S/V Melanie

[Alan Wheeler]

Some members may remember a week back that we had a post here about a couple that lost their boat in the storm in Oz. They were askign for sonations. I contacted Bob Norson of "The Coastal Passage" The Coastal Passage Home Page free online paper and asked if he could do some "investigative journalism" on this story. I am happy to announce that the story is ligit. So the few members that donated can rest easy that their money has not gone to some scam.
What has come out though, is a great story of which Bob will most likely write up and pbulish and I have suggested to him that maybe the couple could publish their story to a few boating mags for money.(I don't know if mags pay for stories)
So without telling the whole plot here and ruining it, I will briefly tell a few parts.
The couple had returned and found the boat gone. They had been asking around if anyone had perhaps seen it.
Mean time, a surveyor was assesing a very large steel commerical vessel for salvage. He looked over the side and wasn't sure what he was looking, but eventually realised it was parts of another boat and realised the steel vessel was sitting on top of another boat. Hearing that a couple had been asking around, he thought this was possibly the vessel. The couple Indentified it as theirs.
The part that I found interesting was that I was reading Bob's paper and lookign at this large steel vessel second photo down. It turns out that the vessel in the photo is the same boat that is sitting on top ot the couples.
Here is a link to the couples plight. Total destruction of the Sailing Yacht Melanie
Warning, this site is asking for a donation. You do not have to donate of course, and Crusiers Forum does not suggest you do or do not. It is up to the individual to make their own decision on that matter. Crusiers Forum in no way is affiliated with the couple, other than they signed up membgership to here to a make what seems like a one time post on their plite.