John Batchelor - Canadian Sailor Missing In Bahamas

[Kettlewell]

The idea that he was attacked is farfetched. Thieves don't hang out where they're unlikely to find victims. I imagine they are theorizing he fell overboard because that is by far the most likely scenario based on the evidence they have.

[Waterway Guide]

The boat was open, according to Moody, and it wasn't "ransacked," just messy.
And I misspoke (it was late): No one knows if he accidentally fell off the boat, or was trying to check for a fouled prop, or whatever.
I'll ask too about the laptops.

[rockbottom]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

The idea that he was attacked is farfetched. Thieves don't hang out where they're unlikely to find victims. I imagine they are theorizing he fell overboard because that is by far the most likely scenario based on the evidence they have.

_Thieves{oppurtunists} are in remote areas as evidenced by the shooting of another canadian in honduras last season whose daughter was able to scare off the bandits with a flare pistol. Another post i came across by "impi" post #110 of title "re;Reply from DNR re; Guns on boat in MD details an attempted boarding off Guyana that was repelled with a flare pistol recently. I personally find it hard to accept that he fell off an "anchored" boat with the swim ladder down and was unable to get aboard. Any sailor who has sailed Ontario to Bahamas for 18 seasons is surely experianced but perhaps he had a massive stroke and fell overboard wearing no PFD and floated away into the gulfstream leaving the dog locked inside. Any reader of the Nassau tribune online can decide for themselves how many bandits are around there with the high unemployment but of course protecting the tourist biz is the priority.The advice in Freeport or Nassau is allways have at least 50$ in your pocket soas not to upset the bandit enough to get injured.

[Kettlewell]

He wasn't anchored in Nassau or anywhere within 10 miles of a community, unless he was a lot closer to West End than it appears. There is nothing out there between Memory Rock and Sandy Cay except for sand, shallows, and some coral. The Bahamas is not like the DR or Guyana, but in both those cases the people were anchored a lot closer to shore and civilization. I have not heard of anyone attacked on a boat in the Bahamas since the 1980s and the drug smuggling era there, and those were folks who shone some spotlight on the smugglers to see what they were up to--has anyone else heard of any incidents against boaters on the water in the Bahamas?

[captainKJ]

being his age,,,,,,,,, it is possible that he had a heart attack or something else and that caused him to fall overboard.

[sarafina]

Being his age (72) it seems more than likely that there was some mishap that resulted in him overboard and in no condition to make it back to the deck.

Heart attack, Stroke, lost his balance and plain old fell. Lots of ways for anyone to come a cropper onboard, even more likely the older you get and the less mobile.

He has 18 years of experience but that also means he is 18 years older than the first time he took this trip.

It's pretty sad to think about something like that happening, but on the other hand... he seems to have gone doing what he loved and what made him happy. And I'm really glad Diego is ok. Keep us posted on what happens to him, ok?

[rockbottom]

Realize that is remote area as i last sailed from Freeport to Miami in 2000 when the Freeport harbour had the old steel unlit getty on the east side of the entrance which was a hazard at night{if you did not know it was there or see it}. Coming from Lake Worth i would assume he was traversing the Little Bahama Bank north of Freeport. The names of all those Keys and reefs between the Berry Islands, Bimini and the Abacos i have not memorized but i due recall more than drug smuggling since the 80s. Capsizing of a powerboat smuggling illegal aliens in 1992 or 1994 as i recall in the Little Abaco Bank resulted in the deaths of 25 persons mostly by sharks. I read this in the local paper while residing there but there was no mention in North American media or even the Miami Tv news which i used to watch. 1 column inch or so was all it got in the Nassau Guardian or Tribune. Many repelled boardings are not reported but i agree that the out-islands are much safer than the Cable beach parking lot after dark in Nassau.That solo ^^off the grid^^ lifestyle can be fatal even if your RV is parked at the Walmart or a rest area in South Florida. Opportunists are common in many areas. Yes, of course he could have slipped, fell overboard and drowned and later devoured by those Abaco maneaters leaving no trace except a strange fingerprint lifted from a salon door.We only see that on CSI miami otherwise it dont happen.

[witchcraft]

Waterway Guide,
I aggree It is most likely that my friend met with some sort of accident. I can only hope that he was unconcious when he hit the water, and did not get rushed away on currents fully aware of his fate and unable to rescure himself.
He would have hated to end his life in some institution some place depending upon others to do things for him. I will certainly miss him sailing past me, Dingo woofing his enthusiatic hello along with John's unique horn and grin he always had for us. I will miss the intelligent conversations we were always treated to, and the wealth of knowledge he was willing to share when asked.
Today I say good bye .

