Friday, November 21, 2008

Volvo Ocean Race, Torture Boats, Comment 3

Team Russia, a Rob Humphries design Volvo 70.

Reference my comment .... one day, one wave train you will get it wrong.



The video is a little bit discombobulated, but viewing it with some offshore sailors, here is how they dissect it.

- Boat piles up on a wave, slows and then broaches.

- Involuntary gybe and now the canting keel is on the wrong side.

- Boat can't right itself, so it stops in the vertical position until they can get the canting keel pumped around.

- Afterguard climbs to weather using whatever handholds they can find.

- Keel gets wound around and boat slowly rights itself. Offwatch scrambles on deck. We have video from the inside of the boat as the poor offwatch also have to contend with a now vertical floor.

- Adrenaline quotient 90/100 (at least they weren't sinking)

From the .... I'm glad I'm on this end looking in.

No comments:

Post a Comment