wrote

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 22:29:19 GMT, "Bart Senior"
wrote:

You are sailing upwind, offshore, when your backstay
parts at the masthead. The nearest land is 600 miles
to weather, and you have limited fuel, water, and food.

What should you immediately do? [1 pt]


Depower the sails or head further upwind. Why did the backstay fail?

Pull the backstay into the boat and find out. Probably a rigging failure.


What can you use to replace the backstay long enough
to get home? [1 pt]

any free halyard.

What else can be done to pull the mast aft to keep
tension on the rig? [1 pt]


Don't forget the mainsheet. Sheeting in hard will help support
the mast. And since you are hard on the wind, your sail trim
should still be nearly optimal.


??? There is still some back tension on the rig from shrouds. The
temporary use
of a halyard should be sufficient to get you home as long as you go easy.

BB