drogue from the stern rather than a sea anchor from the bow to align the boat with the moving water and pull the boat through.

A multihull is relatively symmetrical fore and aft, although thre is still some tendency for the bow to be driven down by the wave. Testing indicates that either a drogue or sea anchor, if properly designed, can be effective in preventing breaking wave capsize. However, the force required of the drogue is less than that required of a sea anchor.

Some sailors have expressed reluctance to use a drogue for rear of being "pooped". Testing has shown that a conventional monohull or multihull will perform in a safe manner when riding stern to the sea. Actually, the stern generally has more local buoyancy than the bow and will rise quickly to a steep sea. However, storm waves will have whitecaps containing some moving water and this may splash aboard.

In a dangerous breaking wave strike, moving water may sweep the cockpit and strike the companionway doors. This is unavoidable, and is a necessary corollary to saving the vessel.

RECOVERY: The crew of a 40' ketch practiced several methods of taking in the drogue in a Force 7 wind in the English Channel. They concluded that the best system was to grind it in with a cockpit winch a little at a time, letting the sea help you and belaying when the pull was high. With a little care they avoided tearing any cones. Another system is to prepare two helper lines, clap one line on the drogue and winch in 3 or 4 feet, then repeat with the other line. This takes 20 minutes or so, but is safe and not particularly difficult.
Adding a light line in parallel with the drogue to permit the drogue to be pulled in backwards is definitely not recommended since it complicates the gear and may lead to fouling under critical conditions.

Research and Development Program -- Don Jordan

With the data from the 1979 Fastnet Race in hand, I started by making scale models of some of the boats in the race and testing these models in natural waves and man-made waves. It is a fortunate fact that small waves behave like large waves and small models behave like full scale yachts if some simple dynamic similarity rules are observed in the model design and testing. I had no preconceived ideas on what these tests would reveal.
At the same time, extensive tests were being conducted in the U.S. and Europe to determine whether the Fastnet tragedy was caused by the design features of modern yachts compared to traditional designs. " Killer Yachts" they were termed by some leading naval architects. After much effort, it was concluded that there was no significant difference in the capsize vulnerability of modern yachts or traditional designs. I repeated these tests and got the same results. The Fastnet disaster was caused by the severity of the storm, not the boat design or the tactics of the skippers.

I then undertook a program of basic research and development to understand and find a solution to the storm survival problem. In this effort I was greatly assisted by the U.S. Coast Guard, who made all their applicable facilities available for my use, and finally tested the series drogue in breaking waves at their motor lifeboat test site. The program, which continued for four years, led to the following general conclusions:

1. To protect a yacht in a hurricane, an outside force must be applied from a drag device.
No design changes to the boat and no storm tactics on the part of the skipper can result in a significant reduction in risk.
2. The drag device must be a drogue, i.e. the boat must be tethered from the stern.
(I have found this to be the most difficult concept to get across)
3. A sea anchor cannot be designed to protect the boat. When tethered from the bow, the boat will yaw and develop unacceptable loads. The reason for this is that all boats must be designed to be directionally stable when moving forward - or it would not be possible to steer the boat. Therefore, if moving backwards, the boat will be unstable and will yaw and turn broadside to the sea.
4. The drogue must consist of multiple drag elements strung out along the tow line. A single drag device of any size or shape will not provide protection.
5. The drogue must be designed so that a significant number of the drag elements are deeply submerged and do not lie on the surface.
6. The design of the multiple design elements must be such that, in a "worst case" breaking wave strike, peak transient load will not exceed the design value for the drogue components or the boat attachments.
7. The strength of the drogue and the number of drag elements must be adjusted to be compatible with the displacement of the specific yacht.
8. With a proper drogue, a yacht and crew can survive a storm of the severity of the 1998 Sydney-Hobart storm with no serious storm damage or crew injuries.
9. Storm WavesError! Bookmark not defined. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Reproduced with permission of Donald Jordan

John Rousmaniere writes, in his excellent book Fastnet Force Ten, "The calamity in the Western Approaches (The Fastnet Tragedy) seems to be yet another indication that our positive faith in technology may be groundless. We appear to be led by transitory successes into the heresy that we can completely manipulate our environment". This view of the unworldly fury of a storm at sea has existed thru the ages. Fortunately it no longer is pertinent.

When I started to work on the capsize problem I had no doubt that it would be possible, in the modern world, to provide equipment to bring a well found yacht thru a storm like the Fastnet or the Sydney Hobart. Water is a familiar fluid. Wave speeds and heights are well within engineering experience. Any competent Aerospace company has handled problems much more challenging. However, I was not at all confident that the required equipment would satisfy the constraints of size, weight, cost, complexity and ease of operation to an extent that it could be expected to gain acceptance by ocean yachting skippers. The series drogue has now earned that acceptance, but it took 15 years or so to get there.

