44' Cat found up-side-down

[Capt. Mike Maurice]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

on Oregon Coast.

Apparently it was a delivery from S. Africa to Seattle. The Crew is missing. See news report ................................_-/)

The following info concerning "Cat Shot", I believe to be correct, but I have not been able to verify it. The Captain had been from So. Africa and had about 5-10 years experience with the SA rescue services. He was about 50 and a severe diabetic, recently living in England. The 2 crew were from the US, picked up in San Francisco. One was 79 and a truck driver from So. Dakota, the other about 40. These crew member were not likely very experienced, none of mine would go with me under such conditions.

The storm was a known big thing on the 8th when the boat left SF. It was expected to be the biggest storm of the season and the previous ones had been upwards of 100 mph. Short gusts in this storm were likely over 150 mph as it ripped up whole sections of trees, snapping them off 20 feet above ground along all the high points along the coast.

I brought a 46' Nordhavn up the coast about a week before this storm. That boat sat in Crescent City for 3 weeks for a safe calm spell to run up to Cape Flattery.

I have been working this coast for almost 50 years and regularly move sail and power boats in OR/WA/CA during the winter time. We just don't move them when it is storming as it is too damn dangerous.

I have been shut outside the bars only once in all that time, overnight and had to run up the coast for 200 miles to the Columbia River. There was high swell, over 20 feet but no wind.

I assume the boat was flipped over by the high wind gusts not long after coming upon Cape Blanco. As of mid April there have been no bodies found. There is a lot of rock coastline in the area and bodies washed up in them are not likely to be found, except by a passing helo.

At 20 feet of swell the only bar that is passable from San Francisco to Cape Flattery is the Columbia River, during the flood tide; possibly up to 25 or 30 feet, but I have never tried it at over 25.

The anchorage at Port Orford is swept by large waves if the swell is from the SW. The pier there has had a foot of water on it, which is about 25 feet above normal water levels, during storms. In such a storm, there may be no place from San Francisco until Cape Flattery to get under cover, anchor up or find safety.

[Limpet]

I have been following this story for sometime, that's interesting new info on the crew. At 79 how able could that crew member have been?

My wife is a diabetic and she can become quite ill if she does not medicate appropriately. If the capt was in the water, he probably could not medicate, so he would not have lasted.

You mentioned you thought the boat was capsized by wind. I thought I read where the sails were found furled? If so, then it had to be a wave that capsized them. Which is why the forum turned to discussing sea anchors for a time.

[Capt. Mike Maurice]

Cats are subject to being overturned by high wind gusts getting under the flat horizontal hull components, especially when the hull is near the wave peak. At 150 mph, the wind pressure can easily overturn a lightweight boat.