There are no boltcutters??? Now, that's just stupid. You need to
get the mast away from the boat. They're almost impossible to
get back on the boat and secure. Nothing can be saved, cut it
loose.

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...

Forget about how it happened. Bad luck or bad stays, the mast is down,
lying
with it's head in the water, still held a 3rd on deck held there by the
remaining stays. The sails were hanked on and they, along with the mast,
are
helping to create a motion in the swells that's pretty awful. No
boltcutters on
board. Can anything be saved? The sails? Should ANY effort be made to save
the
rig, or should we just get the needle nose pliars and get it all off and
over?
The seas are 4-6 feet, so there's imediate danger.

RB