In addition to a feeling of helplessness, there is another irrational attitude that countered our obtaining a solution to the capsize problem. The shape and motion of storm waves when viewed from the deck of a yacht are such that it can lead to optical illusions which confuse the skipper. A large storm wave approaching the boat appears to be a dangerous wall of water and the skippers instinctively tend to head up or run off to avoid being pooped. Actually the water in the wave is not moving towards the boat and will lift the boat harmlessly.
A second optical illusion is that a dangerous breaking wave comes from a direction different from the prevailing wind and sea. The report of the Investigating Comm. for the Hobart Sydney disaster states "Exceptional waves were responsible for inflicting the damage or causing severe knockdown to yachts. These waves were 20 to 100% larger than the prevailing seas and came from a direction other than the prevailing wave pattern".
From physical considerations it is virtually impossible for a breaking storm wave to approach from a significantly different direction. Breaking waves are formed by the wind and by the addition of the energy of the smaller waves that they overtake. If a wave moved across a series of smaller waves it would lose all its energy in turbulence. We have many aerial views of the sea surface in the Sydney Hobart storm. If a large wave had moved across the smaller waves we would see a white streak running across all the other streaks. There is no such a streak. What actually happens is that if the boat is lying at some angle to the prevailing sea as the breaking wave approaches, the action of this wave yaws the boat until it is abeam. This yawing motion is not observed by the skipper and he thinks the wave direction has changed, whereas it is the boat that has moved. It is true, however, that the waves that caused the damage were "exceptional"

In gale force winds most of the waves can have breaking crests, but the speed and height of the waves are such that they do not constitute much of a threat.. However, in hurricane force winds the sea is generally blown "flat", but from time to time very large and dangerous waves appear, often moving in pairs or groups. A boat can ride for hours without encountering such a wave and then be destroyed in seconds.

Another optical illusion is that it is possible in a survival storm to reduce the hazard by running off before the waves and, by skilful seamanship, to out maneuver a dangerous wave. This is a particularly unfortunate choice. The waves are moving faster than the boat can go. A 40 ft .breaking wave will be moving at a speed of approx. 23 knots. The breaking wave is completely random. Furthermore, by far the most important concern is that, if the boat is moving through the water, the chance of being caught by the wave and surfing to a dangerously high speed is greatly augmented.

In the modern world we have an understanding of storm waves. There is no more mystery. Such terms as "rogue waves" serve to confuse the issue. For over a hundred years we have had an engineering grasp on non-breaking waves but it is only in the last 30 years or so that we have been able to determine the position, velocity and acceleration of every water particle in a dangerous breaking wave.
A final misconception is the belief that a breaking wave "strikes" the boat and that the moving water in the crest does the damage. Actually, the boat is lifted by the forward face of the wave with no impact. When it reaches the breaking crest the boat velocity is close to the wave velocity. The crest water is aerated and has little damage potential. Damage to the boat is incurred when the boat is thrown ahead of the wave and impacts the green water in the trough. The leeward side and the deck are struck. A careful reading of "Fastnet Force Ten" and "Fatal Storm" will confirm this conclusion.


.

THE KIT: Build the world’s best drogue for low cost!!
The KIT contains all sewn cones ready to weave onto the line supplied . Double Braid Nylon.
Line has all splices, a stainless thimble aft, all cones’ positions marked with felt pen, one cone put on, instructions. Assembly involves weaving the cones onto the double braid nylon.
One pushes a small loop of wire under approx 5-6 strands of the outer braid, then out of the braid. One end of one webbing is inserted in the loop, yanked back under the strands, and out. An 8 knot is then tied near the end of the webbing so that it will not pull back through and unthread itself.
The three pieces of webbing, both ends, are attached to the double braid this way.
Allow perhaps 5 minutes per cone to assemble. Can be done faster onboard if storm approaching.

Bridle legs are often included at extra cost.
Don Jordan recommends using soft approx 12" long eye splices, ie no shackles/thimbles, to attach the bridle legs to the drogue , and to connect different sections of the drogue.
The forward end of the drogue has a soft eye or 12" approx. loop. Each bridle leg also has a loop on one end.
Bridle legs are attached to forward end of the Jordan Series Drogue ‘s soft eye by passing the end of bridle leg w/o splice thru drogue's eye then back thru its own eye and cinched up tight. Once tight no chafe.
Bridle legs must long enough so that the angle between the 2 legs where they attach to the forward end of the drogue is less than 30 degrees. Longer/less than 30 degrees is fine.
So, each leg should be at have at least 2.5 X the distance between attachment points (or more) behind the yacht.
Plus enough to cleat off, and then perhaps enough to go to winches for recovery and adjustment. The strongest way to attach to hull is described on
www.JordanSeriesDrogue.com or www.AceSails.com.
http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/D_5.htm

Attach your 10-15 lb weight to tail end for yachts under 40,000 loaded displacement.
Use 25 lbs over 40,000. The weight is usually chain.

Info on attachment of bridle to yachts is on JordanSeriesDrogue.com
and AceSails.com.


Don Jordan recommends using soft approx 12" long eye splices, ie no shackles/thimbles, to attach the bridle legs to the drogue , and to connect different sections of the drogue.

Bridle legs are attached to drogue's soft eye by passing end of bridle leg w/o splice thru drogue's eye then back thru its own eye and cinched up tight. Once tight no chafe. Drogue pieces and blegs can be taken apart, and perhaps used as spring lines, etc till dedicated to the drogue offshore

97.2% of all that I have sold, 30 plus countries, have had no thimbles for bridle legs, or to connect different sections.

"PLAYSTATION" monster cat used thimbles fwd end of drogue as their bridle legs were Spectra. Same with Steve Dashew's new poweryacht/boat.

Ellen MacArthur's (Sp?) team tested speed reducing versions last year, not sure if carried aboard for round the world.
"Groupama 3" ordered cones for self assembly, and testing. I am not sure if carried aboard.

