Regret to Inform Have Lost my Boat off Honduras...

[o_q]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Not to be overly blunt but you had:

- a boat with steerage, 18nm from shore
- a rig with multiple sails, one of which was torn 1/3 of its surface
- a magnetic compass I assume

And abandoned it?

IDK much about sailing (i dont even have a boat), but I wonder if I would just sew the sails up temporarily with ANYTHING that could hold a string form. Puncture the sails with a knife if I had to, and loop something through it to bind.

[Andy73]

God Bless and good luck.
Glad to know you are ok

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by o_q

IDK much about sailing (i dont even have a boat), but I wonder if I would just sew the sails up temporarily with ANYTHING that could hold a string form. Puncture the sails with a knife if I had to, and loop something through it to bind.

Or use one of the non ripped sails, or reef the sail(s), or take the bed sheets off and make a sail out of those, etc, etc.

I know I'll get flack for this mindset because no matter what anyone does we're supposed to give each other a group hug but seriously, abandoning a sail-able and steerable vessel within sight (or nearly so) of land?

[delmarrey]

Lets face it! They talked him off the boat so they could steal it!

[Capt Rottnest]

This says to me: don't rely on an engine and have a sail repair kit onboard. A roll of sticky back goes a long way..

[Teknav]

Once again, I'm sorry for losing your boat. With all due respect, Captain, how long have you been sailing by yourself? What is your seamanship background/training level? How long have you owned/sailed this boat? I welcome your reply!

Mauritz

[letsgetsailing3]

Sorry for the loss of your boat.

I look forward to a more detailed description of exactly what was going on with the boat and the weather conditions. Clearly, there was more going on than mentioned here so far. It does seem a shame that a relatively solid boat had to be abandoned so close to a port, but I'm sure there are some lessons to be learned from this for some of us on this forum.

Sounds like the wind generator wasn't working, the engine wasn't operable, at least one battery was dead, and a sail was ripped. Without more detail, it does seem as if you might have limped on in, but maybe the combination of weather and fatigue was such that this was deemed too dangerous a proposition, or there was the fear of losing communications altogether.

[Ocean Girl]

I had a boyfriend that lost his vessel on a reef in that area, sailing at night, navigating with chart, right before GPS came out. A beautiful Warrem Cat he built himself. Almost didn't get off alive.

You are gonna do a lot of second guessing and replaying the whole thing. Make a list of the mistakes( you seemed to have already started that ) and list how they can be avoided next time, and then move on! Get back on that horse. There will be much talk and BS here, some will be constructive, some will not be. Nature of the Internet. There was a thread a few years ago about a vessel being lost. The owner came here to vent, to get comfort. She did not get much. What I'm trying to say is, nothing you say will please some folks here. So don't try. My 2cents.

Hang in there, get lots of rest, grieve, learn, move on.

[SeattleYacht]

Hindsight in these situations is always 20/20. This guy did the best he could with the information he had under the circumstances. Sometimes sh!t happens.

Better luck next time I guess.

[Capt Rottnest]

I shoulda added I'm sorry about your loss Serenity. Hope things improve for you.
You're right there are things to learn from this and I did put in my 2c.

I notice someone else is jumping on my arse.. yeah mate, I do sail and I have done sail repair on deck in the Indian ocean.

[o_q]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Lets face it! They talked him off the boat so they could steal it!

I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but I wouldn't dismiss it.

[o_q]

Also... I lost my MacGregor 26 during my 2nd circumnavigation. My GPS died, so I had to abandon ship.

[Rav]

Syserenity.

How very sad that you have lost your boat and how shocking that other sailors refused assistance when they could have helped.

It must have been a very difficult decision for you to make but, with a lee shore and luck running against you, you have survived to sail again.

Good luck with your new boat and your voyage.

Rav.

[PamlicoTraveler]

Have read with interest because when you call for help there is often pressure to either abandon ship or risk your life and stay on it to try to work through the situation. Commercial operators don't wait around to see if you can figure it all out. They are on a schedule.

I know a guy's boat was recently found near Cape Cod. He had been "rescued" in May, 700 miles away. The solar panels were still there and the radio was on when the CG went aboard. The boat was absolutely fine. Still, he had made a decision to abandon his boat and obviously, as it turns out, he could have survived.

You chose life over property and though its possible you could have "limped along," the decision was made, and it is also possible you would have perished on a Honduran reef.

Good luck friend.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Syserenity

Thank you all for your expressions. I was tempted to detail from the very beginning and thank God Boatman61 showed me the reality, that no matter what, in a Forum events like this one should not be shared. Sometimes, in between an Army of good soldiers, one bad one is enough. If 20 don't shoot, this one shooting kills enough to make a massacre. What I see by his comment is, that I wouldn't like to be in his boat in a similar situation, because he seems to have some fairy tale, that Seaman go down with their boats, or something like that....

However, I appreciate your all expressions.

@Boatman61: I don't wish wrong to no one and certainly I don't desire you the events i've been and going through. And certainly, as a Captain of a sailboat I am not going to ask another - Captain or not - if I did right or wrong. This event is actually documented at the Council of Maritime Business by me, the Captain of Dole Costa Rica and by the US Coast Guard and by the Admiralship from Ecuador, who at a point intervened before the Government of Honduras in order to deploy a ship to assist Serenity. There are existing documents from Logbooks of 2 vessels, the one from Serenity, which has been transfered on board of the Dole Costa Rica, the Logbook of the Dole Costa Rica. So, thiswise I don't need to be approved by some Boatman61, nor anybody else.QUOTE]

QUOTE=boatman61;1297972]This should be interesting...
A Skipper coming on here to say he's abandoned his boat... is this a CF 1st...?
A few have posted how close they came to sinking or abandoning and how they coped... lets see if I can keep my mouth shut...

OOPSSS..... to late

Actually my post was meant as a compliment to your courage for coming on here to tell us about the event... its always been secondhand news reports that we have to go on... and the owners of the boats never/rarely show to comment or detail their loss...
Having read your post and your difficulty with the English language I can see how this thought may have never even entered your mind... no worries.. and after reading your account.. rest assured I will post no comments... what more can be said... its all there... in your own words.