With 35kts and 4-meter seas I could not fix it. I hand steered for 16 hours, unable to leave the helm to change hanked sails for fear of rounding up. I was over canvased and, on the edge, until we made anchorage. It taught me a few important lessons I never forgot. I became the Aries Windvane distributor for Austral Asia and found myself in Sydney to service all Aries windvanes in the BOC Challenge, the second ever solo around the world race 14 years after the original Golden Globe. I met Sir Robin Knox Johnston , saw all the windvane issues and so the story goesβ¦.
I am aware of virtually every commercial windvane sold in the world. None are perfect, but some are far superior to others. Some are more suited to certain situations and types of boats for various reasons of size, power, design and the voyage itself. The critical nature of windvanes in the Golden Globe sailing solo in the Southern Ocean was clear for all to see.
Three Beaufort windvanes suffered the same catastrophic structural failures. That was clearly the case in GGR As a result of these experiences, as organiser, I decided windvanes must now be assessed and reviewed as Significant Safety Equipment.
To achieve that approval, a manufacture or entrant must submit a comprehensive proposal to show why they believe, on GGR style boats, in the Southern Ocean for 30, miles, the unit will keep operating.
Various brands are now approved, one, only after proposing to make GGR specific modifications. After speaking to Hyrdovane and the sailors affected, here are our findings. Three GGR entrants have problems with Hydrovane units in this edition to date. Two minor and one serious. It happens to all machinery that moves constantly, just like my Navik!
