The thinking of the NAR organizing committee on the required towing eyes with pre-rigged towing bridles was simple: we did not want an emergency situation where a rally yacht urgently needed to be taken under tow and the crew had to figure out from scratch (under the pressure of time, an emergency, serious sea conditions, etc.) how to rig a proper towing bridle that would do the job without chafing. Hal was the only rally captain who requested a waiver on this and he easily convinced us that his approach was sound, so a waiver was granted for Que Linda. The fact that Hal had thousands of documented safe ocean miles of cruising in Que Linda and other boats was also a consideration for the committee in granting the waiver. Towing eyes were used twice on the rally, both times in calm seas and non-emergency situations for passing water and fuel. The N50 Four Across was taken in tow by the rally flagship, Atlantic Escort, and several hundred gallons of water were pumped through a garden hose to them after the N50's watermaker broke down. On the long Bermuda-Azores leg, Atlantic Escort took the lone N40 on the rally, Uno Mas, in tow and pumped about 100 gallons of fuel through a hose to the yacht, which allowed Uno Mas a bit more speed on the leg and a bit more of a safety margin. These two towing experiences were as much about giving the Atlantic Escort crew experience at taking yachts in tow and passing fuel and water as anything else. Personally, I am having a bow eye installed in my Nordhavn 47 and I hope it'll never be used for anything more than reducing scope when anchoring. But it'll be nice to know it's there if I need it. --Milt Baker, N47 Bluewater (under construction) >Hal Wyman wrote: >I asked for and received a waiver for the towing eye requirement, and >satisfied the organizers with somethink like you suggest. I had chain >around bow cleats shackled to 20' pieces of 1" line with thimbled eyes on >both ends. The outer ends of the lines were shackled to a 3" diameter 1/2" >stainless ring. The line had chafing gear at the hawseholes consisting of >heavy hose material split lengthwise and taped. > >Hal, Que Linda > > > If it were up to me, I would have opted for a split leg chain > > bridle with chaffing gear attached at the bow. The bridle > > made of as heavy chain sections as could be handled by the > > crew aboard, in rough conditions.