Atlantic Delivery

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

Pshaw!!!

I'll bet you boaty's crewmate had a banana on the boat missed by the presail inspection !!!

Or worse: a female he met carousing sightseeing in Ft Lauderdale.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

St. Christopher metals...Sailors and their superstitions! One would have thought in this day and age they would be behind us.

I can understand Anne, she's been sailing for a long time and self sufficiently was a big deal back then. You didn't have this modern sense of safety or the concept that someone would be out looking if you screwed up, you were on your own period.

I also understand what Atol is organizing and because I do not have a clue what is happening with Boaty (nor does anyone else here) I really don't have a comment other than an 80 mile tow is gotta be real expensive unless someone is doing it strictly as a favor. Should be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

part of my reasoning is that in the current conditions he is going to need a tow anyway,as there are strong tidal currents between the islands.
faster than he can sail (1.5KT)!,couple that with the s-se flowing azores current(0.5kt)

in terms of distance of tow i am hoping he can get within 30 miles,by the time things are organised,but his progress is not good,he managed to sail 27 miles in the last 26 hours,but only got 12 miles closer to horta over that period,pushed away by the easterly winds,and south bound current.

as he gets closer to the islands with no wind he may become a plaything for neptunes currents,and have to take a tow from a passing vessel,that is if he is able to call one .

i know phil and he probably wouldnt activate his epirb untill he can see the breakers!

[robert sailor]

I remember getting ready to sail from Tonga to NZ and there was a bunch of us all wanting to leave around the same time. We were getting ready to pull the hook and a dink came by with a few of our friends suggesting we stay another day because it was "Friday". Well another superstition of course and when we left people were calling us on the VHF saying they were really concerned etc. Even in this day and age the human experience is fraught with delusional concepts and beliefs.

[robert sailor]

Atol...I'm not judging your decision, not in the least bit, I was simply understanding of Anne's comments. I'm sure you know your friend and the situation better than most.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Here's what I've found helpful:


On the question of whether Boaty had weather data, even if he did, he wouldn't have it now. I am willing to say he can tell wot's wot today, but how could he know about a nasty gale a few days out? I'd think he is just hoping to get the boat to a repair facility (cat house?) asap without further expense to the owner; particularly an open ocean tow charge.

However, if the scenario were dangerous, say a patch on a holed area as was suggested, surely he would have asked for help rather than risk the boat and lives. Nah, he's just trying to stay the course. Brit sailors wrote the book on tough. I try to humour them when I can.

Or a stack!

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Or worse: a female he met carousing sightseeing in Ft Lauderdale.

He probably wouldn't need the cat house in Horta then...

Originally Posted by atoll

part of my reasoning is that in the current conditions he is going to need a tow anyway,as there are strong tidal currents between the islands.
faster than he can sail (1.5KT)!,couple that with the s-se flowing azores current(0.5kt)

in terms of distance of tow i am hoping he can get within 30 miles,by the time things are organised,but his progress is not good,he managed to sail 27 miles in the last 26 hours,but only got 12 miles closer to horta over that period,pushed away by the easterly winds,and south bound current.

as he gets closer to the islands with no wind he may become a plaything for neptunes currents,and have to take a tow from a passing vessel,that is if he is able to call one .

i know phil and he probably wouldnt activate his epirb untill he can see the breakers!

Absolutely correct decision.... He'll never make it without wind...

[ontherocks83]

Atoll I believe you made a great and difficult call!

Obviously no one knows what is going on but if you look at the facts that we have at hand then I believe your conclusion is spot on!!

-Boaty has made very little progress over the last several days
-A securite or pan pan was put out to let people know things had gone wrong but also weren't yet life threatening.
-As far as we know he has no means of comms left to say that he needs a tow.
-From what I can tell his only options left are to wait it out or light off the epirb and spot sos button.
-Assuming that the boat isn't sinking, their health is good, and they have food then if he hits the epirb they will rescue him, force him to abandon ship and loose his delivery and possible future deliveries.

-What atoll has done is give him a well timed safe tow option in favorable conditions. The weather is supposed to be calm a tow now would be ideal and timely. If he waits then a tow may turn dangerous in heavy seas.

The worst thing that atoll did was maybe and I highly even doubt this but possibly hurt boatmans pride. (Oh no that's horrible.) The best thing he possibly did was save boatman from having to wait another week out there in dead calm conditions and then finally have to put out a distress call in a storm when he gets hit with one.


Good call Atoll!!! I am sure in boatmans strange English ways he will thank you for looking out for him. The thank you might have some swears mixed in but i'm sure it will be out of love

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Tropic Cat

I'd be hoping someone would be checking my "spot" and realize something is amiss.

You certainly did the right thing and now it's the owner's call.

It was Boatman's choice to bring the Spot on board and notify the forum of that fact, so he has to accept the consequences. If he doesn't like what has transpired on this forum (i.e., support, well wishes, cheers, concern and possibly assistance), and there is always a chance he may not like it, that is his problem.

