It turns out that a sailboat's anatomy - high wind exposure even running bare poles and a deep keel - can be used to defeat the underwater component of a breaking sea, rendering it harmless foam. The key, of course, is knowing how to stabilize the yacht in relationship to wind and water.

Using various sail configurations and/or anchor chutes and by simple tests like dropping bits of paper into the water, the boat may be kept within the confines of its own self-created safe haven.

This is not a "best-kept secret", but rather something that has been discovered and rediscovered in a fairly random and haphazard manner over time. Most sailors can't confidently say why certain storm strategies worked in some cases and others didn't. The authors have not taken lightly the presentation of this material to the boating public. We are all indebted to their work and insight.

76 of 82 found the following review helpful:


Essential information for those travelling offshore  Aug 04, 2000 By Conrad B. Senior
A reef will cause waves to break before a shore. The creation of a slick of disturbed water, by use of a parachute type anchor, held just below the surface, two wavelengths directly upwind of you, can do the same thing and create a pocket of relatively undisturbed water, in which a boat can ride out a violent storm safely.

This being the case, the crew have only two concerns.

1) Keeping the boat positioned so that the sea takes one side of the bow more than another prevents oscillations and keeps the ride smooth. Keep the bow strait to the seas is actually rougher and not desirable. This offset can be made with a bridle. And,

2) Preventing chafe, which will part your rode and lose your para-anchor, and put you at the mercy of the full fury of a storm.

The Pardey's successfully used these techniques to heave-to in storms and avoid loosing ground when the winds became unfavorable, and then continued on when conditions moderated. They did this with confidence.

My only concern, is the Pardey's experience was strictly small boat. Small boats have an advantage in a way, in that they can be easier to handle.

The question remains. How well will these techniques work with larger boats.

I would like to read about the results of people using this technique in a larger boat in more severe conditions. For example: a 42-48 foot catamaran and/or a 45-50' monohull in 100+ mph winds with large breaking seas.

UPDATED REVIEW: 6-27-2008

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Not only is this mandatory reading for those who sail offshore; it is as important to have this book on your vessel, as it is to have Chart 1.

I don't know any one with a sailing library as big as mine. I have so many books on the topic that I really need to get rid of some. Of all these many books, I'd rate Lin and Larry Pardey's book on "Storm Tactics" as "the most important book in my collection." The reason for that is this book will save your life. The information it contains is distilled down from the experiences of these two fine people, and presented to you in a convincing manner. No one who reads this book will every doubt that their tactics are the correct choice to see you safely through the worst of "it". Not only that, but if anyone else on your boat begins to panic, hand them this book. Once they know that you really know what to do, and how one can create a zone of protection from breaking waves, they will loose their fear and panic.


Years ago I read the first edition of this book and at that time, I felt the knowledge passed on to me, by these two legendary sailors, was about the most important information I could know. Unfortunately, many sailors have gotten away from the traditional methods of heaving-to, or laying-to, and laying-to a parachute type sea-anchor. Loose your racing mentality, that will get you killed, and adopt Lin and Larry tactics and you will survive.

Through real life experimentation, and retelling of many real events, any reader will be convinced, as I was, of the importance of this tactic. I've hove-to on the ocean, and was frankly stunned at how really well it works. I tell everyone about it. You will too. Try it, learn from it, and be absolutely sure you do not ignore their advice. I've owned a Para-Anchor for years, but I have yet to test it out. I will change that, because it is abundantly clear that practicing with this equipment is nearly as important as having it.

Below is a list of the contents of the book. I read it cover to cover, and by that I mean, I spent many hours reading each page carefully. I could only find a few minor suggestions to add to it. For example, if you are leaving your roller furled sail furled on your forestay or headstay, the Pardey's recommend removing this sail. But if it is left up, they recommend wrapping your spinnaker halyard around the furled sail to ensure it stays secure. I'd like to suggest that if you leave it up, take care to wrap the spinnaker halyard around this sail in the counter direction to the furl--I'm sure they meant to say this, but is it not specifically mentioned in the book. I also feel that a storm trysail should have it's only halyard, and that halyard should have an exit block at the place on the mast where the sail is fully hoisted. (i.e. it's own dedicated halyard). This is to avoid halyard slap which drives me out of my mind. Like the Pardey's I like a quiet boat--particularly at anchor, so when I hear halyard slapping, I know it is another boat swinging near me and it is time to get up and check to see if someone is swinging too close to me.

