Golden Globe Race

zoidberg said:
This is what's now heading to the rescue of Susie.....

View attachment 74617

Perhaps the sea state will subside enough to permit the recovery of her boat.... and perhaps the Good Minn could post more details of the vessel for us?
Click to expand...

One of ours. On passage to Argentina - merchant ships do use the Straits of Magellan, as it cuts about three days off compared to rounding the Horn. The Chilean Navy take a close interest in what goes on there, ever since Shell made rather a mess, which they never bothered to clear up, by parking their VLCC “Metula” in the wrong place in First Narrows in 1974.

The “Tian Fu” is three years old, one of a class intended for carrying things like steel coils and girders, machinery (lots and lots of wind turbines!) forest products, paper, and suchlike, but can also carry containers. Technically she has non-sequential folding hatch covers with box shaped holds and demountable pontoon tweendecks. She can move an entire car production line.

I don’t know her Master; I do know her commercial and technical managers, because this class do call in the UK and Ireland, usually with wind farm equipment, often via the North East Passage, in the northern summer. Keep in mind that’s a stock photo, taken on her acceptance trials from the building yard, and her decks will be full of stuff at the moment. If as is very likely she has wind turbines on board there will be no spare deck space, and turbine blades, whilst huge, are very delicate and very expensive. It’s a bit like carrying aircraft wings. The crew do all the lashing and securing and drive the cranes - we don’t trust stevedores with them.

Whilst she has cranes capable of lifting a Rustler 37, they are regular cargo cranes, for use in port, not offshore cranes, and they are not heave compensated, so picking the boat up would depend on (a) deck space (b) slinging arrangements and (c) most importantly it would only be possible in calm conditions, which are not very likely. Any decision on trying it will be down to her Master and Mate.

I’d defer to Frank Holden on this as he has sailed these waters in his own boat and has commanded merchant ships of similar size.

Hope Suzie likes Cantonese cuisine. She’ll get her cup of tea, but not with milk and sugar.
 
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I don't know, I did think Solent but realised I was thinking about Red Herring!

Pierre-André departed from his home port of Ouistreham, there is a video:



No engine, hank on sails.
 
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Minn said:
One of ours. On passage to Argentina - merchant ships do use the Straits of Magellan, as it cuts about three days off compared to rounding the Horn. The Chilean Navy take a close interest in what goes on there, ever since Shell made rather a mess, which they never bothered to clear up, by parking their VLCC “Metula” in the wrong place in First Narrows in 1974.

The “Tian Fu” is three years old, one of a class intended for carrying things like steel coils and girders, machinery (lots and lots of wind turbines!) forest products, paper, and suchlike, but can also carry containers. Technically she has non-sequential folding hatch covers with box shaped holds and demountable pontoon tweendecks. She can move an entire car production line.

I don’t know her Master; I do know her commercial and technical managers, because this class do call in the UK and Ireland, usually with wind farm equipment, often via the North East Passage, in the northern summer. Keep in mind that’s a stock photo, taken on her acceptance trials from the building yard, and her decks will be full of stuff at the moment. If as is very likely she has wind turbines on board there will be no spare deck space, and turbine blades, whilst huge, are very delicate and very expensive. It’s a bit like carrying aircraft wings. The crew do all the lashing and securing and drive the cranes - we don’t trust stevedores with them.

Whilst she has cranes capable of lifting a Rustler 37, they are regular cargo cranes, for use in port, not offshore cranes, and they are not heave compensated, so picking the boat up would depend on (a) deck space (b) slinging arrangements and (c) most importantly it would only be possible in calm conditions, which are not very likely. Any decision on trying it will be down to her Master and Mate.

I’d defer to Frank Holden on this as he has sailed these waters in his own boat and has commanded merchant ships of similar size.

Hope Suzie likes Cantonese cuisine. She’ll get her cup of tea, but not with milk and sugar.
Click to expand...

I think Susie's boat is toast.... herewith a photo of a HK ship -Pacific Harmony- arriving in Pto Montt** 5 weeks ago with a deck cargo of turbine blades....I don't think your ship will by trying to pick anything up....

Big time saving by taking Estrecho de Magallanes if heading up to Argentina.... not so much if heading for Africa... lots more traffic uses the strait westbound to avoid the weather... and if not to deep often stay inside all the way up to Golfo de Penas

First pic.... pilot boat heading out of the western end of the strait to either embark or debark a pilot....

** Getting the blades to Montt is the easy bit... watching them get them off the wharf, down the Costanera and around the corner into Salvador Allende is quite entertaining...

PS I don't think the ( hose handling ) derrick on that LOF ship was designed to pick up yachts in Biscay in gale conditions either... but her low freeboard would have helped..


DSC_0561.JPG (1).jpgPB040190.jpg....
 
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BBC Breakfast just broadcasted a clip with the GG head guy (apologies, forgotten his name).
Apparently Suzie is sort of OK, cut hands, sea-sick but apparently no serious concussion problems.
Seas moderated to 5metres.
Big problem with rescue effort later today. The ship say they won't be able to launch their "small boat" so Suzie will somehow have to get herself into the water/liferaft and make her own way to the side of the ship, then to be hoisted up to deck level.

I wish her well, it's going to be a tough job.

Fingers and toes crossed.
 
Just joining this thread, but admit to not reading everything up to now...but I did pick up the idea that modern beamy boats may have some advantages over older designs. Having been a R36 owner/sailor till health put a stop, I am dumbfounded that an R36 should remain inverted, or have the newscasters got it wrong?
 
DeeGee said:
Just joining this thread, but admit to not reading everything up to now...but I did pick up the idea that modern beamy boats may have some advantages over older designs. Having been a R36 owner/sailor till health put a stop, I am dumbfounded that an R36 should remain inverted, or have the newscasters got it wrong?
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I haven't read anything from GG that mentions the time the boat was inverted. It was certainly pitch-poled and dismasted, so there would presumably have been some length of time as the boat wallowed and righted itself, but it certainly did so.
 
Looks as though the ship has arrived and they’re waiting for daylight before commencing to lift Susie aboard via a deck crane. Seems rather bizarre to be sitting here in the comfort of my home whilst there’s a tricky rescue operation takng place as I write this in fairly wild weather condotions. Hope it all goes well for the skipper of the ship and also of course for Susie. We should know fairly soon!
 
The ship's 'on station' and apparently - Plan A - they intend to use one of the large port-side cranes to provide Susie with a 'skyhook'. She had her engine running, but it seems to have failed after 20 mins. Whether out of fuel or water getting through to the injectors, we don't know. The original idea that Susie would motor slowly up to a rope dangling from the big swinging cargo hook, then clip on to the rope, and 'up, up and away' now seems unlikely.

I guess a Plan B is being thunk up.
 
What's that about burqas and niqabs...?

31279671907_f416f7a492_z.jpg



On the way home....


46218701911_4290dda3af_z.jpg
 
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