Another Victim of ?? in the Pacific

[JPA Cate]

Yes, actually, that would be super, if you get access to them.

Good on them for thanking everyone, too. It can get lonely out there when you have a serious problem.

Ann

[h20man]

They are now in the straight.. Looking good:


from their blog:

[kaisardog]

1/ it's too bad no one can find the container ship (or drug smugglers) that lost the refrigerator which collided with OP's boat. I'm sure the OP's insurance company would love to send it the bill for all the repairs. 2/ it's great to hear of so many mariners helping out other mariners in distress : the 'law of the sea...'

[Training Wheels]

Well done Jollydogs! All to often people seem to be abandoning ship at the first sign of adversity. Kudos!

[Training Wheels]

Originally Posted by kaisardog

1/ it's too bad no one can find the container ship (or drug smugglers) that lost the refrigerator which collided with OP's boat. I'm sure the OP's insurance company would love to send it the bill for all the repairs. 2/ it's great to hear of so many mariners helping out other mariners in distress : the 'law of the sea...'

I’d be surprised if it was just a refrigerator they hit. Our boat is more lightly built than there’s, and we’ve hit many BIG sea turtles, some shaking the whole boat, with nothing more than chipping off some epoxy. I think it’s more likely they hit the container that the refrigerators came from.

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

I’d be surprised if it was just a refrigerator they hit. Our boat is more lightly built than there’s, and we’ve hit many BIG sea turtles, some shaking the whole boat, with nothing more than chipping off some epoxy. I think it’s more likely they hit the container that the refrigerators came from.

They heard from other vessels (post collision) that other vessels in the area saw many bobbing refrigerators.... hence the supposition that it was a refrigerator.


There may be damage below the waterline that they have not seen, so after the haul out the photos shall be most revealing.

[LittleWing77]

Today's update:
As H2O says, they've made it to the Straits of Juan de Fuca (sp?)

Random brainwaves Saturday 24 Jul 21
Sat Jul 24 2021

Seawind originally installed magnetic reed switch fuel probes in our diesel fuel tanks. They’re very reliable, but if you really want to understand your fuel consumption they’re a bit useless. Magnetic reed switch probes provide step changes in fuel level, so one moment you look and there are 150 liters remaining, and if your timing is right the next moment there may be 135 or so. Not such a big deal if you’re fat with fuel and don’t worry much about fuel economy at various power settings, but a huge deal if you’re nearing a low fuel state and need to motor a good bit longer to get somewhere safe. Another Seawind owner, Lance Stairs turned me on to a supplier of capacitive probes. We purchased those for our fuel tanks and water tank, and along with Seawind factory supplied drawings of those tanks I was able to create a very accurate fuel and water level calibration curve. I check the fuel calibrations every time we fill up, and I know how much fuel we have to within maybe 3 liters. Now we know when it’s time to panic.

Yesterday as we were motor sailing merrily along we heard a Canadian environmental reconnaissance / patrol aircraft hail numerous cargo ships. Whether they were in Canadian waters or just within observation range we don’t know, but the friendly Canadians were reminding each ship’s bridge crew that it is illegal to dump waste at sea, etc. If you read between the lines I reckon the real message is “we’re keeping our eyes on you and we will bust your ass if we catch you doing something nasty”. Go Maple Leafs!

This morning in the mizzle and fog, I noted on AIS and radar a rather large (900 feet) container ship off our stern quarter and overtaking us. Still about 8 miles distant, I hailed the watch officer over VHF to request AIS and radar target checks. He very kindly acknowledged that he had been surveilling us for quite some time. That was comforting. There are heaps of ships and fishing boats out here. Isabel observed 2 fishing vessels with bright lights last night, one only 1/4 mile distant, neither with AIS. At night with dense fog all we can do is keep a close watch on the radar and hope for a visual sighting. I personally find it challenging to judge distance from a fishing boat at night and have gotten uncomfortably close more than once. Without any target data there’s no real sense of scale until something relatable comes into view. When it’s a lobster fisherman giving you the finger, that’s a bit too close.

Isabel spotted the mountains of Vancouver Island just a few moments ago. They’re tall and have snow caps in places. Looks cold up there. The sky has been intermittently sunny then cloudy, and visibility in various quadrants has been quite different, but suddenly things cleared up and there it was. Canada! Our friendly Northern neighbor! Some of our best friends are Canadian. I used to play with NovAtel precision GPS receivers, the finest in the world. Calgary has NovAtel going for them, along with a pretty good rodeo. We’ve been warned to stay clear of Canadian waters or their Coast Guard folks might not be so friendly right now.

