Sydney Hobart Race Upset - Celestial Loses Protest

[Wotname]

Early reports are saying Celestial has lost handicap honours for this years (2021) Sydney Hobart Race.

The international jury found "...It was found Celestial breached race rules by failing to maintain constant radio contact..."

Apparently Celestial couldn't hear attempts of other parties trying to make radio contact after a PLB onboard was accidentally activated. They have penalised 40 minutes.

Ichi Ban is now leading the overall standings.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-...test/100732452

[Lucky Luke 1]

There was lots of talk and worry on the radio at this time. Our boat had an air of dread about it listening to the attempt to contact.

[Ozbullwinkle]

I think that the bigger issue to come out of this unfortunate incident is that there were a total of 13 accidental PLB activations during the race.

I hope that the CYCA in conjunction with AMSA conducts a full & thorough investigation into the circumstances resulting in these activations & passes this information back to the PLB manufacturers as there is definitely a problem here as 13 accidental activations is way too high.

These are some of the questions that I would be asking.....

What was the make & model number of the PLB?

How old is the PLB / what is it's manufacture or battery expiry date?

How was it being worn at the time? In a protective pouch or container or swinging free attached to a carbiner?

If the PLB was not being worn when activated what location was it in?

Were the activations 13 separate PLB's or were some multiple activations of the same PLB?

What circumstances resulted in the PLB being activated?

Did the PLB once activated give sufficient visual notification to the PLB wearer or other crew around them that the PLB was activated, ie did they realise that it was transmitting in a short space of time?

Any other general information that the activated PLB owner or other crew would like to add.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

I think that the bigger issue to come out of this unfortunate incident is that there were a total of 13 accidental PLB activations during the race.

I hope that the CYCA in conjunction with AMSA conducts a full & thorough investigation into the circumstances resulting in these activations & passes this information back to the PLB manufacturers as there is definitely a problem here as 13 accidental activations is way too high.

These are some of the questions that I would be asking.....

What was the make & model number of the PLB?

How old is the PLB / what is it's manufacture or battery expiry date?

How was it being worn at the time? In a protective pouch or container or swinging free attached to a carbiner?

If the PLB was not being worn when activated what location was it in?

Were the activations 13 separate PLB's or were some multiple activations of the same PLB?

What circumstances resulted in the PLB being activated?

Did the PLB once activated give sufficient visual notification to the PLB wearer or other crew around them that the PLB was activated, ie did they realise that it was transmitting in a short space of time?

Any other general information that the activated PLB owner or other crew would like to add.

To my mind, the two principal issues are -

1. Why couldn't Celestial hear their radio? There seems to be no reasonable excuse for not being able to maintain comms for an extended period of time; but I wasn't there and I don't know if there were extenuating circumstances - it seems the protest committee didn't think so.

2. PLB issues as outlined by Ozbullwinkle.

It is hard to understand how one could have thirteen 'accidental' activations of PLBs in one race (unless it was the same unit multiple times).

406 PLBs are not water activated. However once activated manually, they only need to be 'ON' for 50 seconds before transmitting an active signal. Note, many transmit an 'inactive' signal immediately after turn on but such signal is coded differently from the subsequent transmissions and the 'inactive' signal is disregarded by the satellite system.

So yes, some serious safety questions have been raised and let's hope the answers are made public.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Early reports are saying Celestial has lost handicap honours for this years (2021) Sydney Hobart Race.

The international jury found "...It was found Celestial breached race rules by failing to maintain constant radio contact..."

Apparently Celestial couldn't hear attempts of other parties trying to make radio contact after a PLB onboard was accidentally activated. They have penalised 40 minutes.

Ichi Ban is now leading the overall standings.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-...test/100732452

The follow-on bit is that Ichi Ban had to stop racing and divert (as directed by the Race Committee) because as far as the Committee knew, someone from Celestial's crew was in the water and Ichi Ban was the closest boat to provide assistance. IB ended up lighting a flare to get Celestial's attention.

Really extraordinary circumstances! As soon as the Race Committee files a protest, you know there was some serious $h*t going down.

