Abandon Ship! The Rescue of the Crew of Wolfhound

[boatman61]

[QUOTE=HappyMdRSailor;1206307]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Or not pay him....

How could I help myself... really...

Naah.... that's just for breaking a cheek on a genny block in a squall... sinking is a definite sue...

[HappyMdRSailor]

[QUOTE=boatman61;1206337]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Naah.... that's just for breaking a cheek on a genny block in a squall... sinking is a definite sue...

HAAAAAAAAAA!

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Difficult to know what they were going through - but I guess I'm with Kettlewell on this. Heaving to should give immediate relief. Certainly enough for them to take serious stock of the situation.

I don't know - just hard to imagine letting a good boat like that go adrift

That is a really good point that wasnt mentioned - they dont talk at all about the use of any heavy weather tactics to catch a breath like heaving. Even with a torn headsail they should still have been able to forereach which would have calmed things down.

[goboatingnow]

That is a really good point that wasnt mentioned - they dont talk at all about the use of any heavy weather tactics to catch a breath like heaving. Even with a torn headsail they should still have been able to forereach which would have calmed things down.

Sorry, and along with the generic "casualness" , this is nonsense. In every accident , we all start postulating "solutions" , he could do this, he could do that. The reality is of course that personal dynamic of people onboard overrides all this.

Then you add in that many many sailors have sailed the "milk run" without experiencing serious difficulties, hence many sailors have little REAL experience of heavy weather , and the applicability of certain techniques and or the resulting crew dynamics.

You or I or anyone, can only really view these incidents as uniformed voyeurs, unless the Skipper is prepared to come onto CF and debate the incident, we are just tilting at windmills.

They got of safe, thats about all we can conclude, the rest is conjecture.

Ive sailed with casual (to the extreme)Germans and meticulous Irishmen , The worst people to characterise the Irish are themselves IMHO. Lets leave the genetics out of the debate.

Yes on the face of it , it looks unprepared, ill advised and badly executed, it wouldnt be the first and it will not be the last. BUT, I dont know, I wasnt there.,
Dave

[Snore]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Just wish I could afford that option...

Methinks you have found the true decision that was made.

I'm not having fun any more..... "waiter check please!"

[jmcdboater]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hmmmm... the fuel problem could easily have been overcome with a bit of thought and effort...
The gas problem however is something else... I hate those electric valves tied into an alarm system.. there's nothing you can do other than carry a spare... or do without as I discovered last year when knocked down and the gas locker flooded (it was in a deck recess on the stbd side of the pilot house)... we had no gas for 12 days until a new solenoid was fitted.. and because of an electrical fire in the engine room I did not want to chance running the generator so 3 days after the fire we were low on elec and running the engine in short bursts to maintain essentials like nav lights... radar/CP/fridge/freezer etc all off... had to do a major trip to the skip with spoiled food...
The only way I could have resolved the gas problem would have been to have an old fashioned regulator that screws direct onto the bottle and a pre-made hose and connection compatible with the fittings on the boat..
For the fuel... I'd have drained and strained it into the out board tank then connected the hose direct to the engine with a car in line filter fitted in the run (always carry a couple, small, cheap n light)... few pumps of the bulb to clear the air and away you go.. good enough for charging batteries.. I sailed from the Marquesas to Samoa with that set up...
Necessity is the Mother of Invention...
Glad they're okay.. shame about the boat...

boatman61................................you need to change your name - boatMacGyverman61 (sp?) LOL....

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by jmcdboater

boatman61................................you need to change your name - boatMacGyverman61 (sp?) LOL....

I was thinking DirkPitt61 LOL.
Boatie, do you have any skills in manouvering a bathtub? .

