30boat
N/A
!2 crew from five yachts with the very sad loss of a 6 year old girl who stayed in the water for 6 hours.
Too early in the year IMHO.
What's ironic is that the boat will probably survive the storm unscathed...
Azores storm video
- Thread starter 30boat
- Start date
!2 crew from five yachts with the very sad loss of a 6 year old girl who stayed in the water for 6 hours.
Too early in the year IMHO.
What's ironic is that the boat will probably survive the storm unscathed...
flaming
Well-known member
Why did they get evacuated?
Bobc
Well-known member
Any idea why they abandoned? The boat looks in one piece and not sinking, so I can only assume it was due to crew fatigue/hypothermia?
We had a F7 when we left the Azores (after 3-4 days of strong winds), and the seas were quite big.
We had a F7 when we left the Azores (after 3-4 days of strong winds), and the seas were quite big.
Talulah
Well-known member
I was wondering that. Assuming the boat was not in peril I would want to know how much longer was the storm predicted to last and if I declined being rescued where there any other rescue possibilities in the next 12/24/36 hours etc.
It may just have been a case of the skipper being pressured in to doing something by a scared crew.
capnsensible
Well-known member
Stout work by the helicopter crew though.
No highline stuff however, just jump in the sea, dunno which is best. Maybe difficult with an injured person? Been fortunate enough to practise highline transfer a few times, works well as far as I can see.
That rush to get back early from the WI seems to get bigger every year. Bet there are lots of yachts out there now. Fallen into that trap myself, playing the weather lottery. Delivered a FP 40 catamaran over, starting end April, round Easter time.
Grey, grey, grey, two big systems on the route, 55 knots for much of the second one. No plans to repeat that!
Best trip, left early June. But its a lottery.
Very sad news about the child. Hope all those rescued recover well. A truly horrible experience.
No highline stuff however, just jump in the sea, dunno which is best. Maybe difficult with an injured person? Been fortunate enough to practise highline transfer a few times, works well as far as I can see.
That rush to get back early from the WI seems to get bigger every year. Bet there are lots of yachts out there now. Fallen into that trap myself, playing the weather lottery. Delivered a FP 40 catamaran over, starting end April, round Easter time.
Grey, grey, grey, two big systems on the route, 55 knots for much of the second one. No plans to repeat that!
Best trip, left early June. But its a lottery.
Very sad news about the child. Hope all those rescued recover well. A truly horrible experience.
HenryEDM
New member
I initially thought the yacht was being blown along but at the end it appears it's motoring because it does a U-turn and heads back upwind. Might have been a good idea to set the autopilot or slip it into neutral before hurling yourself over the side. Imagine abandoning your yacht mid Atlantic only for it to come back and run you over.
30boat
N/A
They said something about a yacht having lost steering but this one appears to be coping very well and the mast is not even swaying too much.Maybe they were just seasick and had had enough.Strangely the boat wasn't scuttled.
They were motoring ,apparently, and doing nicely.
They were motoring ,apparently, and doing nicely.
Wansworth
Well-known member
Maybe it all seems to easy to set off to the Caribbean or elsewhere a.Some people have very limited experience of the sea even though they have the cash to get out on the ocean when the chips are down only sound seamanship will see you safe.
30boat
N/A
If I had to be in such a storm that would have been one of the boats I'd want to be in.Such a waste.
RichardS
N/A
And appear to have a drogue at the stern so they seem to have everything sorted ....unless that's just a stray line?
What's the green thing under the water at 20s? A spinnaker or something?
Richard
HenryEDM
New member
+1 if i was on that chopper i'd be tempted to get dropped off
PabloPicasso
Well-known member
More details would be a help. When, why, where, who? The reason for abandoning is not clear.
D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
Marker dye, you can buy them in devices that dissolve on contact with water (dedicated lifesaving device) or make your own up from industrial dyes used to trace leaks in pipes. I have used this stuff to trace leaks in offshore surface casings by pumping a 'pill' around. A standard 200 ml cup of powder would turn 500 bbls of water bright green.
http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/en...tm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom
RichardS
N/A
Thanks - never heard of using something like that. Possibly flourescein (sp?) which I've seen used for tracing underground waterways.
Richard
oldvarnish
Active member
Compelling video.
I wonder what went wrong? Man/ girl overboard? Boat looks in good shape and under control. What's the long line astern? Can't be a drogue or the boat wouldn't be moving that fast.
Very sad outcome.
I wonder what went wrong? Man/ girl overboard? Boat looks in good shape and under control. What's the long line astern? Can't be a drogue or the boat wouldn't be moving that fast.
Very sad outcome.
Bobc
Well-known member
Looks to me like they have a drogue out but are motoring against it.
longjohnsilver
Well-known member
Or maybe just trailing a long line? Has anyone any idea why they all decided to leap overboard from what looked like a well found boat? Surely that's the last thing anyone would choose to do, the same as only getting into a life raft when you step up or across into it? Those sea conditions did look horrible but the boat didn't appear to be in any immediate danger.
GHA
Well-known member
brevelmonkey
New member
To summarise the discussion on cruisersforum, the boat rolled and some of the crew suffered injuries, including a broken rib, although this information isn't sourced. The website of the Portuguese rescue authorities says there was "Winds of around 90km / h and waves of 10 meters conditioned operation of the helicopter " (google translate!).
So, somewhere in the atlantic, a perfectly operable Swan 44 is floating around waiting to be salvaged!
In terms of tactics, it's difficult to tell what they were up to. They have something deployed off the stern - a drogue or a warp, I'm guessing, possibly a para anchor. But then the unmanned boat at the end is moving against the waves, suggesting they were under power.
It should have been deployed off the bow if it was a sea anchor, with a pennant line keeping them at an angle to oncoming waves. If it was a drogue, it should have been a para anchor. I've never been in weather this heavy, but I have laid to a para anchor in lightly less bad conditions in Biscay whilst we dealt with a minor injury and got some rest during a prolonged force 10. We followed the advice in Lin and Larry Pardey's storm tactics to the letter, and really the seas became significantly more comfortable. I've never been a fan of running a storm, it seems potentially dangerous (one breaker from a slightly unexpected direction and you could be in trouble). All boats this far our at sea should have a para anchor and the knowledge of how to set it up.
I don't want to sound like an armchair critic and I'm not saying they were incompetent or inexperienced. There could have been other factors (perhaps they lost their para anchor, for example, or the rescue forces asked them to do a certain thing to help the rescue) and we don't know the full story (someone could have been lost overboard, in which case I too would want to abandon ship, even if the remaining crew seemed safe). Just trying to start a discussion about proper methods of storm safety.
Monique
Active member
Hello BM,
I respect your ideas but IMO, the Jordan Sea Drogue is a far better drogue for these seas.
Cheers,
I respect your ideas but IMO, the Jordan Sea Drogue is a far better drogue for these seas.
Cheers,