Size and Weight of completed Jordan Series Drogues:
without bride or weight for end:
NYLON DOUBLE BRAID:
15,000 lb version fits in box 12" x 12" x 16" and weighs 32 lbs.
25,000 lb version fits in box 14 x 16 x 16 and weighs 42 lbs
30,000 lb version fits in box 12 x 20 x 20 and weighs 44 lbs
50,000 18 x 18 x 25 and weighs 87 lbs with 2 35’ blegs

SPECTRA Versions:
45,000 Monohull, 156 cones, 29 lbs, fit in box 12 x 18 x 18. No Bridle.
250 cone Power Yacht, Mr. Steve Dashew. 51 lbs including bridle, and stainless thimbles. Fit in box 32 x 25 x 11".




The series drogue has now been at sea for over 12 years. At least 2,000 are in use all over the world. Many skippers have made their own, a tedious but not difficult job. The drogue has been deployed in many storms, including at least two of hurricane strength. The record has been flawless. No boat has suffered any damage, no crewman has been injured, and the drogue has been retrieved in the as launched condition. Every skipper has been satisfied with the performance. This conclusively puts to rest the old fear of being pooped when held stem to the waves. There are simple and sound engineering reasons for this most remarkable performance.

There is a growing recognition among those using the drogue that 'storm tactics' are no longer required. When the weather deteriorates to the point where useful progress is impossible or even uncomfortable, they deploy the drogue and retire to the cabin with the knowledge that they are protected from anything the sea can bring on. The boat rides easily with less than 10° of yaw, and with a drift rate of 1.5 knots. The drogue loads are low, about 15% of the design load. The design load is only approached in the rare event of a 'worst case' breaking wave strike capable of catapulting the boat ahead of the wave. In this event the drogue is designed to align the semi-airborne boat with the wave, decelerate the boat, and pull it through the breaking crest without exceeding the allowable load on the drogue or boat.

Books such as Cole's 'Heavy Weather Sailing' - a favorite of mine for many years - are actually no longer pertinent. Understandably, this thought is bitterly contested by a few experienced sailors who regret the loss of the need for sea lore, judgment, and skill in handling their vessels in bad conditions. I am an aeronautical engineer and view the drogue as similar in function to the ejection seat on a fighter aircraft - you pull the handle and sit back until it is all over.

SEA ANCHORS:

In the course of this program, I have studied the history of sea anchors and drogues. A sea anchor is intuitively attractive. It brings to mind anchoring in a harbor, safe and secure. Sea anchors have been carried on some sailing yachts over a long period of time. I have not been able to find a single instance where they provided protection in a major storm, and many instances when they contributed to the loss of the vessel. We now know that the sea anchors used were much too small to pull the bow into the wind.
When mulithulls began to go to sea in the 1960s, a number were capsized in conditions where a monohull would be expected to survive. This led to experimentation with sea anchors. I believe that the Casanovas were one of the first to try the large aircraft surplus parachute. They found that the chute would hold the boat into the wind in moderate storm conditions with little yaw and would prevent capsize. The cyclic loads on the rode were very high but a solution was found by providing a long and stretchy rode to compensate for the relative motion between the immovable chute and the boat. A number of multihull skippers have successfully used the chute in moderate storms.
This led to attempts to use the chute on monohulls. However the situation here is very different. A monohull is directionally unstable when moving backward because the center of pressure of the underwater surface is behind the center of gravity. As any skipper knows, it is possible to run off before a storm - but it is not possible to run off backwards as the boat will yaw. There are two additional sources of instability. The center of pressure of the air forces on the topsides and rigging is ahead of the center of gravity. There is also a third and more complex dynamic instability. The last two instabilities result in the behavior observed when a monohull is anchored from the bow in protected water during a hurricane. "It is particularly unnerving to watch a yacht tacking back and forth on a mooring under bare poles and knocking flat at the end of each tack," reported one who watched a monohull during hurricane Bertha. If the boat had been anchored from
the stern, it would ride with little yaw.
When riding to a parachute sea anchor, a monohull will yaw wildly. As the storm increased in severity, it would develop load sufficient to break the rode. A sea anchor does not provide safety in a survival storm.
Although a multihull is also unstable when moving backwards, it is less unstable than a monohull because it has less underwater surface aft. This moderate instability is overcome by the stabilizing effect of the wide bridle - 20 feet or more - and the combination is stable. Thus the boat will ride well in a moderate storm. However, the large chute is essentially immovable, and in a survival storm will develop loads sufficient to break the rode. At six knots, an 18 foot chute would develop a load of 30,000 lbs - if it didn't fail first. The series drogue would only have a load of 900 lbs. The series drogue will protect both the monohull and the multihull in a survival storm.

I would be glad to answer questions via email and to provide supporting documents where feasible.
Donald J. Jordan, Consulting Engineer
Glastonbury, CT
donaldjordan@att.net

DECEMBER 2008: Don Jordan has passed away at 92 years old.
All his work on the drogue was done at no cost, so he could help sailors.

USER ACCOUNTS:

65' 18 ton sloop, center cockpit "Beyond" John Traylor

"...the series drogue kept the hull very well aligned to the seas...
at most 10 degrees of occasional yaw...Once the hull was held stern to the seas, the wild ride was much smoother.

Contests 40:
The feeling of being elastically attached to the sea itself is hard to imagine. The stern was pointed aggressively into the wind and sea. It was as if we had entered a calm harbor of refuge. With the reduction in the yacht's motion, our situation seemed not too bad.

