Hi Bruce,

Ben Ellison posted a couple of pictures over on Sailnet that indicate pretty clearly that the mast failed precisely at the spot where there is a very large cutout in the aft section of the spar right above the gooseneck, to allow the main to be fed into the slot...

I suspect this is an instance where carbon fiber construction might have been a liability... Despite it's impressive strength, c-f when heavily stressed can be quite 'brittle', and tends to 'shatter' when it fails... Being keel-stepped, there would have been a massive compressive force on the rig when the keel was deflected upwards on impact, an aluminum rig might possibly have had a modest ability to 'absorb' such an shock...

At any rate, seems like it's not the best idea to cut big holes in stuff on boats requiring strength - whether that be a mast section, or holes cut in the topsides to accommodate picture windows... (grin)

best regards,

Jon