Sad story of the lose of a boat

[GHA]

Sad story thankfully with just the boat being lost...

http://www.sailblogs.com/member/ortiz/

Interesting the crucial part both Ham and marine ssb radio played in the final days.

I would like to impress upon all that it was the communications allowed us through the SSB radio giving us access to the land based ham networks and other boats that saved our lives. With the popularity and attributes of satellite phones increasing I think it is still prudent for all persons voyaging off shore to be skilled in the use of the SSB radio.

No mention if they had a sat phone on board, but in this case it wouldn't have been anywhere near as useful a communication device as ssb/Ham radio. Maybe as an addition but not on it's own.

Long distance lessons to be learned...

 

[lw395]

I know a lot of radio hams, it is a hazard of working in the radio industry.
They all have email.

 

[JumbleDuck]

No mention if they had a sat phone on board, but in this case it wouldn't have been anywhere near as useful a communication device as ssb/Ham radio.

Wouldn't it have been better to be able to call the USC direct rather than hoping to find a ham operator who could relay messages?

 

[TimBennet]

Wouldn't it have been better to be able to call the USC direct rather than hoping to find a ham operator who could relay messages?

This might seem counter intuitive, but a lot of long distance cruisers think it is better to call someone other than the 'authorities'.

Such is the fragility of all long distance communication systems, especially in bad weather or when under stress, that instead of using your limited time and resources contacting 'someone' at a rescue communication centre (who might be coming to the end of a long shift or in some parts of the world might not speak English that well), you're better off contacting an 'advocate' that you will know and trust will move heaven and earth to make someone take an interest in your predicament.

Our plan was always to contact my Dad. Once he knew our situation, we could then focus on other issues knowing that he would never rest (for weeks or months) until everything had been done to help us. He would never be 'downgraded' after a certain number of hours or distracted by something else happening. A passionate advocate can make things happen that might not be the case if left to 'officials'. That's why so often yachts in distress are reported in the press with some incredulity, that the casualty phones 'their mate in the pub' etc rather than rescue HQ.

 

[awol]

I got the impression these guys were part of an organised, sort of like the ARC, trip so had an SSB net with the other participants.

 

[capnsensible]

My personal preference is to rent an Iridium phone. Speedial Falmouth Coastguard, keep it charged and test daily by texting my weather router/ honey at home. Or an oppo if me honey is with me.

 

[bedouin]

Full marks to all involved - but surely if you are sitting on a sinking boat you press the "Help" button on the EPIRB and let the professionals take care of it. It seems a great risk to rely on another small vessel to come to your rescue

 

[lw395]

All seems a bit dodgy to me.

 

[TQA]

Full marks to all involved - but surely if you are sitting on a sinking boat you press the "Help" button on the EPIRB and let the professionals take care of it. It seems a great risk to rely on another small vessel to come to your rescue

They were in a part of the world where professionals are few and far between. Cruisers often have to rely on fellow cruisers.

 

[pmagowan]

It does not sound like their boat was particularly seaworthy. It seems to have been coming apart at the seams. Glad everyone is ok but should there have been checks done prior to getting into such a remote spot in a boat that couldn't handle swell.

 

[tcm]

It does not sound like their boat was particularly seaworthy. It seems to have been coming apart at the seams. Glad everyone is ok but should there have been checks done prior to getting into such a remote spot in a boat that couldn't handle swell.

\

Agreed. He seems to done a bit of "noticing" things like the loose forestay and deciding that it was down to the se state of 2-3 metre waves which is actually not in the least bit weird.

Lesson to be learnt is never trust any skipper who can't even manage to check his apostrophes correctly

 

[GHA]

Wouldn't it have been better to be able to call the USC direct rather than hoping to find a ham operator who could relay messages?

Out there probably not. Otherwise the only other few vessels anywhere near don't know what's going on. The coast guard was involved but it was still another yacht which was first to get to the stricken vessel, before a ship the coast guard alerted after an emergency was declared. It's very very big out there.

 

[tcm]

Yeah, we know it's very big out there ... but... the main prep he seems to have done is to antifoul the hull in Panama. He mentions this fabulous bit of maintenance, and no other, so it seems likely that erm, he did that and not much else. The next time he checks anything is in April when oops, the forestay is coming adrift, and then ooh, there's some water in the bilge.

EDIT: just noticed the name of the blog! Breaking Free! tee hee!

