Umm not sure what you mean by some of this...
oh.. having some newsreader problems... ok.

1st... I wasn't on the boat, but calling the CG was
prudent, given that the boat was in a major shipping
channel. The CG likes to know these things so that
they can 1) alert inbound and outbound traffic 2) come
and help if necessary, but mainly stand on in case things
get worse.. e.g., mast penetrating the hull.

Personally, I'm glad that the skipper cut everything loose,
rather than try to retrieve it. The stuff wouldn't have been
worth much and it would have been dangerous, given
the conditions.

"Aniculapeter" wrote in message
k...
Ganz, I can't see your post on my newsreader,
so I answer to this post instead, after reading
your post on google:

This is not meant as criticism, but why did you
call the coastguard ? Was that necessary ?

A few month back I was on a boat that lost the
mast and we decided that we had to cut it
loose to avoid damage to the hull.

But I wonder if we could have salvaged the rig.
Had we cut all but the wires, halyards and
sheets except for the aft stay, the boat would
have been blown to leeward of the rigging and
it might have been safe to start the engine and
pull the rigging in to sheltered water where it
might have been possible to drop the anchor
and get some of the gear onboard.

Since the sails were damaged, the mast broken
and most or all of the standing rigging would
have to be changed anyway, I don't think we
could have saved a lot of money, but anyway,
I wonder if it would have been possible.

And ... an experience like that really makes you
remember always to keep a well dimensioned
wirecutter onboard.