Just read "Left for dead" - about the 79 Fastnet.

[RobbieW]

Without going into too much detail it would be interesting to hear the different story?

My comment is based on remembered conversation 8-10 years ago. I cant go into detail as i) I dont remember it clearly and ii) its all painful memories for those involved. The article that Matt Sheahan, and contributed to by Mike Doyle, published in iirc Yachting World around 2009 is consistent with the story I heard. I cant find a link to that story so you'd need to find someone with back copies of the magazine from that period. In researching the article I found some reviewers who were distinctly unimpressed by the book, Dick Durham was quite forthright... http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/blogs/dick-durham/fastnet-folly-22025. Criticism based largely on the novel style of parts of the book and lack of input from other survivors.

Edit: I remember seeing Grimalkin in Port Hamble when up for sale a few years ago and thinking how small and unprotected she was for heavy weather let alone the conditions encountered in that race.