John & Joan Casanova are known by many as the 'Hiscocks of multi-hulls'. Over 20 years, they've sailed over 200,000 nautical miles trying every heavy weather technique known to seamen. They kept coming back to the parachute sea anchor. Their Horstman designed Tortuga 11 consistently survived ultimate storms including a Cape Horn gust of 100 mph, using the parachute sea anchor.

Dr Gavin LeSeur was the doctor at Mallacoota in south east Victoria during the time that helicopters were lifting survivors from the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. He said, "As l tended the cold and distressed crewmen, I was able to sympathize with them. My wife Catherine and I had been plucked from a life raft in the Tasman Sea ten years earlier. I didn't let on that I had been in their situation as l felt that Catherine and I had been much better prepared for the ultimate disaster. You cannot be too well prepared!" In mid-June 1999 aboard Magic Happens, Dr Gavin LeSeur and two crew left the Gold Coast Queensland, bound for Fiji. The 12 metre, 7 tonne Hitchhiker Mk 11 Catamaran carried more than the 'recommended safety gear'.

First hand accounts by some Para-AnchorsAustralia clients with the authority of experience in storm conditions.

While others sank .....

Don and Marilyn Logan were sailing their 40ft centre cockpit cutter Salena back to the Bay of Islands on the North Island of New Zealand from Fiji. When asked about the wave height in the storm (with the barometer showing 992 and winds 50+ knots), Don answered....

"As we headed towards Fiji" Gavin LeSeur relates, "the wind was gusting 45 knots and the seas were breaking. The depression was stationary and deepening, the crew seasick. I decided to launch the Tasman 15 parachute sea anchor. I had already rigged the sea anchor with rode of 200m nylon braid. The retrieval float was secured to 15m of light braid and attached to the apex of the parachute. On each bow Magic Happens has a bridle that I use for anchoring. This was tied to a rolling hitch and the rode end secured to a bollard.

"We were not able to estimate the wave measurements as we were comfortably resting below most of the time. It was our first time using the Para-Anchor and it took only 10 minutes to deploy in 50 knots of wind. Later in 35 knots, we retrieved and repacked in 10 minutes. There were only two of us. We needed some rest and got it. There were two other boats within about 50 miles of us in the same storm - both eventually sank. One after being rolled three or four times and the crew of three were saved by helicopter, the other damaged by a ship attempting to rescue crew, one of whom was saved and the other being lost. We had absolutely no damage to the boat and were able to search (without success) for the missing person on the way into port. We won't be going offshore without the appropriate parachute sea anchor as it is a very important part of our safety equipment".