Two people dead after sailboat capsized

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Bill...I was thinking the same thing. Glad you said it, I was afraid to with the many opinions going on, on this forum. It makes sense that they felt it was safer to motor or motor/sail during the building seas. Given their age and water temperature, things can go wrong quickly.

It's just another, very sad, reminder to me.

I will aways keep my sails up and stay away from the shore.

[Margaret007]

So very sad, RIP and my thoughts are with the family 🙏❤️

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Margaret007

So very sad, RIP and my thoughts are with the family 🙏❤️

Welcome to the forum.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by artisanmach

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — ...

The Astorian reports Shirley Payne, 76, and Allen Payne, 79, set sail from Astoria in the early morning hours,..

The Paynes kept their a 42-foot (13-meter) pleasure boat named Bagheera at an Astoria pier.

They were heading toward San Francisco when around 7 p.m. that night, witnesses reported the boat tossing in the surf, according to the sheriff's office.
...

Very impressed that at their age they were still boating much less a 42 foot sail boat.

Too many of my family members can barely move out of a chair at that age.

Later,
Dan

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by toddster8

I doubt that they were trying to get into Nehalem Bay. They were locals and presumably knew better than that. More likely trying to approach Tillamook Bay entrance (two or three more miles) and got pushed into the surf on the lee shore. Though I doubt that the Tillamook Bar would have been much more fun to try that day.

Coast Pilot 10 reports the controlling depth of the bar at Nehalem at 4 ft. Chart reports breakers on both sides of the entrance and no ATON. But there is a bell buoy marking the entrance to Tillamook Bay and a flashing beacon on the north wall. Excessive leeway on a heading to Tillamook might well put a boat on Rockaway Beach, a few miles short. Very sad.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Sad story, but I think it's unlikely they actually capsized. The mast is still up and that is highly unlikely if she was rolled in the surf zone. My guess is that some non-sailor made a statement that they didn't understand and the press picked it up. I'm more suspicious of the fact that he was found tangled in rope near the rudder and she was found near the dinghy. I would speculate he was trying to clear a fouled prop and she was either in the dinghy trying to help or trying to save him when they got caught in the surf zone. Only speculation of course.

Interesting speculation. The wife getting into a dinghy with the skipper over the side in "4-minute water", nobody at the helm and no thrust power, in 12-ft seas and blowing toward shore, getting dark. Just doesn't seem probable but I suppose many odd things are possible.

Couple of things from armchair speculation. A couple of salts willing to leave safe harbor at night in high seas do not seem likely, although it being possible, to change their minds a few hours later and try to make a harbor before nightfall that same day. So if they had not planned to go into Tillamook that night they would have not been so near shore unless put there involuntarily by the conditions. The latter means that the boat was not under control by the time it arrived to the surf zone. Why not and why no Mayday? Forensic "inspection" of the damage from a photo raises the question as to how much, if any, of it existed before the boat hit the beach.

The furled sails suggest an attempt to use the diesel as others have noted. To what purpose? The one coming to mind would be to enter a harbor in approaching darkness-Tillamook. A rapid demise close to shore while under power suggests engine failure with insufficient time to get the sails back up and get the boat moving. It's not uncommon for a diesel engine to stop due to the fuel filter clogging, and it cannot be quickly restarted. This frequently happens in lumpy conditions that cause suspension of sediments in the fuel tank which cut off fuel flow by clogging the filter.

So. The couple departed Astoria near 0400 to make Tillamook by nightfall. A planned stop. Approaching the harbor they furled the sails (if they had been in use) to prepare to enter the harbor under power. The diesel ran for a short time then stopped, leaving them in high seas near shore in approaching darkness. A miserable situation. The boat was caught up in the on-shore swell before they could figure how to proceed or request assistance, and driven ashore where the damage occurred along with their tragic loss of life. Heart rending.

