Another lost keel

I know you're aware of this Vyv - but before the long keel brigade turn up to declare that us AWB owners are all doomed, I feel it important to point out that it is a racy design with a very high aspect ratio fin:
yysw300191.jpg

Still, a sad loss of the vessel and a lucky escape for the crew thanks to SAR.
 
Crikey! Good that they both got out OK. What would the keel have been constructed from?
The stresses at the point where it exits the hull could (obviously) be extreme given the swell encountered.
 
15 hours hanging onto the saildrive in a southern winter storm . Not Fun!
One thing is for certain . It is not age /stress related.
launched in Sydney in April THIS YEAR!!!
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56KPH (30 knots?) wind and 2m (6ft?) swell is rough but not that rough and certainly should be well within the capability of an offshore race boat. "Prototype", well yes but that should mean sorting the snags not finding fundamental design or building faults. Barring a grounding or collision with something big there is something badly wrong here.
 
Indeed.
Either inadequate design or previously grounded I reckon.
Yes, and the human factor of whether to sail, how to sail (assymetric etc) and when to stop. Even in the realm of sport sailing.

Good that they are OK. Others might not be so lucky.
 
Extremely damaging for the company and it's employees . You have to feel for them.

Would be interested to know the method/materials of the attachment .
 
Reading between the lines on this report the forecast may have been rather more Just a second
I added in to the mix the fact that this boat was being sailed by an all female crew, then read between the lines of that report and saw some appalling misogyny, he seems to be blaming the sailors that the keel fell off. But even that states "30 knots with 5m seas should be inside the design brief"

In reality that's all that needs saying now.

Honestly, that's probably the worst article I've ever read in the sailing press.
 
looking at the image of the upturned hull there does not appear to be much damage around the area that once housed the keel.
Given the severe lateral loading that this keel would have been subjected to it looks as if a major re-think may be needed on how the keel is attached.
Good that the two crew have been rescued.
Such a loss does suggest that the probable reliance upon computer design optimisation programs needs the addition of some old fashioned engineering experience to say better ‘beef that up a bit’.
 
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