Catamarans Lost South Of Equ. Over Past Years

[Bulawayo]

I would say this an admirable endeavour and should be fully supported. What if something happened to people you know? Closure is a great thing and anyone that puts up barriers is really not thinking it through. Well done, kudos .

Originally Posted by JohnT

Thanks for the replies received so far to my request. I must admit I have been scratching my head a bit in reaction to some of the replies. Let me explain.

Firstly, this is a cruising forum and although a large portion of the subscribers are not "cruisers" in the true form of the expression, a cruiser is a friendly person or group of folk out sailing in various areas around the world and mostly meet up with other cruisers and share information and pass on their experiences. They talk to each other and help each other. They do not charge or "make money" from sharing their knowledge to fellow cruisers. There is also a thing called "the cruisers grapevine" where incident information is sheared, such as "did you ever meet up with Sue and Fred and their daughter on boat XYZ?" - "well they hit a reef of Riatea and lost their boat last May. We all clubbed together and gathered funds to help them get home." **** happens, but other cruisers normally always learn about it and offer assistance where they can - mostly verbal using "knowledge" they have gained along the way. And that "grapevine" is what my original post was trying to utilise to help identify a part of a wrecked catamaran that washed up on the island of St Helena in the south Atlantic Ocean - and help a friend try and identify where the wreckage came from - somewhere somebody knows of a missing catamaran or one that was abandoned!

Secondly, the likelihood of a responsive "Coast Guard" anywhere in the world other than North America and parts of the Mediterranean is slim to non-existent. South Africa (the country) has no "Coast Guard". They have a navy with various warships that are supposed to patrol their coast and assist in the rescue of ships and mariners in distress. Well, that solves that problem, you think. However, in reality, the country cannot afford the fuel to keep the vessels out at sea and does not have the funds to maintain good and proper crew. So, when a maritime incident occurs, the authorities rather request other ships to assist in rescues or, if close to shore, request voluntary National Sea Rescue Institute vessels to assist. And anywhere else in the seas off the continent there is no "Coast Guard" or rescue service. Cruisers know this and know that if something goes wrong at sea, the only help comes, if you are lucky, from fellow mariners and not from non-existent "Coast Guards".

Now, the third point - I am assisting a friend on a remote island (St. Helena Island) that has no coast guard or true rescue services. If something happens to one of the local fishing boats out at sea, they rely on other fishing boats or visiting cruising boats to assist with a rescue. I have previously, whilst been on the island and whilst being the only serviceable vessel there, assisted in rescuing a small fishing boat with its two crew on the other side of the island. The reward is a "thank you" and a few unexpected free beers in the local pub. No money is ever thought about and never expected.

Now let's concentrate on why I asked for incidents south of the equator. Each ocean has its currents that are greatly influenced by the trade winds. Drift patterns are influenced by both winds and currents and mostly (not always) flotsam tends to remain in the hemisphere where it originated. In other words, a buoyant wreck of a vessel tends to stay in the same hemisphere, but not necessarily the same ocean. An example of this is the first Hugo Boss (60ft) that was abandoned in the Southern Ocean, about 1000 miles from Cape Town. The wreckage was discovered on the southern coast of Patagonia about 10 years later - it had drifted through the South Indian Ocean, around the south of Australia and then across the entire South Pacific Ocean before being swept onto the Patagonian shore - a journey of around 13,000 miles. Google it - it is a surprising story.

Then we had the Moorings A5130 that was lost in January 2015 in the southern Indian Ocean, about two thirds of the distance between Africa and Australia, from the African side. Current and winds brought it back towards South Africa and the wreck drifted all the way to just off the most southern point of Africa before it was taken in tow and a failed attempt was made to tow the wreck back to Cape Town before the wreck was lost and presumed sank near Cape Point, just south of Cape Town. The "journey" of the wreck took exactly a year.

The two examples of drift mentioned above are only examples of numerous other such drift patterns that are known and documented.

So, let me get back to the current query. Sometime in the past few years somebody lost a catamaran! Where it was lost is unknown, but most likely in a Southern Hemisphere ocean. What make of catamaran is unknown, but somebody may be able to identify the make from the construction shown in the photographs below. The photographs are copyright Ed Thorpe - Saint Helena Island, who has now given me permission to publish them.

I do not have much to say regarding the second photograph but the first one has some clues for those of you who know catamarans. Firstly, just visible under the bridge-deck it has a nacelle or "V" section - you may have to lighten the photograph a bit to see it properly.

As Atoll stated, he has seen the photographs and agrees with me that the bridge deck is from a relatively small catamaran - his estimates of one between 38 to 42 foot LOA.

