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Old 18-06-2006, 20:00   #1
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Nauticat 33 adrift for 6 Months

Chaton de Foi a Nauticat 33 was found offshore on the Big Island of Hawaii here last week. The Captain, Walter J. Teper, abandoned his boat in a storm off Costa Rica December 2nd. Last time it was seen was off the coast of Mexico several months ago.
Sails were shredded, electronics had been cut out of the cabinetry, refrigerator was missing but the boat was intact.
Makes you think about what you would do in that type of situation. Engine out, sail shredded, not enough food or water.
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Old 18-06-2006, 23:01   #2
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Reinforces a point I make to my wife whenever she gets nervous on the boat. Boats are designed to float. That is their primary function, and most do it very well. Under the circumstances, if no other alternatives were available (engine repair, borrowed sails etc.) I imagine the skipper made the right choice. Just goes to show, can't have too many spare sails.
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Old 21-06-2006, 11:30   #3
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when do you abandon ship?

When you have to step UP to get into the water.

Randy Cape Dory 25D
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Old 21-06-2006, 18:36   #4
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The story of that boat was in Latitude 38 a few months ago. The weather got so nasty that the skipper had to abandon ship. From there all of the equipment was taken off as a salvage claim but the boat that salvaged her was too far from shore to bring the hull back. Seems like it should be scuttled to prevent a danger at sea. Will need at least two holes.
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Old 03-12-2007, 16:31   #5
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If anyone is interested, here are some shots of when Chaton De Foi was found and how she looks today.

Walter spent about $50K refitting her, including a new engine and a years hard labor.

The day the USCG called me that she had been found her (I was listed as the contact wtith the USCG EPIRB registration), I called Walter. He got on a plane that night and has been over there working on her since.

Just a side note.....this boat should not have been abandoned IMHO. He had plenty of food & water and the boat was sailable.....no storm..in fact....no wind for 4 days. He was only 100nm off of Costa Rica.

The USCG badgered him into abandoning that boat...long aggrivating story.











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Old 03-12-2007, 16:52   #6
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Thanks for posting the update and the pictures, Kanani. Your friend deserves a big pat on the back for saving his vessel's life!

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Old 03-12-2007, 16:54   #7
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Did he repower again?
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Old 03-12-2007, 16:57   #8
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WOW .......
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Old 03-12-2007, 16:58   #9
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When you have to step UP to get into the water.

Randy Cape Dory 25D
In that case no-one would ever abandon a multihull.
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:03   #10
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In that case no-one would ever abandon a multihull.
Umm, in your multi do you provision a ditch bag for your life raft?
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:08   #11
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Thanks for posting the update and the pictures, Kanani. Your friend deserves a big pat on the back for saving his vessel's life!

TaoJones
I think that he paid his dues. That's for sure.

Just to set the record straight......when Chaton De Foi was found drifting 3 miles off the tip of the big island, she had been thoroughly gutted. Everything of any use (and some things of no use) was taken. Even the steering wheels, siks, port lights, engine covers, ground tackle, dishes tools, you name it, it was gone.

Chaton De Foi's bottom was clean as a whistle. It was obvious that whoever found her, cleaned the bottom so that they could tow her to the lee of the island to work on her. Evidently, they put a pump on board and pumped out a lot of water too because there was water up over the engine at one point.

Don't get me wrong, if someone finds a boat adrift at sea, they have rights to anything they find. Hovever, leaving her adrift, after they stripped her was down right cruel OR down right clever.

When Walter got to the small village that some fisherman and his son towed the boat to, the fisherman demanded a $10,000 salvage fee. Walter told him to keep the boat and started to walk away. The fisherman said, "How about $7,000. I risked my life, the life of my son and damaged my (piece of junk) fishing boat getting your boat to anchor for you". Walter paid him his salvage fee and had to have the boat towed by a commercial tow boat, to Kona (25nm).

I'm not going to state what I think....let your imagination do that.
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:13   #12
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Ouch! That would be a tough and miserable job to bring a boat back that had floated around for that long.

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I think that he paid his dues. That's for sure.

Just to set the record straight......when Chaton De Foi was found drifting 3 miles off the tip of the big island, she had been thoroughly gutted. Everything of any use (and some things of no use) was taken. Even the steering wheels, siks, port lights, engine covers, ground tackle, dishes tools, you name it, it was gone.

Chaton De Foi's bottom was clean as a whistle. It was obvious that whoever found her, cleaned the bottom so that they could tow her to the lee of the island to work on her. Evidently, they put a pump on board and pumped out a lot of water too because there was water up over the engine at one point.

Don't get me wrong, if someone finds a boat adrift at sea, they have rights to anything they find. Hovever, leaving her adrift, after they stripped her was down right cruel OR down right clever.

When Walter got to the small village that some fisherman and his son towed the boat to, the fisherman demanded a $10,000 salvage fee. Walter told him to keep the boat and started to walk away. The fisherman said, "How about $7,000. I risked my life, the life of my son and damaged my (piece of junk) fishing boat getting your boat to anchor for you". Walter paid him his salvage fee and had to have the boat towed by a commercial tow boat, to Kona (25nm).

I'm not going to state what I think....let your imagination do that.
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:18   #13
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Umm, in your multi do you provision a ditch bag for your life raft?
The boat will be provisioned, yes, Why, do you?
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:24   #14
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Crusingcat, it's really an old concept. Have you ever heard of fire?

Dumbass!
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Old 03-12-2007, 17:28   #15
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Quote:
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. . . when Chaton De Foi was found drifting 3 miles off the tip of the big island, she had been thoroughly gutted.

<snip>

Chaton De Foi's bottom was clean as a whistle. It was obvious that whoever found her, cleaned the bottom so that they could tow her to the lee of the island to work on her. Evidently, they put a pump on board and pumped out a lot of water too because there was water up over the engine at one point.

<snip>

. . . leaving her adrift, after they stripped her was down right cruel OR down right clever.

<snip>

When Walter got to the small village that some fisherman and his son towed the boat to, the fisherman demanded a $10,000 salvage fee. Walter told him to keep the boat and started to walk away. The fisherman said, "How about $7,000. I risked my life, the life of my son and damaged my (piece of junk) fishing boat getting your boat to anchor for you".

<snip>

I'm not going to state what I think....let your imagination do that.
I've taken the liberty of condensing your post so that I might ask what seems to me to be a rather obvious question, Kanani; i.e. Does anyone else think that those who first found the drifting vessel, pumped her out, cleaned her bottom, towed her to the island's lee, stripped her and set her adrift might just be the same fisherman and his son who "later" found her and towed her in to safe anchorage before reporting their discovery so they could claim another windfall from a grateful owner?

Am I too suspicious?

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