Epirb activated 600nm SW of the Azores

Roberto

Roberto

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CROSS Griz-Nez (French MRCC) reports an epirb has been activated 24h ago, about 600nml SW of the Azores.
Position 34° 14.2N; 39°21.30W.
The epirb position variations indicate a drift of about 1-2kt
Weather conditions very bad, 10-11Bft
A rescue plane was sent out but could not see/locate the boat.

Sailboat name Graindesoleil, left the Caribbean on Apr 6th, en route from St Martin to the Azores
Type: First Selection
Green hull, white sails, one wind generator. VHF as only communication means
Exact number of persons onboard unknown: skipper Guillaume Moussette (25yo) plus 3 or 4 other crew.

Should anyone get in touch or have any information from other boats on the crossing, please contact French MRCC
CROSS Gris Nez ++33. (0)3.21.87.21.87 ou gris-nez@mrccfr.eu
 
The EPIRB was activated on 24 April at 1729 UTC. There are 4 crew members onboard.

The name of the yacht is "Grand de Soleil" (name is three words).

The position that the "Grand de Soleil" was at the time of the activation was 34° 45'N 039° 15'W.

There has been a very deep and severe low tracking SW in this area for the last couple of days but the weather system is now slowly moving away towards the NE and dissipating very slowly.



.
 
Roberto said:
CROSS Griz-Nez (French MRCC) reports an epirb has been activated 24h ago, about 600nml SW of the Azores.
Position 34° 14.2N; 39°21.30W.
The epirb position variations indicate a drift of about 1-2kt
Weather conditions very bad, 10-11Bft
A rescue plane was sent out but could not see/locate the boat.

Sailboat name Graindesoleil, left the Caribbean on Apr 6th, en route from St Martin to the Azores
Type: First Selection
Green hull, white sails, one wind generator. VHF as only communication means
Exact number of persons onboard unknown: skipper Guillaume Moussette (25yo) plus 3 or 4 other crew.
Click to expand...

The position issued by MRCC Griz-Nez above, is 32 nm south south west of the original position where the EPIRB was acivated?

This is a quite a distance to have drifted in this time? The wind around the 'Low' would have taken them ENE. Perhaps that is why they could not find the yacht?



.
 
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I hope everyone on board makes it home safely, do the coordinates suggest the skipper has headed East earlier than recommended? Maybe I'm wrong but from memory, the position he's in is normally a light wind area and generally the boat would only be crossing that area on if plenty of fuel available to power across? Obviously the weather in that position is currently severe (as Lenseman has reported) which I think is unusual at this time of year so it must be serious to fire up an EPIRB and I really hope everyone is OK.

Cheers. Brian.
 
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lenseman said:
The position issued by MRCC Griz-Nez above, is 32 nm south south west of the original position where the EPIRB was acivated?

This is a quite a distance to have drifted in this time? The wind around the 'Low' would have taken them ENE. Perhaps that is why they could not find the yacht?



.
Click to expand...

hello David,

I copied the coordinates indicated by this message, it's a sort of sailing association which is often contacted by the CROSS when sailboats are overdue or in distress. The writing style looks "official"

http://www.stw.fr/DT/display_dt.cfm?dt=4206


this is a list of similar cases they have been involved with in the past
http://www.stw.fr/DT/list_s_rub_dt.cfm?s_rub_id=86


This is the web site of the boat (it seems it has not been updated for a long time), apparently a group of young people who in 2010 had the intention of sailing round the world, so the site reports. There is no news if they did so or if the boat had just a change in program.

http://blog.uniterre.com/uploads/g/graindesoleil/512357.pdf

let's hope for the best
 
lenseman said:
The EPIRB was activated on 24 April at 1729 UTC. There are 4 crew members onboard.

The name of the yacht is "Grand de Soleil" (name is three words).

The position that the "Grand de Soleil" was at the time of the activation was 34° 45'N 039° 15'W.

There has been a very deep and severe low tracking SW in this area for the last couple of days but the weather system is now slowly moving away towards the NE and dissipating very slowly.



.
Click to expand...

Actually the name is Grain de Soleil (which makes more sense).
 
Fingers crossed for them. Been there in those conditions, its a tad uncomfortable.

Been watching that low, got 2 friends on different yachts heading back, hope they are doing well.

Personally, will be unlikely to set off this time of year again, its pants.
 
Update

There are two official comments:
Yesterday, a white, overturned hull has been detected by the Portuguese plane, but not formally identified with the Grain de Soleil.
They indicate the GdS has three people onboard.

http://www.premar-atlantique.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/recherche-voilier-sud-ouest-des-acores.html


Today, MRCC indicates two planes are still searching, one ship and one sailboat have been redirected to the distress position

http://www.premar-atlantique.gouv.f...recherche-voilier-large-des-acores-suite.html


This newspaper reports that some "debris" have been seen near the hull. It says also the epirb is still emitting, though not the position, they see it is at "sea level".
http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Un-voilier-breton-en-detresse-au-large-des-Acores-[actualise]_55257-2187434_actu.Htm

Not sure about the epirb not transmitting the position, could it be it is inside a liferaft and cannot get a gps fix ?
 
I don't speak French but are you suggesting the report says there are 3 people still on board the floating wreckage or were you just confirming the report of 3 on board at the start of the passage? I think I already know your answer.

Brian.
 
Wandering Star said:
I don't speak French but are you suggesting the report says there are 3 people still on board the floating wreckage or were you just confirming the report of 3 on board at the start of the passage? I think I already know your answer.

Brian.
Click to expand...

Sorry I haven't been clear.

The MRCC says the plane has seen on overturned white hull, they are not sure it is the GdS boat in distress so officially they have not confirmed having found it.

The three people onboard were at the start from St Martin. The newspaper reports the mother of the skipper saying "My son had broken his cell phone, he left the caribbean with two other people saying Mom I'll call you in about 20 days from the Azores".

So far, these are two separate things. No people has been seen on the white wrecked boat.


A thought to friends and families on land too, waiting must be terrible.
 
Thanks Roberto, My thoughts are with the families too, let's hope there's news soon and the crew are all found safe and sound enjoying a cold FB pie in their liferaft!

Brian.
 
here is a link to the latest news published by local TV station in Brittany http://bretagne.france3.fr/2013/04/29/le-monge-la-recherche-de-grain-de-soleil-242791.html

Grain de Soleil hasn't been found and no crew have been sighted. EPIRB still sending signals but stopped sending Position. One French Navy vessel is going to do one final sweep today before calling off the search. Terrible news!

facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grain-de-soleil-Moussette/194363334045429

last EPIRB known position: 33° 39',08 N et 38° 54',04. (Sat 27 April)
 
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