Oh, and everything Ozbullwinkle said. +1

You know what this reminds me of? The early days of auto-inflate lifejackets. Remember how they'd get just a bit wet (or relatively) as you were phaffing about changing a sail on the foredeck, shipped a wave, and suddenly you'd be contending with this huge doughnut in your way of getting anything done. (I always kept a couple of re-arming kits in my sailing bag - which got me into all sorts of jams going through airport security!)

Sounds like the PLB manufacturers need to take onboard the hydrostatic mechanisms that are part of modern auto-inflate PFDs (if there is, indeed, possibility for crossover).

Oh, and just because it's new year and we ought to remember...
Wottie is King!

Madam President
Wotname Fan Club
(aka LittleWing77 )

[psk125]

Reliable radio communications are important. Imagine if IchiBan had had an emergency and the RC wanted Celestial to divert and assist. An hour and a half delay could easily result in deaths. After extensive repeated efforts by IciBan to reach Celestial over the radio failed, the RC directed IchiBan to light flares to attract their attention. It seems that THEN Celestial turned on their HANDHELD Vhf's and were able to communicate. A SAR helicopter which had been about to deploy was told to stand down. The boats were obviously within radio range. Was Celestial's radio broken? Turned off? Besides fixing the spurious PLB signals, perhaps there needs to be a better system for maintaining communications.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by psk125

Reliable radio communications are important. Imagine if IchiBan had had an emergency and the RC wanted Celestial to divert and assist. An hour and a half delay could easily result in deaths. After extensive repeated efforts by IciBan to reach Celestial over the radio failed, the RC directed IchiBan to light flares to attract their attention.

It seems that THEN Celestial turned on their HANDHELD VHFs and were able to communicate. A SAR helicopter which had been about to deploy was told to stand down. The boats were obviously within radio range. Was Celestial's radio broken? Turned off? Besides fixing the spurious PLB signals, perhaps there needs to be a better system for maintaining communications.

Happy New Year psk125,

At the risk of stating the obvious, they needed to have their main VHF radio turned on! (Yes, I realise this is wild speculation on my part but you, a high-level racer yourself, know how it can get in that final push with your closest competitor.)

What I imagine is that they turned off (or the volume was so low they couldn't hear it and repeater off...?) their main, wired-in (longer range) VHF - which is at the nav station anyway - and had only handhelds on deck with the crew.

I don't know how much ocean/offshore racing you've done, but every body not off-watch would have been on deck, on the rail, if not actively involved in sail trim/sail changes. (Have a look at all the finishing pictures.)

Other than the Race Committee's designated scheds, all the VHF dross of the other competitors may have been regarded as distracting if Celestial was pushing their boat hard, trying to maintain a lead over Ichi Ban. You know what that's like.

Of course, I'm not saying this justifies anything. I'm just saying that I could see how it could happen if their navigator was on deck and... well... they were hyper-focused on racing.

LW77

[Wotname]

One news report (audio) stated "Celestial couldn't hear their VHF over the noise of the engine". Of course news reporters are often unreliable sources of information, especially about maritime activities; nevertheless clearly something was amiss regarding comms.

The most likely explanation about lack of comms is simply human error - easy enough to occur as noted by LW77 and psk125.

The PLB activations are more intriguing. We know the one aboard Celestial was a 406 unit as it was picked by by AMSA (the Australian RCC). These units do not have any water activation features.

We don't know what the other 12 (13?) PLB activations were - SART / VHF / DSC / 406 ???

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Wotname

One news report (audio) stated "Celestial couldn't hear their VHF over the noise of the engine". Of course news reporters are often unreliable sources of information, especially about maritime activities; nevertheless clearly something was amiss regarding comms.
. . .
?

Well Geez, those darn pesky VHF radios do have that propensity to automatically turn down their speaker volume or even off just when the engine throttles noisely up and the forward gear is engaged to power the vessels propeller(s) for high-speed propulsion during a major sailing race. Erhhh, correction, a motor-sailing race.

Most PLBs today can provide rescuers with GPS-provided coordinates to pinpoint your location even more precisely. It would seem that the authorities would soon realize that the PLB is moving steadily along a track towards Hobart and thus realize it was likely a false activation given that the vessel would presumably activate its EPRIB if it was in distress.

