S/T-5

Trimaran, Newick Derivative

30' x 25' x 2 Tons

5-Ft. Dia. Sea Anchor

Force 9 Conditions

File S/T-5, obtained from the owner of the boat, residing in Falmouth, MA. - Vessel name withheld by request, hailing port Falmouth, design derived from the Newick Val 31 concept (lightweight, open wing ocean racing trimaran), LOA 30' x Beam 25' x Draft 8' x 6" (2' 3" board up) x 2 Tons - Sea anchor: 5-ft. Diameter Shewmon on 200' x 5/8" nylon three strand tether and bridle arms of 50' each, with 1/2" galvanized swivel - No trip line - Deployed in a gale in deep water within the Gulf Stream with winds of 45-50 knots and seas of 12 ft. - Vessel's bow yawed 10° - True drift was undetermined due to the Gulf Stream.

This lightweight Val-class racing trimaran was sailing back from Bermuda to her home port of Falmouth when she ran into a gale within the Gulf Stream. The skipper deployed a 5-ft. diameter Shewmon sea anchor, which pulled the three knife-like bows into 12-ft. confused seas, and kept them safely there for a period of 18 hours. Several snatch blocks were used to bring the bridle ends to cockpit winches. This enabled the skipper to work the bridle from the safety of the cockpit. He found it necessary to freshen the nip once every hour or so - two turns on the winches to shift the wear points and reduce localized chafe. The large daggerboard - drawing 8' 6" when fully lowered - was raised about two thirds of the way up, leaving about three feet of board sticking out of the bottom to keep the hull's center of lateral resistance sufficiently forward. The tiller was lashed amidships.

The bridle was led off the main hull and the tip of the port float only. The beam of the yacht being 25 ft., this "half-bridle," extending from a 12½ ft. base, was evidently enough to provide the leverage needed to keep the trimaran facing into the seas. In general your author is opposed to "half-bridles," however. Along with other safety experts, your author feels that the multihull bridle should make full use of the leverage afforded by the maximum beam of the yacht. The wider the base of the bridle, the greater the leverage - and the more positive its influence in terms of vessel alignment.