Urgent Assistance To Find Missing Australian Yacht

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Lots of conjecture in this thread but the pics show a reasonable looking boat and lots of people have all their worldly possessions on their boat.

Re his sails and stuff.... once again looks ok in the pics but if your steering is stuffed life gets rather hard and, yes, lots of boats have no emergency steering settup.

How many boats abandoned in the ARC over the years due to steering failures? Rather a lot I think...

late 70's? AIS? Probably still using a typewriter and abacus... couldn't ask for help earlier cos he had run out of pigeons.... 'hmm...send message or eat pigeon... decisions decisions....'

You are kidding. Aren't you? Late 70's is still 10 years from middle age, at least in my view. Moreover, the approach to middle age does not equate to not using electronics. I'll say no more to avoid being insulting.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

You are kidding. Aren't you? Late 70's is still 10 years from middle age, at least in my view. Moreover, the approach to middle age does not equate to not using electronics. I'll say no more to avoid being insulting.

OoooooooErrrrrrrrrrr

I'll pencil this one in as bycatch.

Ping the Elder

[RaymondR]

If I have this right we have a 78 year old man trying to sail to Fiji to visit with his girlfriend and has run into a problem or two.

The man is either a true romantic or an exceptionally horny old bugger.

If he is on and Australian old age pension he probably cannot afford new sails and from my way of thinking and with all the money our government gifts all sorts of layabouts the social services bureaucrats they should fly out a new set and paradrop them to him.

I know from experience the problems with provisioning once one passes 65 years of age. Quiet often I look in the fridge, head to the supermarket and come back without the item I went for. Old folk are absent mindful and forgetful and if he is on a pension he may not have had the funds to lay in a decent stock of tucker.

Our armed forces spend enormous amounts of money doing wasteful things (Barack's got a couple of 747's and helicopters on standby in case he wants to drop down to Miami for a day in the sun) and helping out an old dude with an ambitious love life appears to me a far more worthy purpose than a lot of the stuff they get up to.

Good on the old bloke and when he makes it back I hope he will get enough assistance to have another go and not get obstructed by busy bodies who feel they know better how he should live out his life.

[JPA Cate]

RaymondR,

What a lovely post! Good on ya, mate!

Ann

[Cadence]

RaymondR,


I have no idea how two countries got in the mix. However a good post although maybe understated. I have no idea about the waste there it is out of control here.


As far as Obumma goes don't forget the C130s needed to prep for his arrival and he doesn't go to a low class place like Miami he flies half way across the Pacific. A hell of a lot or C130 S&R could be done with that.

[JPA Cate]

RC,

Have your sources divulged a new position for the Mahi?

Ann

[calitrappedindc]

14 Sep 2015
The frigate HMNZS TE KAHA went to the aid of a yacht in the north Tasman Sea. The yacht MAHI was on a voyage out of Brisbane when it got into trouble on Wednesday night with a leak around its rudder stock. TE KAHA—bound for SE Asia—was 180 nautical miles south of the yacht when she received its distress message at 6.30am yesterday and raced to it. TEK’s Seasprite helicopter was launched to locate the yacht. Once the ship arrived, a team of three personnel including an engineer and a medic went to the yacht by sea boat.
CDR Simon Griffiths, TE KAHA Commanding Officer, said: “What was supposed to be a two-week trip for the skipper had turned into five weeks. During that time, the yacht had been both becalmed and battered by storms. The yacht’s two masts were damaged during the storm and it was down to its last set of useable sails. By the time our team got on board, the skipper had run out of food though he managed to get the leak under control.
“Our engineer managed to repair the leak. We also stocked him up with 10 days’ worth of food including military ration packs, fruits, milk and even some Weetbix and Marmite. We also filled his fuel tanks with 80 litres of diesel.”
The ship’s medic also checked the yacht’s skipper. “Despite his recent ordeal, he was in good health and very good spirits. He was extremely grateful for the assistance we gave him and was confident he could now get himself and his yacht back to Brisbane,” CDR Griffiths said.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Exile]