USHUAIA TO RESCUE
39’ Westerly Sealord, SD4 built in 1984
An email from Mike C.
Hi chaps,

you may or may not remember the will it or wont it arrive on time saga of the jordan drogue i ordered whilst in ushuaia last november (it was sent to my home address in england so's the wife could bring it out with her) , however it did arrive and boy oh boy am i glad.
There is no question about it but that jordan drogue works like a dream.
The attached is an unedited version of our story that was printed in the july 2008 issue of yachting monthly (uk).

I have been asked by a few people how i retrieved the drogue so i thought i may give you my method although i have no doubt that other people use the same.
I first tried pulling in one of the bridles by winch etc etc but that didn't work to great, i then tried using the anchor winch but that caused problems with the boat sailing from side to side and catching the droguettes, the next time i deployed the drogue i attached a polyprop line to the drogue line and then to retrieve just winched it all in over the stern. I found the centre polyprop line to be far easier to use than the bridle lines as it kept the stern central and i didnt need to release either bridle form the cleats until all the pressure was off them.
(the first time i retreived the drogue took 1 1/2 hours, once i 'd got this method sorted it took 20 minutes).
I also used floats on the bridle lines to keep them from snagging my boarding ladder and hydrovane steering sysytem.
All in all everything worked magnificently and i cannot sing the Jordan Drogues praises loud enough, many thanks Mr Jordan and many thanks Ace sailmakers, may all your wishes and dreams come true a thousand times over.


mike clelford



Brilliance left Ushuaia, Argentina, 54 49’S 68 18W, bound for Cape Town, South Africa, Saturday 15th December 2007. 2 POB
The first port of call was Puerto Williams, 54 56S 67 37W a Chilean navy base situated approximately 25 miles east of Ushuaia on the Beagle Channel. The night of the 15th was spent alongside the old navy ship the Micalvi (known as the most southern yacht club in the world) whilst we waited for the following day to clear out of South America and then head for the Falklands.

Sunday 16th December 2007
Clear customs from Puerto Williams and head east again down the beagle channel for another 35 miles or so to an anchorage called Isla Gardiner, 55 01S 66 55W


Monday 17th December 2007
Depart Isla Gardiner 14:12z

Tuesday 18th December 2007
arrive Puerto Hoppner, Islas Estados, 54 46S 64 24W, 05:00z after a night crossing of Estrecho de la Maire, using radar for entrance as pitch black and no moon.
Distance 95nm.
Spend 2 days in the anchorage waiting for a small depression to pass over.


Thursday 20th December 2007
1500z Depart Puerto Hoppner and head NE for the Falklands


Friday 21st December 2007
1840z 53 15S 61 34w

Saturday 22nd December 2007
1300z Anchor in Snug Cove, East Falkland, 52 11S 59 25W.
Distance 250nm
Had to use engine most of the way as very little wind and what there was came from the NE.
Decided to anchor here for the night as although wind was finally beginning to pick up from the SW we didn’t fancy the night passage up the south east coast.

Sunday 23rd December 2007
0755z Depart Snug Cove
Arrive Stanley, 51 41S 57 52W, 2230z
Distance 70nm
Clear in with customs.

Spend Christmas and New Year in various anchorages trying to dodge the worst of the constant strong winds, change oil and filter and fill up diesel, gas and water.
Lovely time and lovely memories.

Tuesday 8th January 2008
1310z Depart Stanley bound for Grytviken, South Georgia, 800nm+

Wednesday 9th January 2008
1300z 51 53S 55 36W

Thursday 10th January 2008
1430z 52 18S 54 18W

Friday 11th January 2008
1318z 52 43S 5213W
gales were forecast for 0600z this morning but nothing as yet though the mbs are dropping quite quickly now.
1600z gales a comin storm jibs up.

Saturday 12th January 2008
1600z 52 11S 48 58W
took a lot of water over the stern last night but we were battened down and it was all over by morning, little wind now and mb rising nicely.

Sunday 13th January 2008
1343z 52 52S 46 31W

Monday 14th January 2008
1344z 52 32S 43 52W

Tuesday 15th January 2008
1000z first sighting of ice bergs
1330z 53 13S 40 57W
995mb and dropping, another blow on the way.
2100z hove to.

Wednesday 16th January 2008
1130z begin sailing again.
1330z 53 37s 39 17W
1335z starboard lower shroud breaks away, saddle at deck plate snapped, use ropes to try to secure but they keep on snapping as the forces are too great, eventually manage to use shackles.

Thursday 17th January 2008
0700z Arrive Elsehul, South Georgia, 54 01S 37 57W.
Distance 734nm 9 days

Friday 18th January 2008
At anchor Elsehul
Shower day and pyjama day.

Saturday 19th January 2008
Depart Elsehul 0945
Arrive Blue Whale Harbour 1950z 54 04S 37 01W

Sunday 20th January 2008
Depart Blue Whale Harbour 1300z
Arrive Jason Harbour 2030z 54 12S 36 35W

Monday 21st January 2008
Depart Jason Harbour 1100z
Arrive Grytviken 1400z 54 16S 36 30W


Whilst in Grytviken I replaced the starboard shroud saddle, checked all the other deck fittings and climbed the mast to check all rigging and attachments aloft. All ok.

A small but vital part on the hydrovane wind steering system broke during a blow whilst we were moored at the dock, the nice engineer at the Antarctic survey base offered to make a new one if we would do some painting in return, we were more than happy to oblige, it saved us many days and expense waiting for a new one from England.

