Abby Sunderland - SoloRound

[Get-a-Life]

Hi,

Here in Australia we have a device called a "Seabrake" they come in various sizes and have been developed for such a situation.

If you "Google" seabrake you may find theiformation you are looking for.

We have only ever deployed ours once. Worked a treat.

Cheers

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

Hi,

Here in Australia we have a device called a "Seabrake" they come in various sizes and have been developed for such a situation.

If you "Google" seabrake you may find theiformation you are looking for.

We have only ever deployed ours once. Worked a treat.

Cheers

Seems reasonably priced. Under what conditions did you use yours? Did you use a trip line?

[Get-a-Life]

Hi Hum,

It was a large short steep quartering sea from astern, approx. 4-5metres breaking, wind speeds maintaining 30-40knots.

We were travelling up the East Coast of Australia at the time in company with 5 other yachts who were complaining about being tossed around and there auto pilots not being able to control the boat, and difficult hand steering conditions.

We heard them radio Ballina CG and ask if they could come in, the answer was no, the seas were breaking over the breakwater.

We had reduced sail to a No.3 Jib, with 3 reefs in the main and set the Seabrake to a controlled speed of 7knots. i.e. the doors in the Seabrake would open at 7 knots. It was streamed from the stb. quarter and placed in the second wave behind the boat.

As I said, it worked like a treat, we just sat in the cockpit having a coffee and continued reading our novels.

Our friend who was in a yacht astern of us was really p%#sed off, he had reduced sail and had his motor going to keep up.

No we did not use a trip line.

The larger unit comes with its own warp, it is a stretchy nylon that does not allow rotation of the brake.

We know have a smaller yacht 33' and the first extra I put on it was a Seabrake. (The smaller version)

Hope this has been of sum assitance to you.

Cheers

[hummingway]

Thanks Get-a-life. Great description.

[dpex]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

Hi Hum,

It was a large short steep quartering sea from astern, approx. 4-5metres breaking, wind speeds maintaining 30-40knots.

We were travelling up the East Coast of Australia at the time in company with 5 other yachts who were complaining about being tossed around and there auto pilots not being able to control the boat, and difficult hand steering conditions.

We heard them radio Ballina CG and ask if they could come in, the answer was no, the seas were breaking over the breakwater.

We had reduced sail to a No.3 Jib, with 3 reefs in the main and set the Seabrake to a controlled speed of 7knots. i.e. the doors in the Seabrake would open at 7 knots. It was streamed from the stb. quarter and placed in the second wave behind the boat.

As I said, it worked like a treat, we just sat in the cockpit having a coffee and continued reading our novels.

Our friend who was in a yacht astern of us was really p%#sed off, he had reduced sail and had his motor going to keep up.

No we did not use a trip line.

The larger unit comes with its own warp, it is a stretchy nylon that does not allow rotation of the brake.

We know have a smaller yacht 33' and the first extra I put on it was a Seabrake. (The smaller version)

Hope this has been of sum assitance to you.

Cheers

Had a shoofty at a Seabrake, today. Looks interesting. Would appreciate your opinion on retrieval.

Okay. The wind's doing 40knts plus. The sea is horrid. But there comes a time when the wind is down yet the sea is still horrid, but it's time to get on, and out there, on a 120ft/something rope is a device capable of arresting the fast forward motion of my 25 ton boat. So how do I get it back in?

[ZAR]

Can someone perhaps assess the damage and make a determination what actually happened? The father appears somewhat cagey about that. Looks like the poor boat took a beating. The mess seems to be hanging to the right, the solar panel mount seems bent inwards (concave). If I recall after Jessica's inversion hers too on the one side was bent in that direction. Is it the water or the wave that can actually do that to metal?

Original picture.

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-06/54328166.jpg

Below blown up 300%

[seandepagnier]

I want to know if maybe her wind gen mount failed and cut the backstay? I am really scared of this myself since the blades are carbon fiber, and I think I should get maybe 2 backstays 3 or more feet apart to defeat this, I want to get synthetic rigging, but maybe not?

Also, I dont understand why she didnt continue to australia on jury rig, boat wasnt sinking.

What sails were on the mast when it came down? If she had lots of sail area and a big wave hit it would make sense. My plan is to use a small shackle at sail attachment points so that in the event of large wave action, the sail will break away, saving the rig completely.

[TaoJones]

Until we have something from Abby's camp, the only evidence to go on is the few photos of her mast-less vessel. It does seem to indicate that she had some sail up at the time of the dismasting, but whether or not she was over-canvassed is impossible to tell.

