New Owner's Cat Capsizes: Stable, Though Upside Down; All Crew Survive

[CastOff]

From 'Lectronic Latitude:

Catamaran Flips off Ft. Bragg, Crew Rescued

July 7, 2010 – Mendocino Coast, California

Bay Area sailor Kristy Lugert and her two male crewmen were rescued by US Coast Guard resources Saturday, after their 32-ft catamaran Catalyst capsized in extreme conditions, roughly 20 miles west of Fort Bragg.

To read the rest of the story, go to:

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/...yid=449#Story4

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If someone knows any of the 3 people aboard I'd like to hear their tale told here

How hard was the boat being driven in the conditions?

Who was on the helm, with how much experience?

Why the heck did they leave a safe harbor/Port when the Marine Forecast was for a Gale off shore?

Why did no one have a life jacket on in those conditions?

Why would someone take a 'new to them' boat offshore in such conditions right out of the gate?

Did lack of familiarization with the way the vessel handled the Seas have any bearing on the capsize?

What brand cat was this, and how was it loaded for the trip fuel/stores wise?

Not the ideal story to read when shopping for a cat after hearing all of those ' a monohull does'nt float threads'. Guess i'd too rather be floating upside down, but actually I'd rather be sailing right side up

[Drew13440]

And here's the video...

YouTube - BoatUS Rental EPIRB - Saves 3

#!

[CastOff]

Thanks for the video to go with the story. I think it's very helpful for other sailors to hear the firsthand accounts when things go wrong at Sea. Hope the folks recuperate quickly and are able to give some answers to the questions.

Laugh all you want, but I can't help thinking if i buy a cat that I'll end up painting 'OVER HERE' in Life Boat Orange on the underside of the deck,LOL!

[Patrick S]

I think it was a new to them cat. I read about it on zerotocruising.com which is a blog. I know it was a PDQ. Maybe a 32, but I believe theres a little information there. (they blogged about it a day or two ago)

[CastOff]

It would be good to get exact particulars; which is my interest in hearing a firsthand account from one of those aboard. I noticed some are claiming it's one type others another type cat. I was interested in a light displacement cat, but think the capsized cat was/is heavier, so it's given me something to reconsider.

Any knowledge of a salvage attempt? Someone is going to score themselves a hull and rigging. Obviously the interior is toast being submerged in saltwater, but 'glass is forever...

[Patrick S]

Oops, I'm mistaken. Calypso was a pdq 32 that flipped with what looked to be the same rescue video. Sorry. As for that, more should surface soon.

[Pelagic]

Great job by the Coast Gaurd

[gwmort]

I read in another article they activated the ERIPB sometime before flipping, so things must have been going south beforehand.

[maxingout]

Awesome recovery by the Coast Guard. They are real heroes.

[Kashmir cat]

On December 15, 2006, a brand new Voyage 44 washed up on an Oregon beach upside down with all crew lost. The delivery captain left California with a 96 hour forecast of storm force winds along the Oregon Coast. Go figure.

[CastOff]

I'll never understand ANY Captain of a private vessel who leaves a Port of Safety with Storm(s) forecast prior to leaving the safe harbor!! Common sense dictates no Prudent mariner ever leaves Port when a Storm is forecast.

[scotte]

It wasn't a brand new cat... New to the owners, it appears, but not new. Possibly a PDQ 32 based on what I've read, and jives with previous replies.

Does it matter that it was a cat? Not really:

Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

In other words - the Northern California coast can be brutal. Whether you have one hull, or two, or three probably shouldn't be your primary factor in determining if it's safe out there or not. Instead, every sailor needs to look at the forecast weather conditions, bouy observations, and all other available data.

[Tropic Cat]

Of course you're right about weather. If I had the opportunity to ask that delivery crew just one question, I would ask about their decision to leave harbor in gale force winds, 20 ft seas and deteriorating conditions..

[Factor]

And apparently found, righted and recovered.

[fishwife]

From Lectronic Latitude

Kristy is still recovering from her life-theatening ordeal, but has concented to tell us the whole story soon, which we'll publish in an upcoming edition of Latitude 38. She tells us that despite the severe conditions, the boat was completely in control — with warps trailing behind to keep her from surfing — when Catalyst was hit by a rogue wave, which flipped her. No doubt there are lessons we can all learn from her horrific experience. As posted earlier, she and two male crewmen were rescued July 3 by US Coast Guard resources 20 miles west of Ft. Bragg, while seas were 20 feet and winds were gusting into the 40s.