Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[Patmar]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

That's incredible! Glad to hear it can be done for so long.
How many days to do the 1,500?
How did you get in to Rodney Bay in the end?
My "overdue" date is the passage time at 2 knots and I provision for that (hard tack emergency supplies). What speed were you doing?
I have a drogue but would think it may slow the boat too much.
Did you feel like hitting the Red Button?

The 1,500 miles took 19 days. We reckon that the make-shift drogue slowed us by about 2 knots, and we clocked several daily runs of over 90 miles in our 39-footer. We reported our position daily to Falmouth Coastguard, but never considered abandoning the vessel. We carried provisions to last another month and had the moral and potentially practical support of other yachts in the vicinity through an informal SSB radio net. We rounded up into Rodney Bay quite easily - in fact the boat much preferred going on a beam reach to straight downwind - and picked up a pre-arranged tow for the last mile into the marina. The full story is at: Rudder failure and 1,500 miles to sail – Yachting World

I hope that 'allwentwrong' manages to find his yacht, but I believe he mentioned a plan to use a steering oar. I have tried this as an exercise on my previous, smaller yacht, and found it very difficult. I think that it would only be possible on a large yacht if there are several strong crew members able to man the oar continuously, whereas a drogue will look after itself most of the time. It's also worth bearing in mind that towing a yacht without a rudder can be a nightmare because the towed vessel will weave from side to side. It would probably be essential to stream a drogue for anything more than a very short tow.

[a64pilot]

Patmar,
Just read your article, it would seem to be an example of doing almost everything right, and making few if any mistakes, as well as being good sailors.
Congratulations, you have now checked the Emergency Procedures block and will enjoy smooth sailing from now on, I hope

[Prairie Chicken]

This morning I read thru all of the blog posts pre & post rescue at westerlyadventures.wordpress.com. It's well written, terrifying, and heartbreaking. I have the utmost respect for this father, skipper, wife & mother. Faced with disaster, they have done their best, which has been successful in that their family is intact, if homeless. While we can all look back and say woulda coulda shoulda, I believe James did more than most.

I'm also extremely heartened by all the kindness & support being offered the family from a variety of sources, including here on CF. Good on you guys! You restore some of my faith in humanity.

[Paul L]

Not sure if Chris Parker's drift analysis has been posted here yet

. CHRIS PARKER’S DRIFT ANALYSIS:
The following is Chris Parker’s drift analysis as of January 6, 2017:
Abandonment: 12z/21Dec 16-32N/52-39W
AIS#1: 1530z/21Dec 16-35N/52-43W...calculations...
since Abandonment: 305T, 5 miles, 3.5 hours, 1.4k
AIS#2: 17z/22Dec 17N/53-10W...calculations...
since AIS#1: 314T, 36 miles, 25.5 hours, 1.4k
since Abandonment: 314T, 41 miles, 1.4k
AIS#3: 12z/23Dec 17-16N/53-29W...calculations...
since AIS#2: 311T, 24 miles, 19 hours, 1.3k
since Abandonment: 313T, 65 miles, 1.35k

Based on the above, motion during the 48 hours after abandonment was consistent...during each 1 of the 3 time intervals between data points, the motion varies +/- fewer than 10-deg (the only point which differs more than 2-degrees from the average is the 1st point, which is only 3.5 hours after Abandonment, and since it's such a short distance it's subject to more error in my calculations).
So if we throw-out that 8-deg of variation in the 1st 3.5 hours...the deviation from the 48 hour average in the other 2 timeframes is only 2-degrees.
Speed variation is 0.05k (less than 4%).
So, essentially, the vessel during the initial 48 hours after abandonment moved very steadily 313T@1.35k.
Thus, my assessment of this morning's location remains unchanged: 21-03N/59-22W
Given the upcoming weather forecast, I would guess the vessel will drift mostly NW at a slower pace until a ColdFRONT thru about Mon9...then a strong ColdFRONT moves in, and should cause the drift to shift to the SW.
On this trajectory, the vessel could end-up moving SW into the N Coasts of the Virgins, PuertoRico, or the DR, probably in 2-3 weeks.
Of course, if anything onboard changes during this time, (double-reefed mainsail, drogue, etc)...or if the vessel responds differently in the very strong wind/seas during the week of Mon9, she could drift at a significantly different direction/speed

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by Sandero

the lost boat was a ???? built in what year?

Hanse 531, production started in 2005.

One more "nice" story Rudder damaged - myHanse - Hanse Yachts Owners Forum - Page 1

[JPA Cate]

I agree with Boatman61 that it is a good thing in the world to put out here what some of the problems are with the newer generation production boats. And, fwiw, i also agree that we need something with meat in it to keep the thread alive while we all are waiting and hoping that Dave gets his boat back. He did make some effort to make her find-able, in an extremely trying situation.

