Sad story, couple almost died and lost their boat in the Med Sea

[sailingabe41ds]

https://floatmagazin.de/leute/nightm...et-sea-rescue/

Found this story in the Jenneau Forum

[Yihang]

Boat found 2months later in libya-Apparently turned into someone's airbnb. The mast and rigging seemed to have been removed rather then ripped off?

Main issue for abandoning ship was their diesel tanks were empty and they couldn't get more using canisters in 50 knot winds.

Although the 'medicane' they were in had gusts up to 90 knots so no judgement.

[Dockhead]

Boat is sitting nicely on her lines. Another reminder that the boat is almost always stronger than the people, even an inexpensive mass produced boat. So given enough searoom, the crew could have lain ahull and ridden out the storm.



Without a functional life raft, however? And with good insurance cover? Abandoning under those circumstances was of course the right thing to do.

[fxykty]

The story is sad and medcanes are not to be scoffed at, but, the soft bimini with the flexible panels is intact (at the time of the rescue at least). That to me indicates that there were not wave conditions that would threaten the boat’s survival, as is obvious from the later pictures. Very strong winds absolutely and they were fortunate in their circumstances that the two ships got to them before the full strength of the storm.

Several large seamanship errors were made:
- persisting in a plan to the extent of leaving for a significant passage out of season
- leaving without proper passage planning, particularly not accounting for known corona closures
- no second means of communications
- not keeping the main fuel tank as full as possible, particularly with worsening weather

The life raft not inflating is a serious issue, but apparently acknowledged as a defect by the manufacturer. When was it last serviced?

Lots of lessons.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by fxykty

The liferaft not inflating is a serious issue, but apparently acknowledged as a defect by the manufacturer. When was it last serviced?

Although, as with Fastnet: Force 10, the primary boat survived. It's always taking care of the primary boat which is paramount. "Take care of your boat and she'll take care of you." Yes, everything topside ripped away, but the primary hull did sustain the storm (good that they were no longer aboard, however!)

The point is, abandoning to the liferaft would have been a much more dangerous mistake, which is why the maxim is,

Always step UP into a liferaft!

Glad they're okay.

[goboatingnow]

In a lot of cases it can be very difficult to remain inside the boat. Stuff starts flying around , lockers burst open.

It’s easy to “ say” just stay with the boat , it can be a lot harder to do in practice

[Chotu]

This really sounds like they were worn down from all the awful experiences with the government agencies and red tape. Plus forced to take on passages when they were not well prepared or rested.

I’d say the various government agencies do have a share of responsibility for this outcome.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In a lot of cases it can be very difficult to remain inside the boat. Stuff starts flying around , lockers burst open.

It’s easy to “ say” just stay with the boat , it can be a lot harder to do in practice

Absolutely.

They made the right decision.

Hindsight is also 20/20, eh? Too bad they didn't deek in somewhere as soon as they knew they didn't have a weather forecast... They were just enjoying the sailing so much after all their trials and tribulations, there was that why-wouldn't-things-continue-on-as-they-are operating somewhat.

Ugh. So horrid.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Although, as with Fastnet: Force 10, the primary boat survived. It's always taking care of the primary boat which is paramount. "Take care of your boat and she'll take care of you." Yes, everything topside ripped away, but the primary hull did sustain the storm (good that they were no longer aboard, however!)

The point is, abandoning to the liferaft would have been a much more dangerous mistake, which is why the maxim is,

Always step UP into a liferaft!

Glad they're okay.

We don’t know that everything topside was ripped away by the subsequent storm, as by the time the after photo was taken the boat had been stripped of its valuables. Mast and boom, sails, bimini, dinghy, who knows?

Certainly, the reported gusts to 90 knots after the rescue would have caused damage, but in this case we just don’t know. Would sitting to a sea anchor, or running with a drogue, work in the kind of short period waves that you get in the Med?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Although, as with Fastnet: Force 10, the primary boat survived. It's always taking care of the primary boat which is paramount. "Take care of your boat and she'll take care of you." Yes, everything topside ripped away, but the primary hull did sustain the storm (good that they were no longer aboard, however!)

The point is, abandoning to the liferaft would have been a much more dangerous mistake, which is why the maxim is,

Always step UP into a liferaft!

Glad they're okay.

Several of the Fastnet survivors were interviewed and explained they had to take to the liferaft as the interior of the yacht was too dangerous , even though the yacht in question technically “ survived “

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

It’s easy to “ say” just stay with the boat , it can be a lot harder to do in practice

Not really.

I’ve noted in several threads on this forum of us being caught in a storm and our story closely duplicates this one with some notable variations.

We also had stuff flying around inside the boat, a television, a sextant in its case, pots, pans, books. Some damage, no injuries. We also lost our “bimini”, in our case a full cockpit enclosure ripped off the boat not by waves but by wind. Our dingy on the foredeck broke its tethers and got saved by the stanchions that were severely bent but held.

Notable variations?

- We still had a large supply of diesel that allowed control of the boat under power for an extended period.
- We managed to lie a-hull through the peak of the storm, got knocked down twice but not rolled (seems their boat may have experienced a roll-over after rescue).
- We had no reason to deploy a liferaft but then in reality neither did they.
- Whilst we did communicate with rescue authorities, we simply appraised them of our situation and made it clear we were not calling for assistance or rescue.
- And most importantly, we still have our boat which still represents an important part of our lives.

I’m not criticising. Every situation is different. Seems to me that the arrival of rescuers may have been accidental and what followed may have been a “while you’re here” scenario. I’ve read many accounts where abandoning a boat was part of what seemed like a logical progression and not necessarily the desire of the skipper. That this boat is still floating but in someone else’s possession attests to this possibility.

Sad story nevertheless, maybe they will still be able to fulfill the dream with a second boat. If that’s what they want. Following our experience, my wife still enjoys cruising in the South Pacific but there is very little chance I’ll ever talk her into passage-making again. She now “sails” to the islands with Air New Zealand.

An interesting aside: Some insurance companies (mine included) will not insure boats for incremental damage while on a passage but only a total-loss event. One wonders how many abandoned boats are the result of such policies, where accumulated damage reaches a tipping point where it’s better the boat goes to the bottom than getting it home. I also wonder what the insurer’s reaction would be if faced with the admission by the boat owner that all sea cocks were “opened” prior to abandonment.

[Group9]

I've had so many boats that I lose count.

I've only had one life, though.

[Shrew]

Title: "Sad story, couple almost died and lost their boat in the Med Sea"

I see no evidence that the couple almost died. They didn't really loose the boat. They chose to leave the boat. These might seem likes semantics but words have meaning.

We sometimes get a little too lost in the sensationalism of the media and flashy You Tube titles.

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by Group9

I've had so many boats that I lose count.

I've only had one life, though.

The implication being that one would never risk one’s life to save a boat. Of course not. But then there’s risking your life and then there’s also “risking your life” A boat in a storm that is still safely floating only conforms to one of these.

As attested to by the report, your life is more at risk transferring to a big ship in a wild sea than it is staying on a boat that is securely floating. Given that the boat still floats today even after being repeatedly slammed into the ship confirms that there was clearly no evidence at time of abandonment of an imminent sinking.

[gonesail]

ouch .. he let his fuel tank go dry before the storm. funny the weather doesn't look so bad at the end. but I wasn't there