Edit 2 - seems more like a good advert to NOT have SSB - you might get called up by some lunatic who seems to think that applying antifoul in November was good enuf prep for a transPac, and somehow led to his forestay coming loose in April, jeez...

 

[pmagowan]

I have to admit I was confused about what the antifoul or the barnacles had to do with anything. The impression I got was that if the fouling hadn't been slowing him down he would be able to make his own way to safety but that sounds ludicrous. His boat seems to have been put under sustained and repetitive stresses that you would expect when crossing an ocean and it seems to have opened up like a tin can. I presume any and all communication with possible rescuers would be beneficial but I don't see that this has any significant relevance to a SSB/sat phone debate. It is more about having a well maintained and sea worthy boat.

Yeah, we know it's very big out there ... but... the main prep he seems to have done is to antifoul the hull in Panama. He mentions this fabulous bit of maintenance, and no other, so it seems likely that erm, he did that and not much else. The next time he checks anything is in April when oops, the forestay is coming adrift, and then ooh, there's some water in the bilge.

EDIT: just noticed the name of the blog! Breaking Free! tee hee!

Edit 2 - seems more like a good advert to NOT have SSB - you might get called up by some lunatic who seems to think that applying antifoul in November was good enuf prep for a transPac, and somehow led to his forestay coming loose in April, jeez...

 

[tcm]

I have to admit I was confused about what the antifoul or the barnacles had to do with anything. The impression I got was that if the fouling hadn't been slowing him down he would be able to make his own way to safety but that sounds ludicrous. His boat seems to have been put under sustained and repetitive stresses that you would expect when crossing an ocean and it seems to have opened up like a tin can. I presume any and all communication with possible rescuers would be beneficial but I don't see that this has any significant relevance to a SSB/sat phone debate. It is more about having a well maintained and sea worthy boat.

Yes, you're right, and i was being silly about it, sorry all.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Such is the fragility of all long distance communication systems, especially in bad weather or when under stress, that instead of using your limited time and resources contacting 'someone' at a rescue communication centre (who might be coming to the end of a long shift or in some parts of the world might not speak English that well), you're better off contacting an 'advocate' that you will know and trust will move heaven and earth to make someone take an interest in your predicament.

That's exactly why I would have thought a SatPhone to be ideal. You choose who you talk to, and where, rather than hoping that someone competent is tuned in to the right frequency somewhere.

 

[Behome]

It does not sound like their boat was particularly seaworthy. It seems to have been coming apart at the seams. Glad everyone is ok but should there have been checks done prior to getting into such a remote spot in a boat that couldn't handle swell.

This seems an unfair comment, they'd owned the boat for 18 years and had been cruising for much of the time. It seems unlikely that they wouldn't pay attention to the condition of the boat and rig before setting off across the Pacific.

 

[pmagowan]

How then did they not notice that the deck seemed to be wanting to come away from the hull? I would presume when planing for such a passage that you would check that the boat was sound. It evidently was not. The question really is, should their checks not have highlighted this fact prior to finding themselves in the middle of an ocean? I would expect that there would be some signs that a boat was getting to the stage that rocking back and forth in a swell would make it come apart at the seams. Also, are they saying that their forestay is attached only to the deck and not to the hull?

This seems an unfair comment, they'd owned the boat for 18 years and had been cruising for much of the time. It seems unlikely that they wouldn't pay attention to the condition of the boat and rig before setting off across the Pacific.

 

[prv]

I got the impression these guys were part of an organised, sort of like the ARC, trip so had an SSB net with the other participants.

I don't think so - he was calling the 14.300 net which is a group of shore-based hams set up to help boats at sea - see http://14300.net/ and http://mmsn.org/about-us/about-us.html . I've listened to it from time to time via the Internet, and get the impression that its glory days are behind it now and there are few seagoing stations calling in, just hams in their basements saying hello to each other yet again . On the rare occasions that a yacht called in there was considerable excitement - this rescue will have made "W3ZU Fred"'s year

Pete

 

[GHA]

That's exactly why I would have thought a SatPhone to be ideal. You choose who you talk to, and where, rather than hoping that someone competent is tuned in to the right frequency somewhere.

Luckily for this boat there were people listening to an established marine frequency and a rescue happened quicker than a coastguard could get a ship there, plus every 2 hours catchups between the 2 boats over SSB as the rescue unfolded. Both would be ideal but as shown in this case Ham/ssb is not dead and as a different animal from picking up the phone, has many advantages on an offshore boat.