Another Crew Loses their Sailboat

[Neo]

Originally Posted by boatman61

.. maybe its time folk thought back to their own first stumbling steps in the sailing world...
Glad they got off okay and I hope the boat is salvaged and they can recoup something out of the dream turned nightmare..

I think it's called selective memory, and most of us suffer from it. We tend to focus on our successes, ignore our failures and discount the role luck played in our successes.

Why else would anyone have more than one marriage, more than one child. or more than one beer.

[Panope]

Perhaps the less experienced and less resourceful crews should be advised to get a more bullet proof boat.

I'm guessing that a green crew will not be able to take advantage of a lightweight boats ability to surf (sail at high speed) away from nasty weather anyway.

I am just a coastal gunk hole sailer type and I like heavy duty stuff weather I really need it or not. My view-point may be skewed.

Steve

[captain58sailin]

You might link up with the various insurance agencies to get your numbers up.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Neo

I think it's called selective memory, and most of us suffer from it. We tend to focus on our successes, ignore our failures and discount the role luck played in our successes.

Why else would anyone have more than one marriage, more than one child. or more than one beer.

I LOVE my failures... stupidities... they're so damned funny when I look back.. and see what I musta looked like to others at the time.
Oh... and only one marriage and one son...
But gallons of beer...

[jeanathon]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

On a vaguely related note - I had an hour or so on my hands and came up with this:-

The Lost Yachts Register

No URL yet (might tack one on later).

My thinking is to keep a track of Yachts that go missing (and get found) in one easy to find / read place. How much use that is being another thing ......more I think of passing interest on numbers, location and boat types..............You will note that it has been written to require minimal updating by me .....with a link off to the "story", at present mostly to CF!....that layout might change in due course, or it might not .

Of interest to anyone? If so, don't be shy about giving me a pointer or a nudge towards a missing Yacht......although not said on the Website, this will be mostly about yachts going on extended / transocean passages and not lost / missing locally.

I would stick the link in my Sig, but it's kinda full already .

BTW, don't bother with any criticisms on Website look or layout! - it's free on Google Sites, so yer get what yer pay for .

I like it. Now for the follow through.
Don't forget the religious couple, or bounty, or...

[barnakiel]

Glad to hear the sailors are OK.

Too bad another boat was given a bad name and killed.

b.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Glad to hear the sailors are OK.

Too bad another boat was given a bad name and killed.

b.

Not dead yet...
there's one or two intrepid souls in Pago Pago who'd maybe go out and bring her back... she's still afloat at the last report..

[gjordan]

I agree with Boatmans earlier post about bigger not always being better. Just because you have lots of money doesnt always mean the less experienced folks should buy the bigger boat. More systems, more thru hulls, more and heavier rigging and sails. When things start to go wrong the simpler boat with fewer thru hulls and a big manual bilge pump is more likely to survive, than the big boat with 3 electric pumps and a little manual pump. When Super Captain is down below trying to stop a leak and the 110 lb mate has to go forward to drop a blown out genoa before it shakes the rig to pieces, the smaller boat suddenly seems better. My 26 footer had 5 thru hulls, my 44 footer had 13 thru hulls. If you discover rising water, can you remember where every thru hull is? Sometimes less is better. Just another opinion!!! ____Grant.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Hud3

A failed water pump on the diesel, a malfunctioning bilge pump, standing rigging issues, and steering problems = abandon ship.

This makes for a pretty good checklist of what you need to be prepared to deal with when making offshore passages. I'd also add leaking/failed through-hulls to the list. None of these issues is all that difficult to deal with, if you've got the spares, tools and expertise to fix the the problems.

