- ' misconception is the belief that a breaking wave "strikes" the boat
and that the moving water in the crest does the damage. Actually, the
boat is lifted by the forward face of the wave with no impact. When it
reaches the breaking crest the boat velocity is close to the wave
velocity. The crest water is aerated and has little damage potential.
Damage to the boat is incurred when the boat is thrown ahead of the
wave and impacts the green water in the trough. The leeward side and
the deck are struck.

 

           I agree as unless a wave is curling, not likely in an ocean unless the wind is against the current like our Fla Gulf stream, curling waves rarely happen.

          The facts are a wave was to curl, it just does it once to get back to a reasonable wave face angle as a wave just can't maintain that kind of angle needed to be dangerous. 

          Only  in  tusnami's, fast currents against the wind do these happen so likelyhood of one meeting on in open ocean is quite small. Where your problems wil be is shallow waters where is is deep next to it or with tidal, ocean currents, either of which you shouldn't et to sea anchor but instead sail out of that area, out of the current, shallows into safer water.

           But our much higher speeds and superior hull shapes make sailing out of these conditions fast and reasonably safe.

 

 A careful reading of "Fastnet Force Ten"

         Regretfully a company I worked for built at least 4 of the boats , Admiral's cup boats, the ones that lost their carbon fiber rudders and where I found out the disturbing details about just how hard it is to reilably lay up CF as it's almost impossible to know when it's been wet out as it doesn't change color like other composite when wet out.

         I rarely see a reason to use it and avoid it in my past boats.

         Have anyone tried using S glass and maybe Kevlar instead of CF in the masts, ect instead of CF? With a little engineering like slightly larger dia and a couple extra pounds would make up for the lower strength at a much lower cost.

 

 

and "Fatal Storm" will confirm this conclusion.' From the Jordandrogue
site

This I do endorse from my own experience. I've never been hurt by white
water but have been hurt falling off waves onto green water.

        I was almost killed by them in the Gulf Stream off Miami, Fla when the wind came up from the north at 50 mph against the gulf stream of 4 knots while we were in a 45' motorsailer mono. The waves were 8-12' and breaking and about the same length apart as the boat was long. We only survived by luck as the captain wouldn't get out of the current because he didn't want to wet close to the shore parallel with the current. After that I was much more picky with whom I sailed !!

       Yet in the same conditions off Ft Laud going to Martinque for the Trophy De Multicoupe in the 60' racing cat, British Airways captained by Robin-Knox Johnson, the famous single handed sailor.

       We left Ft Laud with the wind at 50 mph against thecurent and with the fifth reef in the main and most of the jib rolled up, averaged  16kt acrossed the gulf stream, hitting 24 kt while I was at the helm for a rather thrilling ride through breaking 12-16' seas. Our speed, thin hulls kept the ride reasonably comfortable vs the beating we took on the monohull.

      So watch for those currents that might come against the wind and if that's going top happen, get out of that current as fast as you can.

       As our boats are light, accelerate quickly they need a very full bow so if they go into a wave trough, it will pop up instead of going deeper into it. They also need it for sailing power to windward and to prevent pitchpoling.

                     Jerry Dycus

 

 

Robert

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