Abandoned Yacht???????

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Chrusty1

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"Barbary Duck, the Westerly Corsair abandoned mid-Atlantic in December because her crew judged her in danger of dismasting has been salvaged and taken ashore in Antigua on 28 February.

The boat was abandoned on 1 December at position 18.59N 32.25W, some 600 nautical miles north-west of the Cape Verdes. Crew John and Frances Weller abandoned to a liferaft and their Mayday was picked up by the crew of an ARC yacht, GiGi."

Probably old news, but for the life of me, I'm jiggered if I can understand why people abandon a vessel that is well afloat?
 
I agree. Especially when the alternative is a life raft. Stay with the biggest floating object.
Let's hope there is some very happy salver sailing around in a free boat.
 
TNX for this update - it shows once again that boats can be (are) a lot more resourceful and able at coping with adversity than many folk think.
A rough calculation puts her drift rate westwards at about 1 knot, which ties in well with reports of other boats who have drifted across in the past few years.
Had she lost her mast by the time she was salvaged, or was it still standing up?
 
Hmmm. Yes, well, with hindsight, staying on the boat would have been a better decision. I'm sure everyone here's had this drummed into them during sea survival courses, or from memories of the '79 Fastnet.

But, who's to say that you might not have made the same decision in the circumstances? A boat in a bit of a trouble in mid-Atlantic can appear a lot more vulnerable than it really is. A bit of water sloshing around in the bilges can give appearance of imminent founder if the crew are scared, seasick or exhausted, and things are going wrong. Suddenly a liferaft, with it's great big "emergency" and "safety" stickers on it can seem like a huge comfort. I've had to talk a crew member out of deploying the raft after a bit of a collision with something mid-Biscay. No major damage was done but for 10 minutes or so it was all a bit scary, dark and disorganized. All he wanted to do was get away from an environment that all his senses were telling him was unsafe, unpredictable and alien, and the best option seemed to be in a liferaft, which he freely admitted afterwards seemed like a totally rational plan in the heat of the moment.

i'm not saying that this is what happened on Barbary Duck; merely that it's suprisingly easy to make errors of judgement that when considered in the cold light of day, appear quite irrational. I wasn't there, so i wouldn't presume to criticise that particular skipper's decision.
 
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Had she lost her mast by the time she was salvaged, or was it still standing up?

[/ QUOTE ]the story was on the ybw home page but has since been updated.

It said the top part of the mast had disappeared but the remainder was still standing, and also showed a picture of a semi furled genoa still flying after several days adrift. (Taken by another ARCer)

Unfortunately the boat arrived close to Antigua having been looted as a lot of gear was missing.

Was still sufficiently habitable and safe to stay aboard, ratther than take to the raft though. I take Will's point about fear, but have always thought that if a situation arose I would throw the raft over and let it inflate - to be sure that it has! - so that it is immediately available if the situation deteriorates.

If all turns out well, you just have to deflate the raft and send it back for a service - but better safe than sorry!
 
'One of the chain plates cracked'? And they took to a liferaft?

I can see a case for asking to be rescued if it's obvious your boat can't go anywhere, and it's in the middle of nowhere, but the boat wasn't sinking, and wasn't in danger of sinking.

It doesn't say which chainplates, but I would have thought that the mast could be secured with lines going to other strong points, then proceeding with reduced rig. And how much fuel where they carrying? They could still motor, and call someone up to get more fuel.

I know it's easy enough to criticise from behind a computer screen, and I've done plenty of daft thngs myself, but this seems, if the report is accurate, to have been one of those times when you don't take to a liferaft!

Nicholas Hill
 
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Interesting report.

I wonder how the insurance claim panned out.

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A Very interesting report..........

Abandoned for a cracked chain plate?? No tools or materials on board??? Somebody mentioned fear, well sure, I think if we were to be honest, we could all admit to feeling fear or apprehension at sometime when we have been at sea. Also, it is very easy to criticise with hind sight, and from the comfort of a warm keyboard.

However, being a touch magnanamous and assuming that in fact there wasn't any skullduggery afoot, I think it is yet another lesson to be absorbed?

If that report is accurate, then for the sake of a drill, a few bolts, a strip of stainless, and a couple of spanners, that mast and the boat could have been saved, come to think of it, it could have been saved with a bit of rope!........Like I said, makes me wonder.....
 
Nicholas!!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif.....kindly refrain from typing faster than me! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
On a Mirror Off-shore, 30 years ago I lost the clevis pin holding down the fore stay. Luckily I was going down wind and ran forward with a spoon from my coffee and rammed it through the relevant holes.

Wanting to do a proper job I replaced it with a screwdriver held in place with a 'third hand' till I got back.
 
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I'm jiggered if I can understand why people abandon a vessel that is well afloat?

[/ QUOTE ] Probably because they were bloomin frightened and considered it the safest option. I find it difficult to be critical of the actions of others in these circumstances, as I have no perception of the terror involved. From the safety of this desk it doesn't look to have been the smartest move, but what if the rig had dropped and killed somebody, or holed the boat and fouled the raft, dragging it down with the yacht. All lived and that's the main thing, I suppose.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm jiggered if I can understand why people abandon a vessel that is well afloat?

[/ QUOTE ] Probably because they were bloomin frightened and considered it the safest option. I find it difficult to be critical of the actions of others in these circumstances, as I have no perception of the terror involved. From the safety of this desk it doesn't look to have been the smartest move, but what if the rig had dropped and killed somebody, or holed the boat and fouled the raft, dragging it down with the yacht. All lived and that's the main thing, I suppose.

[/ QUOTE ]


The mast was still standing days after they abandoned their boat, so I think a far less traumatic / frightening option would have been to fix the boat. I probably don't have quite as cuddley an attitude to folks such as they appear to be, to some extent, their actions, or in this case the non action taints us all to some degree or another, and gives the the safety numpties a whole heap of ammunition to use against us.
 
I freely admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but having coughed up the dough for a boat, I suspect that I probably wouldn't abandon ship untill it actually started sinking, especially having read reports about what it's like to be in a liferaft! I know I would try and mend first, being a tightwad and as I happen to like fixing things via the make do and mend philosophy (ie bodge it), I'd be extremely unwilling to abandon the investment. Just my opinion, I stand to be corrected (and I expect I will be!). /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Call me a cynic, but I would guess that the crew would be less bothered about the fate of the ship if it belonged to a sponsor, than if it belonged to the skipper?
 
I recall the crew on this boat had done an Atlantic crossing before - so were pretty experienced!

Also heard rumours that the boat was left with a genoa set (per the picture on the above link) and that it sailed through a low pressure system once abandoned - possibly it was left over canvassed and this caused the mast failure - may not have lost the rig if they stayed on board and reduced sail?

Jonny
 
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Call me a cynic, but I would guess that the crew would be less bothered about the fate of the ship if it belonged to a sponsor, than if it belonged to the skipper?

[/ QUOTE ]


Ooooooooooooooooooo! YOU CYNIC! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
It is even more than the money in the boat IMHO. When they made the apparently insane decision to abandon to the liferaft, they were saying to the world "We give up. We abandon all responsibility for our own survival, Come and take us home". I presume they did literally say that by radio to someone.

If ocean sailing is not about preparation, planning, coping, improvising and taking responsibility for your own safety, then what is it about?
 
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