Catamaran Llama Lo - Two Missing After Yacht Capsizes Off South African Coast

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Cavalier MK2

Be interesting to hear the details about this. Keeping the raft tethered to the cat would have increased the odds of being found as well as giving them a breakwater.

Have you ever been in a raft tethered to anything in heavy weather??

[TOT]

I hope they are all ok 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻


SV TOT
Wayne 😃

[paxfish]

Excellent! - It will be interesting to hear their story.

How does an overturned cat fare as a life raft in 15 foot seas, etc....

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Not really, a big cat like that might need more than one if entertaining guests.

Ann

I'm not sure I enjoy your style of entertaining Ann !

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

I'm not sure I enjoy your style of entertaining Ann !

Capsize party?

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by paxfish

How does an overturned cat fare as a life raft in 15 foot seas, etc....

Probably quite a bit better than sitting on the bottom.

[Geekatlrg]

This is great news! Talk about dodging a bullet! Can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Highly unlikely to flip the typical cruising cat, and plenty of other options for getting out if you do.

Mostly common use is as a sales gimmick.

Glad you said it first. I've already taken enough heat for my views on liferafts, lifelines and bilge pumps.

[Sand crab]

What brand of cat?

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by 2Hulls

Probably quite a bit better than sitting on the bottom.

+1!!!!

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[Cadence]

I'm glad they are safe. I can't say a happy ending but better than it could have been. I thought you don't leave a boat was the cardinal rule but then again I wasn't there.

[Moontide]

I have thought about this scenario a lot after buying my first cruising cat. I have decided that the ONLY time I will ever get off the boat in survival conditions is if there is an uncontrolled fire. Right side up or upside down the boat is much easier to find, provides much better protection from the elements and has a better food and water (and wine) supply than any liferaft I have ever seen.

The ride would not be fun in bad conditions, but still better than in a liferaft. Reports from all the big storms over the last 40 years reiterate "stay on/with the boat if it is floating". These guys lucked out and good for them. Tip of the hat to the merchant vessels kept searching for them. 50 miles is a long ways away.

As they say, a cats most stable position is upside down, a monohulls is on the bottom of the ocean. (Not trying to start a fight, just one of the inputs I considered when buying a world cruiser.) Am an old time monohull racer so it was a big step to cross over to the dark side. At least now my drinks don't spill in anything under 18 kts going upwind. :-)

[FamilyVan]

Its entirely possible that the sailors didn't chose to leave the Cat. They may have attempted to inflate and lash the raft to the bottom (now top) of the cat, but due to wind and sea conditions (big enough to flip a big cruising cat), they just couldn't make it happen.

Physically overwhelmed and exhausted by struggling with first the capsize, then fighting an inflated life raft in gale + winds, the raft either broke free from the overturned hull, or they were never able to get it there. They may have been forced to make a snap decision to either stay with the raft or the cat, or maybe nature didn't even give them the luxury of choice.

Picture yourself on an overturned Cat in gale+ winds, being swept from stem to stern with breaking seas while trying to secure an inflatable boat to the bottom of a capsized cat (which generally don't have any tie downs).



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[Cadence]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Its entirely possible that the sailors didn't chose to leave the Cat. They may have attempted to inflate and lash the raft to the bottom (now top) of the cat, but due to wind and sea conditions (big enough to flip a big cruising cat), they just couldn't make it happen.

Physically overwhelmed and exhausted by struggling with first the capsize, then fighting an inflated life raft in gale + winds, the raft either broke free from the overturned hull, or they were never able to get it there. They may have been forced to make a snap decision to either stay with the raft or the cat, or maybe nature didn't even give them the luxury of choice.

Picture yourself on an overturned Cat in gale+ winds, being swept from stem to stern with breaking seas while trying to secure an inflatable boat to the bottom of a capsized cat (which generally don't have any tie downs).



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Not cleats on the bottom? As I said I wasn't there. I'm just wondering about probably pitch poling? Did it, the weather come up that fast or was shortening sail not done?

[FamilyVan]

My comment wasn't directed at you Cadence, I read several people asking the question why they hadn't stayed with the vessel, I just took my best guess

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