Three Sailors Rescued by USCG off Oregon

[robert sailor]

At best it's fun to speculate as no one gets the real info on these situations. I remember many years ago the skipper and crew were airlifted off a
Maple Leaf 42 and the skipper had a long list of all the things wrong with the boat and why he needed the airlift. Anyways the boat eventually ended up off the shores of Hawaii with the bikes still strapped to the life lines (why do people do this kind of stuff?) when the boat was salvaged it turned out to be in perfect operating order, go figure. That area has a long list of wanna be sailors getting picked up. To be fair, many sailors have had little to no offshore experience when they stick their necks out of the Juan da Fuca Straights and head out into an area with a well deserved reputation.

[s/v Beth]

Sailors definitely go through the refiners fire out there but I love it. I have seen a lot of sailors self rescue and make it into port, I bet less than 1 out a hundred sailboats who ply these waters get into this much trouble.
As for all the couch quarterbacking I see going on in this thread- I have yet to see you out there. Just turn your nose up at it and be done. You might have not even fared as well.
Would I have taken a boat like they did, apparently unprepared? No. But things can get grim here 20 miles offshore. And I refuse to judge them. If there boat is here for very long I will probably talk to them face to face.

[Tom Keffer]

I have no idea what happened on their boat, but I do know the weather conditions: we were in the exact same patch of water, at the exact same time, while on a delivery trip from Oregon to San Francisco, for the start of the Pacific Cup.

Conditions were completely normal for this time of year: 25-30 knots out of the north, with an occasional gust into the low 30s.

The weather was well forecasted for nearly a week in advance. Indeed, we chose Monday, 6 June, as our departure date precisely because of the strong, favorable winds.

Made for terrific sailing, and my first 200 nm day.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by Tom Keffer

I have no idea what happened on their boat, but I do know the weather conditions: we were in the exact same patch of water, at the exact same time, while on a delivery trip from Oregon to San Francisco, for the start of the Pacific Cup.

Conditions were completely normal for this time of year: 25-30 knots out of the north, with an occasional gust into the low 30s.

The weather was well forecasted for nearly a week in advance. Indeed, we chose Monday, 6 June, as our departure date precisely because of the strong, favorable winds.

Made for terrific sailing, and my first 200 nm day.

Were you on your J? Must have been a fantastic ride...


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[Tom Keffer]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Were you on your J? Must have been a fantastic ride...

Yes, on my J/42. Consistent speeds above 8 knots, with long periods above 10. So, yeah, I'd say it was a terrific ride!

BTW, I would not characterize Monday's conditions as a "storm." They were the normal conditions you get when there is a high offshore, and a thermal trough onshore. This tends to compress the isobars, creating near gale force northerlies. The forecasts were extremely accurate in both direction and intensity.

[mikereed100]

We met Rhodes Scholarship in Okinawa a few years ago as Mark and different crew prepared for the passage to Japan and Alaska. The boat seemed well found and Mark gave the impression that he knew what he was doing, and indeed they made a successful passage to Alaska, experiencing several gales and a storm without damage or drama. Just goes to show that **** can happen to the best of us. Incidents like this are sobering and serve to keep me humble in the face of the ocean

[robert sailor]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

We met Rhodes Scholarship in Okinawa a few years ago as Mark and different crew prepared for the passage to Japan and Alaska. The boat seemed well found and Mark gave the impression that he knew what he was doing, and indeed they made a successful passage to Alaska, experiencing several gales and a storm without damage or drama. Just goes to show that **** can happen to the best of us. Incidents like this are sobering and serve to keep me humble in the face of the ocean

Good point

[TurninTurtle]

Murphy's law

#2
If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong
Extreme version:
If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the FIRST to go wrong.

#3
The 50 cent part that breaks first will cause $50,000 of other stuff to break before you can react.

[BigNickMontana]

I think any time something like this happens many of us have the tendency to tear it apart and analyze everything about it, not because we're attacking those involved, but because we want to understand what happened so as that we can prevent winding up in such a situation ourselves.

