Abandon Ship! The Rescue of the Crew of Wolfhound

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

...Lets leave the genetics out of the debate.

Its not genetics it is culture.

Cultural differences are a key driver in the differences one finds in decision making.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...w=1366&bih=627

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Boatie, didn't Clive Cussler base Pitt on your exploits?
You can see why the confusion occurred:

"Dirk is an adventurer that seizes the opportunity to save the day. Through action filled story lines, Pitt is portrayed as a man who is in love with the sea and does not fear pushing the envelope."

"Cussler describes him as tall, 6 ft 3 in (190.5 cm) with craggy looks, dark wavy hair, and possessing a rangy build."

"Pitt has a commanding presence which, combined with a quick, sly wit, often infuriates those opposed to him."

PS Love your new user title .

ROFLMAO.....

[HappyMdRSailor]

I think you all have been duped....

I took the liberty to enlarge Boatman's avatar and discovered something quite disturbing....

Action Hero my butt....

I think the evidence clearly speaks for itself...

[boatman61]

Ahhaaaahahhaahhhhaa....
Yup... you got me.. that's my 'incognito' image... but after a nip into the engine room I transform into this... phone boxes are so old hat...

[HappyMdRSailor]

I guess the transformation in the engine room and bilge water explains the oily sheen...

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

I think you all have been duped....

I took the liberty to enlarge Boatman's avatar and discovered something quite disturbing....

Action Hero my butt....

I think the evidence clearly speaks for itself...

NICE!!!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

I guess the transformation in the engine room and bilge water explains the oily sheen...

Buga this..... I'm going for a smoke....

[David_Old_Jersey]

As said already, the events could have been prevented by some more thought and preparation (especially for the "what ifs") - when ashore.

Be that as it may, Skipper's call to abandon ship and they all got home alive so not a complete disaster .

Whilst no experiance of the area concerned, if Mr Google and advice ashore had come up with even half the comments on this thread about the wisdom of making the voyage at that time of year I would likely not have gone - or have put Phil onboard as skipper whilst I manned my keyboard on CF, warm and dry............and ashore .

One thing that does seem curious is the shredded foresail and repeated knockdowns - on 50 foot of boat that suggests to me that different tactics were required, and likely a bit less sail up. or none at all - even at the price of going nowhere . No hot food or drinks would really suck and even if the boat not set up traditional style down below for the 100 year storm with seaberths, no wide open lounging spaces and handholds every 2 feet then at 50 foot am surprised they felt safer on deck ......but perhaps that something to do with repeated knockdowns......

Although not there , my take is that the boat and circumstances were not unsafe - just well into the zone of very uncomfortable and very unpleasant.......but is that really to be unexpected onboard a boat (deep water or coastal), at least now and again?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Buga this..... I'm going for a smoke....

So... how do the Guardia Civil feel a bout you wandering around here with your your loaded cigarette

[jmcdboater]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We use an ipad all the time for primary navigation, along with a laptop with Maxsea, paper charts and a compass. Always three times redundancy even including the communications systems, including three vhf radios, SSB, EPIRB, and SAT phone if making a crossing. Notice how I didn't include cellphone on the list.

We would never intensionally put ourselves in the same conditions as the crew of the ill fated Swan. That said and it being easy to second guess a bad situation, if the crew was experienced, why didn't they heave to and wait for improving weather? It's not like they were taking on water. Sounds like they were more uncomfortable than anything else.

Kenomac..... Absolutely, unequivocally agree with you. We've heard..'the crew was experienced'..... An experienced crew would not have gotten into this mess without backups, nor react the way they did..... I have a question,though, and this really shows that I am not an experienced crew member......lol....how do you navigate with an IPad?

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by jmcdboater

...how do you navigate with an IPad?

You need an iPad with GPS capacity (or an external GPS compatible with the iPad) and a navigational app with maps like Navionics.

The maps for the Aegean are as good or better than we have on our Raymarine charplotter, at a fraction of the price and a fraction of the power draw .

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Pete7

So... how do the Guardia Civil feel a bout you wandering around here with your your loaded cigarette

ROFLMAO....
Awesome..

[jmcdboater]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

You need an iPad with GPS capacity (or an external GPS compatible with the iPad) and a navigational app with maps like Navionics.

The maps for the Aegean are as good or better than we have on our Raymarine charplotter, at a fraction of the price and a fraction of the power draw .

Seaworthy Lass,
Thanks a bunch, wow, technology, huh??! Sure changes the world and our lives with it , appreciate your reply.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Whilst no experiance of the area concerned, if Mr Google and advice ashore had come up with even half the comments on this thread about the wisdom of making the voyage at that time of year I would likely not have gone - or have put Phil onboard as skipper whilst I manned my keyboard on CF, warm and dry............and ashore .

Damn... and I thought you liked me...

[carstenb]

Found her - still afloat, mast up bobbing along without a care in the world.

According to AMVER the winds were fifty knots, the seas were 20ft and the visibility was almost nil. The EPIRB was active, but unregistered. It took a brave crew in pitch dark early in the morning in a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules to find the yacht. Back in the control room, no-one was dozing.

After a gruelling six hours of rescuers' time, two merchant vessels who had been diverted from their courses reached the distressed sailing boat and took the four crew on board in appalling conditions. But the crew were only frightened - their yacht was the safest place they could have been that night.

Because the storm-battered Irish yacht which prompted the US Coast Guard rescue mission south of Bermuda in February did not sink in the rough seas which caused its crew to abandon the vessel.

The 48ft yacht Wolfhound — which was assumed to have sunk — adrift approximately 800 nautical miles south east of Bermuda, according to Bernews. We were not allowed to reproduce the photo of the yacht, but you can see it by clicking here.

'The 48–foot Swan class sloop is still very much afloat, mast and rigging more or less intact with mainsail still bent on to her boom and floating along in much more benign conditions than when previously photographed by her abandoning crew,' reported 'Afloat.'

Four Irish yachtsmen were rescued from the vessel by cargo ship after an international rescue mission involving the US Coast Guard on February 2, some 70–miles north of Bermuda.

The yacht suffered had both power and engine failures amid stormy conditions off the northeastern United States. But the boat was sound, and the mast hasn't even today come down. Little did they realise it, but they could have stayed onboard and sailed their boat to safety when the storm was over.

The sailors, at the time, were described as 'experienced' sailors and members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club, but it is probable that their experience was in controlled racing situations. Experienced cruising sailors would have known that, if the boat is sound, the safest place to be is onboard. The boat was new, recently purchased, when the four lawyers and businessmen set off from Connecticut in the US heading for Bermuda and then Antigua.

But about 400 miles off the Delaware coast the storm struck and the boat 'lost battery power and suffered mechanical failure' as weather conditions worsened.

A Bermuda coastguard spokesman said the yacht suffered two 'knock-downs' so they put out a distress call. The rescued yachtsmen reported at the time that the boat had sunk soon after their rescue. Their EPIRB had not been registered, making their rescue more difficult, according to the AMVER report of the incident.

by Sail-World Cruising Round-up