Sailing from Nantucket to Australia

[Jim Walsh]

http://www.ack.net/CoastGuardRescue021515.html

http://www.newportri.com/newportdailyne ... 522f0.html

I'm all for adventure but these two guys put the lives of others at risk. They should be billed for their negligence. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

[pjust]

I wonder if anyone had told them that February is winter in the northern hemisphere.

[Skeep]

Jim, thanks for the link to Rhode Island, cause all I saw on Youtube this am was the rescue. I did not know the rest of the story. Well you know it's a big mistake on their part, however, the CG and other Rescue units like AF Pararescuemen (PJ) get great training out of snagging these folks. Provides competence for the rescue teams when the conditions are much worse. My son is a PJ and has plucked many from many places. Each time provides more competence. So, all is not lost on the event!

[Klem]

GCaptain is reporting that the boat had severe delamination issues. The fact that gelcoat and paint wouldn't stick to the hull speaks of potentially major issues. I have also seen several mentions of a lack of experience. http://gcaptain.com/australian-lunatics ... nantucket/

It seems like there have been several cases recently of people setting off at the wrong time of year without having done a proper shakedown (this is far from the only problem in many cases). The unfortunate fact of the matter is that sailboats are complicated machines and they tend to have some issues even when brand new and the only way to deal with them is to test them in relatively safe settings and keep building up until the boat is ready to take on really nasty weather.

[Bill Goldsmith]

Unfathomable.

[Skeep]

And, as we've seen again and again, even in the most professional crews, unexpected situations may arise...remember this one:

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2014/ ... ling-week/

Stuff can get crazy out there! But these gents did sound a bit off on their departure calculations.

[Steve Laume]

These guys should have attempted a run down the ICW and then left from Florida to take the Panama Canal to OZ.

When trying to list all these guys did wrong it might be far easier to point out one thing they did right, if there was one.

Heading off into the N Atlantic during the winter
With a blizzard forecast
Short handed
One of the two had no sailing experience
The captain seemed to have no offshore experience
Crew didn't seem to know how to fix things themselves
A boat of questionable seaworthiness
It had sat for years
Race boat not set up for short handed sailing
Never took the time to shake things down before leaving
No dodger
No wind vane
A single finicky auto pilot
A big one was that they had time constraints with worries at the other end of the trip
They placed too much emphasis on booze
They dd not have proper safety gear (the captain came on board the helicopter in sweat pants instead of a survival suit)
They did not listen to advise

This list could go on and on but it is clear that they were so ignorant they didn't realize they were fools.

I would not have gotten onto that boat with them, even if the winds were half of what were foretasted, in the summer time. It seems like they were just short of the Gulf Stream where things would have gotten truly terrifying with the north winds they had. It looks like they bailed at just about the right time to save their sorry souls and not kill their rescuers along with themselves. If they had made it just a bit further they might have been out of rescue range and they would have just had to thrash around out there on their own. This would have been the best thing for them as far as I am concerned.

So basically all they managed to accomplish was to put some very capable CG rescue people and aircraft in a very risky situation and leave behind a hazard to navigation, Steve.

[hilbert]

If they had made it to Bermuda, maybe they would have gotten their act together and completed the journey.
Then people would be speaking of them differently.

A good book for winter reading is "Solitaire Spirit" by Les Powles.
Les set out alone to cross the Atlantic after logging just eight hours' sailing time, only two of them solo.
After some misadventures, he eventually circumnavigated the globe solo three time and became a beloved figure.
If he had failed on that first crossing, then people would be speaking of him differently.

People should be free to choose their destiny.

[Steve Laume]

The key point in this case is that they were not going to make it to Bermuda in those conditions.

Lots of people have made crazy voyages and that is fine but this one was doomed from the start, Steve.

[David Morton]

People should be free to choose their destiny.

As long as they take responsibility for their choice. And that would include not putting others' lives at risk and wasting a good deal of my taxpayer's money.

[Stan W.]

The thing that jumps out for me is that, apparently, they only had racing sails. Can you even imagine heading out into the North Atlantic in February without a storm jib and a trysail? Just astonishing.

[hilbert]

Freedom is messy, but careful what you wish for.

New Zealand recreational boats, yachts and pleasure craft going overseas must be inspected before they leave. This is commonly referred to as a Category 1 inspection. The main purpose of the safety inspection is to ensure those departing are as safe as possible, and that they can get help if anything goes seriously wrong. The vessel must be out of the water for inspection. The design and construction must be suitable for the voyage, the safety and communication equipment is inspected, and the skipper and crew must be capable of undertaking the proposed voyage safely.

Under this bureaucracy, Raven may not have been permitted to sail single handed to Bermuda.

[tjr818]

That is quite a policy. I wonder how they enforce it?

[hilbert]

With a draconian heavy hand when Les Powles was passing through.
At least at that time, it applied also to foreign boats. Les couldn't pass or afford the inspection.
He needed to slip away, knowing that he would never be able to return to New Zealand.

"Solitaire Spirit" by Les Powles

[Steve Laume]

Raven probably would have been permitted to sail as she was well equipped and chose the proper season and weather conditions for her journey.

It is fools like these guys who will make inspection requirements mandatory for the rest of us. Having some slight deficiencies and assuming the risk is one thing but these guys were way over the line, Steve.