Most buyers would make the assumption that if you buy a new expensive boat, it should be up to the job. NO ONE of the manufacturers would like legislation requiring them to warn potential customers of the likely problems in taking their boats on a circumnavigation, but that is one thing that could be done that might actually get the potential customers doing "compare" and "contrast" among makes.

Best wishes to you, Dave.

Ann

[brownoarsman]

Originally Posted by Sandero

And then real world will produce things like dropped rubbers and keels which break off at some point.

Ironically, a dropped ruDDer could cost a life, while a dropped ruBBer could create one

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

This morning I read thru all of the blog posts pre & post rescue at westerlyadventures.wordpress.com. It's well written, terrifying, and heartbreaking. I have the utmost respect for this father, skipper, wife & mother. Faced with disaster, they have done their best, which has been successful in that their family is intact, if homeless. While we can all look back and say woulda coulda shoulda, I believe James did more than most.

I'm also extremely heartened by all the kindness & support being offered the family from a variety of sources, including here on CF. Good on you guys! You restore some of my faith in humanity.

I did too and wholeheartedly agree with you. Everyone should read it and then post their thoughts - I think many will change.

For some reason a few posters are referencing "Dave". The captain, father, and All Went Wrong is James, or Jim.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Palarran

I did too and wholeheartedly agree with you. Everyone should read it and then post their thoughts - I think many will change.

For some reason a few posters are referencing "Dave". The captain, father, and All Went Wrong is James, or Jim.

Yeah..!!
That confused and had me worried for a while.. thinking it should be James..
I thought I was going through a dementia phase where I was a Star Trek fantasist...

[weavis]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Yeah..!!
That confused and had me worried for a while..
I thought I was going through a dementia phase where I was a Star Trek fantasist...

It was my subtle ploy to unsettle the universe.

My fault... I was writing two articles at the same time...

Apologies...

[boatman61]

Note to members.. and Mod's..
Please do not respond to my posts so quickly..
I need a few minutes after the post pops up for editing.. for it to make sense..

[weavis]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Note to members.. and Mod's..
Please do not respond to my posts so quickly..
I need a few minutes after the post pops up for editing.. for it to make sense..

That is my second ploy...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Sandero

Everyone is thrilled that the family is OK. And I suppose we would all like to see them get their boat back and repair it.... if possible and resume their trip.

But we also learned (perhaps again) how incredibly difficult and unlike they outcome wished for can or will happen. It sort of defies credulity to think that a 53' yacht still floating out in the ocean west of the Caribbean basin cannot be found. But some pretty wise people have shown readers how almost impossible this is.

And the discussion got even more interesting when the build details and defects emerged. Even found can it be and does it make sense to repair this boat and put in conditions again it apparently was not designed for? What WAS it designed for (apparently not a few weeks of heavy weather conditions offshore...

Also raised is what sort of due diligence does a sailor do or need in order to take his family with young children into some potential heavy weather? Lots (several) young families have ventured off much as this one did. This is not the first one that almost ended in disaster and loss of life.

One take away is that not every boat can be used for this sort of journey... no matter how many drogues and much safety gear is on board. Core failures are almost impossible to deal with in the conditions encountered. This looks like a nice boat and a decent home to knock about on such a journey. But now we know it was what you can't see but perhaps could have known in advance which would make this not a wise choice for this family.

I wonder what sort of liability the manufacturer might have? Can it be demonstrated that the design has critical flaws? As DH wrote.... we need to have 100% confidence that the "appendages" don't fall off or break under expected conditions. Anything less is unacceptable. Bit of course to even make a legal case, the vessel needs to be located and surveyed. And I don't see that happening.

I suppose also, that insurance was either way too expensive of couldn't be obtained because the insurance companies find the risk too high. And that, if true would also be telling.

Lot of lessons here... and lots to think about.

Boy...a real Howard Cosell in the making here.

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by weavis

Guys.

The OP is conducting his search and has the help of several CF members. Its a difficult task and the outcome is uncertain. MarkJ and others in the area are offering their expertise in conjunction with the OP. I apologise for not mentioning others by name who are there, its simply because I dont know who you are.

We would like all that contributed to the search to allow us to finish the story, good or bad here on CF... Nothing worse than a tale with no ending.

We would ask that from this point on that CF members try to remember that the vessel was the home of the family, that their lives were at risk at one point. I can think of little more heartbreaking than having to abandon ship and leave the vessel behind.

From that point of view, can we as CF members just support his efforts, learn from the right things he did and learn from things that James wishes he had done. We have to remember that in the circumstances, with the pressing need to get his family off the boat, in bad weather, its is very difficult to do everything correctly.

He has the most valuable things in his life with him and for that I know he is very grateful.

Hear! Hear!

[Sandero]

Originally Posted by brownoarsman

Ironically, a dropped ruDDer could cost a life, while a dropped ruBBer could create one

hahahaahhaahaha