Go Boatman!

[IdoraKeeper]

Of course he will need a tow.....anything else is nonsense. Remember, the job is not done....get to port, fix the cat....finish the delivery.
I expect he will be quite busy once in port fixing problems. Likely will ignore all of us kibitzer types in favor Of getting to work. He might call Atoll though for a heart felt thanks.

[SaltyMonkey]

Jesu. Come on ladies and gentlemen. Whats with all this speculative analysis on what he should have brought or do, or the trembling drums of thunderous weather in the future if he doesn't?

Atoll just gave the owner AND phil an option. If Phil had radio, I'm sure he would have done the same.

Remember HE's out there making the judgement calls. YOU aren't. YOU don't know what the local conditions are like or have the right.

He's now only 78 miles from Horta.

Give him some credit. He's experienced, professional, and a great seaman.

[Jimmy Jazz]

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Of course he will need a tow.....anything else is nonsense. Remember, the job is not done....get to port, fix the cat....finish the delivery.
I expect he will be quite busy once in port fixing problems. Likely will ignore all of us kibitzer types in favor Of getting to work. He might call Atoll though for a heart felt thanks.

see, that's the part i don't get. He knows once he hits Horta he can get repairs done and restock, away he goes again. In his message sent he specifically requested NO assistance !

[SaltyMonkey]

Looking at the forecast for the area:

Today, the wind will pickup to 10-15 @ 1600 hours till Late Monday.
Late Monday-Tues 15-20
Tue 20-25
Thur 25-30

So my guess is he will be in on Monday, Early Tue if we leave him be.

[Jimmy Jazz]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Jesu. Come on ladies and gentlemen. Whats with all this speculative analysis on what he should have brought or do, or the trembling drums of thunderous weather in the future if he doesn't?

Atoll just gave the owner AND phil an option. If Phil had radio, I'm sure he would have done the same.

Remember HE's out there making the judgement calls. YOU aren't. YOU don't know what the local conditions are like or have the right.

He's now only 78 miles from Horta.

Give him some credit. He's experienced, professional, and a great seaman.

And that just about sums it up ]

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Of course he will need a tow.....anything else is nonsense. Remember, the job is not done....get to port, fix the cat....finish the delivery.
I expect he will be quite busy once in port fixing problems. Likely will ignore all of us kibitzer types in favor Of getting to work. He might call Atoll though for a heart felt thanks.

I think you're exactly right, and all this talk of hurting his pride, etc. is nonsense. There's absolutely no shame in getting a little help when a critical piece (or two or three...) of equipment aboard lets you down right when you need it most, especially when it's somebody else's boat and you didn't have the chance to spend months, personally setting it up exactly how you'd like beforehand. It can and will happen to us all, Boaty, Atoll, you, and I. We don't know exactly what caused Boaty's recent slow progress but I'm willing to bet that it's nothing he should feel embarrassed about, and with gales forecast next week, he'll be very happy to get a tow in to he can get the boat repaired and continue to complete his delivery. I don't see this as a big deal, just a little bump in the road, part of offshore sailing. No, critical things don't break and you don't need a tow into port every time, but every experienced sailor knows that it's always a distinct possibility and can happen to every single one of us through no fault of our own. Boaty and Atoll may be competitors, but they're also brothers in times of need, and in this case Atoll is doing the right thing in being proactive and I'm willing to bet that when Boaty is back on here, he'll tell us all just that.

[Fiveslide]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Jazz

see, that's the part i don't get. He knows once he hits Horta he can get repairs done and restock, away he goes again. In his message sent he specifically requested NO assistance !

People are not rushing 80 miles to tow him in. People aren't sending out search parties. They are arranging a tow for a vessel that is struggling to make forward progress. They are just preparing for when he will need that tow when he is much closer. He will need that tow unless conditions are absolutely perfect for sailing an injured vessel into Horta.

Without communication capabilities it would be a little tough for boatman to do what has been done for him.

Sent from my SCH-S738C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Prairie Chicken]

I appreciate the concerns about not becoming involved in someone else's business, but agree Atoll has made the right call. He seems to know the lay of the land, so to speak, of both the skipper and the territory. Alerting the owner was the right thing to do and the owner certainly has the right to make the call.

For me, I'm thankful for the calm conditions and hope boat and crew are safely in port before the weather deteriorates.

I keep wondering about fuel contamination as a possibility. That doesn't explain why the vessel isn't sailing though.

I view forums as a good source of information but had never considered them as a source of assistance. I'm pleased to see what Atoll has accomplished, and congratulate him.

I send well wishes for Boatie, his crew & vessel, and look forward to his lengthy explanation of events. At the very worst, if he is a bit ticked with Atoll, he'll hear all the arguments for and against the intervention on his behalf.