“I owe my life to you”

Email from a drogue user, Nov. 2, 2012

I owe my life to you, your book the Case for the Cruising Trimaran. I had bought a Piver Tri, not the Nimble but the Piver A or next design he did, it was in Hawaii in 1975. I sailed her around Hawaii and then got her ready to sail to Monterey Bay late in the year, 1976 October. The last bit of equipment I put on board was and old steel belted radial tire from the dump yard. Shackled with 1/2 chain and bridled to the stern of each ama with 1/2 nylon as a sea anchor described in your book.

Well, half way to California, we were caught in hurricane Kate and had 70+ knots of wind and 40′ (mast high) seas, we deployed the tire drogue and kept it in the back of the second wave behind us as we surfed down these monster swells for 2 1/2 days under bare poles and still hitting 15 knots on the knot meter, without the drogue we would have surely capsized. We then sailed or drifted through the eye of the storm. If we had not had that old tire and drogue system as you described in your book I am sure I would not have survived as we had no survival gear.

This as the same year, time that sank the 42′ double ended heavy-built blue water ocean going yacht the “SPIRIT” which I sailed on and alongside just during sea trials and water balloon fights before she departed for SF.

She sank 10 days before we crossed her course heading to Monterey, along with the loss of three persons. As the C130 Coast Guard search plane flew over us it made me sad and very somber to hear of the losses over the radio. It also made me grateful for my good fortune, luck and seamanship, much of which I learned from your wonderful book.

My sincere regards; thank you,
Mike Buckley