"Rich Schultz" wrote in message
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snip

As to what to do in these conditions, there are as many forms of advice as
their are sailors. It is important to understand that you will probably
never, ever, encounter what are called survival conditions. I have been
in
squall lines with 50 plus knots. The boat does better than I do.
snip

Rich


That's a really good point Rich. In many cases the boat is just fine.
However the crew, through fear, are the ones who don't weather the storm. No
pun intended. Fear is natural. I have been scared for my life at sea only to
find that the boat was more than capable of handling the conditions. There
are well documented cases of people abandoning their boats only have the
boat found, at a later date, in a somewhat messy but seaworthy condition.

Farringtons "rescue in the pacific" has a couple of cases that are somewhat
questionable.
http://books.buyaustralian.com/featu...d=00 70486190

Its not for me to point any blame at the crews of a couple of these yachts.
Bbut its certainly worth the read to see just what happens to the human
psyche in extreme conditions.

Although a lot of "hollywood" was involved, you may remember the Perfect
Storm movie had a similar case, where the inexperienced crew panicked and
put in a mayday while the old salt skipper was more than comfortable in
those conditions. It would be good to know the truth about that scenario.

DP