Para anchor

[Kettlewell]

The Fiorentino folks are very knowledgeable, but they obviously will be pushing their own products. I'm not saying they are bad, just that they do have a vested interest. There's a good discussion of the Jordan Series Drogue here. These folks are specialists in parachute sea anchors. I think this article is a good overview of the subject.

[woff]

Well John I thought that was the best steer on the subject I've seen and went to your web-site looking for more pearls. Thanks for the sleepless night, I really enjoyed the blog and now I want to buy your boat. I will send you a private message regarding that. I also went back to the ships library and noticed Peter Bruce, quotes you in his seminal book "Heavy Weather Sailing." Thanks for your contribution.

[Kettlewell]

Yeah, there's a picture in Heavy Weather Sailing of me at the helm with the drogue out, if you have the right edition. That photo was thanks to my wife going up on the deck to take it looking aft. Despite it being a pretty nasty experience, she said that we'd better take some photos because we won't be in many like this!

If your Targa 96 is the boat I think it is you have a very nice vessel already. It's almost a smaller version of my boat.

[congo]

A very good mate of mine invented the Para anchor, I did many a boat show with him and used his Para anchor a number of times to familiarize myself with it, that is what all that own one should do, you will learn how easy it is to release, what is required and where the your cleats are positioned, equally they are easy to retrieve.

Sad really it is a great product, he has sold the business to a company in the U.K.

Like all emergency equipment, don’t store it if you don’t know how to use it, don’t wait for the occasion to arise before experimenting with a plan.

One thing I can tell you if you end up in a situation where you need one they are absolutely fantastic, can be fun experimenting drifting at tide speed with thirty knot winds is a rare experience, makes great drift fishing if you are into that.

Regards.

Rex.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Just to be clear, that video was produced by Fiorentino, a manufacturer and seller of drogues and parachute sea anchors. Frankly, it looked to me like for a bunch of them they didn't have out anywhere near enough scope to give them a fair chance. Performance will be much different with lots of scope out. Some of them will ride much deeper below the surface.

My impression as well. I think it's pretty important to follow the manufacturer's recommendations when presuming to test a device.

There is some good data here on drogues, in particular, the Seabrake:

Sail Delmarva: Drogue and Parachute Sea Anchor Testing: A Summary for Small to Medium Cruising Catamarans

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by woff

I agree the problem doing researching on the internet is all the vested interests. Despite that, I found this useful as it was the first time I'd seen many of these products. All the company promotional material I've seen demonstrates these storm safety devises is in swimming pool conditions. This youtube video tries to approach the problem of gathering data by imposing similar conditions. I think the drag effect of each drogue, demonstrated by the reduction in speed is as valid as you can hope for.
The Jordan series drogue has been made available to all who can use a sowing machine at zero cost by Jordan. It's been a while since I looked at the web site but I seem to remember it was tested and reviewed by the US coastguard.

Lots of times in life we have to take advice from people with vested interests. If you listen to all of them, then you start to see the truth hidden in each person's story, and you can start to piece it all together.

That's why places like this, and the Pardey's book, are so helpful. No one here has one system for sail in competition against another, and the Pardeys are just reporting what's worked for them. Then you have to learn your boat, and consider your skills, and think about what you have on your boat, how it's configured, and what skills you have. I'm still intrigued by the Pardey's alternative approach of putting the para-anchor off the boat because my bow tends to sit on its behind and leave the bow very tender. Off the side of the bow might balance my boat well in a storm. But i have more storm experience since I first read their book, and am more clear about how my boat responds to forces. it's time to reread the Pardey book with a more critical (as in problem-solving) mind.