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

[s/v Jedi]

I'm speechless. Not just from the story of the OP, but also from many of the replies. Scary even. And then to see that the posters that do have the knowledge and experience get bashed instead of listened to; it is beyond insane.

I hope events like these make people understand that the sea will not be gentle with starters: bring somebody with experience until you have that too and can handle your boat in offshore conditions. Do not think that a Baja filter would have made much of a difference; it is not about stuff you carry, it simply is about the combination of seamanship and experience and you need both before heading out on your own.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Syserenity

16 degrees, 47 minutes .3 North, 086 degrees, 03 minutes .8 West, the position where Serenity was abandoned.

The boat was abandoned because it couldn't be sailed 18 nm to an anchorage, after which it sailed 130 nm all on its own in fairly short time.

Some boats do better without crews, it would appear.

[Mr B]

Sorry to hear of your loss,
Its every hard emotionally to leave your boat, Under any circumstances,

A water filter. Separator, for your diesel can be bought at any truck or diesel repair shop, while your at it, get a non return fitting for the diesel line, Saves your battery, as you dont have to pump the diesel from the tank, It keeps the line full,

Its a permanent fixture in the line, Its has a glass bowl, so you can see the water in the bowl, It has a small tap on the bottom to dump the water out,

Standing on your head, Reaching into a small hole, To Change and clean filters, In a boat thats leaping all over the place, In the middle of a shipping lane, No wind to get out of the way,

Your eyes constantly watching the horizen for a ship bearing down on you,

Try it some time, Its not as easy as it sounds,

[Syserenity]

Just to finish this Forum episode for me. I thought this was a place to learn and exhange and I thought also, people might interested to listen to people going out. I was wrong. I guess most of you spend to much time making briketts crom a fallen tree. So, I better stick up a beer at the bar of the real Marina. The Administrator of this Forum can take off my membership. I don't need and want to be member of a Forum of this character.

[captain58sailin]

One of the reasons I installed a centrifuge and use the "Baja Filter" to hopefully eliminate outside contamination from coming in, and keep the tanks full minimizes the condensation factor, the boat will run just a well off the top half of the fuel tank as the bottom half. I didn't know what a "Baja Filter" was either, I just asked the crew at the local ship chandlers and they put me on to one, and from the information I gleaned from the threads on the subject, I got the largest flow capacity available to avoid slow flow issues at the fuel dock. And the filter works really well, I won't put any fuel into my vessel unless it goes through the "Baja filter" first.

[Jammer Six]

Well done, folks.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by JerryW

As a relatively new sailor, I find this posting, and all the responses, to be quite useful in shaping how I should configure my boat, what to practice, and the zillion other things that fall under the heading of "seamanship".

Rebel Heart noted, "....everyone without electronics and an engine...... is pulling off on a daily basis what caused this person to abandon ship.....".

For me, it means learning how to steer with sails alone, tinkering with some self-steering techniques, using compass and charts to navigate, learning how my boat reacts to various weather/wave conditions, and a plethora of other things.

I'm sorry this fellow lost his boat. It's hard to know what I would have done in similar circumstances, but this thread has confirmed my opinion that a heavy reliance on complicated and power hungry appliances & electronics might not be the best approach. Mercifully "Robin's Nest" is small and I don't have room for much of this stuff!

With tongue firmly in cheek I ask myself WWJD?

That's Joshua.

Jerry W
Montgomery M-23 Offshore Cutter
out of Port Kinsale
Yeocomico River
Southern Potomac

One practical thing I would suggest is to throw on more food than you think you'll need, esp. those that will support balanced blood chemistry -- fruit. Keep Gator-Ade or its equivalent on board -- in powdered form, it takes up very little space. If you don't have a water maker, take more water than you think you need. Be prepared to stuck out there for longer than you expect. Then *maybe* you can sail her to another destination.

But maybe not. Exhaustion can be a very real factor as others have pointed out. If it gets rough you may lose some of your crew to incapacitating seasickness. They make medication in suppository form to combat severe seasickness and it would be a good thing to have on a long cruise.

Has anyone talked about how to repair a torn sail? if it's not torn on the seam, I would use a sheet, which I would sew to seams, double layered if possible. You'd have to "quilt" that to keep the two layers together. Then I would stitch the torn sail to that fabric. You can use large basting stitches first to position everything and then go back with smaller, stronger stitches. Done right, you could make a pretty good patch out of a bedsheet, but IMO (having never done it but applying basic sewing principles to the task) it's possible.

Do it well and you might even be able to furl the sail. A second pair of hands would be a lot of help but unless it were very windy it should be possible to use the sheets to hold the sail tight while you work on it, if the tear is low enough.

Lots and lots of thread, and by the way, thread weakens over time. Replace that thread periodically.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

Well done, folks.

This guy bailed from a perfectly good boat, probably spilled fuel on the reef, left Mexico with the disposal, got a free ride home, and is off to have a beer at the marina.

And you're taking issue with the denigration of that ?

[Teknav]

Hiya Rebel! People who faced major tragedies are incapable of thinking rationally. Give the guy some slack, as he mourns his loss; it would be a nice gesture, irrespective of what we think he should have done.

Mauritz

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Syserenity

Just to finish this Forum episode for me. I thought this was a place to learn and exhange and I thought also, people might interested to listen to people going out. I was wrong. I guess most of you spend to much time making briketts crom a fallen tree. So, I better stick up a beer at the bar of the real Marina. The Administrator of this Forum can take off my membership. I don't need and want to be member of a Forum of this character.

