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CATAMARAN CAPSIZES IN 170 MILE PER HOUR WINDS



For the past fifteen years, I have listened to sailors tell me how dangerous it is to sail the seven seas in a catamaran.  They point out that in a storm, the catamaran may flip over.  They are right.  The catamaran may capsize, but it will not sink.  An inverted catamaran becomes the most expensive life raft in the world.


 

The Privilege catamaran shown in this picture is a sister ship of Exit Only.  This catamaran capsized while at anchor during hurricane Ivan in Grenada when the winds were blowing 170 miles per hour. The wind speed was so great that wind under the bridge deck lifted the catamaran into the air causing it to flip.  Although the catamaran went airborne, the Bruce anchor held without dragging, and the catamaran never blew ashore.




I have always wondered whether the structure of my catamaran would survive the impact of flipping over.  Now I know the answer.  Since this one flipped over in 170 mph winds, we can unequivocally say that a Privilege 39 catamaran should remain structurally sound in a capsize.  These photos show all the sides of this cat, and you can see that the yacht held together just fine.  The hull remained completely intact.  This is one strong yacht.  Doing the same thing to some boats would split the hull and decks wide open.



The mast did not survive the capsize because it occurred in shallow water.  The mast broke at the first spreader.  This catamaran was inverted for two weeks before it was turned right side up.  As expected, the boat had extensive water damage to its interior.  All of the wiring required replacement and the interior will require major revision because of the prolonged immersion.

Although it is sad to see a catamaran capsize, I have to admit that I was glad to see what happens to a Privilege 39 when it capsizes.  I now know that my yacht can survive a capsize in winds up to 170 mph.  I have a great deal of confidence in the performance and durability of my catamaran.  I have sailed 33,000 miles with winds up to fifty knots on multiple occasions.  In every instance, our cat was well behaved and never once did we feel like our lives were in danger.  Whenever our boat takes a licking, it keeps on ticking.

So there you have it.  Catamarans can capsize even while at anchor.  But if they do, your boat will probably survive, and you will live to see another day.

 

Thank you Exit Only.  I bet my life on you, and you came through for me.  You are an honest and seaworthy vessel.

Addendum:  The owners of the capsized catamaran must have a great deal of confidence in the Privilege 39 design, because after they lost their first one, they turned around and purchased an identical one.  Their first Privilege was named "Marbles", and the replacement was called "Lost Our Marbles."
 


Log 1 Peter Pan Around the World
Log 2 Weapons of Mackerel Destruction
Log 3 Pirates of the Malacca Straits
Log 4 Kissing Cobras
Log 5 Debriosaurus Rex
Log 6 Go Ahead - Live Your Dreams

Log 7 The Man Who Built His House on a Rock
Log 8 Ambivalent Eagles
Log 9 One-Shovel Full at a Time
Log 10 Hitchhiker's Guide to Planet Earth

Log 11 Keeshond

Log 12 The Red Sea Blues

Log 13 Feel the Freedom

Log 14 The Danger Zone

Log 15 Lucky Man
Log 16 Dream Machines - Land Rover Defenders

Log 17 Trade Wind Dreams
Log 18 Logs With Fins
Log 19 Everywhere, Everything
Log 20 Shark Slayer Is History

Log 21 Viking Funeral - Burial at Sea
Log 22 Improbable and Impossible

Log 23 Keep on Trucking
Log 24 Dream Machines II
Log 25 Bodysurfing Whales
Log 26 Hitting the Wall
Log 27 Surviving the Savage Seas

Log 28 The Next Step
Log 29 Welcome to Barbados
Log 30 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers
Log 31 The Man with the Unplan
Log 32 Dali Dolphins
Log 33 Flying Like a Turtle
Log 34 The Foolish Man Built His House on a Pitch Lake
Log 35 Go West Young Man
Log 36 Crossing the Atlantic in a Row Boat
Log 37 The Unsinkable HMS Diamond Rock
Log 38 Catamaran Capsize in 170 mph Winds
Log 39 When Are You Coming Home?

Log 40 Master and Commander of Anegada - Frigate Birds
Log 41 Baths of Virgin Gorda - Batholiths of Central Arabia

Log 42 Free at Last
Log 43 Stalking the Wild Manatee

Log 44 Spreaderman
Log 45 Attack of the Flesh Eating Bees
Log 46 Sharks and Coconuts
Log 47 Stingray Picnic
Log 48 Boo Boo Hill
Log 49 Whale Slayers
Log 50 Noddies (Not Naughty)

 

Log 51 Exumas Land and Sea Park
Log 52 David and Goliath
Log 53 Turquoise Clouds of Paradise

Log 54 Momma Nightjar
Log 55 Maximillian The Great
Log 56 Chiton Kingdom
Log 57 Flying and Holding On
Log 58 Far Horizons
Log 59 Clouds Are a Sailor's Friend
Log 60 Getting Connected
Log 61 Fear
Log 62 Grand Schemes and Other Important Things
Log 63 If Jellyfish Had a Brain
Log 64 Cousins That Don't Kiss
Log 65 Swimming With Sharks
Log 66 Perfect the Way You Are
Log 67 Space Travelers
Log 68 Aliens
Log 69 Monsters of the Mind
Log 70 My Butterfly Collection
Log 71 Somewhere Other Than Here Societies
Log 72 Five-Hundred Pound Spiders
Log 73 Red Sea Sunsets
Log 74 Gibraltar Sunrise
Log 75 Big Sea - Small Ship
Log 76 Just Cruising
Log 77 Castle Mania
Log 78 You Must Know the Sea
Log 79 Flying Like a Goat
Log 80 The Joy of Photography
Log 81 Universal Camouflage
Log 82 My Rainbow Collection
Log 83 Indian Ocean Reward
Log 84 Fiber W
Log 85 Turkish Reflections
Log 86 Mirrors and Mirages
Log 87 Lycean Tombs Rock
Log 88 Rigging Emergency
Log 89 Pamukkale
Log 90 Volcano Land
Log 91 Sniffing the Air
Log 92 Why I Don't Kite Surf
Log 93 Resurrecting Exit Only in Turkey
Log 94 Greased Pole Competition
Log 95 Tsunami Damage
Log 96 Afraid of Living
Log 97 Living on the Edge
Log 98 Borneo Adventure
Log 99 Uligamu Tree Tender with Full Benefits
Log 100 God's Fireworks Display

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