Liana's Ransom Abandoned at Sea

[hamburking]

The Canadian Tall Ship Liana's Ransom was abandoned at sea with a Coast Guard rescue of the crew yesterday. Here are a couple links to news reports and some pretty good video.

Follow up reports say that since being abandoned, both masts have come down, and the boat is taking on water.

Liana's Ransom is/was a "harbour tour boat" pirate ship replica with a steel hull. They were heading south to the Caribbean off the east coast of the USA.

Rising seas rescue: Nine crew plucked from Canadian tall ship after engines fail | CTV News

Coast Guard Rescues 9 Crew Members From Tourist Pirate Ship in Stormy Waters - ABC News

[Dockhead]

I would hardly call an 85-foot gaffer a "tall ship".

They were motoring South with N winds "gusting to 30 knots". Downwind in a F6. I wonder why they were motoring? Those are ideal sailing conditions even for the most piggish motor sailer.

[transmitterdan]

Report said sails got wrapped around the mast somehow. Gaff rigs are cool and all that but not very practical IMO.

[ryon]

Oh no! This was only a seventeen year-old steel-hulled character boat, but since it was a "pirate ship", and a dockside attraction, the entire tallship community is going to be plagued with another battery of arbitrary Coast Guard decisions as were imposed after similar "bad luck" struck HMS Bounty in 2012.

[ryon]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Report said sails got wrapped around the mast somehow. Gaff rigs are cool and all that but not very practical IMO.

Gaffers have been sailing those waters safely for hundreds of years, without getting sails wrapped around their masts.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by hamburking;1790536...

pirate ship replica with a steel hull. ...

Any yacht lost is a loss for somebody but this is no loss in what regards the ship's and yacht's world heritage. It was a replica of nothing, a carnival disguised ship and a ugly one.

[jackdale]

I am really not sure the crew or the vessel were ready to go to sea. The maintenance seems very poor and wrapping the mainsail after "skying" the gaff seems to indicate poor crew training.

[scuba0_1]

Wow you got all that from the abc report above and pic. Amazing

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by Polux

Any yacht lost is a loss for somebody but this is no loss in what regards the ship's and yacht's world heritage. It was a replica of nothing, a carnival disguised ship and a ugly one.

You've certainly got that right... Not enough money in the world to inspire me to attempt climbing just halfway up those cosmetic ratlines... :-)

Here's a pic from their recent dismasting at the start of their first attempt to head south back in December... I've heard of "Wet Noodle" rigs before, but that piece of crap seems to be taking the concept to a whole new level, no?

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by scuba0_1

Wow you got all that from the abc report above and pic. Amazing

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Nope

Read it in my local paper over breakfast

Not long after the ship departed Nova Scotia Friday evening, bound again for the Caribbean, three of the nine crew members became overwhelmed with seasickness, Ryan Tilley said.

Things worsened when the port engine stalled and the starboard engine wasn’t giving much thrust, slowing the ship to a crawl. Then the oil pressure dropped.

The crew tried to hoist the sails but ended up ripping the foresail and the headsail. And a horizontal boom holding up the mainsail went vertical, causing the sail to get entangled in the rigging and lines.

Dramatic rescue by U.S. Coast Guard just the latest adventure for Canadian tall ship

On the CBC website earlier today

Co-owner and captain Ryan Tilley said the ship lost service from the port engine about 12 hours after leaving Nova Scotia bound for the Caribbean.

The starboard engine then developed problems and needed topping up with oil every hour or so.

Tilley said they quickly began to run out of oil while still hundreds of kilometres from the nearest safe port.

That's when the decision was made to try sail power, he said, but it wasn't long before both the foresail and headsail ripped. Then the main sheet snapped in the wind and the boom tangled up their mainsail, he said.

When the generator malfunctioned, Tilley said, it was time to call for help.

Liana's Ransom captain recounts rescue near Gloucester, Mass. - Nova Scotia - CBC News

I have sailed on 72 foot a gaff rigged ketch, so I am aware of the how they work.

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I would hardly call an 85-foot gaffer a "tall ship".

The media doesn't know what to call these things. If it looks anything like the black pearl, they call it a tall ship. Perhaps "small" ship would be more accurate.

Interestingly, tall ships are best equipped for going downwind...like the tradewind routes. But this boat, with gaff rigged sails, would do poorly on a run. The seas, reported at only 10', were likely enough to keep the booms slapping, even with a preventer, and the gaffs flapping. I have to wonder if the "wrapped sails" reported were due to an accidental jibe.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by jackdale

...
I have sailed on 72 foot a gaff rigged ketch, so I am aware of the how they work.

Many years ago I had the pleasure to be the Captain of this one...

for an hour while I was passing my examination for coastal skipper but they sure did not work the way you described regarding Liana's Ramsom crew

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by ryon

Oh no! This was only a seventeen year-old steel-hulled character boat, but since it was a "pirate ship", and a dockside attraction, the entire tallship community is going to be plagued with another battery of arbitrary Coast Guard decisions as were imposed after similar "bad luck" struck HMS Bounty in 2012.

You are quite right. The St Lawrence II, STV Pathfinder, and TS Playfair are 3 small brigantines that ply the waters of Lake Ontario as sail training vessels. The new regs have nearly bankrupt them. A steady stream of inspections and required ocean worthy upgrades, even though they spend almost all their time on a freshwater lake, near shore.

Also, their mission is to train youth, and historically had an all teen crew (13-18 years old) except for the captain. The new regs require more adults and older/trained "seamen" aboard, which radically changed the atmosphere onboard, where quarters are very tight.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Polux

Many years ago I had the pleasure to be the Captain of this one...

for an hour while I was passing my examination for coastal skipper but they sure did not work the way you described regarding Liana's Ramsom crew

This is Duen. We took junior high school students sailing on her. I also did a trip with some college students.

[belizesailor]

Big difference between the pics of traditional sailing vessels posted and the tourist attraction that sunk.