moondancer
Well-Known Member
If you read 'Fastnet' and 'Fatal Storm' about the tragic '79 fastnet and more recent Sydney-hobart the conclusion drawn is that in extreme conditions 'seaworthiness' is definately a combination of skipper and luck over boat stability for the size of boat.
Even in the '79 Fastnet, where many of the boats had very very low AVS figures (in the 90s) due to the IOR rule the thinking is that where boats were knocked down, pretty much any boat of that size would be knocked down - maybe skill of skipper and helming would have made a difference to some of the knockdowns. Size of boat, however, makes a huge difference to capsize resistance, much more than AVS for a particular size.
My vote for extreme conditions is to have a very good skipper and crew, along with a big boat. I would be a lot happier in a big Ovni compared to a high AVS Hunter Horizon.
Even in the '79 Fastnet, where many of the boats had very very low AVS figures (in the 90s) due to the IOR rule the thinking is that where boats were knocked down, pretty much any boat of that size would be knocked down - maybe skill of skipper and helming would have made a difference to some of the knockdowns. Size of boat, however, makes a huge difference to capsize resistance, much more than AVS for a particular size.
My vote for extreme conditions is to have a very good skipper and crew, along with a big boat. I would be a lot happier in a big Ovni compared to a high AVS Hunter Horizon.