Buy a sailboat, it'll be fun they said.....

[shrspeedblade]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFWwZCRNsi8

The youtube video is rather self explanatory, but so unbelievable that they would get pulled off the boat.

Evidently they ran out of fuel- a very good reason to abandon ship!

(The boat appears to be a Bob Perry designed Islander Freeport 36, an excellent offshore sailboat. It's like watching a squirrel try to drive a Formula 1 car!)

[davil]

[QUOTE=shrspeedblade;3773352]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFWwZCRNsi8

The youtube video is rather self explanatory,

===============================
this will be a popcorn sort of thread as every piles up on these unfortunate souls.

Here is my concern

I do not fret about being "rescued"
The USCG and integrated SAR etc. like the Canadians Mounties ""always get their man"

Actually, my concern is being rescued and having to leave behind my beloved and only life interest I have.

That prompted me to review all means (mechanical, sails, mast integrity, emergency steering, electric power backup, emergency propulsion like sails and mast in case of losing the mast, etc.)

Wonder how much thought is given?

[Snore]

First compliments to the USCG crew- well done!

Second, every time someone says to me "that's too much" I should send them this clip. Those conditions, with the right master, are easily manageable by a 36' vessel. Would love to read their insurance claim- hard to explain to your insurance company why you left a vessel that was seaworthy and in less than epic conditions. If the winds were 35, those were the gusts!

Finally, everyone who says "Just GO you will figure it out!" should watch this video.

[shrspeedblade]

Originally Posted by Snore

First compliments to the USCG crew- well done!

Second, every time someone says to me "that's too much" I should send them this clip. Those conditions, with the right master, are easily manageable by a 36' vessel. Would love to read their insurance claim- hard to explain to your insurance company why you left a vessel that was seaworthy and in less than epic conditions. If the winds were 35, those were the gusts!

Finally, everyone who says "Just GO you will figure it out!" should watch this video.

I couldn't help but wonder, "What would happen if you rolled out that inner flappy thing on the roller?" Even if they lost rudder control, this was 60 miles off Galveston not halfway between Panama and the Marquesas.

The boat looks really well set up too (probably by a previous owner) both headsails on furlers, nice stack pack for the main, solar arch and wind generator, radar. I wonder if some sediment just got stirred up in the diesel tank and clogged a filter?

[NorthCoastJoe]

What happened to the wind motor? Looks to be all there just not being used.
I wonder what it's worth to find that boat adrift?

[chubby]

so...


how would a salvage work here...?




it you find this lovely sailboat floating off galveston....and tow it back

is it basically a free boat?

[Yojimbo]

Okay- Novice here and would like to hear back from those with ocean experience- Snore, care to comment? If you were to advise these folks how to proceed what would you tell them? Assume they're way out of their comfort/competency zone and at least temporarily incapacitated by fear. They don't want to go to the mast to set the horn for the reef or leave the cockpit. Unfurl one of the foresails to make way and get some steerage? Do it gradually to find a balance of steerage and increasing confidence? If so, which would be the better foresail- jib/genoa or the inner stay sail. Or would that be completely incorrect?

[Snore]

Originally Posted by Yojimbo

Okay- Novice here and would like to hear back from those with ocean experience- Snore, care to comment? If you were to advise these folks how to proceed what would you tell them? Assume they're way out of their comfort/competency zone and at least temporarily incapacitated by fear. They don't want to go to the mast to set the horn for the reef or leave the cockpit. Unfurl one of the foresails to make way and get some steerage? Do it gradually to find a balance of steerage and increasing confidence? If so, which would be the better foresail- jib/genoa or the inner stay sail. Or would that be completely incorrect?

If they were WAY outside their comfort zone, they shouldn't have been offshore!

