What are Knock Downs?

Knock Downs are dangerous incidents when in a rough sea the mast of a boat is knocked down to the horizontal level or all the way down to the sea. This happens to Joshua several times during the trip around the world, with four knockdowns occurring in the last leg of the trip in the Pacific towards Tahiti. A knockdown may cause minimal damage or only a couple of ripped sails. More extensive danger may occur, and there is always the danger that when the boat goes through a knockdown, the sailor can be thrown about and severely injured or killed. Or if he is outside, he could be thrown off the boat entirely, or be dragging from a safety harness.