Search for missing solo yachtsman - IoW

Bobc said:
So let me get this right:-

He bourght a (very small) boat off ebay (probably without seeing it first, and almost cetainly without a survey or any inspection for seaworthyness). The ebay listing states that the boat had one of the old revolving light depth sounders and that's about it (so no tiller pilot, no GPS, no VHF, No dinghy, no liferaft, no Epirb or PLB, probably no lifejackets or harnesses, etc). He leaves Poole at high tide intending to go East (against the tide) with a F6-7 wind in place. He was single-handed on a poorly-equipped, unfarmiliar boat with no tiller pilot, and I suspect no safety lines or Jackstays (looking at the ebay pics).

Hmmm. I wonder why it all went wrong?

Am I being harsh?
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With due respect , no GPS, no Tiller pilot, no VHF,NO LIFE RAFT :eek:,no ERPB, my god he was not going to the States or offshore, one wonders how many are so "ill prepared"when they go out.:D
 
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colhel said:
I'm merely adding to the speculation. Others have said he shouldn't have made the trip, some say he was inexperienced etc. After my encounter with PYC I'm speculating he may have felt under pressure to make the trip.
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The boat was not in the marina, but kept on a mooring. Doubt he would be under any pressure to move it. Somebody who buys a boat then immediately sets off would surely have had the intention to do so.
 
Doesnt say in the ad what power the engine is, but does say that the fuel tank is 20L. Would that have been enough? could he have realised that he was not going to make it so put ashore to look for some more and then got too embarrased to own up... stranger things have happened an' all that...

I dont really have a clue on this sort of thing... Just throwing some more speculative ingredients into the great pot of uncertainty..
 
colhel said:
I have to be careful what I say here... I bought our yacht from a member of PYC. It was moored in the marina. As i wasn't a member of PYC my presence there was not required for any longer than needed, due to the berth being allocated to someone else. So after asking what all the ropes did, I cleared off, luckily to somewhere local. I wonder if weather conditions or other factors would have affected my need to leave in a hurry, even if my new or prefered berth was as far as hayling Island.
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n.b. for the sake of clarity...
PYC is Parkstone Yacht Club, not Poole YC in these parts.... The boat was bought at Poole YC not Parkstone ( not that that has any bearing on why the incident occurred)
 
For the sake of further clarification I can assure you that the gentleman in question was in no way pressured by Poole Yacht Club staff, he didn't speak to any of them. He set off entirely of his own volition.
 
yellowspinnaker said:
For the sake of further clarification I can assure you that the gentleman in question was in no way pressured by Poole Yacht Club staff, he didn't speak to any of them. He set off entirely of his own volition.
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Did the information about the destination (Hayling Island) come from the boats previous owner then?
 
Sad story this. What brings it home for me is that he was on his way to the Hayling Yacht Company where l keep my boat. I spoke to one of the guys there yesterday and apparently he was in the yard last week
 
Madhatter said:
With due respect , no GPS, no Tiller pilot, no VHF,NO LIFE RAFT :eek:,no ERPB, my god he was not going to the States or offshore, one wonders how many are so "ill prepared"when they go out.:D
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We carry all of those apart from the EPIRB even for short coastal hops. Not sure the tiller pilot is necessary, but I would not leave the marina without a working VHF at least.
 
Originally Posted by Madhatter
With due respect , no GPS, no Tiller pilot, no VHF,NO LIFE RAFT ,no ERPB, my god he was not going to the States or offshore, one wonders how many are so "ill prepared"when they go out.
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maby said:
We carry all of those apart from the EPIRB even for short coastal hops. Not sure the tiller pilot is necessary, but I would not leave the marina without a working VHF at least.
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Not sure if any of those items would be of the slightest help for someone sailing solo & slipping off a small boat like this. Maybe a harness or a waterproof hh vhf/ epirb, but he's just bought a boat for £750 off e-bay, chances are he couldn't afford any of the above anyway.
 
maby said:
We carry all of those apart from the EPIRB even for short coastal hops. Not sure the tiller pilot is necessary, but I would not leave the marina without a working VHF at least.
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I did highlight the EPIRB and liferaft , and I still can't see the point in a liferaft skipping around the solent or even coastal sailing, I agree about the VHF.:D
 
Searush said:
Not sure if any of those items would be of the slightest help for someone sailing solo & slipping off a small boat like this. Maybe a harness or a waterproof hh vhf/ epirb, but he's just bought a boat for £750 off e-bay, chances are he couldn't afford any of the above anyway.
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According to todays Mail, he is "a Director of several IT businesses and was described by his family as 'very successful' and 'determined'.

They also stated he was "An experienced yachtsman who is studying for his Master yachtsman certificate". He is "a member of the Thames Motoring Yacht Club".
 
alant said:
According to todays Mail, he is "a Director of several IT businesses and was described by his family as 'very successful' and 'determined'.

They also stated he was "An experienced yachtsman who is studying for his Master yachtsman certificate". He is "a member of the Thames Motoring Yacht Club".
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In this case, it does very much look like he simply fell off. As it happens, an EPIRB would probably have saved him...
 
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