The first photograph shows the tracks where the trampoline was attached. There is also a square plate between the two tracks where the compression beam would have been attached. On each side and slightly under the track ends are either two pad-eyes or electrical glands - they are most probably pad-eyes, which, personally, I have never seen located where they are on a catamaran. Are there any cats out there which have their bridal attached to the forward edge of bridge-deck and not the bows or edges of the cross-beam?

Atoll also pointed out that the bulkheads appear to be foam laminated. I have only heard of one production catamaran that did that, which resulted in the liquidation of that company about five years ago.

Any information of catamarans lost or abandoned in any of the southern oceans over the past few years, that were not recovered, could be helpful in trying to trace this wreckage. And for those who think there is any money being gained from trying to help solve a puzzle, you are so far off base that you have no idea what life is about.

Attachment 171694

Attachment 171698

I hope the above photographs show up!

[Stefan Jerkande]

Originally Posted by atoll

does this look familiar

Sorry but no!

[Jordan]

I was in Puerto Williams 3 months ago and heard about a guy who had to had to be rescued from his catamaran by Armada de Chile in the Drake last year. They left it out there.

Armada keeps excellent records and they're very professional. I'd try them. Go for the Punta Arenas office it's the administrative center for the Megallanes Region.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Stefan Jerkande

Sorry but no!

thanks for letting the forum know,and welcome to the forum

[SailingMum]

There was a wrecked catamaran on Fouquet Island in Salomon Atoll in the Chagos Archipelago when I was there in 2014. I can't remember what it looked like except that it was white. It was kind of beached and looked like it wasn't going anywhere, but it is just possible that someone decided to tow it outside the reef and then the ocean currents could have taken it around the cape. There was a story around this wreck, but I can't remember it now.

[As a former lawyer, the OP is absolutely correct that he needed permission to publish the photos.]

Back in 2014 there was an Indian Ocean crossing facebook group, private because of the piracy risk in crossing this ocean. If the group still exists, they have probably heard of any wrecks in this area in the past few years. Let me know if you want me to ask cruisers who passed through in 2015.

Good on you for trying to track this wreck down. Some poor family out there might appreciate the opportunity to know what happened to their missing loved ones.

[Aluna]

There are many production cats that have a moulded "V" in the centre of the bridge-deck bottom. More details are needed !

[Wanton]

Originally Posted by JohnT

Thanks for the replies received so far to my request. I must admit I have been scratching my head a bit in reaction to some of the replies. Let me explain.

Firstly, this is a cruising forum and although a large portion of the subscribers are not "cruisers" in the true form of the expression, a cruiser is a friendly person or group of folk out sailing in various areas around the world and mostly meet up with other cruisers and share information and pass on their experiences. They talk to each other and help each other. They do not charge or "make money" from sharing their knowledge to fellow cruisers.

Hi JohnT. I have read most of the comments above too and I was staggered by the ill will that some members expressed in their posts. It is not in the normal yachtie culture not to be courteous and friendly to one another. Well at least that was my believe until I read some of the comments above.

Recently my partner and I threw in a dinner party and invited two yachtie couples that had never met each other. She was concerned that they may not get along. You know wrong chemistry things like that. I confidently remarked with a smile "They're yachties of course they'll get along." And We all got along like a house on fire. We shared memories, information and plans for future sailing adventures etc.

I think those people who responded above in such objectionable manner should really take a good look at themselves and make some changes to their attitude.

Cheers
ED

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by danielamartindm

While I applaud any statistical analysis to a set of physical guidelines, this is just too vague for me; are we addressing the entire through hull minimum bridge deck clearance, or manufacturers' statistical statements that often provide "best along-the-way-fore-and-aft numbers? And nacelles and any potential wave-dampening effects? How about hull chine, or sailor experience? I think that this a complex issue that you are looking to relegate to too few simplified variables. Vessels LOST is easy; the WHY of it is infinitely more complex.

NOT! Few ocean voyaging recreational sailboats that disappear are ever reported. Most nations simply do not bother to report floating debris, bodies, nor even communiques. One simply just vanishes; with friends asking years later: "What ever happened to so and so?"

Unless you can make contact via ham or ssb to a first world nation, its unlikely your pleas will be acted upon unless a military installation or ship intercepts your broadcasts. If you were sunk from a storm and did not get off a message, then your vessel is lost without anyone knowing about it.

If pirates get to you, there will be no trace of you left, especially nowadays off the northern coast of South America.

[AlbergSteve]

After 3 years away from these forums, I've recently stumbled back in, but, for the last time. When I see the hate, misery, and ill will in peoples hearts, like I've seen here in these forums, I just can't read another word.I know the state of discourse and decorum in the world has declined precipitously in the last 18 months, but we can do better.

