British couple rescued in Pacific....boat found washed up on Australian coast

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phantomlady

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The Beneteau 'Windigo' which was abandoned last year after the british couple on board were rescued after being caught in bad weather off Tonga has been discovered washed up off the coast of Australia.
Apparently they are going to try and salvage the vessel although it was uninsured.
Video on you tube taken by australian coastguard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiUwloiVSA
 
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TQA said:
What amazes me is the apparent GOOD condition it was in when they stepped off it. OK it may have had a broken porthole glass but a bit of floorboard or locker door would have seen to that.

Mast was up and sails were apparently OK.
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Good enough condition to remain afloat untended with the washboards out and the hatch open! Not bad for a Benne.
 
Are you sure it is a Benny? Looks more like a Bavaria to me as the keel has fallen off.
 
Ric said:
Are you sure it is a Benny? Looks more like a Bavaria to me as the keel has fallen off.
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The keel has sunk into the sand due to the action of waves and tide, it's sitting in a large puddle ... here's another one ....

Beached%20sailboat%204.jpg


And another, this time a long keeler ....

The tide surged around us and the waves and wash gave us a bumpy landing. As the tide receded the sand was scoured away from round the keel and a small pool was created so that we didn't lean over more than 20 degrees.
Click to expand...

jenavive1.jpg


Always stay with the boat unless it sinks (or you can disembark onto a helicopter or a ship).
 
I too thought she was in good condition...
No washboards in & the hatch wide open and she obviously sailed/floated all the way to Oz unaided. Seems strange to abandon her.

Does anyone know the reason for the SOS??? Surely can't be 'just' because it was rough, as they must've seen a lot of rough weather up to that point...

With regards to the boat being stripped, seriously what did they expect???
 
Of course its a judgement call but how bad were the head wounds, because those seas weren't bad!

So again, why abandon her??
It was written that she was taking on water. find that strange as she made it a long way, seemingly relatively undamaged, besides losing her mast, apparently after they abandoned her.
 
Very strange tale. The seas were really not that bad in the video shot from the RNZAF P3. They did not even appear badly injured - unless I imagined the video that I saw of them clambering up netting over the side of a merchant ship.

Maybe we don't know all the circumstances.
 
TQA said:
What amazes me is the apparent GOOD condition it was in when they stepped off it. OK it may have had a broken porthole glass but a bit of floorboard or locker door would have seen to that.

Mast was up and sails were apparently OK.
Click to expand...

+1
considering it was supposedly sinking...

EDIT:
If you search for "Windigo" you'll find 5 threads on the rescue in November.
 
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A1Sailor said:
+1
considering it was supposedly sinking...
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In the 1979 Fastnet and other races, whole roughty tufty racing crews have abandoned boats, so I don't think one can be too hard on a husband and wife in a cruising boat; I hope they can recover her, even if looted.

In the YM ' disaster boat ' or whatever it was called, they pulled the thing over by crane and the result was surprisingly horrifying, the presenter remarked he'd be off into the liferaft like a shot...
 
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