[senormechanico]

I wonder if he had to go over the side in an attempt to unfoul the prop from a jib sheet.
The photo looks like that's what may have happened.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I wonder if he had to go over the side in an attempt to unfoul the prop from a jib sheet.
The photo looks like that's what may have happened.

Such a sad story but at least they lived life to the fullest together right until the end!

If a tangled sheet or other line contributed to this tragedy I think it really emphasizes the need to have our boats equipped with line cutters. Nobody plans to get a sheet or dockline tangled but i think it’s a “them that’s have and them that will” sort of event. A line cutter can be the difference between turning what’s left of your jib sheet into a dock line versus losing your life.

[mako]

That whole PNW coast is rather scary, from Seattle all the way to San Fran. I spent 5 days hand steering in survival conditions heading south. The entire time I was in comms with USCG, just checking in regularly, being handed off from one district to the next. Luckily I had taken one old salt's advice and headed 34 nm offshore straight out of Cape Flattery. I doubt we were ever less than 25nm from land while heading south. In that situation, 20-30ft seas were less of a threat than land and bars and surf.

This event with the Paynes is very humbling, and reinforces some rules to live by.

[Celestialsailor]

I also think there was an engine problem that led to other circumstances happening. Fuel is one thing that is overlooked in voyaging. I've been guilty of that a few times. It's easy to convince yourself that a filter change and go is all you need. On a couple of vessels I've owned, the fuel tank was only accessible from under the engine making it a bitch to clean. Even having fuel "polished" still leaves all sorts of junk hanging on the fuel tank walls. Add to that steep, short seas and you have a washing machine situation going on in the fuel tank dislodging all sorts of crud for the filters to deal with. One time I even had a sheet of sandpaper that was in a milk crate in the engine room float off and sucked into the air inlet, killing the engine during an approach to Half Moon bay, Ca. To add to the excitement there was a USCG cutter trying to get in behind me.

[fgraham]

They are my friends. We planned to meet on this trip at Winchester bay. He's been a boat wright most all his adult life and an experienced sailor. I don't think he would go out if he knew there were 12 foot seas. They must have been surprised by a big wave and thrown overboard. I hope it was quick. Lord have mercy.

[Bowdrie]

Been following this tragic incident.
My first thoughts were either the "stirred up sludge" in the fuel tank, (it happened to a boat I was on while crossing the Columbia bar,) or a fouled prop, (lots of crab pots on that route).
Their isn't really any safe harbors to try to get into on the Oregon coast once the weather turns bad, especially with a slow sailboat.
The harbors are all at the mouths of rivers, with bars to cross,, and the CG regularly closes the bars to traffic when the weather kicks up.
You must stay well offshore and ride it out.
Many years ago an "old salt" gave me some sage advice; "Don't you EVER try to get into a strange harbor at night".
Having bad weather would only reinforce that sentence.

[captlloyd]

My condolences to family and friends. Not being familiar at all about this area and conditions, other than what I have read, could this be a case of “ get there itis” ? Could a departure delay made any difference in this area ? Or is it always bad this time of year ? It is sobering to see such a experienced and knowledgeable couple die this way. Truly an eye opener for all of us.

[Cadence]

If the seas were very bad, I can't imagine and experience sailor trying to make an inlet.
It appears both sails may have been reefed or struck and the surf was may have pulled them out. He may have been motoring and had an engine failure, at the most inopportune time.
I would hazard a guess the structure damage was done by the surf.
Sad thing and we will probably never know.
The thing about them wanting to go together was tasteless.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Cadence

If the seas were very bad, I can't imagine and experience sailor trying to make an inlet.

I question whether a marked channel into a bay or harbor qualifies merely as an “inlet.” The entrance to Winchester (see #41), the Umpqua River channel, is marked with sea buoys and protected by jetties with a maintained 26 ft of depth. There is a bar, of course, that is monitored for the conditions of crossing. Perhaps not “pretty” but perhaps not mortally dangerous even in some rough weather. I suppose the locals would know when not to attempt it.