Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[kiwinz1]

any news on the search, is any one out there looking?

[Alastair A]

Best Wishes for the search and all CF input. I wish all the best for search and recovery. In my hemisphere I would be with you and the search in person. Best wishes always. A

[bob-lauriem]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

You shouldn't have to be a nautical engineer to buy a safe reliable boat.

No, but you should be at least AWARE that you need to find a 'true blue water' boat if that is where you are going. If you are only island hopping in the Caribbean, well you don't need too much. As previously said somewhere in here, mass production boats tend to be glitzy. If you are crossing an ocean, glitzy may be an extra. Looking at many of the new boats that I see around I see a lot of glitz. Do some RESEARCH, talk to blue water sailors and don't get caught up in the sales pitches. It doesn't take much effort.

I even had a sales women in Annapolis get upset when I wanted to see under the floorboards and behind the drawers to see the actual construction. I was contemplating that boat for real but once I got a real look what was underneath and how it had been built, I walked away.

[Alastair A]

Enough BS false wisdom following this sadly lost vessel. Please have some true sailors compassion. Best wishes and enough BS please for the second request. Cheers and good recovery for sailing. A

[bob-lauriem]

Originally Posted by Alastair A

Enough BS false wisdom following this sadly lost vessel. Please have some true sailors compassion. Best wishes and enough BS please for the second request. Cheers and good recovery for sailing. A

Of course everyone is wishing the family the best and hope they either recover the boat or at least get back to sailing. I think I have mentioned that on my posts.

That said though, and this is NOT aimed at anyone in particular;

"learn from the mistakes of others as you will NOT live long enough to make them all yourself".

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Alastair A

Enough BS false wisdom following this sadly lost vessel. Please have some true sailors compassion. Best wishes and enough BS please for the second request. Cheers and good recovery for sailing. A

Alastair.. try looking at the positive side of this thread and some of the posts about the rudders.. I've already had a Polish member PM me saying I'm very rude for posting the piece I copied and pasted from the Hanse Owners site with pic's of the rudder.. and that's not the only complaint about Hanse..
I have every sympathy for James and his family.. being someone who goes out there (ocean crossing) at least once a year believe me these things can sooner or later affect the well being of myself and my crew so this kind of disclosure is important to me as well.. I'm not your average coast hopper where rescue is a quick VHF call and 4hrs away..
Also.. if you think about it even further it could be building evidence against the maker should James decide to try and bring an action against Hanse for an inferior product..
Relying on a warranty will be a waste of time as I think most follow the Beneteau lead of a maximum of 7 years bow to stern policy they introduced in 2015.
Unless of course your a Hanse owner and feeling the pain.

[robert sailor]

30 years ago I was looking for a replacement for our C&C 36 that we had cruised to Mexico and Hawaii and back to Vancouver. I had some issues with the boat enroute and needed to haul it and do lots of rebuilding to the rudder and structure. I decided I wanted a partial skeg on the next boat and also one that tabbed the bulkheads completely around each bulkhead compared to the C&C which was tabbed at the hull and mechanical fastened at the deck. No Internet in those days so really lots of work doing due diligence but I came to decide that a CS 36 Traditional might be a good choice. Talked to tons of people, even the designer, Ray Wall who came from Camper Nicholsen and based on that we bought a really well kept example. Before we left I came up with the idea that I should call a place in Toronto that delivered some of these boats every year to the BVI's for charter use and see if I could learn anything from them. Imagine my surprise when I learned that they had lost 3 rudders on these boats doing deliveries. My worst nightmare, losing a rudder, I'd rather lose the mast. They told me the rudders had been made in 2 halves which was common and glued together but in areas that had winters it worked against them because these rudders all take on water and if there was enough in the rudder when the water froze and expanded it could crack the joint. When the rudder was highly loaded it could then just peel off which is exactly what happened to the CS rudder. I pulled the boat, removed the rudder and wrapped it with fibreglass, covering the joints so this could not happen. I'm not suggesting that this happened to this Hansa but it may have depending on where it spent part of its life. It's a good idea to drill a hole or two to drain your rudder when hau led for winter storage if it freezes during the winter and then plug it with a good bedding/adhesive before launching in the spring.

[Gradient]

Wow, crazy thread drift and I really feel sorry for the owner, logging in every time with a small amount of hope of seeing something positive but instead reading the rudders thread.

Anyway we are in Puerto Rico and will be travelling up the DR North coast in 2-3 weeks time. We will also be spending time out at the Silver Banks and will keep a sharp lookout. There will be many cruising boats on the yearly migration between the DR, PR and BVI's, hopefully someone will intercept the yacht before she makes landfall. Perhaps a separate Facebook page where people can post their routes/tracks along with any updates from Chris Parker would help to see what ground is being covered.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Gradient

Anyway we are in Puerto Rico and will be travelling up the DR North coast in 2-3 weeks time. We will also be spending time out at the Silver Banks and will keep a sharp lookout. There will be many cruising boats on the yearly migration between the DR, PR and BVI's, hopefully someone will intercept the yacht before she makes landfall. Perhaps a separate Facebook page where people can post their routes/tracks along with any updates from Chris Parker would help to see what ground is being covered.

Good to see that the word seems to be getting out, especially in areas like yours that are more proximate to the area of a potential sighting. Probably the best thing that can happen now to increase chances of finding the boat. Especially if the mainsail is still up to any extent, the problem might be other boats spotting it but foregoing closer investigation by assuming it's not abandoned. AWW posted a pic of the boat earlier in the thread in the condition it was in when he abandoned. The more that pic can get circulated the better.

[Three Sisters]

[bob-lauriem]

Well, I hiked back to Castle Mtn. today in Barbuda. Kept an eye. Currently anchored on the south coast while these waves pass. Will continue to watch. Have passed the message to numerous fishers here as well. Still hoping but....

Found aircraft parts today though....

[Wood]

Keep the faith and Good Luck

[LEOCAT66]

I would venture to say that each and every one of us out here and on other forums across the net and elsewhere would be right there with you searching each and every area were that possible. Thinking of and praying for you, yours and your boat on a daily basis.

"Be kind, for but for the grace of God go I."

[boatman61]

Oh Look..!! a sleeping policeman..!!!
BUMP..!!!

[Alastair A]

Please. Good mates have just arrived at Antarctica South Pole by bicycle. Keith Tuffley and Eric Larsen, plus one shy. This is not a thread interupt. Their sail vessel has has to head off polar shore for they will fly out. Cheers all. AlastairA

Antarctica south pole by sail vessel and BICYCLE is a first. It is just now! The route was a first also over new mountains for the crossing into the plateau. Well done everyone. Cheers A.