Perhaps the ropes holding the sails up fell over the side, as did the sails, mast and wires holding the mast up! Not in-accurate reporting, just lacking a few extra details.
reminds me of a mayday heard from a Sunsail boat a year or two ago saying something along the lines of "we've got a rope around the prop and can't get the sails down"!!!
YARMOUTH Lifeboat rescued three crew from a yacht with engine failure and rigging problems 12 miles south west of The Needles.
The crew, which included a young boy, were taken on to the lifeboat and the 31ft yacht, which was on passage from Dartmouth to Southampton, was towed to Yarmouth.
The rescue, which saw a Condor ferry put on standby, happened this morning (Wednesday) in Force 6 winds and rain.
Not really. When you haul the sails up you are left with a lot of halliard at your feet which needs to be properly coiled and hung up. If that is not done the rope will almost certainly go over the side and trail astern.
There are some gearboxes (TMP for instance) which are hydraulic in their operation and when in neutral with no engine running need a shaft brake to prevent the prop "freewheeling" while sailing. Not all yachts with this type of gearbox have the necessary shaft brake.
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reminds me of a mayday heard from a Sunsail boat a year or two ago saying something along the lines of "we've got a rope around the prop and can't get the sails down"!!!
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Think I know this one as we were going into Tortolla last summer and heard it as well. The guy got towed in and berthed close to us. He was trying to drop the main as the wind was getting quite fresh, it jammed somehow and in the panic the main sheet went over the side and fouled the prop. A nice Yank with his wife and Mother in Law on board, so that probably explains it all - gave him a beer and commiserations! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Same way as a Mayday that was made a couple of years ago.
A Princess mobo reported a fire in the engine room and stated that he was the big white boat with black smoke coming from the stern by the entrance to Poole Harbour.
We were approaching the entrance at the time, not far behind the Poole Lifeboat and couldn't see anything that resembled the description.
Eventually he was found approx 4 miles East of Anvil Point.
How could he think he was at the entrance to Poole Harbour?
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