Spend overnight below in mid-ocean.

The use of a parachute sea anchor can save lives not just under catastrophic conditions, but in more subtle ways too. For example, how many lives and vessels have been lost due to fatigue alone? For that matter, how many folk have returned to being landlubbers or day sailors because of discomfort of life in the open ocean? Those who have not experienced the performance and dramatic reduction of danger and discomfort through the use of a parachute sea anchor just don't know what they are missing. Adventurer Hans Tholstrup illustrates the point. On his 6000 km trip from Darwin Australia to Okinawa Japan through pirated seas (in a 5.4m half- cabin open boat, powered by a single 90hp outboard), Hans Tholstrup noted, "conditions were so rough that I decided to sea anchor; not only to preserve fuel but to have a break. I set the Para Anchor, the worlds best product for boats made right here in Australia. It was not a life-threatening situation, but it meant that I stayed in control." (Modern Boating magazine) Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to circumnavigate the world without stopping, wrote in Cruising World magazine, "The first point to remember is to never lie across the waves, as a boat's broadside offers the wave the maximum resistance.

Apart from the crew's discomfort caused by a heavy rolling boat, a large or vertical wave will sooner or later smash into the side and either roll the boat or cause considerable damage. Laying a boat's beam to a big sea is always a risky business. Heaving to is a suitable tactic for moderate seas, but facing the seas with a proper parachute sea anchor is by far the safest. Boats are designed to take waves on the bow, not from abeam. So give your boat its best chance and give yourself the best in comfort and safety".

Drift is another major consideration. If you are navigating a course and wish to rest, it's best to stay on course. If you are in distress and waiting help, its best to stay in the position you first reported; so staying put is best. Robin Knox Johnston reports "When a boat is hove to she will always drift downwind, though she may crab a bit sideways as well. The speed of the drift depends on the proportion of a boat's wetted surface, as opposed to the topside proportion that is exposed to the wind. Some boats will drift quickly. I have experienced 72 miles of drift in 24 hours when hove to. If a boat does not drift searchers can pinpoint its position. If it drifts 72 miles, that means it is then somewhere in 5184 square miles of ocean, a needle in a haystack! Parachute sea anchors really do make sense. Rather than drift with the wind, you drift with the current (even upwind subject to current direction) and only at a snails pace around half a knot wind-affected drift".

Stand-off safety overnight.

What if you arrive at your destination harbour mouth or reef entrance just after dark? Most stories you've read relay how the crew had to stay up all night, reaching back and forth, standing off until daybreak, rather than risking a dangerous harbour entry in the dark, and this is at the end of a voyage when crew are the most tired. With a parachute sea anchor, the option is to stand off a safe distance and go below for a well deserved rest (maintaining an anchor watch roster is a must). Suddenly, ocean voyaging becomes safer and bearable.