All is lost

RichardS said:
I haven't watched it for a year or two but didn't he climb the mast to reconnect the antenna cable which had become detached at the masthead?

I'm not sure why it had detached but, once it had become so, I can't see what alternative one would have other than climbing the mast?

Richard
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Same for me was a few years ago, I thought he just went up to look at the weather approaching, might have missed the reconnection of the antenna to be fair.

The wet shave would definitely have been a little further down the to-do list!
 
Uricanejack said:
For a hypothetical problem of having both crew jump in mid ocean for a swim and neglected to ensure a ladder.
Depends on the boat of course.
Mine a 35ft boat fin keel mid 80s.
I could probably reach the bottom of the ladder at the stern from the water but could not pull it down since its secured up.
Assuming not strong enough to pull myself out.
If I could hold my self to bottom rung. pal could climb up using my shoulders as a rung.

if no ladder.
Freeboard wild guess around 3ft. At about 6ft tall my arms are not quite 3ft. but I just might be able to get a hand hold at 3ft.
pal could clime up using my shoulders.
Hopefully I was not swimming in the buff. :)
String from shorts plus shorts could be improvised as line to try and throw up to station. borrow crews bikini top shorts ect to assist.
If I could move rudder of center could use as foot rest if close enough to stern. if not shorts over rudder as foot hold plus pals shorts to station.

In reality having dived of an anchored boat with less than a 3ft freeboard. I realised instantly jumping of boat was dumb and I had only one option, swim to shore which looks a hell of a lot further from the water.

So any other ideas. how to get back on board.:)
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I have fairly high topsides that could not be scaled from the water, a canoe-stern, a stern boarding-ladder that folds up out of the water and I sail alone. I am consequently very conscious of the danger of falling overboard and not being able to board. This was substantiated when three years ago I found an old liveaboard in my marina late one evening, clinging to his folded-up stern-ladder after having his passerelle cant and tip him over while boarding his stern-to boat. He was on a deserted pier (I was out for a walk and idly looking at boats there) and had been there long enough to be totally exhausted, suffering hypothermia and close to losing his grip on the ladder. I had to kneel down, grab his coat collar, push the 34' Contest away far enough to allow me to swing the stern ladder down and haul him high enough to get a foot onto it. I am convinced that I saved that old guy's life, which he subsequently fervently confirmed.

Back on my own boat I realised I had exactly the same configuration as he did and, worse, had a lashing to stop the lower section swinging down because the securing clip was inefficient. From the water it was just possible I could reach the lower rung of the upper section but it would need more strength than I probably have to haul my body - with wet clothing - high enough to release the lashing securing the hinged lower section to allow it to swing down. And in the marina my stern-to moored boat was also too near the pier for that section to swing down if I could release it.

I now have a line hanging down at the stern that can, from water level, release and pull the lower section down from its folded position and have lengthened the stern lines and shortened the forward springs to moor the boat further from the pier.


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RichardS said:
I haven't watched it for a year or two but didn't he climb the mast to reconnect the antenna cable which had become detached at the masthead?

I'm not sure why it had detached but, once it had become so, I can't see what alternative one would have other than climbing the mast?

Richard
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From my recollection, he fiddles with the radio transmitter and sees it flicker and then die due to salt water exposure, despite his attempts to hook it up to some revived batteries and to wash the PCB in fresh water. As a response to this he climbs the mast to do something up there... This seems to be the wrong place to tackle the problem. Caveat: I did see the film a few years ago.
 
Kelpie said:
I assumed in 'Adrift' that the obvious thing to do (given no anchor chain) was to form a human pyramid. OK so the ones on the bottom would have to hold their breath, but it would only have to be for a few seconds while one person got a hand on the rail.
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It would have spoiled the film if they had survived ! But the pyramid idea was just what I thought. Surely the lightest girl could have been supported long enough for her to have scrambled back aboard?

As for "All is Lost", I became engrossed with the drama without realising all the gaffs - until I logged-on to YBW and you all pointed them out !! Quite spoiled my enjoyment, you rotters :p
The exceptions being that why didn't he stuff one of his many cushions into the hole?
and, as mentioned hereabouts:-
Why sail on the port tack with the hole on starboard?
 
Kelpie said:
It was not unrealistic to the point of impossibility. Just that Redford's character makes some unwise choices.
To most non-sailors, a yacht is about 100ft long, made of glistening teak, and adorned with equally glistening nubile female crew.
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Err....is there actually any other type of boat? Seems like the norm for Gosport.
 
RichardS said:
Of course, in real life the boat had to be anchored otherwise it would soon drift away and no Skipper would never abandon an unanchored boat unless it was sinking.
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Really? I'd much sooner swim from a free-floating boat than from an anchored one. If you've anchored your boat you have to swim as fast as the tide to stay beside her; if you haven't then you both float together.

I'm assuming the boat's sails are not set/ that there's no significant wind - but so are you.
 
Actually the Falcon 9 rocket is supposedly named after the Millenium Falcon- not technically a NASA rocket, but part funded by them via the space station cargo delivery contract amongst others.
 
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