[deltarholamda]

It depends. Lin and Larry Pardey do recommend them in heavy winds and seas, but they use a fairlead from the stern or midship to pull the sea anchor to an angle off to the side so that the boat lies at 50-ish degrees to the wind.

It's basically an aid to help with heaving-to. They are big fans of heaving-to in dangerous seas, and have collected a lot of anecdotes from other sailors who also recommend it as a heavy weather tactic.

It's certainly a good solution if you've got a full or mostly full keel. Light cruising boats may not fare as well, though some correspondents indicate that it works for them as well. My daysailer heaves-to with it's swing keel, but I only use it to go below to make lunch or whatever.

But you are very correct. Deploying a sea anchor can be very dangerous if you're not exceedingly careful, and retrieving them is a gigantic PITA.