And They're Off!

[Joli]

watch them here:

World Cruising Club Arc fleet viewer

[James S]

That’s a good link...thanks Joli
Some pretty impressive 24hr run numbers.

[barnakiel]

One lost rudder just off Gran Can. Crew rescued.

For anyone interested in a fast, stable, air-conditioned cruiser - look up Ourson Rapide (Finot-Conq). 60 feet of Carbon/Nomex and dreams. C R E A M .Max speed 22 knots.

b.

[Joli]

I was watching that too. It is just cranking along, hanging with the Volvo 60 and not far off the pace of the Swan 70. Quite the preformance cruiser!

Ourson Rapide

Originally Posted by barnakiel

One lost rudder just off Gran Can. Crew rescued.

For anyone interested in a fast, stable, air-conditioned cruiser - look up Ourson Rapide (Finot-Conq). 60 feet of Carbon/Nomex and dreams. C R E A M .Max speed 22 knots.

b.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

One lost rudder just off Gran Can. Crew rescued.


b.

Why would someone abandon ship if the only problem was a lost rudder?

[barnakiel]

It is a light racing boat with spade rudder. It was close enough to the island to evacuate the crew. The boat has a sat tracker on and they will tow her in (I believe they have already done).

Probably best for the crew and the boat in this particular situation. Might be other decisions in other circumstances.

Otherwise, I cannot remember many ARC boats to continue once a major (and often a minor) failure happened. Many news I have read were these people just press the Mayday button and collect the insurance.

b.

[daysailc]

KILLER SITE !!!!

[Sandero]

What's seems bizarre is that they were unable to secure the towing lines... cleats ripped out and they claimed to have trouble with tying to the mast. Why not loop the line around the winches led the the genoa fair leads and also a bridle on the chain plates?

They let the boat go? Must have been very nasty conditions.

[barnakiel]

Cleats will pull out. They are not designed to tow any boat. The mast is apparently deck stepped, so no attachment point there either. But the winches were there and then also one can lead a line round the hull and immobilize it fore and aft of the keel. But it is easier said from my armchair than from the deck of a bobbing boat.

On the other hand, I would not bet my money on how pro (in regard of towing operations) the tow boat crew were. They were a SAR crew, not a tug, and towing a nearly ULDB without rudder in the swell is not an easy task unless the towing crew have much experience. I imagine a good drogue has to be towed from a point close to the stern, otherwise she will be everywhere but following the tug.

b.

[Joli]

Looks like a record run to the finish.

News articles from World Cruising Club: ARC

[Joli]

Well 1/3 of the boats are now in. The first to arrive was an old Volvo 60 followed by a Wally 80 then a Swan 70. 6 boats managed to average over 200 miles a day: the Volvo 60, Wally 80, Swan 70, Swan 112, and a couple 60 foot racer/cruisers. The winner of the racing class was an old Sigma 41 Nightlife averaging 6.9 or 165 miles per day. Good for them beating all the big racing boats. The fastest mulit's were the Privlage 495's finishing next to each other with average daily runs of 180 miles or 7.5. Two thirds of the fleet are still on the water but they seem to be streaming in quickly.

Winter in the Caribbean? Hard to take.