More about Wildflower

[Skip was asked a few questions about the practicality of a <30' boat crossing an ocean, and would a parachute sea anchor have helped any...here's his most excellent reply] What WILDFLOWER was doing out there was what she was designed and built for. In this day and age of bigger is better, in 1975, influenced by the stories and my sailing aboard solid little ships like SOPRANINO, TREKKA, SPIRIT, RENEGADE, and JESTER, I decided to build the smallest and most cost effective boat I could. Like many dreamers in those days, I wanted to voyage. Over the next 34 years, WF and I voyaged over 100K miles around the Pacific Rim, as far south as NZ and far north as AK, including 6 times to Hawaii and return. We regularly sailed together in the Gulf of the Farallones and off Santa Cruz, one of the West Coast's roughest patches of ocean. As you know, wind speed is not an issue for a well found boat. It is the height, period, and steepness of breaking waves that can damage. When I left my ship, despite being swept for three days by the tops of cresting and breaking waves I estimated to be upwards of 30-35 feet in height, WILDFLOWER was in one piece. The bilge was dry, the rig and sails intact, the batteries charged, the engine available. That was one thing that made it such a difficult decision: why leave my home when she was floating and undamaged? It would have been an easier call had we been broken. WILDFLOWER and I were a strong team together. As I purposely built her with extra layups and thicknesses, stringers, oversize mast and rigging, full skeg, dacron sails, etc. she did exactly what I had hoped: was stronger than I am. I've been sailing all my life (63), racing offshore for 54 of those years, including Fastnets, Hobarts, 28 Transpacs, etc. I know what a broken boat looks like. Nevertheless, every time I go to sea, I learn something new. GRIB files and QUIKSCAT are not infallible, and predicted windspeeds and direction can be off by as much as 25% . Diffuse wave trains can combine. For years, I carried a 12' diameter parachute sea anchor, as well as three drogues and tire. What I learned by practicing with the sea anchor during those years: it is wave and boat specific. The sea anchor is better suited in gale and storm conditions for a heavy displacement, full keel, deeper forefoot such as TALEISIN as she makes slow leeway 45 degrees off the wind. For a fin keel half tonner like WILDFLOWER, a parachute sea anchor proved more dangerous in practice than effective. Thankyou for questioning my motives. I am most happy to attempt to answer from my perspective, and hope others will chime in as well with their experiences. As we celebrate WILDFLOWER, her legacy will be what we can learn and share with each other. The power of the ocean can be an awesome thing