All,

I talked with Bert Jr. yesterday, and he said that in retrospect he thinks the mast went because he and Charley focused first on getting the chute in, and neither one eased the downhaul (which was honked on) or the main. I don't know about it hitting the bottom - I believe the boat only turtled completely once the mast broke...

Hats off to both Bert and Charley - I was driving the safety boat that hung with them while they got squared away, and they were both calm, cool and collected (emphasis on cool) after having to spend about a half hour in the water with breaking waves securing the mast and mainsail.