Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[RPZ]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I don't know if anyone else has a problem with this but why is there a Go Fund Me for these folks who can afford a boat worth in the neighborhood of a half a million and offering $10K for information for it's recovery?

They likely bought her well used, did not pay anywhere near a half mil, and probably sacrificed a lot to get her seaworthy and keep her that way.

[tinysailor]

Heart wrenching watching the children and family, maybe having a small child has softened my emotions these last few years; and yes I cried during that video.

To the crew of Tilly Mint, thank you for sharing your beautifully crafted video and for the care and assistance you provided ensuring the family's safe return to land. Donation made.

TinySailor

[gaucho]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I don't know if anyone else has a problem with this but why is there a Go Fund Me for these folks who can afford a boat worth in the neighborhood of a half a million and offering $10K for information for it's recovery?

Because they are going through a shitty time, full of unknowns. Because they lost everything. Because they are trying to get everything back. That's all. If some people can help them figure out through offering them where to stay, money, help in getting the boat in ... what's the problem?

Should someone after a hurricane not get offers for help because his house was 100k more expensive than the one next door? I don't get it.

It's just people in a shitty situation, trying to cope with it, two kids, and searching for a boat. They can use all the help. I just hope if anything similar happens to me one day I get the support I can. We need more goodwill in the world.

Go read the blog, if you want to really hear their story:

https://westerlyadventures.wordpress...ossing-week-3/

Recently I offered my boat as a temporary home for the couple that had the incident with the bridge and the mast (they kindly declined the offer). The way I see it is not how much they have or don't have. Or how much I have. It's a balancing act on how it impacts me and how it impacts them. My boat is sitting unused in a marina. They have gone through a shitty discouraging experience. I can "afford" with little effort to offer them some comforting option. That option might be worth to them much more than it "costs" me. You see? To many people 200 usd for example might be something they spend on a weekend on some dumb thing, so they put it forth to the Dove II couple, who receive it and those 200 usd allows them to spend one more day looking for the boat (now those 200 usd are worth a LOT in that scenario). I understand you might not have 200 usd to spare, and that's fine and understandable.

But you could be nice, and empathic, and throw a nice hopeful comment to these people, and that costs you nil, and as you have learned now, is WORTH A LOT to them.

Anyhow, I agree you are free to "pass" on helping monetarily, but negativity and judgmental opinions don't really help in any other way either. Fair winds to you.

[sailjumanji]

I've got a question, and with no other motive than to understand in our own situation when cruising. But I thought I read someplace that they had insurance but wasn't covered incident? Is it that a damaged and unmaneuverable and therefore abandoned vessel is not a covered incident? I guess I need to pull out my own policy to read up, but I never expected a situation like theirs to not be a covered loss. That said, covered or not, I would have left the boat as well.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

I've got a question, and with no other motive than to understand in our own situation when cruising. But I thought I read someplace that they had insurance but wasn't covered incident? Is it that a damaged and unmaneuverable and therefore abandoned vessel is not a covered incident? I guess I need to pull out my own policy to read up, but I never expected a situation like theirs to not be a covered loss. That said, covered or not, I would have left the boat as well.

Who knows what their policy covered. It might have just covered liability, or perhaps they were out of their cruising area, or the boat had not been surveyed within the period required. There are a lot of possible explanations for them "having insurance" but not being covered for their loss.

I recall the owner saying very early in this thread something about the boat not being insured and that was why finding it was important to him.

[sailjumanji]

Thanks Suijin. Yeah I might have misread or remembered wrong. And it's not uncommon for some to carry liability insurance only.

But it has me thinking whether incident like this would be covered with full insurance. If you know what I mean.

Also has me thinking how I would leave boat to increase chance to find later. I have ais and inreach, and solar panels. It would you leave on anchor light, nav lights? Or this is probably that one time to leave on the masthead strobe.

[ErikFinn]

OP said " The insurance won't cover it.", post #126. But no explanation as to why so.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by gaucho

Because they are going through a shitty time, full of unknowns. Because they lost everything. Because they are trying to get everything back. That's all. If some people can help them figure out through offering them where to stay, money, help in getting the boat in ... what's the problem?

[/QUOTE I'm not without sympathy for anyone who loses their boat but something tells me they have "some" money and on a boat like that, insurance. I know quite a few in Mexico that lost everything after Hurricane Newton. I mean everything. Some are starting over. Some gave up and moved back home with their grown adult children.
People on this thread have bent over backwards to help these folks find their boat. Putting them in cantact with locals on the Islands. People volunteering their vessels to help search. That to me is the way you help someone.