I also wish they had discussed the mechanisms of Cape Horn's Williwaw's in more detail. These are dense masses of cold air on top of plateaus at the higher latitudes, and are to trip and fall down the slopes, accelerating to creating sudden, intense, violent winds out onto the water at speeds of, I've read as much as 120 knots. A sudden drop in temperature is your only warning, and chances are this will not give you enough time to react, before your boat is on the rocks.

I no longer have concerns about how this technique will work on larger boats. My feeling is the Pardey's discussion of sizing a Para-anchor to allow the boat to slip is a critical part of the tactic. From what I've read it seems that a Para-Anchor about 1/3 the length of the boat is the right size. They recommend not going overboard on size and I agree with there assessment--read the book and you will agree also.

Here is the table of contents. I added a few comments after some chapter heading, in parentheses.


Storm Management
1. Storms and Cruising
2. Some Cautionary Tales and Thoughts on Heavy Weather
3. Heaving-To: the Sailor's Safety Valve (Don't call yourself a sailor, if you don't practice this)
4. Heavy Weather Experiences onBoard Seraffyn
5. Storm Winds, Storm Lessons: Taleisin's Worst Storm
6. Reflections on Storms near Cape Horn.
Questions and Answers
7. Storm-Tactics Choices
8. Details of Heaving-to, and Laying-to a Sea Anchor (Again, don't call yourself a sailor if you don't have one of these, and don't know who to set it up on a bridle. It seems that for displacement monohulls, 1/3 the boat length is a good size for a Para-Anchor)
Checklists for Storm Management
9. Choosing the Boat
10. Preparing the Boat
11. Preparing Yourself
12. Tactics as the Storm Approaches
13 General Storm Preparation
14. When It's Time to Heave-to (great advice, particularly the bit about the rudder getting mushy when seas start to break near your stern)
Other Sailors and Their Stories
15. On Boar Oneida off Baja California
16. Sina off the Patagonian Coast of Chile
17. Two Stories from the "Queen's Birthday" Storm
18. Using a Galerider instead of a Para-Anchor on Morgan's Cloud
19. Goodjump II: Lying-to a Para-Anchor inForce 10-11 Winds
20. Secret Affair" Four Days Behind a Para-Anchor
21. Weathering Storms with a Junk Rig (Interesting, I must sail a Junk Rig. Someone invite me out!)
22. Notes from an Interview with Sir Peter Blake
Trysails, Staysails, and Rudder-Failure Prevention
23. Strom Trysails and Separate Trysail Track Installation (More really good information)
24. Sorm Staysail/Jib Combination
25. Avoiding Steering Problems (This is a great chapter, and I've decided to change my rudder stops based on things I learned in this chapter--IMPORTANT STUFF)
Appendix: Handling a Boat in Cyclonic Situations (Something you should have as a reference on your boat when at sea--taken from Bowdich--good stuff and something you won't want to guess about when caught in a storm)

One final point. I watched their DVD. It is worth showing your crew prior to setting sail on the ocean. I particually liked the "Yacht Club Song" they sang.

Thank you Lin and Larry, and I wish you continued success in your book and DVD publishing. You've done a great service to all of us by writing this book and updating it. No doubt your book has saved lives, but unless you actually pull someone out of the water, you don't get credit for it. I'm convinced many people in the world are still breathing because of your outstanding book. Keep up the good work. I hope I get to meet you someday.

27 of 27 found the following review helpful:


Must Get This Book  Jun 13, 2006 By Gregory Houtz "SFBaySailGuy"
If you are thinking about making a passage, then you have an emergency if you haven't purchased and read this book.

I have done some study into the subject of heaving-to and drag devices, having used some and spent some time in heavy weather.

One thing that all books except this one have in common is a lack of serious discussion of heaving-to. "Heavy Weather Sailling," by Adlard Coles, is interesting but ignores heaving-to.