[Montanan]

Okay, on a more serious note.

Link to the committee's findings of facts.

https://www.marinebusinessnews.com.a...e-v-celestial/

Snipet therefrom:

16. Celestial’s installed VHF radio was located on the port bulkhead near the mast, with a repeated to the navigation station. The radio was new in 2021.

17. On the morning of the race start, the navigator tested the installed VHF radio and found it to be working satisfactorily.

18. At all times during the incident, the VHF radio was turned on as indicated by power light and backlight illuminating channel 16 with volume turned up at the navigation station.

19. Two additional handheld VHF radios were on board Celestial but not turned on during the incident until Celestial sighted the red flare. The navigator’s handheld radio was then turned on and used to contact Ichi Ban.

20. During the incident, Celestial’s crew were fatigued.

21. The Celestial navigator was seated at the navigation station for approximately 97% of the race time.

22. During the incident, Celestial’s engine and water maker were both turned on, which created significant noise below deck.

23. Celestial did not hear any attempts to contact her on VHF during the incident.

24. At other times in the race, Celestial heard Ichi Ban and other marine traffic using her installed VHF radio.

25. The distance between Ichi Ban and Celestial did not significantly change throughout the incident duration.

26. Twelve other PLBs were accidentally activated during the race, and in each case the boat responded to the Race Committee within 25 minutes (average response time is 15 minutes).

27. At all times Ichi Ban continued to race the boat and did not alter course as a result of the incident, however Ichi Ban did prepare and deploy two flares which temporarily affected her performance.

[Wotname]

From the protest committee's findings.

16. Celestial’s installed VHF radio was located on the port bulkhead near the mast, with a repeated to the navigation station. The radio was new in 2021.
17. On the morning of the race start, the navigator tested the installed VHF radio and found it to be working satisfactorily.
18. At all times during the incident, the VHF radio was turned on as indicated by power light and backlight illuminating channel 16 with volume turned up at the navigation station.

......

22. During the incident, Celestial’s engine and water maker were both turned on, which created significant noise below deck.
23. Celestial did not hear any attempts to contact her on VHF during the incident.
24. At other times in the race, Celestial heard Ichi Ban and other marine traffic using her installed VHF radio.

Full report here https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2...for-celestial/

EDIT - X posted with Montanan

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Montanan

...darn pesky VHF radios... just when the engine throttles up and forward gear is engaged to power the vessel's propeller(s) for high-speed propulsion during a major sailing race.

Same first thought, Montanan! What the h*ll was the engine doing on? But of course, with today's electronics, they must've been charging their batteries...

And a watermaker? Also interesting. They must've done the calculation and figured out less weight to make water underway rather than carry enough for 8 crew for a week...

What a mess. Navigator was below, at the Nav Station, yet still couldn't hear the VHF transmissions.

It really sucks, too, that the win will be by protest. Even the Owner-Skipper of Ichi Ban is not happy about it.

Has Gun Runner finished yet?

LW77

[Ozbullwinkle]

Littlewing77....They would have been running the engine to charge the batteries.

The Navigator was not at the Nav station during the incident, he was on deck with a handheld VHF turned off.

Gun Runner retired yesterday due to time constraints have covered just over half the distance at the time. The last remaining vessel in the fleet crossed the finish line earlier this morning.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Well Geez, those darn pesky VHF radios do have that propensity to automatically turn down their speaker volume or even off just when the engine throttles noisely up and the forward gear is engaged to power the vessels propeller(s) for high-speed propulsion during a major sailing race. Erhhh, correction, a motor-sailing race.

Most PLBs today can provide rescuers with GPS-provided coordinates to pinpoint your location even more precisely. It would seem that the authorities would soon realize that the PLB is moving steadily along a track towards Hobart and thus realize it was likely a false activation given that the vessel would presumably activate its EPRIB if it was in distress.

Many of these large racing machines have canting keels and hydraulic winches, requiring a substantial hydraulic power system to be constantly run.

[Wotname]

One upshot of this debacle will be - "Hey, can anyone hear the VHF"

From further random internet reading, it seems (apparently) all other 12 PLB activations were 406 units.

Ozbullwinkle is on the money about this needing an in-depth analysis!