I know that is why I analyze these things the way I do, I wouldn't want to get caught in a situation like that with the same outcome.

That is the reason we ask the question: WHY?

[Smokeys Kitchen]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Sailors definitely go through the refiners fire out there but I love it. I have seen a lot of sailors self rescue and make it into port, I bet less than 1 out a hundred sailboats who ply these waters get into this much trouble.
As for all the couch quarterbacking I see going on in this thread- I have yet to see you out there. Just turn your nose up at it and be done. You might have not even fared as well.
Would I have taken a boat like they did, apparently unprepared? No. But things can get grim here 20 miles offshore. And I refuse to judge them. If there boat is here for very long I will probably talk to them face to face.

If you do talk to them, Beth, it would be great to hear what their side of the story is to see how it compares to all our conjectures.

Thanks.
Ron

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

My advise on this forum has always been, if your short on experience then coastal hop it by day sailing between fishing villages, in most cases you will motor most of the way. If you are experienced and have a decent boat go out 70 to 100 miles and get in some sailing.

Sage advice that bears repeating imho.

If you wake up in a good anchorage/mooring and the weather is in the process of getting FUBAR, then stay at the anchorage/mooring until it isn't.

I admit I am probably a bit odd in what constitutes a sound basis for acquiring necessary experience, and I value it even higher than dinghy sailing, or anything else really, if those doing so aren't paying attention.

The greatest aid I found, in learning to pay attention, and getting a feel for what is happening right now, along with what can be imminent incoming, because you can directly relate a reading and its direction from prior readings, with what is going on in the real World around you, right now, is a barometer. The beauty of a barometer, is you don't even have to be afloat to start stacking away that experience with it.

There are some terribly substandard barometers being sold at outrageous prices these days, but I am pleased to be able to say that one of my most important acquisitions for my future travels, has turned out to be beautifully built, and a tribute to what is all too frequently these days 'former' German engineering skills (it does survive in some areas, thankfully), and it is also fairly priced:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My only link with the product is as a customer, and I hope those that need one find it as useful as I do.

I admit it may be considered an odd angle to start looking at things from.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

Sage advice that bears repeating imho.

If you wake up in a good anchorage/mooring and the weather is in the process of getting FUBAR, then stay at the anchorage/mooring until it isn't.

I admit I am probably a bit odd in what constitutes a sound basis for acquiring necessary experience, and I value it even higher than dinghy sailing, or anything else really, if those doing so aren't paying attention.

The greatest aid I found, in learning to pay attention, and getting a feel for what is happening right now, along with what can be imminent incoming, because you can directly relate a reading and its direction from prior readings, with what is going on in the real World around you, right now, is a barometer. The beauty of a barometer, is you don't even have to be afloat to start stacking away that experience with it.

There are some terribly substandard barometers being sold at outrageous prices these days, but I am pleased to be able to say that one of my most important acquisitions for my future travels, has turned out to be beautifully built, and a tribute to what is all too frequently these days 'former' German engineering skills (it does survive in some areas, thankfully), and it is also fairly priced:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My only link with the product is as a customer, and I hope those that need one find it as useful as I do.

I admit it may be considered an odd angle to start looking at things from.

Not odd at all! Thanks for the reminder!

[Cheechako]

Then there is this: 10 kids taken off this 58 footer that ran onto a rock in the San Juans this weekend. I guess I can understand the skipper's lack of attention with 10 kids on board! 10 kids, 2 adults rescued after sailboat runs aground near San Juan Islands | KOMO

[TurninTurtle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLNSE8oKLzQ

Supposed to be some of the world's best.

Still tore up the boat on a rock.

[Patchy]

I appreciate the folks on here saying "don't judge, you weren't there". I have much more aircraft time than sailing time, during aircraft crash investigations we identify what failed and then put very experienced pilots in a simulator to see what the correct action should have been. In most cases the very experienced pilot who is not in fear of death must make several attempts to come up with a livable outcome. Problems do cascade very quickly, very glad the boat did its job and kept them dry. If you weren't there you shouldn't say "they should have". Speculation on what could have been done better though is the reason we read accident reports


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