TAKEAWAYS FROM THE GALE

Given the profound effect the knockdown has had on the Figure 8 Project, I’ve thought hard over the intervening months about what I could have done differently. Here are some of my conclusions:

Early in the gale, I put under storm jib alone. This sail is a mere 175ft, and though I didn’t have the “reserve speed” necessary to move through the troughs without stalling. Without steerage in the troughs, the boat would naturally begin to round up as she climbed the next peak. Given the big seas and the big break, the result was disastrous.