Leaving the comfort zone is not unusual. Every delivery Capt has done so--- or (s)he is a liar, or they just do coastal runs. Last year on Cadiz>BVI run, I went by Gibraltar. Contrary to the 6 weather models there was 35kts on the beam of a catamaran. Reefed down we were barely inside the limits. While the seas were only 8-10, the wind ripped the tops off the wave and every 3rd or 4th wave was dumping 1-200 gallons of water on me at the helm. Both licensed masters who were crewing were below (presumably) inspecting the toilets. My relief missed his time. Outside the comfort zone, yes. But training, experience kicked in. #1-turn the boat 15deg into the wind to get the AWA close to 60 to de-stress the rig, #2, work out contingency plan if the windows blew out, #3- smile----- doing anything else was a waste of energy.

Let me preface this next part of my answer by sailing- I got out of teaching and focus on delivery because too many new sailors don't want to learn. They want to figure it out when it happens.

My mindset is to instruct folks to training on reefing, how to change a fuel filter, what to do if..... and also developing a disaster management mindset. Stop, analyze, discuss, do and then analyze if the solution is working.

A buddy of mine who does charters and deliveries is OCD on checklists. He had a fuel tank dump 50-60 gallons into the bilge and had a checklist. USCG came aboard ready to give him crap, until they saw the checklist. Suddenly, they were following HIS checklist!

What would I tell a newbie? 1- ASA is nearly a starting point. 2-if you want to jump from ASA to Bluewater, hire a mentor. 3-if you want to do it in steps, practice on a calm day, everything you might have to do on a rough day. 4-learn from my grandfather. Be "smart enough to know you are stupid". After decades of sailing and s-load of blue miles behind me, I hang around here to still listen and sometimes learn something. If nothing else, the points others make cause me to rethink what I thought was right.

[Statistical]

Someone should design a new kind of boat which has a backup wind propulsion in case your diesel motor stops working.

My first time on a boat without an instructor I saw scared shitless and it was good conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. Crazy people with zero experience are like lets just take this thing deep offshore what could go wrong? Obvious they have zero experience since they don't even have a storm jib out.

[Muaddib1116]

Maybe it's the fisheye camera lens, but that radar arch being down looked really obstructive. Maybe for excursions shorter than some distance they don't put it up?

[5BTM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXJpFvUPI0k

[GILow]

That’s weird. Those actually look like good sailing conditions, kinda fun. Bouncy, sure. But seriously, deploy the darn staysail and have a fun trip.

People around here rarely sail any more. For every boat with a mast that I see set off on other than race day I don’t think even one in ten put a sail up.

What a waste of a fine looking boat, I hope someone can salvage it.

[Yojimbo]

Snore-

Agree with your post and assessment they were too far out of their competency to be sailing there. But to my question- if conditions exceed the skippers skills on a boat like that, what would be the best tactic? Deploy the staysail as someone mentioned above thread to make steerage until conditions changed or something else?

Agreed they were overwhelmed by conditions that would be underwhelming to an experienced skipper, but what steps should they have taken to avoid making a Mayday?

[shrspeedblade]

Originally Posted by Yojimbo

Snore-

Agree with your post and assessment they were too far out of their competency to be sailing there. But to my question- if conditions exceed the skippers skills on a boat like that, what would be the best tactic? Deploy the staysail as someone mentioned above thread to make steerage until conditions changed or something else?

Agreed they were overwhelmed by conditions that would be underwhelming to an experienced skipper, but what steps should they have taken to avoid making a Mayday?

If I can chip in here my $.02 (which is probably what it's worth) if they just would have rolled out the staysail and got the boat moving it would have made the motion of the boat MUCH better. Head towards Galveston and when you get a mile off shore back the staysail and counter with the helm to windward to heave to (which is quite comfortable) and call for a tow if the engine still won't start.

[Sid1]

Really cool video of the launch and return of the rescue boat!! Truly skillful seamanship!!

I’m sorry to be a know it all but I own a Freeport 36. The boat in the video is similar but is not a Freeport. Robert Perry designed the cabin with 3 large windows, not 2. Also, there is no bow extension on a Freeport. (Could have been added, I suppose.) The transom on the video sailboat is slightly different; Freeport’s have drop-down transom steps, and it appears the gangway down to the cabin is off center to starboard, also not a trait of the Freeport.

And I would agree, if the skipper had been able to get any sail up, the boat would have done what it was built to do….sail.