Lost rudder in mid-Atlantic

[lenseman]

UPDATE:

Patrick and Amanda have inspected the rudder and found that there is still about ¼ of the rudder left intact and they are sailing and gaining more experience using the remains of this rudder and also by utilising a drogue.

They are making roughly 4 knots in a westerly direction.

Their position (DR) as at 17 DEC 2011 1520Z... 15° 4.844'N...042° 2.446'W

 

[KenMcCulloch]

I would think you would need some drag on the aft end of that to keep it in position.... maybe a drogue or bucket on a line....

...and ballast to maintain the vertical orientation. Interesting idea, certainly.

 

[sailorman]

UPDATE:

Patrick and Amanda have inspected the rudder and found that there is still about ¼ of the rudder left intact and they are sailing and gaining more experience using the remains of this rudder and also by utilising a drogue.

They are making roughly 4 knots in a westerly direction.

Their position (DR) as at 17 DEC 2011 1520Z... 15° 4.844'N...042° 2.446'W

thnx good news

 

[Searush]

UPDATE:

Patrick and Amanda have inspected the rudder and found that there is still about ¼ of the rudder left intact and they are sailing and gaining more experience using the remains of this rudder and also by utilising a drogue.

They are making roughly 4 knots in a westerly direction.

Their position (DR) as at 17 DEC 2011 1520Z... 15° 4.844'N...042° 2.446'W

Excellent. Please send all our best wishes.

 

[Reverend Ludd]

Great, nice to have some good news on this.

 

[suse]

Not had the rudder scenario, thank goodness, but we had to get up a narrow passage with no engine and no wind, after several days intermittent drift and sail. This is for the land end of the voyage, of course, because lack of fuel would be a problem at sea, but lashing the dinghy alongside and using the outboard to steer works really well.

Best wishes for all concerned.

 

[lenseman]

UPDATE:

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard Egret:

Their position as at 18 DEC 2011 ... 13° 1.855'N...042° 13.578'W

They seem to have moved further south, probably to try and skirt any possible weather to the north and on their current direction, they are headed towards Georgetown, Guyana and Suriname. The GRIB states 15 knots from the east and remains steady for a few days.

 

[TQA]

If they have sufficient control Trinidad would be a better destination form the point of view of having a new rudder constructed and fitted.

But any port will be a good port I guess.

 

[lenseman]

Notes from blogs from yachts, with regards to Egret's plight, as they cross the Atlantic:

Monday 12 Dec 2011
S/Y Tashi Delek . . . . One poor yacht, we heard yesterday is having a terrible time. We heard over the net that Egret has lost her rudder!!! She is doing what ought to be done, but never the less, it must have been a pretty hair raising experience. The other yachts have been amazing. One (yacht) is making a 300 mile detour to provide some extra jerrycans of fuel and the one closest sailed for 18 hours to stay alongside and give moral support. The radio network is really working.

S/Y Tuatara . . . .We keep in touch with everyone with our twice daily SSB sked. At the beginning of each sked the Net controller asks for any emergency or priority traffic and usually there is a silence, no help needed until 3 days ago when the very calm voice of the skipper of Egret came up. "This is Egret, we have lost our rudder". The yacht Egret left Mindelo as we motored into the harbour. Another yacht nearby has sailed to them and is standing by. Egret is back sailing very slowly with a jury rigged rudder. As we get closer to them we will look at the possibility of giving them some extra fuel. Yesterday another NZ yacht, Awaroa sailed to them but the sea was too big to allow a safe drop off of fuel. Today Tsolo will also make a rendezvous with Egret with the same mission in mind hopefully the sea will be more cooperative but if not we are still 2 days away and the seas look like they may be eased by then, we will see.

Tuesday 13 Dec 2011
S/Y Kahia . . . . We are getting into the hang of the radio check every morning on the Magellan Net and are sorry to hear Egret have some trouble. How supportive everybody is and some closer boats are meeting up to give assistance, which at 20 to 23 kts of wind and 2 to 3 meter swell will be hard work.