Certainly, she had successfully sailed the Open 40 half-way 'round the world, including around Capes Horn and Agulhas, so it's presumptuous to question her judgment on the correct amount of sail area for the conditions.

The photographic evidence also doesn't support the notion that her wind generators cut the backstays, as the rig is clearly trailing behind Wild Eyes and the wind generators seem to be intact. Indeed, the backstays may well have been the only standing rigging left attached to the mast.

I think osirissail's conjecture is more likely to prove correct: she may have pitchpoled, the two forestays were torn loose and the rig crashed toward the stern, apparently going almost straight back as only one solar panel looks to have been impacted.

It will be interesting to read something official, though there may never be any such report. In the meantime, a half-million dollar Open 40 is bobbing around the southern Indian Ocean . . . any brave souls planning to go find it before it's subjected to a terrible beating for the next six months, or so?

TaoJones

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

While I'm not an Abby fan at all, I must point out that inspection of the above photo shows nothing remaining to base a jury rig upon. Even the most talented and experienced sailor needs SOMETHING to stick up in the air and hang a sail on.

Having been in the situation myself (dismasted at sea with mast, boom and spinny pole unrecoverable) I was bloody glad to be within motoring range of a refuge.

There is lots to criticize in the Sunderland saga, but I don't think that her decision to not sail onwards to Oz is a good target.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Manly, Qld, Oz

[Get-a-Life]

Dpex,

Sorry, I thought this thread was closed??

Also we are a little off the subject but I will answer the question and if the moderators think that a new thread should be started then that's the way to go.

The large "Seabrake" we were using, and that is the one you would have to use for the weight of your boat, we did not use a trip line because there is no resistance until the specified speed is achieved for the doors to open.

The smaller version we now have, manufactured by Burke Sails, we have a trip line.

The Victorian Police Sea Rescue Division was a big fan of theirs, also if you have to be towed, as per Police rescue etc, they used to always pass a Seabraake over to the towong boat to stream out. Made the tow nore controllable.

I have seen videos of the brake being developed and tested over the Lakes Entrance Barway in Bass Strait before the barway was fixed, only way to describe the results is "incredible."

[TaoJones]

Abby Sunderland has made it back to LA, and yesterday held a press conference, of sorts, to give her version of events in the Indian Ocean. Here's a link to the article in the Los Angeles Times:

Abby Sunderland recounts storm at sea and her failed attempt to circumnavigate the globe | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

There is also an interesting opinion piece by a merchant mariner in today's Times:

Abby Sunderland: The Sunderland family's poor preparation put other sailors at risk - latimes.com

Abby's mother has reportedly delivered her baby, as well, and he has been named Paul, in honor of the captain of the vessel that rescued Abby from her dismasted vessel. The captain had fallen overboard during the rescue of Abby and had to be rescued himself.

TaoJones

[slomotion]

Well, now we have something more to work with. The boat was knocked down by a rogue wave. She describes it as a roll over/complete capsize, not a pitch pole. While there's always a danger of rigging damage, a properly designed naked mast "should" be able to survive a roll over. However, per Abby the worst of the storm had passed and she had sails up. She also describes the wave as hitting the sails. In any case, if sails are deployed, they will fill with water in a roll over and something is very likely to break when the boat tries to right itself.

[seandepagnier]

if you make all the attachment points (hanks, slides, tack, clew and head) have shackles with 1/4 the breaking load of anything else, maybe it would save the rig if a wave strikes?

[TaoJones]

I'm still dubious about a rollover, slomo, and favor osirissail's supposition that she pitchpoled, based on what would most likely happen with the rig in each instance. Had she rolled over and the sail she was flying filled with water, that would stress the rig to the point of snapping-off where it did, but the rig should have been off to one side or the other of the vessel when it righted.

But it wasn't - it was streaming out behind Wild Eyes, a logical place for it to wind up after pitch-poling. I think, too, that had the rig been off to one side or the other following a rollover, it is unlikely that the vessel would ever have enough way on to somehow move the tangled mess around to the position shown in pictures; that is, trailing astern.

I'm dubious, too, about her "rogue wave" assertion. If she was working on the engine at the time of the incident and, as she stated, blacked out while it was occurring, then she was in no position or state of mind to accurately describe what happened.

But the bottom line is that she survived, no one was seriously injured rescuing her and she has a great story to tell for a long time.

TaoJones

[slomotion]

Indeed, Abby may be speculating nearly as much as we are. But hers is the only account we will ever have - maybe she can and will give more details. The forestays are clearly gone, but I can't tell whether the shrouds are still attached to the mast.