The wind is finally coming behind us just as the ECMWF forecast from PredictWind promised. We stowed the main and rolled out the twin headsail (simbo) rig, and even with only 5 knots apparent wind we were able to reduce engine rpm a good bit and still maintain 6 knots towards the Strait. Our fuel burn is a bit excessive right now as we’re kind of draggy, so every 100 rpm we decrease the throttle improves our safety margin for getting to Port Angeles before we reach a low fuel state.

Between each other we’ve managed our stress pretty well. We’ve been extra kind and thoughtful, trying hard not to get cranky. Stress has other interesting ways of revealing itself, such as eczema on our hands - something neither of us has ever experienced before. Back aches are also rampant. I think we both need a day at a spa, or at least a good therapeutic massage!

[h20man]

Docked in Port Angles... WA... !

[JPA Cate]

Thank you for that, h2Oman.

I am so glad to hear it. Good on them. I hope they get to their spa, or at least, some cortizone cream for that eczema.

Different people have different needs after dire experiences. I wish them both rapid healing from the traumas.

Ann

[Ric Sheridan]

Some duck tape and it would have been okay. JK.
Why don't they build these bows with a piece of metal to deflect any debris the boat runs into? I know a container isn't going to budge but having just fiberglass as the first point of contact seems like just asking for trouble.
I bet if someone came up with an aftermarket piece for bow shielding they could make some coin. This problem of things floating around in the oceans and light weight fast boats running into them at high speeds is not going to go away.
Meanwhile all the pop up ads are about refrigerators on my screen right now. The irony.

[Rowmance]

In 1970 after an 8 month yard overhaul on a US Navy submarine, we were on sea trials just North of San Francisco. We were transiting at about 6kts heading South. Just before sunrise there was a huge bang. General Quarters was immediately sounded. Thorough search revealed no internal damage. At sunrise we sent our diver over. He started at the Stbd bow. About 2/3s of the way back, he popped up, raised his mask, and said "Holy Sh..". He described it a a gash 7-8' long 3"-6" wide. We reported incident to Navy and Coast Guard. CG sent a search plane, but found nothing.



That now haunts me now every time I'm on the Ocean, but it doesn't stop me.

[Seabeau]

Originally Posted by Ric Sheridan

Some duck tape and it would have been okay. JK.
Why don't they build these bows with a piece of metal to deflect any debris the boat runs into? I know a container isn't going to budge but having just fiberglass as the first point of contact seems like just asking for trouble.
I bet if someone came up with an aftermarket piece for bow shielding they could make some coin. This problem of things floating around in the oceans and light weight fast boats running into them at high speeds is not going to go away.
Meanwhile all the pop up ads are about refrigerators on my screen right now. The irony.

Or they could resist putting plumb bows on deep water, ocean going boats. Given what appears to be the point of impact, any ole spoon bow would probably have ridden up and over the obstruction with a minimum of damage.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Ric Sheridan

Some duck tape and it would have been okay. JK.
Why don't they build these bows with a piece of metal to deflect any debris the boat runs into? I know a container isn't going to budge but having just fiberglass as the first point of contact seems like just asking for trouble.
I bet if someone came up with an aftermarket piece for bow shielding they could make some coin. This problem of things floating around in the oceans and light weight fast boats running into them at high speeds is not going to go away.
Meanwhile all the pop up ads are about refrigerators on my screen right now. The irony.

Weight, particularly weight at the ends of the boat and Galvanic Corrosion, to name but two reasons

[Factor]

And of course there is the obvious next question that if there is a steel cap on the GRP, much of the stress will still travel to the GRP

[aclmck]

Originally Posted by Ric Sheridan

Some duck tape and it would have been okay. JK.
Why don't they build these bows with a piece of metal to deflect any debris the boat runs into? I know a container isn't going to budge but having just fiberglass as the first point of contact seems like just asking for trouble.
I bet if someone came up with an aftermarket piece for bow shielding they could make some coin. This problem of things floating around in the oceans and light weight fast boats running into them at high speeds is not going to go away.
Meanwhile all the pop up ads are about refrigerators on my screen right now. The irony.

They don’t use steel, they use collision bulkheads and plenty of glass at the right points, the boats are designed to take some collisions and remain on top of the water but you can’t design for everything, that’s why most cars are designed with crumple zones etc.

The guy was thrown on impact into the cockpit and thought he was knocked out ,I can’t imagine his injuries if the boat had been so solid to only scratch the paint. I’d bet he’d have been in no fit state to carry out the repairs needed to save his boat