The thru hulls were a bit of a worry, Being 10 year old fittings,
Blocked filters on the diesel, while becalmed in the middle of the shipping channel,
Steering cables exploded,
Bilge pump hoses set up incorrectly, So only the shower side worked,
Dunny was set to use fresh water, Pumped all my fresh water out thru the Dunny,
Twice, Then found out how to operate the 3 way switch, Very finicky on the salt water side of it,

Drive universal snapped off, In the middle of the River, Had to get towed to the slipway, I made new plates for it and drilled them out, in Bundaberg as no one had one,
Both Anchors were crap,
Had the show welds snap off the davits and allowing davits and Dinghy to almost be lost over the side,
Had the Radar recalibrated in Bundaberg, A huge ship went past 1/2 mile behind me,
It was this tiny dot on the Radar screen, Turned it off, I could get caught with that hazy Radar effort showing,
Learnt how to catch fresh water on board this particular vessel, Very easy, Catches lots quickly,

Learnt how to sail at night with the Electronics, Reversal of day trips, But using my eyes and the landmarks from the day trips,
Lost my gears backing out of a Marina, In front of the inter Island Ferry, I just caught the pier with a rope at the last minute,

You dont put the leeward centre board down in heavy weather, Hahahahahaha

These are just some of the things that went wrong on mine, It was a shakedown cruise as well as getting it home,
It takes time to sort all the problems out, But you wont know unless you sail it, and things get used,

[sck5]

Here's a vote for smaller. I have a Caliber 33 which is big enough to go wherever but small enough to easily singlehand if need be. The decision was to have a smaller boat and enough money to do a complete and proper refit rather than a larger boat where we had to pick and choose what to replace and what not to. No regrets at all - after going to the Caribbean and back and then to Bermuda and back and various other places in between I am more confident sailing this boat than I would be on another where I had worries about different parts of it. Of course, if somebody wanted to drop a few hundred thousand bucks on me so I could afford a 40 footer I suppose I could be talked into it .....

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by jeanathon

I like it. Now for the follow through.
Don't forget the religious couple, or bounty, or...

The Bounty was I think in 2012, and in any event it wasn't really lost - only a SAR, and local at that. Not to say that it wouldn't get on the list if it happened next week - but I don't want to back too far for statistical analysis reasons (aka Laziness ).

For the religious couple, am not sure Ordinarily such an event would be included given location and length of time at sea.....but seems they weren't missed by anyone and with Jesus onboard they were never lost (at least in own "minds")........but I shall mull that one over..........

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

..........but not very practical?....or very real worldy

It is an interesting thing.... some people are well educated, bright, but not mechanically inclined. I have hired engineers with good credentials, only to discover... it would be a trying event for them to change a spare tire!
I met a family in Georgetown Bahamas who were new to cruising. He was a high school industrial arts teacher. They had bought a boat, were ready to take off and the engine failed. They had the engine replaced for a lot of $ and then somehow got to G-town. There they anchored on the wrong side of the harbor close to town and road out the first night bouncing and swinging at anchor. They had lost one anchor during the night and just let the tail end of the chain go over. A friend and I went over to help the next day. After a lot of snorkeling we found their chain and anchor for them. Then we went aboard because he had some electrical issues. He didnt understand 12v electricity at all.... the rear of the panel looked like a birds nest... not from him, but from the PO.
I felt sorry for them. Here he was teaching practical trade work in school, but really had no idea about these things. Eventually they went back home... I guess the point is, you need to be rich, or need to be a hands on, mechanically inclined, practical individual to be a cruiser....
I dont remember if he had a survey when buying that boat or not, hopefully a surveyor didnt miss all the things on that boat....

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I sugessted to the moderators a few months ago that we have a sub-forum for all missing/lost vessels.

Not only could we keep track of each lost one but overall we could work out prescisely what we are talking about in this thread: who is sinking! And WHY!?

So it would be good for someone (else) to ask the moderators.

Mark

Is it for sure the memo went out? I think it's a great idea and considering the number of sub-forums now and the many that never get posted on, it would be pretty active.

FWIW, can we have a vote on this?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Is it for sure the memo went out? I think it's a great idea and considering the number of sub-forums now and the many that never get posted on, it would be pretty active.

FWIW, can we have a vote on this?

I think in CF terms that be called inciting Mutiny - and gets dealt with accordingly by the Mods .......as this not a democracy .

TBH I was rather hoping CF would run with the idea .

[goboatingnow]

Go soon, go small, go now ... Get rescued oh well


Dave