I don't know... first you have a pop at me for trying to compliment you on your balls for posting your experience... and made no critique of your decision... or 'bitched' back at you for it
Now your crying 'Foul' anyway... and bailing out... again...
Take up Golf..

[minaret]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

This guy bailed from a perfectly good boat, probably spilled fuel on the reef, left Mexico with the disposal, got a free ride home, and is off to have a beer at the marina.

And you're taking issue with the denigration of that ?

Not to mention he thinks his Hunter sitting on a reef in Mexico is "in fairly good shape", even though he hasn't even been aboard yet. He seems like the type to ignore the resulting structural damage and take her sailing again anyway, probably resulting in another SAR situation. Perhaps this time at some risk to others. If your going to push the big red button and ask others to risk their safety and money to rescue you, the very least you can do is first educate and prepare yourself well enough to take all necessary precautions, and then exhaust all possible avenues before asking for help. Probably should have scuppered her to prevent a hazard to navigation or costly environmental clean up , but instead left the main up! An unmanned boat bombing around out there under full main is less than ideal. Expecting sympathy after pursuing this course of action-meh. Sucks to lose a boat, but really...

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Rebel! People who faced major tragedies are incapable of thinking rationally. Give the guy some slack, as he mourns his loss; it would be a nice gesture, irrespective of what we think he should have done.

Mauritz

I spent all day in the punishing heat of Baja working on my Hydrovane install otherwise I would have stayed in the cabin shooting my mouth of on this thread.

[Teknav]

--->Sending Rebel, a gallon of Pina Collada...how's that? (I hope you like rum!)

Mauritz

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

One practical thing I would suggest is to throw on more food than you think you'll need, esp. those that will support balanced blood chemistry -- fruit. Keep Gator-Ade or its equivalent on board -- in powdered form, it takes up very little space. If you don't have a water maker, take more water than you think you need. Be prepared to stuck out there for longer than you expect. Then *maybe* you can sail her to another destination.

But maybe not. Exhaustion can be a very real factor as others have pointed out. If it gets rough you may lose some of your crew to incapacitating seasickness. They make medication in suppository form to combat severe seasickness and it would be a good thing to have on a long cruise.

Has anyone talked about how to repair a torn sail? if it's not torn on the seam, I would use a sheet, which I would sew to seams, double layered if possible. You'd have to "quilt" that to keep the two layers together. Then I would stitch the torn sail to that fabric. You can use large basting stitches first to position everything and then go back with smaller, stronger stitches. Done right, you could make a pretty good patch out of a bedsheet, but IMO (having never done it but applying basic sewing principles to the task) it's possible.

Do it well and you might even be able to furl the sail. A second pair of hands would be a lot of help but unless it were very windy it should be possible to use the sheets to hold the sail tight while you work on it, if the tear is low enough.

Lots and lots of thread, and by the way, thread weakens over time. Replace that thread periodically.

Could have done with you to help me hand stich the length of the leach on a 100% genoa of a 54ft ketch I delivered...

[ka4wja]

Syserenity,
Thank you for sharing..
I'm sorry to read of your vessel abandonment, and I'm sure the decision was a difficult one for you...
(even though, I would not have done the same, I will not judge!!)




[EDIT: I just now see that a vessel has been found...has this been confirmed as Serenity???]

Serenity, for you, and for those who are inquiring about "salvage" / "recovery", please understand that there is difference between what salvage means in most poor 3rd world nations, vs. those of us in the developed 1st world...

Originally Posted by neilpride

Sorry for the loss, there is any option for a salvage scenario? i mean the boat is still floating?...

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Hope you manage to recover your boat (I assume she's still floating, since towing could have been an option)

If you get lucky, she drifted away from the mainland, and/or beached herself in some uninhabited location....but, if she was noticed abandoned by the locals, she'll be stripped in short order!!!

The fact that you were using HF radio (SSB), rather than VHF, might be a good saving grace for you, in regards to finding Serenity intact....as there were likely no local folks listening to your communications on HF, and even if they were, they probably turned it off after you stayed on-board and had the Dole vessel sail away, not hearing you call her back...

Unfortunately, I know of some folks who, a few years ago, also abandoned their sailboat (a sistership to mine), in Hondurian waters (anchored in 90' of water, appox 40 miles off of Puerto Lempira, Honduras).....

Some friends posted the details and photos....
http://www.c470.jerodisys.com/470pix/47043.htm
And, I think Lectric Latitude also posted this article...

Within a few days, EVERYTHING was stripped from the boat, and I do mean EVERYTHING (I believe, including the 10,000 lbs lead keel)....











Again, sorry to read of this recent vessel abandonment, but those who wonder about "salvage", I suspect that by the time the Dole vessel that rescued you was out-of-sight, there may have been some locals (the ones who couldn't/didn't respond to you) trying to decide on whether to look for Serenity, or wait for her to come ashore on her own, as a salvage opportunity....
[EDIT: I just saw that a vessel has been found, off Mexico....has this been confirmed as Serenity???]




And, on a side note, in addition to all the lessons which can be learned here (the things not to do), everyone should understand that seeking assistance / rescue when on the high seas and/or in 3rd world regions / remote areas, things do NOT work they way they do on TV (shows like "Coast Guard Alaska" and "Coast Guard Florida", are NOT how things play out on the high seas, nor in 3rd world areas!!!), nor how you were led to believe in some "boat show seminar", nor how some marine electronics guy told you!!!

"Facts is facts", as they say....and the more people read of these things, the more some of them will start to realize the truth, and ignore the myths!!



Again, Good luck and Fair winds....

John
s/v Annie Laurie