Bajansailor
Well-Known Member
S/V \'Picton Castle\' - Crew member lost overboard
Here is a very sad story from the Picton Castle underway in the North Atlantic, heading south for the Caribbean. I saw an initial report posted on the Tall Ship Sail Training Forum at www.gojabber.com., and it has received various replies and updates there since. Several of the contributors on Gojabber have sailed on her, and one notes how green water rushing along the side deck could wash someone overboard.
Note that this happened on Friday night, and the lady overboard has not yet been found.
There is also a link at : http://coastguardnews.com/?p=109
The article below was sent to me by a friend in the USA - I do not know the source, other than the Canadian Press.
Rescue crews search for woman overboard from N.S. tall ship in mid-Atlantic
By: Canadian Press
HALIFAX, N.S. - A report of a woman overboard from a Nova Scotia-based tall ship in rough seas off the eastern U.S. coast had rescue officials scrambling late Friday night.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman identified the vessel as the Picton Castle, a 55-metre barque based in Lunenburg, N.S.
Matthew Brooks said details about what happened to the woman in her mid-20s were sketchy.
"They did a head count once she was noticed missing, and at that point they realized she, as far as we know, went overboard in the rough seas," Brooks said in an interview from the coast guard centre in Norfolk, Va.
He said the crew aboard the Picton Castle "threw numerous life rings and lighted buoys out over the side to try to mark the area, and possibly for her to grab onto something."
The woman, who has not been identified, was noticed missing sometime Friday night. The coast guard was notified around 10 p.m. ET.
Brooks said the tall ship, with 29 people on board, was approximately 880 kilometres east-southeast of Cape Cod, Mass., and had been sailing south toward the Caribbean at the time of the mishap.
Winds in the area were between 55 and 75 kilometres an hour, along with sea swells up to six metres.
Brooks said the crew of the Picton Castle was doing all it could to find the missing woman, but searching was difficult given the darkness and the rough weather.
"They've turned around, they're attempting to search as best as possible," said Brooks.
Officials at the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax said a commercial tanker about 120 kilometres away from the Picton Castle was the closest ship in the area.
The tanker was expected to take at least six or seven hours to reach the tall ship to offer assistance.
The Halifax centre also said a Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S., was to head out early Saturday morning. The Picton Castle was too far out to sea for land-based Canadian helicopters to reach.
Another Hercules from North Carolina will take over from the Canadian aircraft later Saturday, said Brooks.
Brooks added that they were attempting to find other commercial ships in the area to lend assistance, but the poor weather conditions had kept most mariners away.
The Picton Castle is owned and operated by the Windward Isles Sailing Ship Co. Ltd.
The ship functions as a deep-ocean sail training and long-distance education vessel.
It has berths for 40 sail trainees and 12 professional crew members.
The company website says the Picton Castle, registered in the Cook Islands, also carries supplies and educational materials to small islands in the South Pacific.
Here is a very sad story from the Picton Castle underway in the North Atlantic, heading south for the Caribbean. I saw an initial report posted on the Tall Ship Sail Training Forum at www.gojabber.com., and it has received various replies and updates there since. Several of the contributors on Gojabber have sailed on her, and one notes how green water rushing along the side deck could wash someone overboard.
Note that this happened on Friday night, and the lady overboard has not yet been found.
There is also a link at : http://coastguardnews.com/?p=109
The article below was sent to me by a friend in the USA - I do not know the source, other than the Canadian Press.
Rescue crews search for woman overboard from N.S. tall ship in mid-Atlantic
By: Canadian Press
HALIFAX, N.S. - A report of a woman overboard from a Nova Scotia-based tall ship in rough seas off the eastern U.S. coast had rescue officials scrambling late Friday night.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman identified the vessel as the Picton Castle, a 55-metre barque based in Lunenburg, N.S.
Matthew Brooks said details about what happened to the woman in her mid-20s were sketchy.
"They did a head count once she was noticed missing, and at that point they realized she, as far as we know, went overboard in the rough seas," Brooks said in an interview from the coast guard centre in Norfolk, Va.
He said the crew aboard the Picton Castle "threw numerous life rings and lighted buoys out over the side to try to mark the area, and possibly for her to grab onto something."
The woman, who has not been identified, was noticed missing sometime Friday night. The coast guard was notified around 10 p.m. ET.
Brooks said the tall ship, with 29 people on board, was approximately 880 kilometres east-southeast of Cape Cod, Mass., and had been sailing south toward the Caribbean at the time of the mishap.
Winds in the area were between 55 and 75 kilometres an hour, along with sea swells up to six metres.
Brooks said the crew of the Picton Castle was doing all it could to find the missing woman, but searching was difficult given the darkness and the rough weather.
"They've turned around, they're attempting to search as best as possible," said Brooks.
Officials at the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax said a commercial tanker about 120 kilometres away from the Picton Castle was the closest ship in the area.
The tanker was expected to take at least six or seven hours to reach the tall ship to offer assistance.
The Halifax centre also said a Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft from Greenwood, N.S., was to head out early Saturday morning. The Picton Castle was too far out to sea for land-based Canadian helicopters to reach.
Another Hercules from North Carolina will take over from the Canadian aircraft later Saturday, said Brooks.
Brooks added that they were attempting to find other commercial ships in the area to lend assistance, but the poor weather conditions had kept most mariners away.
The Picton Castle is owned and operated by the Windward Isles Sailing Ship Co. Ltd.
The ship functions as a deep-ocean sail training and long-distance education vessel.
It has berths for 40 sail trainees and 12 professional crew members.
The company website says the Picton Castle, registered in the Cook Islands, also carries supplies and educational materials to small islands in the South Pacific.
