Cyclone Winston beached yacht

[HappyMdRSailor]

Kris,

What a bummer....

Being so close to the road, I'd lean towards the crane/trailer route...

On a lighter note... When life gives you lemons... make... Tacos!
She'd be a perfect taco stand straightened up a bit... You'll need to of course cut "order" and "pickup" windows in the hull...

Good luck bud... Crossing my fingers this will work out easier than we all think !

[OS2Dude]

I'd call your insurance company. They will need pics and may may have ideas on how to do it and may even have someone in the area that has the experience and machinery to do it safely.

[meirriba]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

I'd call your insurance company. They will need pics and may may have ideas on how to do it and may even have someone in the area that has the experience and machinery to do it safely.

Are you insured against this misfortune?
Because if you are, the above is a wise advice. The insurance company would be unhappy if you do anything without their knowledge/involvement.
Moreover, they might be happy to arrange the towing back to the water (and pay for it) instead of paying for a total loss of the vessel.

[Rockyscience]

Sorry about your bad luck.
I think the people here are right on point with solutions.
If Palms are not the answer maybe a scaled down version of these can be sent in and inflated. Just a thought, Good luck to you.

[IRG]

I agree with this. You might engage a barge with digger and create a trench, then you could drag/float her out if watertight. Pebbles/sand, could be done in a day.

Ray

Originally Posted by steamgoat

Interesting project, I would try digging at the base of the keel so the boat settles in a little deeper ,then tip it over away from the land,then ,,as its sand/pebbles it may be easier to drag off. Some large inner tubes may come in handy. Good luck.

[basssears]

Wow, what a bummer. Best of luck to you (I have absolutely nothing useful to add, sorry), perhaps you'll find this easier in a country used to doing a little more with a little less than you would in a more "developed" (air quotes, you know) country.

Not to hijack your thread, have you heard anything else about how other boats faired there?

Were you on a mooring or anchor?

Good luck!

-- Bass

[seasick]

We found ourselves in a similar situation in Knysna, South Africa when we hauled out on a derelict railway of a bankrupted marine haulout facility and the cart fell to bits.

I was able to use another boat to jet a sturdy piling, twenty feet into the bottom of the bay offshore of where we were stranded. I then attached a very heavy series of turning blocks to this piling and just dragged the boat out at low water with the help of a large winch and six to one purchase. You'd have to pull the bow around to face the bay. For this to work, much would depend on the depth of the sand in the lagoon.

Our good cruising friend Betsy Hitz-Holman managed to drag their Aluwea "Cheers" across a hundred yards of reef just using the boat's winches and anchors. Good luck to you.

[carlheintz]

It appears that you are stuck in a backwater marsh. You have no idea what's under the boat. It could be coral, rocks, etc.

I would NOT try to drag the boat anywhere. You will probably tear it apart. My suggestion is to place a log horizontal to the lee (closest to the water) side, and then brace that, and using levers get the boat righted. Next, I would assess what the bottom looks like, how much water she is in, and the topography of the surrounding area ( is it sand, mud, rock, coral? How deep?).
If you have four or five feet of water, maybe you could ring the boat with a couple of dozen inner tubes as floaters tied together with lines under the boat ( in the fashion of a sling) and float her out.

If you have very little water depth, lots of coral or rocks, you have a tougher choice. It may make sense to run long logs from shore down under her to the keel, and using that as a road bed, then try and haul her gently up onto land, using logs as rollers. Oh but that could be a miserable way to break her apart, too.

I agonize with your situation. While I've been stuck in the mud in the Chesapeake, that's nothing compared to your situation. I wish you blessings and good luck!

[Nanamuk]

Back in the '80s friends of ours on Dark Star, a Baba 36, hit the reef going into Suva Fiji. They were towed all the way across the reef on their side, laying on a bunch of old tires. A large tug provided the power.

[Cadence]

Not knowing what the resources are, it is impossible to even state an opinion and it sounds as you don't know if there is hull damage or the extent if any.

Best of luck. Post when you know more.

[Sailorbob8599]

Sorry, no advice on your predicament, but it's interesting to note the inflatable is still on the forward deck following the ravages of the hurricane.

[Seaslug Caravan]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

Sorry, no advice on your predicament, but it's interesting to note the inflatable is still on the forward deck following the ravages of the hurricane.

Yes, I'm sorry too, especially after you went to all that trouble preparing for the storm by doing things like removing your roller furler to reduce windage etc.

( Searching for sarcasm font)

[roland stockham]

Assuming that is high water you seam to be at about 50% of the depth you need to float. Assuming everything is still watertight what about a big air back attached to the base of the keel. Aim would be to lay her on beam ends and then float out with reduced draft.
If it is a disaster area I would feel morally obliged take all my own resources plus extra to help the locals but haven't seen reports so may not be that bad.

[roland stockham]

Even if you can't float off air bags are the way to go for any remote lifting - just ask the fire department about air jacks! There is probably a better application but these are the ones we use in hospitals both for lifting a fallen patient and as emergency evacuation (they come batt powered). Have seen a demo or a fire crew literally running down stairs with one and the patient barely felt it. Load on these is only 1200lbs but there are heavier versions. If you are insured company would probably be happy to pay hire cost rather than repair damage caused by dragging.

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Even if you can't float off air bags are the way to go for any remote lifting - just ask the fire department about air jacks!

You don't think that perhaps the Fiji Fire Dept have more important things to do with their equipment given the huge devastation to people's homes? Fiji is a third world country and people there are very very poor. Resources are very limited even in Suva and Nadi. Roads are mostly unsealed and communication, as the OP said, very unreliable. Tens of thousands of people have lost their homes, businesses, schools etc.

Also, unless the boat has been under guard, it's probably lost all of its gear by now. Not always a good idea to post pictures with locale details etc on the internet. Sadly serious events like this don't always bring out the best in people.