S/V Celadon - Two Crew Rescued

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Celadon

As I said, unfortunately I was not on the boat and believe that if I had been aboard, I would have stayed with her. I've sailed her in some pretty tough conditions and know what she's capable of and because of my knowledge of all the maintenance and upgrading that's been done, as well as independent surveys, etc. I have no reason to believe any thru hull or keel bolts could have failed.

To answer Boatman's question, yes...it was a hired, [pre-]paid delivery crew with resumes, etc. I was not on board because I was going to need the time to take care of things stateside before heading to the Caribbean for five months. If you want to hear what they have to say, you'll have to find them yourself as I am unable to locate or make contact with them.

Sir... you have my sincere sympathy's and my hope's that one day you can find them and hold them to account....
Its hard enough for an owner to entrust his pride and joy to strangers as it is... but folks like these make life harder for all of us... Owners and Skippers alike.
Best Wishes
Phil

[Bluefuss]

Would it liablous to publish their names and the circumstances of your contract?

[atoll]

3inches of water and still floating 18 days later,90 miles offshore.
brings to mind what happened to gypsy moth in the tuamotu's a few years back.
zero to hero skipper,bet you he didnt put that one on his resume,and is still hard to contact.
wonder if it was a reputable delivery company?
was allways taught you stepped up to the life raft....
commiserations to the owner,moral if you want something doing properly do it yourself.

[Celadon]

At the time the Coast Guard arrived on scene, the boat was making way and reportedly had 3" of water from an unknown source and it was holding steady. Also, the only photo anyone has seen is the one in the Coast Guard release which just happens to show the bow heading into a swell making it look bad. In order to abandon ship in favor of the helicopter ride, the genoa had to be furled and the main dropped, to stall it, making the boat look helpless in the photo. I have four other photos that were taken from the helicopter that show her sitting nicely on her waterlines.

[Rolf the Rotten]

Well now it's all just more confounding. Where is the crew? Can the USCG disclose where they were taken? I'm sure some USCG forms had to be signed by the crew? It seems like these folks should be findable if they are still on US soil...???

Sorry for your loss, hoping to hear some answers from those who know - the crew!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Celadon.

Thanks for sharing part of your story.

As confirmed this AM, is she floating in an area where salvage & towing would be possible practical?

[Celadon]

Well put Boatman. I would only offer the advice that you need to thoroughly check out anyone you're entrusting with your pride and joy AND put your fees in escrow to be "earned" upon completion of the delivery. The way these things generally seem to work is you're asked to prepay substantially all of the estimated delivery fee (based on expected days from departure to arrival, plus a provision for fuel, repairs, berthing, etc. etc. etc.) I can understand a crew not wanting to risk getting stiffed, so an Escrow seems to be a way to meet in the middle and the payment is made for delivery and not if it's not done.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Celadon

Well put Boatman. I would only offer the advice that you need to thoroughly check out anyone you're entrusting with your pride and joy AND put your fees in escrow to be "earned" upon completion of the delivery. The way these things generally seem to work is you're asked to prepay substantially all of the estimated delivery fee (based on expected days from departure to arrival, plus a provision for fuel, repairs, berthing, etc. etc. etc.) I can understand a crew not wanting to risk getting stiffed, so an Escrow seems to be a way to meet in the middle and the payment is made for delivery and not if it's not done.

I agree with a lot of what you say... personally I ask for 50% of mileage rate quoted up front... and use those monies to cover all costs until delivery to the named port.. short of repairs that may be required along the way in case's of mechanical failure... the balance is then settled on hand over along with all bills for expenses presented and agreed on and settled...
The owner can then see I've not been roughing it on Champagne and Fillet Mignon...

[Celadon]

Crew was taken to the Coast Guard Air Station at Elizabeth City, NC. I am not able to reach them and don't know where they are at. My insurance company has been unsuccessful as well since they are trying obtain their account of the events, but have relayed to me that they were told the crew left the country. The Coast Guard has it all transcribed from the communications, which they've read to me over the phone. Lots of Red tape though--I actually had to file a Freedom of Information Act request in order to get the case report on my own vessel, but that's the way it works.

[Celadon]

Unfortunately, the nearest navigational reference to her last known position this morning was right smack in the middle of nowhere, literally. Evaluating cost and possibility of recovery.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Celadon

Unfortunately, the nearest navigational reference to her last known position this morning was right smack in the middle of nowhere, literally. Evaluating cost and possibility of recovery.

Which brings up the subject of salvage rights. If someone gets to her before you, will the insurance pay up?

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...age-37788.html

[YOGAO]

Celadon,

So sorry to hear of this loss.

If you can get a record of what the GS currents looked like from the time of loss through today, you might have some idea of where she is headed for. At this time of year though, even if you had some way of getting it down to 100 square kilometers it would be tough to find her.

Perhaps she will wash up someplace.

[GordMay]

FWIW: The rescued delivery crew were:
Chase Duran from White City, Oklahoma
and
Rowan Wagner from Camden, Maine.

[lawdawg]

I am very sorry for your loss, that is really an awful story and I hope that you are able to get your money back with insurance. Not knowing more about boat insurance it is really frightening that you might only get back a fraction of what you have in it. Best wishes

[Cormorant]

Damn, Celadon -- that's an awful fix to be in. If I had the right boat, I would gladly sail you to Iceland to recover her. Good luck getting this all sorted out.