[Waterway Guide]

Here here, Witchcraft. Let's raise a glass to our friend and fellow cruiser and remember him as he always will be...may he rest in peace.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Waterway Guide

Here here, Witchcraft. Let's raise a glass to our friend and fellow cruiser and remember him as he always will be...may he rest in peace.

Amen.

[Doek]

My name is Captain Don Quackenbush. I singlehand aboard HERMES a Pearson P-33.
Here is a brief rundown of what I know:
John and I were anchored together at Lake Worth for a few weeks and supposed to leave for the Bahamas 23rd of Dec.
On the 21st he was trying out his new dinghy motor and flipped his dinghy completely over throwing him and Dingo into the water. Dingo of course panicked and kept trying to climb on top of John and I barely saved him from drowning. He was too weak to crawl back in his or my dinghy, so I ended up towing him to a nearby dock and he used the ladder to crawl into his dinghy. He came by my boat later and stated " I think I am getting too old for this and this may have to be my last year of cruising." He was weakened by a plane crash he survived several years earlier and was concerned that he didn't have the strength to get out of the water once he went over the side.
When I prepared for leaving the next day he hesitated and didn't move to the South anchorage with me. He told me to keep him posted if I actually left and he would let me know if he was coming or would wait and cross with the next group. (there were a lot of cruisers waiting for a weather window for a crossing) As I was leaving I called him on the radio again. He said he was staying in Florida for maybe a few more weeks and would meet up with me in the Bahamas. Probably at Green Turtle or Marsh Harbor.
I sailed for the Bahamas with several other boats that night. The wind was on the nose enough that we had to motor or motorsail all the way. Without an engine it would have been very tough. The current from the Gulf stream this year seemed especially wider and stronger than usual. All our crossings took longer than we anticipated.
Once in the Bahamas I called Joy B every few days to see if John had come across yet. I never had an answer.
On December 30 his boat was spotted anchored right at the edge of the Bahama Bank near Memory Rock way out of sight of land. He must have crossed within a week after I did in basically the same weather. Three boats saw his boat in the distance as they came across, but did not check on it. On January 19 someone from BASRA (Bahama Coast Guard) finally went out to check on it.
He was properly anchored. His dog was aboard, almost dead from lack of food and water. His boat was wide open, his boarding ladder was down and his side gate was open, but his dinghy was still in its davits and John was nowhere to be found. My guess is that he caught something on his prop again. The wind was on the nose enough that we all had to motor or motorsail to get across the Gulf Stream during that time. He probably limped just onto the bank, well North of our usual entry, dropped anchor in 12 feet of water, and went over the side to see if he could fix it.
That is a horrible place for big sharks and lots of current. Either way, he never made it back aboard. That was almost a month ago.
Anyway. Pretty horrible stuff for single handed sailors to hear. He should have called for help on his radio, but he was very strong minded and told me that he had cleared his prop of a line just that year in South Carolina without problems. There were several sailors going by within a few miles of him. He at least should have tied a line to himself when he went over the side.

There was no foul play. Such a suggestion is ridiculous.
As singlehanders we always face the issue of going over the side in a remote location and need to take stringent precautions when at sea and at anchor. Especially in an area of such current and sharks (so close to the open Ocean).

I sailed with John for the past three years, he introduced me to the Bahamas. We would routinely leap-frog each other and sometimes not see each other for a month or so. But then we would spend a month or so cruising together. He stayed at my marina in NY for a few weeks this past summer on his way North and we leap-frogged each other South to Lake Worth.

He was a crusty old curmudgeon and I will miss him.

He was a sailor.

[Kettlewell]

Don: Thanks for the very informative post--I suspect you are as close to the truth as we are likely to get. He sounds like the type of guy who if his time were up would have wanted to be doing just what he was doing.

[S/V Alchemy]

I concur. That hypothesis is as good as any. Stuff happens out there, and if you're alone, it happens unobserved.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by quackedo

My name is Captain Don Quackenbush. I singlehand aboard HERMES a Pearson P-33.
Here is a brief rundown of what I know:

He was a crusty old curmudgeon and I will miss him.

He was a sailor.

Thank you very much for taking the time to share the information you have with us (and welcome aboard CF).

It is good to see the pieces slotting into place; and although the ending seems like it might not be the happiest, I am sure that John enjoyed his sailing, and went out (if indeed he did) doing what he loved.

[Waterway Guide]

Thanks again, Capt. Don. And I'd like to also like to extend a big thanks to Chris Parker, who announced this for me through the Bahamas SSB Weather Net. It prompted a big response from the cruising community.