There are many tactics that can be used in heavy weather, but heaving-to is the one that ultimately works. The key principle is not easy to see, but obvious once you understand it: the water in big waves moves up and down, not down wind, and hence running (even with a drag device) is very dangerous, because if you stop surfing, you are moving far faster than the water, and you will crash.

It is also the waves, not the wind, that destroy boats. Keel boats will heel as far as necessary to unload excessive wind force, unless irresponsibly over canvassed, but it is the breaking waves that pick boats up and drop them on their sides, causing dismasting, collapse of cabin tops, blowing out of portholes, etc.

In "Storm Tactics," Lin and Larry Pardey put it all together. They cover all the above, and more, and give you the science behind heaving to, and the Von Karmann area. The prose is simple, logical, and unassailable. These people not only give you the principles behind heaving-to, but they have actually done it, over and over and over again. This book should represent a revolution for yachts that will help them weather the worst of storms and make more confident passages.

In particular, I recommend the "Question and Answer" section. In it, Larry and Lin address the concerns of other cruising sailors regarding heaving-to, but especially they go into the reasons why it has taken nearly a century for us to rediscover heaving-to.

The question for passage makers at this point is not "Should I heave to", but rather, "Is my gear in proper shape to weather a bad storm?" Instead of arguing and wondering whether heaving-to is the right tactic, we need to be setting up our storm trysail so we can get it up quickly in bad weather, and making arrangements so that the sea anchor can be quickly unstowed, deployed, and protected against chafe in the extreme conditions of a typhoon or hurricane. And, we need to practise these tactics.

Larry and Lin help a lot with this. One criticism I have of this book is it just needs to be a little bigger. They spend a lot of pages (necessarily) defending the idea of heaving-to. This is absolutely necessary, unfortunately. In the next edition, I would like to see more information and detailed instructions/options about how to stow the gear needed so that it can be quickly and safely deployed, and more information about the sea anchor arrangements.

Yes, there are probably other sources for some of this information, but Lin and Larry are the best authorities, and hearing it from them gives me much more confidence.

If you are still questioning whether these tactics are really as good as they say, then the best thing to do is get out in a moderate gale and try it out. Fortunately, my boat heaves-to pretty easily in moderate to heavy gale conditions without additonal equipment, and I can vouch for the Von Karman field and the feeling of confidence that comes from being able to use this technique effectively.

For more evidence, read the books, "Once is Enough," and "Because the Horn is There," in that order, by Miles Smeeton. In the first book, Miles and B. use the technique of running in heavy weather trying to round the horn. In both tries, they were dismasted, once because they were pooped and flipped by a following sea, and once because they were rolled after they lost control. At one point they even speculate that another boat that had trouble rounding the horn was probably lost because they were "hove-to."

In the second book, they are trying again, this time with the experience of sailing around the world several times in all kinds of conditions. This time, they are heaving-to quite a bit.
The change is amazing.

You should read Lin and Larry's other books as well. While they have quite a bit of "travelogue" material, every once in a while these people will casually mention something that will improve your boats (and your!) seaworthiness significantly. There is nothing like learning from real honest-to-god experienced people.

So, Lin and Larry, good on ya! for sharing your experiences and wisdom with the rest of us. You are definitely saving lives.



14 of 15 found the following review helpful:


This book is essential equipment on any sailboat,  Feb 15, 1999
The sheer logic of this book explains why the Pardeys have become the most respected sailors out cruising today. In this book they make it clear they are not inventing anything new, just reminding us that the sea does not change nor does basic seamanship and understanding the principles of heaving to are one of the most basic premises of helping your boat make it through a storm. Wish I could attend one of their storm tactics seminars one day.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


Every blue water sailor should read this book  Nov 09, 1998 By spatin
The book goes into the unpleasantness of what to do to prepare for and survive a major storm at sea. It is well thought out and well written, with several check lists for the sailor who wants to make sure his own vessel will survive the passage through force 8 and higher seas. I hope I never have to test the advice of the authors, but I feel confident that they do know what they are talking about. Hopefully, the Pardey's will continue to update the book as information becomes available.

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