It's a shame we could not get ahold of that video Derek Kelsall mentioned in his posting, excerpt... "However, imagining lying ahull to those waves did not fit the picture. A couple of clients have described being in a situation where they expected to capsize from the size of the wave and the angle of heel, but then suddenly found the cat was back on its feet again. One of these clients decribed the waves passing while lying ahull and of the most disturbing part being the fall of the windward hull into the trough as the wave passed. The video demonstrated the situation as I understand it. The tank test was done in Southampton comparing a Lock Crowther catamaran ferry with a comparable mono, in large breaking waves and high wind, with the models lying ahull. As the wave hit the cat, which was still in the water, the windward hull was thrown up into the air, looking like an immediate capsize, but before the angle of heel had gone to 30 - 40 degrees, the wave had passed to the lee hull, lifting it just as rapidly to bring the cat level and then fall as the wave passed. The cat never capsized. The mono rolled every time. This situation actually applies whatever the orientation of the catamaran to the waves.
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