Sailor Lost Overboard

[Battleship 100]

Pretty sobering. This can happen to such experienced guys.

 

Sad to hear about Yakka also. He was certainly a colourful character.

[Beccara 25]

Sounds like they are abandoning ship

 

"A container ship has reached the stricken Platino yacht and its crew are now being transferred aboard the ship."

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11656295

[Jon 360]

http://www.brinwilsonboats.co.nz/gallery/restoration/platino/platino.html

[erice 732]

rig looks to be gone now

 

[Island Time 1,239]

Rig went last night.

 

Remaining crew rescued from stricken yacht
14 June 2016 - 3.10pm
Two men and a woman have been rescued from their battered yacht, Platino, around 550 kilometres north of New Zealand by the crew of the container ship Southern Lily.

A rescue line was used to help get the trio safely on board around 3pm.

Meanwhile, an RNZAF P3 Orion resumed searching today for a fellow crewman, aged 63, lost overboard after the yacht sustained damage to its rigging yesterday morning. The aircraft subsequently took position above the two vessels later this morning, to provide support and communications during the rescue of the three crew from the Platino.

The Orion returned to the search for the missing man around 3pm, once the trio were safely on-board the Southern Lily.

The body of another man who died in the incident remains on board the abandoned yacht, as it could not be safely transferred in the difficult conditions with three metre swells. An EPIRB beacon has been activated on the yacht to aid in tracking its location.

The yacht was abandoned after its condition deteriorated overnight as it lost steering and began taking on water.

The Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) is coordinating the rescue operation and search for the missing man.

RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator John Dickson praised the master and crew of the Southern Lily for what was a difficult operation.

“It was not easy to get the three crew members from the yacht to the much larger ship in those sea conditions – they’ve done a tremendous job.

“We are obviously disappointed that it was not safe to transfer the body of the deceased crew member, but safety must come first. We will keep track of the position of the yacht.

“The search for the missing person has now resumed and will continue until around nightfall when the aircraft must return to New Zealand.”

The Southern Lily is now resuming its voyage to Auckland - this will take about two days..

[ex TL systems 63]

Just thinking aloud and not directly about or trying to guess what may or may not have happened here, but thinking how easy someone could have gone over on any of the delivery trips I have done, and how we possibly could have minimised risk.    

Typically at night and often during the day there is

one guy on watch , harness and lifejacket on,and one or more below, resting or sleeping and not harnessed etc but knowing it will take a few minutes to get ready to swap with the guy on watch.  We always talk about no one outside the cockpit without a harness etc.  But.

Something major happens on deck requiring off watch crew right away. 

   I know we should all take the few minutes to get harnessed correctly but in reality that will not always happen and I would/may possibly get on deck without a tether because someone is yelling/ something is wrong or breaking, and the harness takes a while to get on. 

  Maybe as an emergency measure a 2 metre or so piece of line or webbing with a carabiner or tether hook attached that is hanging at the cabin exit and that can be worn either bowlined or choked around the waist would be quick enough to don that it would be put in place before going out to sort the problem.

 

  Either that or you allways  wear your harness even sleeping but in good conditions that is not likely to happen as we can all tend to get complacent and they tend to get uncomfortable.

 

Now I know that this is not the best solution but it is better than rushing on deck with nothing and even 12 or 14mm yachtbraid bowlined around my waist and clipped to something solid is going to make it a lot harder for me to go over.  Even a piece of seatbelt webbing with the buckle would only take a few seconds to clip around your waist with the tether attached. 

 

Or do we think the normal harness is easy/quick enough to don? .

[Black Panther 1,591]

Interesting thought. I always figured in  that situation I am acutely aware of not being attached and thus way less likely to go over.

[Island Time 1,239]

Very few things will sink a boat in 10 secs, and that, in those 10 secs you could do anything about. Put on your harness! The first rule of emergency assistance is not to become a casualty yourself.

[ex TL systems 63]

true I think I was thinking that when I went to push away from my mooring pole, never thought  I would be in the water with a broken hand 2 seconds later BP , plus you realize that if the boat lays over or if you get hit by enough solid water you may not be able to hold on 

[Island Time 1,239]

I reckon I can put on my harness - not wet weather gear, just a harness, in 10 sec or less. It isnt much.

[ScottiE 174]

Have seen a guy hold on through a kite Chinese. He was standing trimming the kite and wound up clinging to the outside of a staunchion. Boat was ranging between 12 an 16 kts

 

I was on the winch and wound up straddling a staunchion - still inside. Pulled him back over - very sobering. 10 on deck, no one in harnesses and it was closing on dusk in a good seaway (hence the chinese). Reckon if he had gone over he would have kept himself afloat long enough for us to pick him up. Not so sure about myself at the time . . .

[wheels 543]

I would imagine that whatever collected and killed Nick likely either did the same with the guy that has gone overboard, or if not killed, could have likely been unconscious before hitting the water.

[Rangi1 51]

The reports (whether true or not) have said that the missing man was washed off the bow. It sounds like one of those incidents that escalates really really quickly. Truly tragic and my heart goes out to the families of the dead and to those now on the container ship. I always wear my harness outside the cabin and clip on if leaving the cockpit when offshore - I am a bit more laisse faire coastal sailing though. 

[erice 732]

four-metre waves and 150-km/h-plus winds struck it while bound for Fiji on Monday morning

 

a 14-hour detour from the Southern Lily, through high seas, before it was able to reach the Platino.

 

Ship captain Shashi Prakash said it was a difficult rescue mission in 3m swells and high winds.

 

"They were extremely happy when they boarded, they thanked all the crew, we checked their health and offered them food and a shower, then they talked with the Orion," Prakash said.

 

 

3 crew off now, body on board with 48hr? epirb, taking on water

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/81078423/homecoming-for-three-grief-for-families-of-two-other-yachties

[raz88 96]

150kph winds are a lot more than what was reported originally. The damage makes a lot more sense if conditions were that bad.

[Island Time 1,239]

Indeed. A whole lot more understandable than 40 knots. It will be interesting to read the accident report in due course.

Sad event.

Hopefully we can all learn something from it.

[erice 732]

tail winds too

 

bit hard to reef

[smithy09 50]

Wow! I can't believe this! I was only talking to Nick on Thursday last week about doing some work on the Marshall. He was a big man. It must have been some impact to kill him. Very sad. I hope they recover the boat and his body..

[erice 732]

 

 

Auckland City District Manager Operations Support Inspector Vaughn Graham said a maritime officer was on board a tug boat which left Whangarei late last night to recover the body.

"We are using coordinates from an emergency beacon on the yacht which will monitor the location of Platino. It could take us two to three days to reach the yacht," says Inspector Graham.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/81078423/homecoming-for-three-grief-for-families-of-two-other-yachties

[Fish 0]

One of the sad things about these events is the uninformed and inane chatter on the internet that follows in the period of time where no details are known of what actually happened.