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A 1987 US Coast Guard Report Concluded That All Drogues and Sea Anchors Tested Successfully -- Provided They Were Properly Engineered

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A 1987 US Coast Guard Report Concluded That All Drogues and Sea Anchors Tested Successfully -- Provided They Were Properly Engineered Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. A 1987 US Coast Guard Report concluded that all drogues and sea anchors tested successfully -- provided they were properly engineered. It’s a conclusion ignored in Yachting World’s “Drogues & Sea Anchors” article. Yachting World in its May 2014 article misquoted a 1987 US Coast Guard (USCG) report, claiming a series drogue tested better than cone-style drogues and sea anchors. The USCG report actually stated how all of the devices prevented vessel capsize successfully and not one specific product as alleged by Yachting World. Perhaps misunderstanding the terminology contributed to Yachting World’s mistakes. In the USCG report, a drogue is defined as a sea anchor or any other similar device deployed from the bow or stern of a boat. This makes the report difficult to read as terms are used interchangeably to mean the same thing. The Yachting World article also says the USCG report raises questions about deploying a drogue or sea anchor from the stern rather than the bow, especially from a fin keeled sailboat. The report’s consulting engineer and author, Donald Jordan, arrived at this conclusion primarily through model testing and computer analysis with minimal boat deployment of equipment. What’s not mentioned in the Yachting World article are the numerous real- life stories published over the past several decades that demonstrate how equipment deployed from either end of a boat perform equally well as long as it is rigged properly. Boaters might consider that the USCG report is nearly 30 years old. The Jordan series drogue was a new product built by Jordan to be specifically used for testing in the USCG report. While Jordan states in the report he Page | 1 Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. has no proprietary interest in the Jordan series drogue, he did strongly support the sale of the device through his business relationship with Ace Sailmakers (USA) by encouraging buyers to purchase the Jordan Series Drogue. Both equipment and deployment/retrieval processes have changed significantly since 1987. There are newer products on the market now that effectively address issues of breaking waves. Many of the advantages of the series drogue that Jordan claims have been matched or surpassed by newer equipment and deployment procedures. The USCG report states, “The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.” It also says, “The report does not constitute a standard specification or regulation.” Throughout the report and in his final conclusion, Jordan, while favoring his own Jordan series drogue product, states that any properly engineered and correctly sized drogue can prevent breaking wave capsizing. This sentiment of Jordan’s was somehow overlooked by Yachting World. Original series, cone-style drogues, and sea anchors tested in the 1987 USCG report. Photo courtesy USCG. Page | 2 Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. Publication: Yachting World Magazine Article Name: “Drogues and Sea Anchors” Pages: 86, 87, 88, 90, 91 Reporters: Elaine Bunting and Skip Novak Editor’s response: Elaine Bunting made some edit suggestions within our article and we made the changes. Ms. Bunting stated “I acknowledge the publication of your report and if you would like to give me a link to its location online I will add it as a link to our report.” US Coast Guard responds to the 1987 report USCG (2008) An e-mail to Fiorentino from the office of Design and Engineering Standard Lifesaving and Fire Safety Division helps clarify Jordan’s role in their test. Jordan formulated and collected the test data and then wrote the report with C.L. Hervey: “In general, the Coast Guard does not endorse products and findings in test reports are presented as the opinions of the researchers and not necessarily the opinion of the Coast Guard….The R&D Center was in charge of the project with the assistance of Mr. Donald Jordan as a consulting engineer involved with formulation of test parameters, test methods, data acquisition, evaluation of results, and writing the report. The Coast Guard provided a convenient, low-cost test platform…” USCG (2016) Fiorentino contacted the US Coast Guard in August 2016 to fact check this article. The USCG clarified in an e-mail there’s no recommendation of one drogue over any other. Here’s their recommendation: “The Coast Guard recommends that individuals decide what drogue/arrangement will best fit their boat and the situations they need to be prepared for while operating.” We agree boat design and personal preference are the big determining factors on what storm tactics a sailor chooses to use. Of course, a sailor’s level of experience inevitably contributes to the decision making process. Page | 3 Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. Clarifying misinformation & misquotes In this article, we will review vital test details and relevant information omitted from the Yachting World article. We are particularly concerned about claims in the Yachting World article that the USCG report “recommended” or stated the series drogue was the “best option” tested. This is misleading because it implies an endorsement was made from the USCG which can help boost product sales unfairly. This is a red flag to us, because the Coast Guard, as we pointed out, has never endorsed the series drogue or any other drogue for sea going vessels. In fact, as mentioned earlier, its report says all sea anchors and drogues work equally well if engineered properly. In addition, Yachting World makes very little effort to balance its article. There are only positive statements about the series drogue and generally negative remarks about competing drogues and sea anchors. Without providing reasonable pros and cons about each device, we can’t see how a reader can make an informed decision about how to resolve a potential issue or choose the right safety device for themselves. In some parts of the article, it is evident that the information is the reporter’s own opinions. However, in other areas, such as the descriptions of parachute anchors or series drogues, it misrepresents the conclusions of the USCG report. The article also ends with two additional pages of testimonials supporting only the series drogue with no attempt to present views of users deploying other types of drogues or sea anchors. Finally, only one company is promoted in the Yachting World article through a web link. The company only sells the series drogue. Yachting World’s online digital version of “Drogues and Sea Anchors” sends you directly to the seller’s website. All of this seems bias to us considering standard protocol with most publications is to list several competing manufacturers. Page | 4 Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. Yachting World claims & our response The following quotes are taken from Yachting World’s “Drogues and Sea Anchors” article that we feel misquote or omit important details related to the USCG research. “Yachting World’s Claim” is followed by “Our Response” which includes additional details we feel have been overlooked. We hope to bring balance by showing both points of view in an attempt to present both the pros and cons of each drag device tested. Yachting World Claim: “The report also notes that “in the trough of a wave/ swell {when} the para-anchor rode goes slack, the yacht will commence to yaw, wanting to lie ahull, thereby leaving it partially or totally beam to the sea with the possibility of being knocked flat or rolled.” Our Response: The USCG report describes how all of the drogues, especially the series drogue, suffer from the same issue of rode going slack leading to possible vessel knockdown. What Yachting World excludes is how Jordan, who authored the USCG report, added 35 pounds of weight to prevent his 90 element series drogue from collapsing and the yacht from yawing during his tests. Jordan concluded “For smaller boats a 25 lb. anchor is adequate. For large boats a 35 to 50 lb. anchor is preferable” to successfully deploy the Jordan series drogue. Donald Jordan recommended 25 to 50 lbs. be added to his series drogue. C/O USCG Page | 5 Copyright © 2016 Fiorentino Para-Anchor. All Rights Reserved. There is no indication Jordan used chain weight with the cone-style drogues or sea anchors during his testing process. Fiorentino tested chain weight with various drag devices in the years after the report was written, which demonstrates that weight placement is an important solution for all storm drogues. Not all drogue manufacturers recommend chain weight. Interestingly, Fiorentino discovered weight placement is not as important for the para-anchors as with storm drogues since para-anchors hold more water. The extra force from larger devices helps reduce slack rode, assuming the parachutes are sized and matched properly to the boat. Para-anchor sizing does vary between manufacturers. Additionally, some of Fiorentino’s Constant Rode Tension Solutions™, we feel enhance para-anchor and storm drogue performance include, but are not limited to: using rode with less stretch, rode adjustment, shorter bridles, the Free-Flying riding sail™, and engine or sail power. These are some of the alternatives for dramatically reducing slack rode to reduce the yawing problem besides chain. All of these have been developed and tested since the USCG report was issued in 1987. (To learn more about these solutions check out Fiorentino’s Constant Rode Tension Program). Yachting World Claim: “The US Coast Guard report raises some serious issues about these drogues streamed from the bow. It ‘questions the veracity of claims’ they offer bullet proof protection in storm survival conditions.” Our Response: The report does address possible issues with drogues streamed from the bow of a boat, especially a fin keeled sailboat, but mostly related to slack rode.
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