Tuesday 29th January 2008
Depart Grytviken 1300z bound for Cape Town, South Africa, 2600nm+
Good wind from SW, 989mb and heading north to clear Antarctic convergence zone.
Dodging ice bergs.

Wednesday 30th January 2008
1330z 52 33S 35 32W SW, 993mb
still dodging icebergs

Thursday 31st January 2008
1250z 5115S 34 44W SW, 993mb
still dodging ice bergs

Friday 1st February 2008
1430z 49 25S 33 58W NW, 1002mb
notice a low developing on grib files so as the evening darkens decide to heave to for the night.
Not seen any ice today.

Saturday 2nd February 2008
1158z 48 50S 32 24W SW8+, 994mb
hove to all last night, launched Jordan Drogue at 1000z this morning, even with drogue out still moving NE at 3-4kts.
1700z Drogue brought in.
storm jib set for evening, heading E.

Sunday 3rd February 2008
1750z 47 57S 30 17W SE5+, 987mb due to start rising by 0000z
heading N.

Monday 4th February 2008
0255z 47 21S 30 08W little wind 989mb
Engine on to keep heading N as quick as possible and its lovely to be able to have the heater on and look forward to having a hot shower.
1000z NW2-3, 993mb,
Engine off, main and genoa out, lovely sailing.

Tuesday 5th February 2008
1400z 46 01S 29 00W N 986mb
heading ENE

Wednesday 6th February 2008
1340z 44 58S 28 25W W5, 1000mb
heading NE

Thursday 7th February 2008
0845z 43 52S 27 34W, N5-6 increasing, 1009mb
heading SE, pressure due to continue to drop all day.
1610z 1002mb NW7-8+ Jordan Drogue deployed.
1730z aerogen wind generator complete blade assembly blown off.
(there is a bolt that holds the assembly onto the shaft, because of the wind strength I can easily uderstand the bolt becoming loose even though I had used loctite on it but there is also a pretty heavy duty spring clip on the end of the shaft and I cannot imagine the force involved to dislodge that, its difficult enough using the proper tool)
2200z 999mb NW8+

Friday 8th February 2008
0500z 44 08S 26 35W W8+ 1001mb
2100z 44 05S 25 54W W7-8 1009mb

Saturday 9th February 2008
0100z 44 03S 25 45W NW6-7 1011mb
0900z 43 58S 25 30W W5 1016mb
1411z 43 54S 25 22W W3-4 1019mb
1500z Drogue recovered.

Sunday 10th February 2008
1000z 43 02S 24 07W W3-4 1017mb
1500z 43 00S 23 40W NW6-7+ 1015mb
Jordan Drogue deployed.
1800z 43 04s 23 40W W 8+ 1011mb

Monday 11th February 2008
0530z 43 24S 23 09W W8+ 1000mb
0935z 43 31S 22 60W 998mb
1309z 43 33s 22 51W 999mb
1630z Drogue recovered.

Tuesday 12th February 2008
0430z Jordan drogue deployed
0512z 43 05S 2217W S8+ 1002mb
1112z 42 50S 22 21W 1017mb
1647z 42 44S 22 25W 1022mb

Wednesday 13th February 2008
0640z 42 27W 22 17W SW5-6 1028mb
wind decreased considerably, went on deck to recover Dogue.
Swell and seas too confused for recovery so went below to wait awhile, within 2 minutes of going below there was a loud bang, on deck the D part of the lower starboard rigging deck plate had sheared at the bolts and the starboard lower shroud was whipping back and forth like a viper on steroids. I quickly attached the spinnaker pole topping lift to the centre cleat and tried to tie the swinging shrouds bottle screw with ropes to same but the ropes kept breaking as soon as a new one was tied, iris went below and got the spare shackles bag. This whole new nightmare was a replay of a couple of weeks ago except this time the deck plate had gone and there was nowhere to attach the shroud to. The mast was now bending like a deranged banana and jumping up and down off the deck with me holding on to the shroud for all I was worth, the motion of the boat wasn’t helping as each time it rolled to starboard I was slowly rolling off the side of the boat, although
I had clipped myself on I was still getting very close to a salt water bath. Iris was able to hand me the largest shackle which I attached to the saddle of the swinging shroud and then with lucky timing and numerous attempts I was able to attach this to the cap shroud deckplate. The shroud was now temporarily secured but for how long was anybodys guess, because of the angles of attachment it would constantly be under stress. I also attached the spinaker pole topping lift to this point as the centre cleat was starting to bulge out of the deck (cleats are designed for horizontal forces not vertical), for now, things were secure.
We both sat in the cockpit looking up at the mast which had taken on a strange twisted bendy look and were very grateful it had at least happened at a time when we could see what we were doing.
Then we noticed that just where the shroud attached to the mast it was beginning to shred the wires, I considered trying to climb the mast and wrap ropes around the spreaders and back down to the deck but apart from the practical difficulty of that particlular manouvere there was nothing strong enough to tie them to on the deck anyway.
I went to each shroud and stay attachment and straightened the split pins so they would be easier to pull out, we readied the bolt cutters, hacksaw and honda generator/electric grinder, iris cut all the sheets and halyards at the mast and in the cockpit, when the mast goes we may at least have a chance of it going straight over with as little input as possible from ourselves.
The next problem would be, no mast, no comunication as that’s where the SSB aeriel is attached.
If a mast breaks or goes over the side of a boat that’s bad, but if, as is very possible, it goes over the side and puts a hole in the side or hull of the boat, that’s very very bad (this is a plastic/grp boat).
After an hour or more of sitting in the cockpit and watching the mast with bated breath every time the boat rolled on its sides (the winds had died down considerably by this time but the swell was still huge and the waves were very confused) we had debated all the possibilties and unknowns we could think of. As we were smack bang in the middle of the South Atlantic we did not expect any help or rescue but we did want to at least let our predicament be known (so family would know where we went down) and so with a feeling of embarrasment, sadness and emptiness in our stomachs we activated the Electronic Positioning Radio Beacon.
We also tried to call on all the distress frequencies using hf radio but had no luck with any contact. Fortunately I had an email facility (SAILMAIL) using hf radio, digital transmissions tend to be far stronger than voice transmission so I looked up the email address of Falmouth Coastguard and sent a mayday by email. The only problem with this type of communication is it generally takes about 1.5 hrs to receive a reply, I have to send the email to a shore station which then sends it on to the receiving station who then replies to the shore station who then sends it back to the ship.
The mayday was sent at 1146z
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
SAILING YACHT BRILLIANCE
CALL SIGN MEVV5
POSITION 42 26S 022 14W SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
2 POB
39FT WHITE HULL
AT PRESENT STILL WITH BOAT WE WERE HEADING FOR SOUTH AFRICA SO IN A NE DIRECTION, BUT ARE NOW USING A JORDAN SERIES DROGUE AND SO ARE BEING TRACKED SUBJECT TO WIND AND WAVES WHICH FORTUNATELY AT PRESENT IS STILL NE
EPIRB ACTIVATED
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
MAY SOON LOSE MAST AND SO WILL ALSO LOSE ABILITY TO COMUNICATE.

