Guest Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/566 ... iwi-sailor How come people are only just starting to worry now? "The Belfast Telegraph says the yacht Golden Eagle - believed to be a 10-metre long sloop - has not been heard from since it left on August 21. " Who sets out on a trans-ocean voyage with the plan to be to leave, and then just show up 4 weeks later somewhere else? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Me That's 2 of us. Well at least - that admit to doing that. Must be an older-person problem we have. He he. ooops. Maybe they shouldn't have do it. By the way - if anyone knows where I am - where I supposed to be going or when Im 'comming' or going - for that matter - please let me know so I can find myself. Ho - ho, definately a 'fossile's' memory problem, hey. james Link to post Share on other sites
tuffyluffy 76 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 A week late on a passage like that isnt a major is it? Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Pope 243 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Me also. Thats the problem with modern communications, everyone wants instant info, there are a myriad of reasons as to why they havn't arrived yet. One being their age, they are from a time when although arriving was important, but just when they arrived, wasn't so important. Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Well it depends on what arrangements were made and whether the crew are known to be reliable communicators or a bit relaxed. But if they are over a week overdue an estimated arrival date (which had some contingency in it) and they are known to have been sailing in a hurricane zone and they are both elderly and have not made contact with any ships to pass a message, then maybe the family are right to be concerned. Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hey Squid that delivery from Tahiti took a few extra weeks due to unforeseen circumstances, but to be fair you had (& used) a sat phone didn't you? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Had SSB, there was an "owner's rep" on board, he drove me nuts calling Opua every ten minutes. Generally if there is a radio nut on board I'm happy to leave it to them. If not I'll take a satphone, normally swap a couple of txt's with my beloved on those long night watches. If she's with me there's really no one else to talk to , is there? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 What's the accepted standard practice for comms on, say, an ocean passage? Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 yeah so you made sure you could talk to someone who was interested in your welfare. Cool, but surely this boat had people on board who had people wanting to know they're ok? In this modern age with comms being so easy why wouldn't you? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 C29, until recently SSB was the norm, but Satphones are now better and cheaper. If you are not racing the frequency of the communication is up to the skipper, my preference is nil, doing deliveries I'll go with the owners instructions, if my wife is at home I like to talk to her, but satphone is still a bit steep so we would swap txt messages. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Well then I don't think your answer of "me" was really the case then. The article says the last time that anything was heard from the boat was August 21st when they left Bermuda. If they had been txting their wife or someone else every day or two, that would count as them having been heard from. Link to post Share on other sites
rigger 47 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Well then I don't think your answer of "me" was really the case then. The article says the last time that anythign was heard from the boat was August 21st when they left Bermuda. If they had been txting their wife or someone else every day or two, that would count as them having been heard from. But if Squid had his wife with him on the boat he would most likely not be calling / texting anyone. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Correct, I have many times in the past simply left, not communicated with anyone, then arrived. I prefer it that way. I don't see a problem with it. I carried an epirb, if it went off and was heard great, otherwise I was probably dead. Nowadays I would probably have satphone as well, just coz I can, but I'm not a fan a regular scheduled check ins, they lead to way too many false alarms and expensive searches just coz the batteries went flat. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Fair enough. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 These two guys could very easily sail into port tomorrow with a jury rigged mast, or they are dead. What's the problem? Link to post Share on other sites
Bimini Babe 0 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Personally I feel if you are capable of comms, then why not check in with Opua once a day, or even every few days? Cutting yourselves off completely is akin to driving without a seatbelt. If it's there, and it makes things safer, why not use it? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I don't know enough about it to know if there is a problem... but if there is a problem, it's that when people go missing people search for them, and that eats a up a lot of time and money. Whether people agree with the obligation or not (which is a separate issue) countries have areas of the world's oceans where they have an obligation to spend time and money in S&R. IF (and it is an if, at least based on how much I know) these guys have not communicated with anyone at all, then if they are okay and just running late, say due to having had to jury rig or something, then if they had communicated at some point with someone, then people wouldn't be looking for them. As you note, it's not hard today to file a trip report, check in by radio/sat phone at least once a week (for argument's sake)... Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 my guess is that there are people worries about them and they have been worried for more than just a day or two - it's only reached the news as it wasn't "newsworthy" until now. Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I've sailed with offshore crews who adopt widely varying aproaches. One French crew were very relaxed (especially considering they had two young kids aboard); we didn't check in with anyone at the start or finish - although having said that we were all emailing our loved ones daily updates so no doubt we would have communicated any problems had they arisen. By contrast, an American crew I sailed with took the opposite extreme and had a designated contact ashore in the US. We let this person know when we left and arrived, with the odd txt update during the week long passage. And If we had encountered any dramas the plan was to make one phone call to our shore contact would would ensure the necessary response kicked in - anything from serious boat trouble to medical issues or even pirate attack etc. They had thought through every scenario and it just gave them peace of mind to know they had this backup option in place, in addition to the normal procedure of calling for help via radio. Whatever floats your boat, really. Link to post Share on other sites
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