[jmcdboater]

Originally Posted by foolishsailor

This is a long read but well worth it:


Abandon Ship! The Rescue of the Crew of Wolfhound


What is interesting beyond the highlights I listed below is the difference between this article and the one that circulated immediately post rescue that included tidbits like:

• Boat sank within 15 minutes of rescue
• Boat sank due to salvage attempts by rescue ship
• Battery failure happened less than 48 hours out of port

But media spin is a different story

Highlights

• Plenty of Med experience but no trans oceanic experience
• Not a day of sea-trial except what was done pre-purchase
• No redundancy for electrical nor navigation (only an ipad no handheld GPS)
• Insufficient experience to deal with electrical issues (they mention inverter not charging batteries but alternator putting out power?)
• Left Delaware in early Feb. - Delaware is 40° north!!!
• Passage planning limited? Mention a “briefing” conducted pre-cruise
• First time they vetted the charging system was 3-4 days into passage
• Gas Solenoid electrically powered – insufficiently experienced, and likely unequipped, to bypass system
• Shredded sail on furling system
• Fading batteries on Ipad as final approach in heavy weather to Bermuda

This is a classic set of cascading failures, none of which would not have been addressable with only a modicum of preparation and experience.


The best thing I take out of this, as these lads are part of my yacht club, is the following quote:


“Throughout all this, Alan recalls that he never heard a voice raised in anger or frustration – he had shipmates to cherish. And that's what he did. He cherished them. Much and all as he'd had great hopes for his new boat, he decided that the risks to life and limb in trying to make the final rock-strewn miles to Bermuda were simply too great. It was a choice of putting his friends' lives at great risk, or abandoning ship. It was no contest. He activated the EPIRB at 1530 hours on Friday February 8th.”


A true skipper, regardless of skill level, is one who makes a call that decides that the risk of life has exceeded the risk of property and it is time to go…


They ended up on a cargo ship bound for Turkey and arrived about 10 days ago.

foolishsailor................WOW! Thanks for sharing, what an entertaining read !! One very interesting point though, somewhere through all this I read 'Because they were experienced salors......' Don't mean to run down a bloke who's lost his boat, but I really don't see how they could be called 'experienced sailors' because an experienced sailor would not have run into these issue THIS way, and would not have dealt with them THAT way.....

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I was thinking DirkPitt61 LOL.
Boatie, do you have any skills in manouvering a bathtub? .

Had to do a Yahoo search to find out who he was... lol


Ahhh... Young... Fit Bod... Good looking...
Nope.. I'm definitely a Boatman...

[captain58sailin]

You can find Dirk Pitt in Clive Clussler novels, very entertaining reading. The movie is new.

[goboatingnow]

So is boatman a cross between a sailing version of chuck norris,jean Claud van damm and Steven Seagal .... Wow and here I thought he just was a delivery skipper. Good disguise boatman you had me fooled

I agree , a new moniker is needed now that you've been "outed" how about "boatman-all action hero" or " boat , don't get mad get even, man "

What's the next movie. I'm thinking " boatman -return to the storm" or boatman - "sail hard 15", I'm sure the fans must love the dirty hely Hanson

Dave

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

So is boatman a cross between a sailing version of chuck norris,jean Claud van damm and Steven Seagal .... Wow and here I thought he just was a delivery skipper. Good disguise boatman you had me fooled

I agree , a new moniker is needed now that you've been "outed" how about "boatman-all action hero" or " boat , don't get mad get even, man "

What's the next movie. I'm thinking " boatman -return to the storm" or boatman - "sail hard 15", I'm sure the fans must love the dirty hely Hanson

Dave

Dave... no Hollywood style CF epic reruns Purleezzzz...
Just make do with the scruffy Helly Hansen...

[Kettlewell]

Dave... no Hollywood style CF epic reruns Purleezzzz..

Raiders of the Lost Rum?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Raiders of the Lost Rum?

Now that I like...

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Had to do a Yahoo search to find out who he was... lol

Ahhh... Young... Fit Bod... Good looking...
Nope.. I'm definitely a Boatman...

Boatie, didn't Clive Cussler base Pitt on your exploits?
You can see why the confusion occurred:

"Dirk is an adventurer that seizes the opportunity to save the day. Through action filled story lines, Pitt is portrayed as a man who is in love with the sea and does not fear pushing the envelope."

"Cussler describes him as tall, 6 ft 3 in (190.5 cm) with craggy looks, dark wavy hair, and possessing a rangy build."

"Pitt has a commanding presence which, combined with a quick, sly wit, often infuriates those opposed to him."

PS Love your new user title .