[Sandero]

WOW...this is a hard one.... For sure anyone who sends money needs to know the whole story... and not just the end where the rudder fails, and they are rescued leaving their 53' Hanse afloat in the ocean.

A venture such as taking a family with youngsters on a cruise around the wold is an enormous undertaking requiring probably years of preparation... and even practice drills and so forth.... and lots of money just to get the boat, get it ready, provisioned aside from operating cash that everyone needs day to day to live.

From why I sit this looks like a lot of money for starters. Of course I could be wrong... But this raises in my mind... where did the money come from? Was it inherited? Was it earned? If there is an urgent request for "charity" it would seem that the family is now broke... What is the 10K PS goal to be used for? Salvage? Lodging ashore? Air fair back to UK? I think people who are being asked to give money... need to understand what the money is going to be used for.

This catastrophe was horrible... and I am relieved to know that everyone is safe and unharmed. Losing the boat has to hurt big time... I can't even imagine how that would feel. Homeless and far from everything you know.

I suppose the skipper never imagined losing his boat under any circumstances and what would he do if that happened??? Or had insurance for such a catastrophic loss... Is that even obtainable?

It seems on the face he had no plans for such a catastrophe... probably because this sort of thing is so rare... When I sailed offshore... I never did. I don't know if I was even as prepared as he was... Never got to find out.

If his plan is to recover his boat.... he should lay out the expected expenses to do so and the recovery plan... But he should be prepared to not be able to find the boat.... and in that case.... as I noted previously.... take his family back to England or wherever and "start over" in some new life... or sail around the world version 2. Meanwhile kids need to be educated and have friends... and so forth.

I wish them luck and good fortune.

[lancelot9898]

Kudos to the captain and crew of the Tilly Mint. Great job with the rescue!

[Prairie Chicken]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I don't know if anyone else has a problem with this but why is there a Go Fund Me for these folks who can afford a boat worth in the neighborhood of a half a million and offering $10K for information for it's recovery?

No, I see no problem with publicizing a Go Fund Me page for these people. I think they deserve any help folks are willing to give them. I see no benefit knocking down a family who have saved for a home and life at sea.

From why I sit this looks like a lot of money for starters. Of course I could be wrong... But this raises in my mind... where did the money come from? Was it inherited? Was it earned? If there is an urgent request for "charity" it would seem that the family is now broke... What is the 10K PS goal to be used for? Salvage? Lodging ashore? Air fair back to UK? I think people who are being asked to give money... need to understand what the money is going to be used for.

Does it matter?

[Prairie Chicken]

Kudos to the crew of Tilly Mint for the professional rescue, and for posting a well-done video. Thanks for sharing that.

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

No, I see no problem with publicizing a Go Fund Me page for these people. I think they deserve any help folks are willing to give them. I see no benefit knocking down a family who have saved for a home and life at sea.


Does it matter?

Well yeah it does... I find it hard to believe that this young fella made money to buy and equip a 53' yacht and sail off with his family from working... Sure he may have been a whiz with a high paying position... or something any made a small fortune and decided to give it a go while they were young. And that makes sense.

Or maybe he inherited money and put it all into his round the world dream and the catastrophe put a mega dent in that plan.

Maybe his rich uncle lent him the money and said no more fella.

I think sailors who work at this dream for years understand the hurdle of financial resource, technical knowledge/experience as something which you don't see in young people. I have only read about a few who do it and they probably have some sort of pay for view subscriber site to keep the operating cash going. I really don't know.

I do know that there are many 30 something guys who would love to take off on a 53' boat and sail the world. Even 40 somethings or 50 somethings.

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Alexd83]

I really hope that they find the boat. As an aspiring sailor I learned that if I have to abandon ship I should attach markings to the boat so it can be identified easily from the air (if possible) and second to have materials on board to make a make-shift rudder and to have a plan ahead of time how to make it. I think if he had some fiberglass and epoxy he could have made a rudder. By the way why didn't cargo ship just tow them?

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by Alexd83

I really hope that they find the boat. As an aspiring sailor I learned that if I have to abandon ship I should attach markings to the boat so it can be identified easily from the air (if possible) and second to have materials on board to make a make-shift rudder and to have a plan ahead of time how to make it. I think if he had some fiberglass and epoxy he could have made a rudder. By the way why didn't cargo ship just tow them?

The responsibility of the cargo ship was to save lives.... not property.

Leaving aside the cost of being 'off hire' for several days while saving property it simply is not possible for a big ship to tow a yacht at the big ship's normal speed of 15+ knots....