44' Cat found up-side-down

[delmarrey]

on Oregon Coast.

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

http://www.nwcn.com/statenews/oregon....13ba3361.html

Sad. They will probably find them in Moss Landing or north of Half Moon Bay. That seems to be where all the bodies wash up.

[Joli]

Very sad. Hope the crew is found.

[Octopus]

OREGON / Intense search for sailboat's missing crew / Large catamaran left S.F. last week, was found Friday

[northerncat]

makes you wonder what tripped it up doesnt it was it to much sail or was it just not able to slide sideways due to the minikeels, if it had of had daggerboards would it have been safer, actually making me think about putting some saddles on the underside of the deck of mine, at least it isnt a mooring on the bottom now, it actually looks quite salvageable

[Octopus]

The report states "A length of rope was also found tied around the propeller of the vessel, though there was no clear indication as to its purpose" this suggests that the crew tried to tie themselves or their liferaft to the hull by securing a rope to the prop. Let's hope it was their liferaft and they're still adrift and alive somewhere, but it seems doubtful.

It does make you think of making provision on the hull for such eventualities. Imagine trying to cling to the upturned hull with nothing to fasten on to. Poor buggers.

Chris

[rebel heart]

Searchers also found locked inside a cupboard a floatable radio beacon that, if it had sprung free, would have automatically broadcast an emergency signal to allow searchers to locate it. There were no signs of a life raft or of cold-water survival suits.

Their EPIRB was in a locker and never went off. I feel terrible for those guys. So often in maritime accidents everyone wants to say "well if they had done such and such they would have been fine".

30' seas and the worst winter storm in a decade is no laughing matter, especially in a catamaran like that. It says that they were 10 miles off the coast, which makes me think that the problem must have been very sudden. If they knew things were going bad or felt like conditions were too much, they could have fired off the EPIRB or grounded the ship. You can cover 10 miles in a storm pretty damn fast.

[Alan Wheeler]

Has the EPIRB been painted Grey???

No I am not trying to be a smart mouth. This is a good sober reminder that it can go wrong out there and every single preperation for safety matters is required.

[Pura Vida]

I wonder if they would have stayed in port had it not been a delivery.

[ssullivan]

Yeah, I'm sure there was the pressure of an on time delivery. Also, (Del could probably fill us in on this), but I heard nothing about that weather coming until it was forecast to be hurricane force winds "in the coming hours." Is it possible they didn't hear about it in time?

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

but I heard nothing about that weather coming until it was forecast to be hurricane force winds "in the coming hours." Is it possible they didn't hear about it in time?

We had about three days notice of the winds and about 12 hours that it was going to be a strong one. By then the Cat was already out in the Pacific. The problem being there is very little shelter between San Francisco and the Columbia River which is a danger in itself.

The other thing is it came straight from N. of Hawaii rather then down the coast of British Columbia. I keep an eye on the Pacific daily (the site) http://wwwa.accuweather.com/maps-sat...e=1&anim=STILL

and you could see it coming as a huge mass of thick clouds, which started to swirl about 100 miles off the coast. It was being hit by a low pressure front coming down from Alaska.

I think skil was their only chance. I imagine they were broached by surprise. They would have been better off to swim up into the hull and ride it out. IMO

[eskfreedom]

I just came from the beach where Cat Shot a Voyage 440 lies in ruins. The house is 80% gone there is a huge hole in the side from the Coast Guard. Its full to the brim with drift wood. From my observations it looks like they deployed a parachoot anchor and the bridal broke. Then tried to tow warps. They had no sail out. Both roller furlings were fully roled up. I live in Newport OR and Everybody knew that the storm was coming. The Whole dunginus crab fleet all geared up and ready to go for the first big catch, sat in harbor. The captain was (quite frankly) a complete moron for leaving S.F. whene he did. Cape Blanco is famouse for shipwreks. The artic current flows south strait in to large southerlys that cause huge steep confused seas. No captain that I know of would have attemped that passage. It's realy sad because it cost every one ther lives. As I walked around the destruction I tried to put myself in their shoes until over in the driftwood I spoted a shoe of one of the crew with the initials J.L.B. on it. Then it seemed kinda pointless.

[ssullivan]

Good to have the local knowledge added. Thanks, guys.

[craig boorman]

The three man crew are from a U.K. delivery company. It's really very sad that they sailed 12.000 miles from Cape Town to just 200 miles from their final destination. They must have been anxious to be done with it.

Well, I guess no modern production cat is immune to ravenous seas now that Voyage has joined Lagoon and Catana with losing life and vessel in seas nobody should be in.
Our thoughts are with the familys.

[eskfreedom]

Does anyone have any links or know what to hapend to the Lagoon and Catana?