This is an exceptional article and video. Well worth reading and watching. Alex and I were able to sail Aleria, a Bowman 57 ketch, when our rudder failed mid-Atlantic by balancing the sails alone while we effected repairs which took about 12 hours.

We have never believed in drogues for heavy weather sailing on our boat, but this video has convinced us that having a drogue aboard for steering purposes is an absolute necessity. Having lost steering, we know that every available option can be a lifesaver.

So we have our emergency rudder with the Monitor windvane and are going to acquire a galerider drogue as backup.

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=127014&refre=y&ntid=30&rid=3&subid=228662&NLID=464016

Vice Commodore, OCC