Yep, It happened to me at Tradewinds on my N20. I ran a piece of Amsteel for my jib sheet. This is the part that I don't hold. The line goes through a block on the spin pole. This area is a place that wears on the line. I inspected it prior to sailing that day. I had run it for less than a year. The line was slightly fuzzy where it went through that block but didn't look like it was ready to break in any way. Going upwind in the heavy air it just snapped as my crew was sheeting in. I'm positive it was caused by wear and tear through that block. It just goes to show how I would never trust that stuff for standing rigging or trap lines. Just a little abrasion and load and it will snap in a heartbeat.

If anyone has an answer for this issue where the line binds against the spinpole I would be interested in the solution.

Mike Hill