Planning Our Great Escape.

[Bulawayo]

My goodness - you really believe this? Why continue to own the Leopard 47? If I were this wary of my boat I would not go to sea in it. Any voyage should plan to avoid bad weather but inevitably it shall catch up with you. As for the boat tearing itself apart due to wave action........wow!! Have you actually witnessed or known this on a Leopard? The L47 is heavily built and shall not do this, despite your assertions. In fact I have never heard of this happening to any production cruising cat. I do accept that many of the latest production cats are becoming aligned to charter requirements and are not suitable for off-shore sruising in my opinion. We have cruised broad beam cats for over a decade through a number of F9's and a couple of storms that had the wind off the scale. Besides scaring us, the cats handled the weather well. It is also inappropriate to mention burying a hull after hurling down a wave front. What do you think happens to a mono-hull? It can also pitch pole. That smacks of not being appropriately prepared or poor seamanship. Unfortunately, many go to sea and rely on their electronics to 'save' them from what ever may come their way. What ever happened to being equipped and prepared for realistic situations? Bad weather is inevitable if you cruise. Get prepared for it, whatever your boat, be it a mono or multi-hull. Both are good and suit different styles, and both have caveats/benefits.
As a minimum I believe you should carry a way to maintain the best safety that is available on the market. If you haven't the money to invest in a sea-anchor or a decent drogue then you should question yourself if you have the right to ask others to put themselves into potential danger to rescue you.
We have a parachute anchor but have become convinced that we really would benefit from having a Jordan series drogue - and have just placed our order for same. Yes, it wasn't cheap but we sail in remote locations and I reckon my wife and kids deserve the best safety possible.

[downunder]

Voyage 45 from his tag I guess.

VOYAGE yachts catamarans, award winning sailing catamarans

[Bulawayo]

Hi.....someone knows theirs cats - yes, a Voyage 45. Our second Voyage. I have emailed you on your direct address. We find the Voyage suitable for our requirements. It still needed mods - the owners version is great but the double heads compartment in the port hull still has to be converted into a single more spacious head etc etc. As for qualifications, I personally hold both CASA (now a defunct South African organisation) and RYA (UK) Ocean Masters certificates. My wife also took herself through the RYA system when we lived in UK. However, there is no mandatory requirement to have qualifications if you own a sail boat. This can change with local requirements. Typically, in Durban (South Africa) you need only take a test that proves familiarity with the harbour and its regulations. What can be affected is insurance etc or if you wish to charter.