Anonymous forums like this one and many others, allow rulers of a kingdom one believe they have power, they don't. My wife is an English prof and uses the many examples provided in these forums as a way to show her students how not to endear the writer to their audience.

Danielamartindm, Dymaxion, tomfl, hellosailor, zeehag, et al, you really need some self reflection. It is people like you that is influencing the world we see today.

Good luck, JohnT.

[svstrider]

I once owned a Crowther 10m Seafire Catamaran with a similar nacelle. Of course they were all probably built in OZ. Long way to float

[JohnT]

Thanks for the positive feedback from some of the forum members. And here is some feedback from my side. I have been in touch with designer Dudley Dix. He does not recognise the construction method used to put the visible parts of the wreck together.

Secondly, I have been given a list of boats that were abandoned over the past few years in the jurisdiction of MRCC Cape Town. I have managed to eliminate most of the vessels, but cannot find information on the type of vessel for two of them, as listed below:

Yacht MISCKY abandoned 22 Dec. 2013 with LKP 30° 38.6'S 014° 25.0'E
Yacht SILVER GIRL abandoned 21 Dec. 2016 with LKP 27° 32.0'S 007° 25.7'E

What I need to know is whether these were mono-hulls or catamarans and, if a catamaran, what make and size if possible.

If anybody on the forum can turn up any information on the above, it would help to narrow the search for the wreckage identification.

For some reason one of the above posts did not come through to me as a notification and thus all the rest (about 10) have been missed. I will go through them during today and see what can be learnt and which needs more investigation from my side - many thanks for them!

[Wildcoast]

Misky was a 43 foot Ferro sloop, she landed up on a beach somewhere along the west coast

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Wildcoast

Misky was a 43 foot Ferro sloop, she landed up on a beach somewhere along the west coast

Thanks for that! Another one to cross off the list.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by JohnT

Thanks for that! Another one to cross off the list.

looking at the prevailing surface currents for the south atlantic it is possible that wreckage from the pacific and east coast of south america could wash up in St Helena,
and possibly more likely if you discount the SE wind drift,than wreckage from the indian ocean.
we might be looking in totally the wrong place for the origin of wreckage.

https://cdn.britannica.com/700x450/9...4-88DDD871.jpg

http://www.meer.org/ebook/south-atla...800x586-2a.jpg

http://www.meer.org/ebook/south-atla...800x589-2a.jpg

[MikeFergie]

Lost yacht found at Skeleton Coast

The damaged yacht Miscky belonging to 47-year-old Michael Kuun from Benoni in South Africa, which after a dramatic ocean rescue got lost at sea while headed for St Helena Island in December last year, was discovered by staff of Northern Namibia Development Company along the infamous Skeleton Coast of Namibia.
At 21h30 on Monday 23 December 2013, Kuun was brought to Cape Town aboard the 270m oil tanker Aqua Fortune.
Kuun sailed from East London to Saldanha Bay with his girlfriend, both from Benoni Johannesburg, and experienced some problems with the 43-foot yacht Miscky.
Repairs were affected at Saldanha Bay, before he embarked on a solo voyage on Friday 20 December, headed for St Helena Island – his ultimate destination the Caribbean Islands where his girlfriend would have met up with him later.
Kuun then experienced further problems with the yacht, and 350 nautical miles out from Saldanha his rigging failed, with the sails set and unable to be lowered the yacht became unsailable and unstable.
He phoned his girlfriend who raised the alarm, and on 22 December the oil tanker Aqua Fortune, sailing from Mauritania to Singapore, the nearest vessel in the general area at the time, diverted from her voyage to attempt a rescue effort.
In reasonably rough seas there was some confusion on how this rescue would take place, and with the possibility that he would have to enter the water, he put on a wetsuit and a life-jacket, already accepting the fact that he had no choice but to abandon his yacht and his worldly possessions.
The Aqua Fortune made six attempts to rescue Kuun, after which the ship’s captain suggested that they abandon the rescue effort. The captain, though, volunteered the Aqua Fortune to stay with the Miscky, until such a time another smaller ship could come to effect a rescue operation; but after some consideration the captain of the cargo vessel suggested that they make one last effort.
The ship’s crew fired a rope by rocket launcher, but in the strong winds the rope fell into the sea short of the yacht, and Kuun did not have any other option but to jump into the sea and grab the rope. He clung on for dear life and was pulled safely aboard.
Kuun left a note on the yacht asking anyone that finds it to at least get in contact with him to return some of his personal belongings.
On Sunday, 26 January 2014, officials of Northern Development Company found the yacht south of Angra Fria at Stokkestrand, still with some of the belongings of Kuun onboard.
The yacht is extensively damaged, carrying a lot of water and sand. Kuun will be contacted about the wreck and his belongings.