We have a sea anchor on Chrysalis. As Dennis stated, the main purpose would be to keep the bow into the wind if the engines were down. I would also use it in a storm to give us all a rest, but would not consider running it aft. The idea of causing waves to accelerate into the stern makes me very uncomfortable. As we crossed the atlantic, I had it stowed on the bow, rigged to the twin windlasses for a relatively simple deployment. But in our 15 000 miles of travels, over the past 3 years, I have not been in seas that were even close to requiring us to use it. Mike Petersen