Wing keels and storms

[Little Rascal]

As I understand in really big seas when beam on to the waves the real danger is that thee wave in breaking accelerates the water near the surface while the deeper water remains stationary. Thus a deeper keel is stuck in stationary water while the surface water supporting the hull accelerates to lee ward thus tripping the boat over in some cases right over. So in this theory with a shallower keel you may be much safer in breaking waves than with a deep keel. Retracted keel even better provided you have ballast low enough.

Will, thats an idea supported by Roger Taylor - he sails a bilge keel Coribee in these type of conditions and says she has an easier time of it for those reasons.

...Regarding aircraft wings it is interesting to note that the theory has been around for a long time. Yet not all aircraft fit winglets on the ends. So the advantage is not always clear given the drag involved....

In aircraft, the benefits of a winglet tend to to occur at a particular design speed - hence commercial aircraft that travel at consistant cruise speeds will tend to have them.