Posted by Stephen Clark on February 16, 2005 at 13:16:43:
In Reply to: Crew training for America's Cup hits whale posted by jeff Shaw on February 16, 2005 at 09:44:18:
Often when an offshore racing sailboat hits a whale it's curtains for the whale. In this case you have a 20,000lb boat with a 10,000lb sharpened bomb-shaped bulb hanging from a 12' strut of steel which has been faired (edges sharpened) to minimize drag being driven into the animal at 10 kts. And the boat was under the maximum amount of sail. When a sailboat hits an object under sail the wind keeps pushing the boat into the object until sails can be dropped which can take quite a long time. I can't imagine a Wright Whale being in very good condition after an incident like that.