Reply received 1405z

MAYDAY -Yacht BRILLIANCE - M E V V 5
THIS IS FALMOUTH COASTGUARD
We have received your distress message & an EPIRB activation alert.
All details have been passed to Argentina in whose rescue area your position is.
We are speaking to UK authorities in the Falklands to see if there are any assets that can assist.
We will continue to speak to all authorities in an effort to assist you.
What comms do you have on board, including satphone details ?
What lifesaving apparatus do you have on board ?
What are your intentions?
What are your weather conditions?
Falmouth Coastguard
+ 44 1326 317575

Sent 1506z

ssb radio but not for long as mast about to collapse i have jury rigged as best i can and am continually assessing anything else i can do to save it but it is gonna come down sooner or later
vhf radio plus handset
liferaft, flares.
intend to stay on boat as long as possible the only problem is when the mast goes it may put a hole through her grp, ive tried to get things ready to cut away but its not an exact science.
this email connection is very poor as i have to rely on propogation and nobody else being on the freq. please contact sailmail and tell them the situation or they may cut me off anytime as i will be using to much of their airtime.
i lose this facility also when the mast falls down.
do you have a ssb voice frequency i can use?
the emails generally take about 1.5 hrs to go back and forth as it is sent via hf radio.
wx sw4/5 mod sea


ps. we have the castle beach cafe just below falmouth cg so bacon butties all round if we get out of this one and are open for the summer.


Received 1722z

Mayday Yacht BRILLIANCE M E V V 5.
This is Falmouth Coastguard.
We are receiving updates on your position from the EPIRB.
The Tanker WAFRAH C6VX6 is proceeding to your assistance eta 24-28 Hours.
The Tanker will use VHF radio CH 16 - to call when close to your position, ensure you keep your handheld radio with you if it is necessary to abandon
but stay with your vessel for as long as is possible.
Meanwhile to use SSB radio call;
TAUPO Radio ( New Zealand) callsign Z L M on frequencies 8291 mHz, 12290 mhz, 16420 mHz.
or Cape Town Radio who are listening on frequency 4125 kHz & respond on 4417Khz or listen 8255kHz & respond on 8779Khz.
They also maintain a distress watch on 12290 Khz
Either will relay any information to us at Falmouth. This can be used for routine calling to establish contact or if the situation deteriorates.
Could we also have the details of your liferaft - colour, size, canopy ? ballast pockets?

MRCC Falmouth


Sent 1821z

many thanks for the info.

i had already been trying those frequencies all to no avail but i am very grateful that your email confirms that at least i had the correct frequencies set.
the liferaft is a zodiac, black hull with orange canopy, 6 man, water ballast pockets, though we will try to load it with as much weight as possible to stabilize it as there are only 2 of us.
i am not sure how long the battery will last on the epirb, its a tron 40s, should i turn it off and then turn it on every hour for 5 minutes or so, maybe that would save the battery? we should maintain our present drift as the wx is predicted to remain same for a day or 2.
if all else fails thanks for trying
mike and iris

sy brilliance


From Argentine Coast Guard received 2025z

----- Original Message -----
From: AGENCIA SAR
To: mevv5@sailmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:39 PM
Subject: SAR ARGENTINE
FORD YOUR INFORMATION YOU ARE ARGENTINE SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSABILITY WE PROCEED IN YOUR HELP. IN RED SAME INFORMATIED ABOUT GPS POSITION AND REQUEST WEATHER CONDITION IN ZONE. TANK VESSEL IS GOING IN YOUR HELP.

