C.G. Rescue Capsized Cat off N. Carolina

[camaraderie]

This report:
PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Coast Guard rescuers are responding to a capsized sailboat 102 miles southeast of Cape Lookout this evening....
Coast Guard rescuers respond to capsized sailboat off North Carolina coast

Details how the cruise ship GRANDEUR OF THE SEAS spotted an upside down catamaran off the coast of NC. The coast guard dispatched a plane to investigate.

I am on the NC coast and just overheard the CG talking to the Grandeur Captain on VHF. The 60 year old sailor was found in his life raft and flown to a hospital in apparently pretty good condition after TWO days in the raft since the capsize. The CG told the Captain that the guy would have been a dead man if it had not been for the Grandeurs' sharp lookout.

No word on the boat, the cause of the capsize or why an EPIRB was not used 107 miles off the coast so sorry I cannot provide any further details. Just thought the Grandeur rates a big cheer as do the Coasties who made the rescue. Will report further if more details are forthcoming.

[Therapy]

There will be talk of "life raft or not" too I suppose.

[ssullivan]

Good to see he stayed teathered to his hull... always stay with the boat if it hasn't sunk.

[Hud3]

Thanks, Cam. We'll appreciate any updates you can offer.

Interesting that you were able to hear them on the VHF. Those Elizabeth City Coasties stay pretty busy, don't they!

[GordMay]

Robert Brakes, a 60-year-old Morehead City, N.C., resident, is safe today after being rescued from a life raft off the North Carolina coast by the Coast Guard Friday, June 6.

Brakes tried unsuccessfully to use his radio to call for help. The boat sank so quickly that he didn’t have any way to take food, water or his distress beacon.
He was hoisted onto a Jayhawk helicopter and flown to Carteret County General Hospital in Morehead City to be treated for mild hypothermia and dehydration, the Coast Guard said. He was released after treatment.

USCG Press Release: https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/205294/

[donradcliffe]

The facts seem a bit garbled, but the pictures show a capsized cat, floating and full of supplies, radios, epirbs, and water. Then the coasties find a guy found in a liferaft nearby, with no food, water, or epirb, or handheld. Alls well that ends well, but there are probably some important lessons to be learned from this guy's story.

[Intentional Drifter]

Blow up the image to full size -- you'll see that the boat is a trimaran. Looks like the starboard ama has folded up against the center hull.

Coast Guard rescues man from life boat off North Carolina Coast (photo 2)

ID

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Intentional Drifter

you'll see that the boat is a trimaran. Looks like the starboard ama has folded up against the center hull.

Your observation may be "gold", but mine is not clear enough to differentiate between a "folded ama" and a trick of perspective.

[Steve Rust]

For sure that's a trimaran. From the keel and hull shape it may be a Cross though it's hard to be certain. The subtle white shapes underwater fore an aft may indicate a ketch rig. Standard rig on many Cross designs. Not a Searunner, Piver, Horstman, or Farrier/Corsair. What is very striking is the submerged port ama. The starboard ama in the foreground seems to be in the proper perspective. The port ama seems to be missing the whole forward half. Even partially submerged you should be able to see a hint of it. To be submerged and full of water it would have to be ripped open. Notice how high the starboard ama floats. The port ama also seems to be farther away from the main hull than it should be. Maybe held in proximity to the main hull by rigging and/or what is left of the wing. The whole boat seems to be listing to port pointing to a catastrophic loss of buoyancy on that side. A typical capsize would not dismember a well built and designed boat. Are we looking at another victim of collision with an unknown object?

[camaraderie]

Thanks for the updates and the pictures guys...sure looks like a tri to me also but can't tell for sure. Have been searching local news but all they are doing is re-hashing the coast guard news release.Will keep looking for someone to actually do some reporting!

Hud...we've got a good roof top antenna here at the marina so often pick up the coasties up and down the coast and usually can only hear their side of the conversation. What was interesting was that the cruise ship could be heard quite clearly this time as well. They must be allowed to use a high power rig as well. Anyone know for sure?

[Intentional Drifter]

I agree, Steve. Also, note what appears to be part of the port ama peeled back against the hull.

Hopefully, we'll hear the rest of the story.

ID

[TaoJones]

I'll throw in with Detectives ID and Rust. That's a capsized trimaran, probably ketch rigged, with the starboard ama folded in against the hull and the port ama missing its forward 40-50%. Well done, guys. (Excellent picture, ID.)

TaoJones

[Steve Rust]

I will add to my earlier post. My suspicion that this is a Cross design is in no way a slap at those designs. If what I suspect happened it really does not matter what it was. I am just trying to get at every clue I can. I suspect this boat hit something at speed tearing off the forward section of the port ama and this pitchpoled the boat. It may be possible that somehow the ama was holed or flooded in some other way and this led to a capsize but it does not explain the apparent damage. You would think one would notice this problem and reduce sail or stop the boat before it reached a crisis. A less likely reason may be that the boat was poorly built/maintained and broke up in rough conditions.

The news report seems a little muddled with talk about the boat sinking before supplies could be retrieved. This does not suprise me when I think back at some news accounts I read about the incident that involved TaoJones and the animal rescue. One report described a monohull motorsailor along with a picture so that seemed believable. The other account I read described it as a catamaran with a mast problem.

I guess the only way to get the real truth is straight from the owner.

[camaraderie]

A little more detail in this story but still no mention of a tri. No mention of hitting anything either but apparently he woke up with HIS hull half full of water.
News: Man rescued after two days at sea, guard, coast, raft : ENCToday

[Sunspot Baby]

"He said it just started sinking in the middle of the night," McGrew said. "He woke up and half the boat was under water."

Was he making a single handed night passage and was asleep?

Scary in any case.

George