Originally Posted by calitrappedindc

14 Sep 2015
The frigate HMNZS TE KAHA went to the aid of a yacht in the north Tasman Sea. The yacht MAHI was on a voyage out of Brisbane when it got into trouble on Wednesday night with a leak around its rudder stock. TE KAHA—bound for SE Asia—was 180 nautical miles south of the yacht when she received its distress message at 6.30am yesterday and raced to it. TEK’s Seasprite helicopter was launched to locate the yacht. Once the ship arrived, a team of three personnel including an engineer and a medic went to the yacht by sea boat.
CDR Simon Griffiths, TE KAHA Commanding Officer, said: “What was supposed to be a two-week trip for the skipper had turned into five weeks. During that time, the yacht had been both becalmed and battered by storms. The yacht’s two masts were damaged during the storm and it was down to its last set of useable sails. By the time our team got on board, the skipper had run out of food though he managed to get the leak under control.
“Our engineer managed to repair the leak. We also stocked him up with 10 days’ worth of food including military ration packs, fruits, milk and even some Weetbix and Marmite. We also filled his fuel tanks with 80 litres of diesel.”
The ship’s medic also checked the yacht’s skipper. “Despite his recent ordeal, he was in good health and very good spirits. He was extremely grateful for the assistance we gave him and was confident he could now get himself and his yacht back to Brisbane,” CDR Griffiths said.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Despite the date posted at the beginning of the post, this looks like the identical report that was posted several days ago. As far as anyone seems to know, the MAHI is somewhere b'twn. the location of this NZ Navy intercept and Brisbane.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

RC,

Have your sources divulged a new position for the Mahi?

Ann

No Ann, it seems he's turned the sat phone off he was given. So, no one knows where he is again. I'm guessing he should show up today though shouldn't he.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Exile

Despite the date posted at the beginning of the post, this looks like the identical report that was posted several days ago. As far as anyone seems to know, the MAHI is somewhere b'twn. the location of this NZ Navy intercept and Brisbane.

Yeah, I gave the exact co-ordinates earlier if someone would like to bring them up on a map. That was Thursday though I think.

There's a little being lost in the reporting. This Navy intercept was after the Pacific Jewel first assisted him.

[JPA Cate]

I found the post. as of 1300AEST, the vessel was at:
24 d. 44m S,
162 d. 14 E.

No course and speed given.

But, assuming he was actually returning to Brisbane, and under headsail alone, if able to make good 80 n. mi. per day, it would take him 8 days to arrive off Moreton Is.

That means we could expect him by the 18th of Sept., and possibly a lot earlier, but without knowing more, we really can't say much. When rescued, he was closer to Noumea than Australia. If you assume a 6 knot average speed, I make that to be very roughly 4.5 days. So, a little after midnight tonight at the very earliest.

If he really was returning to Brisbane, the Customs plane should have overflown him, but I do not know whether or not they would release that information.

Ann

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

I found the post. as of 1300AEST, the vessel was at:
24 d. 44m S,
162 d. 14 E.

No course and speed given.

But, assuming he was actually returning to Brisbane, and under headsail alone, if able to make good 80 n. mi. per day, it would take him 8 days to arrive off Moreton Is.

When RC posted those numbers I had a look at the position and asked myself why he wouldn't head back to Noumea.

Is it a weather thing?

I assume I'd turn back to the closest port in his situation.

Matt

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by GILow

When RC posted those numbers I had a look at the position and asked myself why he wouldn't head back to Noumea.

Is it a weather thing?

I assume I'd turn back to the closest port in his situation.

Matt

Matt, the SE trades were (and are) blowing pretty steadily at ~20 knots. With trashed sails, working to windward is questionable, whilst being dragged on a broad reach back to Oz can be done with just about anything one can hoist, especially in the foretriangle. Plus, stuff is a lot less expensive to replace/repair in Oz, especially if it is y our home turf.

Cheers,

Jim

[GILow]

Thank you Jim, I suspected there was something important for me to learn in this one.


Matt

[JPA Cate]

RC,

Maybe he turned off the Satphone to save its battery????? Or, do you think it was intentional so he could "hide?"

Ann