Falmouth CG received 2029z

MAYDAY Yacht BRILLIANCE
This is Falmouth Coastguard.
Leave the EPIRB activating as it provides an accurate updated position. The battery should last for a minimum 72 hours.
The Captain of the WAFRAH is updated on the situation, he is preparing the crew & equipment for recovery.
The Captain is British so comms, when he passes instructions to recover you, will be no problems.
The ETA of the WAFRAH at your position is 1800UTC on 14 Feb.
Have passports and documents ready to go with you. Next port is Longbeach California.
Stay positive, assistance is on its way.
Regards
Duty officer MRCC Falmouth

Sent 2038z

many thanks again for the info.
thanks to you we have hope.
mike n iris

sy brilliance

Sent 2051z

i have received this email from the argentine sar but i do not understand what they want from me, please advise, though i do not think i will be able to receive email much longer.
<----- Original Message -----
From: AGENCIA SAR
To: mevv5@sailmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 4:39 PM
Subject: SAR ARGENTINE
FORD YOUR INFORMATION YOU ARE ARGENTINE SEARCH AND RESCUE RESPONSABILITY WE PROCEED IN YOUR HELP. IN RED SAME INFORMATIED ABOUT GPS POSITION AND REQUEST WEATHER CONDITION IN ZONE. TANK VESSEL IS GOING IN YOUR HELP.


Received 2302z

Received your last email.
MRCC Argentina now have co-ordination of this MAYDAY. They request the present weather conditions.
MT WAFRAH is proceeding to you, ETA 141900UTC.
Leave your EPIRB ON - it will help to locate your vessel.
If you need to abandon to your liferaft, take the EPIRB with you and a portable radio. Also try to send a final message via email.
Good luck
Duty Officer
MRCC Falmouth


Thursday 14th February 2008
0840z 42 10S 21 54W W3-4 1027mb
1110z 42 08S 21 49W W3-4 1027mb

Received 1136z 14th Feb

Good morning,
1. MT WAFRAH is still proceeding to your position at 17kts. Request an update on your situation including your latest position and weather conditions. I am able to confirm that your EPIRB is working well.
Best regards
MRCC Falmouth

Sent 1221z

14th feb 1148z
good morning,
hf reception very poor this morning.
pos: 42 07s 021 48w
wx: 1027mb, sw 3/4, mod sea.
amazingly still have mast, fortunate because of relativey calm wx,
basically shaken but not yet stirred
all well aboard
mike n iris

1330z 42 04S 021 45W W3-4 1027mb

1330z The next communication we heard was over the vhf radio, it was the tanker WAFRAH and they were calling another ship whos name we couldn’t make out, it was surprising we heard them at all as they were still 60nm away and our vhf aeriel had been blown away.
1620z spoke to WAFRAH who advised us that another ship PAN VOYAGER was also on its way
1720z 42 00S 021 45W W3-4 1026mb
1749z vhf contact made with Pan Voyager, ETA 1hr.
1811z PAN VOYAGER in sight, 8nm west.
The sight of PAN VOYAGER brought a mixture of emotions, we were relieved that help was at hand but deeply saddened that we would be leaving BRILLIANCE, to all appearances there was nothing wrong with her, but a cursory inspection of the rigging showed that the starboard lower shroud was hanging on by a thread, spider webs were appearing around all the deck plates and every now and then a sharp, heart stopping, cracking sound could be heard. It was amazing that the mast had stayed up for so long, we had been very very fortunate with the weather/wind for the past 35 hours, whilst there was still a 4-5 meter swell the confused seas had died down the rolling motion had eased considerably and the decks were no longer awash though the mast was still lifting from the deck every now and then.
1930z PAN VOYAGER hove to and BRILLIANCE motored up to a ladder that had been thrown over the side, we had prepared a couple of grab bags with basics in case we had to take to the liferaft and these were hoisted up by the crew above us, then Iris had to make a leap for the ladder only to find that during the time from when she left BRILLIANCE the swell had dropped about 14 feet and she was hanging on for dear life, within the next 10 seconds BRILLIANCE was coming back up towards her like a
ballistic missile, the entire crew above had covered their eyes and my heart stopped as Iris deftly stepped back aboard BRILLIANCE like someone stepping off a high speed train without a care in the world. Another 2 heart stopping attempts were made before she finally made it and clambered up to the deck above.
Then came the real heartbreak, I went below switched off the EPIRB, cut open all the sea water pipe inlets and opened the seacocks, with seawater gushing in I took a last look around at my dear ship and wondered if I had really done all I could to save her. The answer is yes, the mast could not of stood up to any more violent rolling and another storm was on its way, if I didn’t leave the ship now then it wouldn’t be long before I didn’t have a choice, we were slap bang in the middle of the South Atlantic ocean and a lot of people had gone to a lot of trouble to come and get us. There was nowhere for me to tie any ropes to to keep the mast up and obvious signs of wear and tear were becoming more apparent every minute. I closed up the hatches stood once more at the wheel to steer her into the PAN VOYAGER then made a mad dash out of the cockpit and leapt over the guardrail as the swell took her up to what I hoped was the highest point on the ladder,
it seemed to work as I soon found myself being hauled up on deck by many helping hands.



Post.
I haven’t mentioned in the log the countless times we were pooped or the countless times we were knocked down, reason being is it happened so often it stopped becoming a novelty. The wind speeds mentioned were taken from grib files of the time as my anenometer had blown off years ago, I would estimate/know they were considerably higher than stated.

The liferaft had been serviced in Ushuaia and already had flares, water, torch, mirror, radar reflector, medical kit and emergency thermal blankets in it but we made up two grab bags with items rated for importance.

