Sailor Lost Contact SV Celebration (Pacific)

[theway]

I received this from a friend of a friend and thought I'd post it here, I have no other knowledge than the post...

Below is the post and link to the post

"This is a post I never thought I would be writing. Last Sunday, we lost contact with my dad at 9:30 pm PST after receiving a series of distressing messages he sent via his satellite communicator from out at sea. He is in the most remote spot on the planet, 1,000 miles from land, en route from Mexico to Hiva Oa in French Polynesia, single-handing his 36' sailboat, Celebration.
He departed Puerto Vallarta on May 2, so had been at sea for 27 days--and was potentially very sleep deprived--when the messages began.
More details here for those spreading the message:
His last known co-ordinates were
Lat 6.538678
Lon -127.349439
His in-reach communication had him at WSW traveling at 1.24 knots.
Winds were light so don't know if his weathervane was continuing to steer or whether he was drifting.
Recent attempts to ping his in-reach showed it is either off, or ran out of batteries (or worse).
He is not responding to their attempt to hail him on his SSB.
wdj4510 Freq: channel 8.291.0
SV Celebration is a 36 foot Union Cutter: white hull, teak trim, white sales with green trim.
Last communications seem to indicate extreme disorientation (probably extreme sleep deprivation).
The US Coast Guard is doing all they can on a search-and-resc
ue effort and so many others have come forward to assist my family in this devastating time. Fishing and cargo ships have diverted from their routes to help search, helicopters have been launched from boats but there has been no news to report so far.
If you have any connections to search and rescue assets, cruisers or friends who are in the South Pacific, connections to fishing fleets or cruise ships or other ideas, please don't be shy. I have all of the details (last coordinates, sailboat details, etc) and can share as needed. Thank you."


https://facebook.com/story.php?story...16852&refid=52

[Budawang]

Sorry to hear that. Please specify whether latitude is north or south.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Sorry to hear that. Please specify whether latitude is north or south.

READ. He is re-posting it.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Sorry to hear that. Please specify whether latitude is north or south.

it is N . . . . . or at least the original source said "06 53N 127 35W"

[zeehag]

when he ceased his contact with family he was still north of equator. donot know where he is now.
this man is a first timer at long solo passages.
he was my neighbor in mazatlan while repairing his engine and other needed items on board for the passage from puerto vallarta to marquesas.
he is a gregarious man with good communication skills.
family stated to me that he was disoriented and making no sense and sounded paranoid and could have been hallucinating from sleep deprivation.
his eta for marquesas was june 26.
i am hoping he is getting some sleep and getting his brain back.
unfortunately while sleep deprived he may have turned off his tracking and communications devices. i donot see him gaining any sleep until landfall.
i hope he is ok.
family thought he sounded as if a danger to self in his last communications over a week ago, hence the call out..
the man is a psychologist. seems even psychologists suffer sleep deprivation.
i hope he is ok and only suffering sleep deprivation and not acting on his hallucinations.
i hope he turns up fine and only a tad ragged

[inchcailloch]

If it's any consolation last year it took me 49 days to sailPanama to Hiva Oa single handed. Winds notoriously light, I had to use the engine far more than expected in the end saving to last 40 litres for landfall. Additionally only saw a couple of vessels during that time and only 1 yacht in the distance when passing Galapagos Isles. Dont give up, plenty of time yet.

[Ferrari]

Was there an automatic EPIRB on board?

[navysurfer]

Nice boat, the sleep deprived part has me guessing, taking on water? exhausted???, light winds means ability to rest usually if ship was sound.

This a big big guess, wish him and his family Godspeed to get in touch.

I have not done this crossing but hope to in a few years,

Pop's

[zeehag]

he was seeing pirates and other imaginingsbin midpcean.
he has epirb.
i believe him to be sleep deprived.
hoping he regains brain cells woth a few more naps.
you in marquesascplease figure the math and start watching.
his eta is june 26 orc27.
that is still a day or two.
the paranoic ideations are the issue, if deemed dangerous to self. .

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by theway

His last known co-ordinates were
Lat 6.538678
Lon -127.349439
His in-reach communication had him at WSW traveling at 1.24 knots.
Winds were light so don't know if his weathervane was continuing to steer or whether he was drifting.
Recent attempts to ping his in-reach showed it is either off, or ran out of batteries (or worse).
He is not responding to their attempt to hail him on his SSB.
wdj4510 Freq: channel 8.291.0
SV Celebration is a 36 foot Union Cutter: white hull, teak trim, white sales with green trim.
Last communications seem to indicate extreme disorientation (probably extreme sleep deprivation).
I have all of the details (last coordinates, sailboat details, etc) and can share as needed. Thank you."

TO THE OP: Please share those details. It is sometimes surprising how a particular bit of data may provide a nudge for the many different mind and experience combinations to be found on this forum.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by Budawang

Sorry to hear that. Please specify whether latitude is north or south.

Typically positive (+) indicates N and E; negative (-) indicates S and W. So the position indicates N and W hemispheres.

[Sailshabby]

Might he have AIS (B)?

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Sailshabby

Might he have AIS (B)?

i think not as a separate unit.
he had autopilot, engine and tank repairs while here in mazatlan.
we shared workers.
hopefully his sleep deprivation is not guiding him into strange wierdnesses and he makes marquesas when anticipated.

in mean time a search is on, most likely in incorrect areas as he was attempting to get to marquesas june 26

[Pelagic]

Zee, has there been any severe weather along his projected track. If not and he has not sent a Mayday, I think your analysis is right on.

Psychologist are quite prone to introspection and this very long period of sleep deprivation and forced isolation can make him go a bit strange in just a few weeks for a beginner.
(think Motessier in "The Long Way")

I would not be overly concerned yet as he is doing what he felt he needed to do and his ETA sounds optimistic.
The InReach system can be a bit unfair to shore side family

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Zee, has there been any severe weather along his projected track. If not and he has not sent a Mayday, I think your analysis is right on.

Psychologist are quite prone to introspection and this very long period of sleep deprivation and forced isolation can make him go a bit strange in just a few weeks.
(think Motessier in "The Long Way")

I would not be overly concerned yet as he is doing what he felt he needed to do.
The InReach system can be a bit unfair to shore side family

zaklee. i am trying to help family see this.
they know eta is end june. one more month.
richard is gregarious and enjoys people, opposite me. ha ha
he is not prepared for long periods of crap sleep. he is still somewhat civilized, unlike most of us. oops.
ali verbalized to me there is paranoia and strangeness coming from him.
can be a challenge.
there is uscg involvement.
he should have crossed equator since his last transmission, before he hit nutballs on his register. i think now he is between nutballs and frootloops on the psychology scale. possibly slocum level.
i asked ali had she heard anything yet...still nothing.
the weather where he is is constant sunny doldrums with a lot of bright sunlight daily for many more days. i think he is now out of cane zones.