Wednesday 14 Dec 2011
S/Y Tashi Delek . . . . There are more than forty yachts calling in now so we have a real sense of community. All the more so because of the amazing response to Egret’s plight. She is now drifting slowly west with a drogue anchor in the water creating enough drag to give her a bit of steerage. The other yachts that left Cape Verdes after her and are roughly on the same passage towards Barbados are calling in as they get closer and diverting so that they can go close for a day or two to boost morale and help with supplies for their, now, very long time at sea. Our friends Alan and jean on Toatara are heading their way with timber, drills and expertise to assist in making a temporary rudder. It is really inspiring how everyone is offering so much support even when it means significant changes to their plans. Patrick and Amanda on board Egret are doing really well as a result.

Saturday 17 Dec 2011
S/Y Kahia . . . . it is good to hear familiar voices on the SSB radio. Unfortunately Egret, who we first wanted to leave with, if we had not been delayed, have a problem with their rudder and for many days are struggling making their way at 2 to 3 kts SOG , which is less then half of our speed. Several boats have dropped by to give support and extra fuel, which shows how effective an SBB net is, where everybody is also able to discuss sailing issues and weather after the Roll Call.
.
.

 

[lenseman]

UPDATE

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard "Egret" as of 20 December 2011:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13° 22.451'N . . . 045° 32.314'W
.
.
.

 

[haydude]

I cannot help directly, but I would like to wish all the best to the crew in the hope that others can assist to improve their situation and continue with a safe passage.

Merry Christmas!

 

[lenseman]

UPDATE

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard "Egret" as of 23 December 2011:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13° 31.564'N . . . 050° 40.903'W

In the past three days, "Egret" has travelled 300nm and now seems to be making excellent progress west.
.
.
.
___

 

[Searush]

Excellent news & well done to them for "hanging in there" & making it work.

Bonne chance et Bon Noel

 

[LadyInBed]

In the past three days, "Egret" has travelled 300nm and now seems to be making excellent progress west.

Has something changed?
Wind, steering arrangement?

 

[lenseman]

UPDATE

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard "Egret" as of 25 December 2011:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13° 37.545'N . . . 053° 5.020'W

In the past two days, "Egret" has travelled 140nm and still progressing westwards on a course of 272°T.

 

[Wandering Star]

Thanks for this David. Bearing in mind the current and assuming the same course can be maintained, it looks like landfall will be Grenada although as the currents get stronger closer to the islands, my guess would be landfall South of the Windwards now. Possibly Trinidad or more likely Venezuela or Guyana. Would you agree? Have they got a steering system set up and are there still boats supporting them?

Not sure if you're in contact with them directly but please pass on my best wishes and compliment them on their seamanship if you are.

Cheers, Brian.

 

[lenseman]

UPDATE

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard "Egret" as of 27 December 2011:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13° 59.068'N . . . 57° 4.953'W

In the past two days, "Egret" has travelled 270nm and is steadily progressing westwards on a course of 275°T.

Their nearest landfall is Barbados at 170nm (250°T) and Saint Lucia at 260nm, dead ahead!

 

[Wandering Star]

UPDATE

The latest fix for Patrick and Amanda aboard "Egret" as of 27 December 2011:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13° 59.068'N . . . 57° 4.953'W

In the past two days, "Egret" has travelled 270nm and is steadily progressing westwards on a course of 275°T.

Their nearest landfall is Barbados at 170nm (250°T) and Saint Lucia at 260nm, dead ahead!

Hi David,

Has Egret made her landfall yet, any further news or final details? I love a happy ending so don't spoil it for us!

Cheers, Brian.

 

[DJE]

They have a blog here but as I understand it they can only post positions or update the blog via the SSB radio and this doesn't always work. I suspect that they are busy sorting our a safe landfall and blogging probably isn't high on their list of priorities. Hoping all is well and looking forward to hearing from them soon.

(I've known Patrick for many years, I used crew for him when he raced a Bull 7000 sportsboat.)


Edit:-

They just posted a new position 14 21.7N 60 03.0W at 22:00 tonight. That's about 60 miles East of St. Lucia and/or Martinique.

 

[phanakapan]

I heard on the SSB at 1000 UT this morning that Patrick and Amanda had just 97 miles to go to St Lucia, that they had a tow/assistance all ready and set up from the boatyard, and that they were in good spirits.

I will try and update you all after tommorrows net at about 1030 UT (if I get good reception on the SSB and my internet connection holds up)- thats if theyre not too busy to get on the net- either way should I hear something, I'll let you know.

( I met them in Arrecife Lanzarote a few weeks back. I am currently in the Cape Verdes after a rather lumpy 8 days from Las Palmas- I can only imagine their relief at being nearly there.)