Cat capsizes off Croatia

[Rumrace]

I’m curious to know if the boat can be restored. Would the structure be damaged from the flip?

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

What happened to the automatic main sheet release device we saw on a video with an older French skipper who was set up for single hand. Sorry, I’ve lost the reference.

Wouldn’t that help a lot with sailors who are new to higher performance cats?

I’ve been hit by downdrafts or super gusts that give little warning and the hit so fast, one would need the speed of a martial arts master to get to the main sheet which always...always is tangled up. Granted, experience works to prevent flips but we are just asking the members this simple question.

Are there devices which can prevent these capsize events.

( well besides a really fast crew of fat manatees)

Mark

Well, when you are on any sort of downwind course you'd want the boat to bear away and not release the main, but release the genoa.
So for the genoa it would be helpful as it takes one task of in such a case.
Not sure on the main. If you release it with wind from behind it might make matters worse.
Guess there is no magic bullet apart from the old if in doubt weather wise reef.

[slowNlow]

Originally Posted by smj

Another performance cat that flipped while being singlehanded.

https://www.yachtingworld.com/news/w...et-rock-139690
An ORC 50, amazing how high she is floating.

Did we ever get the story on that ORC 50? Realize there are reasons to be tight lipped for a while. Be productive for other owners to understand what happened, and what could have prevented the issue.

Hey, I feel like when rating cruising cats for certain coastal races the danger factor of PC.s should be taken into account and some dispensation applied (inside joke with author)

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by slowNlow

Did we ever get the story on that ORC 50? Realize there are reasons to be tight lipped for a while.

We were sailing in the vicinity of the capsized cat’s position on the night in question. The wind was not strong, but was unusually fluky, particularly given our position was not that close to any landmass.

I am not sure the following fully explains the situation, but I cannot remember another passage where we were shaking out and putting in reefs more frequently than this one, especially with no visible or radar indication of a transition. Even so we were significantly over or under canvassed at times. It would have been easy to be caught with too much sail area. Not a danger in a cruising monohull, but these conditions are tough to deal with on a fast multihull.

The sea state was only moderate, at least moderate for the west coast of Ireland, so I dont think wave action was a significant factor.

[CatNewBee]

As far as I read the news and looked up on Google, the owner / skipper has indeed 40 years of sailing experience, 10 years on a Privilege Catamaran, that was sold to buy the 45 Outremar, they were test sailing it during the season in the Med with his family and planned to cross the Atlantic next autumn. There is a YT video talking about their plans on Oktant (name of the vessel)

https://youtu.be/-4JWSzNTZLU

[Manateeman]

I’m not sure if the French captain had one auto release or two. Does any body know what video I’m talking about?
There must be some technology which can sense the boat is going close to the flip point. I’m surprised there is no one here who owns a fast cat and has not thought about some way to prevent this kind of flip. Isn’t it exhausting to be on the knife edge when the boat is sailing under these conditions and one must be prepared for immediate action? I guess it’s thrilling.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

I’m not sure if the French captain had one auto release or two. Does any body know what video I’m talking about?

There must be some technology which can sense the boat is going close to the flip point. I’m surprised there is no one here who owns a fast cat and has not thought about some way to prevent this kind of flip. Isn’t it exhausting to be on the knife edge when the boat is sailing under these conditions and one must be prepared for immediate action? I guess it’s thrilling.

The main one I know of is the Up-Side-Up system, but I'm sure there are others. A TS cat flipped last year with that system installed .... so it's not full proof.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Manateeman

I’m not sure if the French captain had one auto release or two. Does any body know what video I’m talking about?

There must be some technology which can sense the boat is going close to the flip point. I’m surprised there is no one here who owns a fast cat and has not thought about some way to prevent this kind of flip. Isn’t it exhausting to be on the knife edge when the boat is sailing under these conditions and one must be prepared for immediate action? I guess it’s thrilling.

No such devices on production cats, neither on so called performance cats - it's more of a whish then reality.

[Rumrace]

I recall the video with the auto release and there were two. I don’t understand how they work or a darn thing about cars but a recall the back up auto release

[Rumrace]

Cats darn auto correct

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Rumrace

Cats darn auto correct

It can be dangerous to release the boom, it could wipe you over board or kill you, but you wont capsize...[emoji12].

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by fivecapes

It is definitely an Outremer

Looks like it says ɹǝɯǝɹʇno

[SV Tom Crean]

Some more photos.

[Manateeman]

Well the boom can come loose at any point if there is a line or block failure. The mast could come down as well but from this thread and others, the danger is an extreme wind gust. Please don’t mix causes up and derail the thread.
I would appreciate it if one of the forum members would survey these devices and start a new thread. You don’t have to love them or use them, but at least cat sailors could take a look and evaluate them.
Please remember that ship captains are required to stop and launch a rescue boat unless their ship would be placed in severe danger. These events seem to now increase in number. It’s a serious subject. Please post accordingly.
Captain Mark

[Hasbeen]

1984 I was running a fleet of tourist boats in the Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.


One night we get an emergency call, a couple of boats have turned over just outside the islands. I grabbed our biggest boat, a 30 knot 29 meter international cat, powered by a couple of 16V92 GM diesels, & a few make up crew, & head out there. We were one of 5 boats going to help.



More information came in, it was 3 multi hulls part of a race fleet heading for Cairns, & a couple of the fleet had stopped, picked up the crews, & were standing by. We picked up the crew from one, a 36 ft trimaran which had pitch polled suddenly. In about 20/25 knots it was running fast but comfortably under small spinnaker & full main when it happened.


They directed us to the area where the boat was. We took it in tow upside down, & headed in to sheltered water at about 2 knots. The sails were still set, underwater of course. The area is inside the reef, so there were no ocean swells involved, & the sea was not particularly nasty. There are some shoals around & the flood tide against the trade winds around a shoal can get nasty.


We did not meet the other crews, but gather both boats were cats, & one broached & rolled. We didn't get any story about the other.



There must have been something to cause 3 boats to capsise in the same area in a 600 mile race. The try was righted the next day. The spinnaker was shredded, but other damage was very light.


This was the only time we had to rescue sailers. We were regularly called out to help find outboard powered boats, & occasionally larger launches.