1st bag (waterproof), all extra flares, 2 thermal blankets, 2L water, handheld gps, binoculars, 2 toilet rolls (the wifes idea), fishing line and lures, survival handbook (if nothing else it would be something to read), 2 tins heinz baked beans, 2 tins ham. There was no significance to the amount of food, it was all we could fit in, if we had to abandon to the liferaft I doubt we would of lived long enough to of eaten it anyway.

2nd bag (large laundry bag) clothes, 4L water, 4 tins baked beans, 2 tins ham. 4 books.

Fortunatley we didn’t need the 1st bag but it was handy to be able to take the 2nd bag on to the Pan Voyager.

In our pockets we carried handheld vhf, compass, passports.

As a pilot I always used to walk around the aircraft and check that everything worked and was screwed or bolted on as it should be, fuel was good, engine was good, oil was good, radios and electrics all good.
I do exactly the same with a boat but sometimes bad things happen and when they do it helps if, when on passage, you always have your toolbox and all spares/shackles/splitpins/hoseclips etc. easily accessible, if things go wrong you don’t have time to rummage around under the bunk and you wont be entertaining guests so sitting on a screwdriver wont be a problem.

I normally sail singlehanded and so try to be ready for any thing. My wife Iris was with me on this voyage ostensibly because she ‘said’ she wanted to visit South Georgia (she later told me she had a bad feeling about the trip when I first mentioned it last year and didn’t want me to be on my own) I would not of managed without her, she kept a cool head and great presence of mind all through the experience.

To all the people involved, Coast Guards, Wafrah, Pan Voyager, Sailmail, I could not, in a million years, convey enough thank yous.

I am now looking for another boat to continue the journey, most people think the forestay is the most likely to break and so fit an emegency forestay, as I had, (the westerly also has a baby stay), but after this experience i will make sure the next boat has at least 2 lowers each side.
I will never leave a port without a Jordan series drogue either.

Brilliance was a 39’ Westerly Sealord, SD4 built in 1984, I had owned her since 1995.
All new rigging in ’97, a new starboard lower shroud had also been fitted in 2002.

If you have any questions that arise from this article please contact yachting monthly and I will answer them in the next issue.


Hi Dave,
I can use something like this to cheer the old man up once in a while. Cheers, Don (Jordan)

----- Original Message
To: donaldjordan@att.net
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 10:51 PM
Subject: The Jordan Drogue

Dear Mr. Jordan,
I'm a former pilot and still sail, and am writing to you to express both my amazement and thanks for the marvelous thinking which created the Jordan drogue. Year after this we will return to sea with a different boat, and definitely with a Jordan drogue. I would be mad to leave shore without a Jordan drogue. Far into the future sailors are going to be singing your praises.
Best Regards, John



2 hurricanes a few storms

been in hurricane georges and michelle in my tartan 37.

also in a VERY bad storm in about 2001 3 lows came together-weathermen said to stop and do not go further north in our tartan 37.
wound up with the jordan series drogue out (worked like a charm) about 500 miles south of bermuda.
when the srorm was over 7 boats were abandoned. after that 2 water spouts and 2 more gales before reaching bermuda.

this november we were heading to the carib from newport just south of the stream. . we were sailing in 50+ knots on our Amel as was my friend
bill in a 64 Oyster. he was hit with a microburst , which he feels was over 100 knots. knocked down, main destroyed, dodger and bimini mia.
made it to bermuda and ordered new sail.

we dont count Gails anymore.as it is common to run into one in november or late april in the atlantic.
fair winds
eric
__________________
Kimberlite
Amel Super Maramu



charlie--jordan series drogue

Charlie,
on my tartan we fastened the drogue to the primary winches and it worked fine.
i know jordan suggests straps on the stern- but when it gets to drogue time i doubt you want to be hanging over the stern. i have the new drogue for my amel set up to attach to my stern cleats and use rolling hitches to adjust the bridle with the primary winches.
the ride on the tattan with the jordan series drogue was smooth and we were only pooped twice by a couple of humongous breaking waves.Nothing would have helped in those conditions.

I am suspicious of the worth of the gail rider and others as they rely on one device. if it pops out of the water you are screwed. watching the jordan working was amazing some of it was in the water some was out but always a constand pull on the bridle and no tugging or jerking of the boat. i doubt one device would behave the same way.
incidentally I had installed 2 inch scuppers in the tartan 37 and the cockpit drained quickly. once i was in the cockpit once i was below. quite an interesting experience to be rolled over by a wave.
fair winds,
eric
__________________
Kimberlite
Amel Super Maramu


retreival

i forgot to mention the retreival.
when the wind dropped to 40 knots the boat started rocking swiftly from beam to beam. Very uncomfortable. We were told by herb to stay where we were and not to head further north (7 boats were abandoned to our North). when morning finally came i called ACE sailmakers and asked Dave about the rolling--he had no answer. he said to call mr jordan (on the sat phone) I discussed the problem with Mr Jordan--he sounded like a very old man. he finally said "i know what the proiblem is" i asked what is it . he said " not enough wind" we all got a chuckle out of that.

later we retreived the drogue. it was rather easy. as the boat rolled we pulled in the drogue when it was slack on a primary winch. when the boat rolled back it tightened up the drogue and when it rolled back we had more slack, i never had to winch it in the rolling and pulling made it simple. it took about 20-30 minutes to pull it all in.

DON"T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT>
fair winds,'



So a kit for 30 foot boat 8000 pounds would be over a thousand.