Jordan Rescued

[cam 0]

Sounds like a f*ck up to me.

 

Seem to remember Starlight Express crosing half the Pacific dragging a drouge because of a broken rudder?

because one sailing vessel of a certain type in certain conditions with a certain rudder problem can be made to self steer to a certain destination, then of course it naturally follows (to brucey) that all sailing vessels on earth that ever lose their rudder (or parts of it) can be made to do the same in their particular conditions and circumstances.

 

did I miss something here?

what you are missing brucey is not really for us to say, but my guess is, it's probably not something here

[Grinna 2]

Holey Moley!! I just caught up with this story after doing the Fiji-Opua run on a Peterson 46.

 

Thankfully we had nothing like the issues that Jordan had.

 

For the armchair quarterbacks:

You weren't there
"I woulda done this or that" don't mean spit because you weren't there
While the ideal of delivery the boat in one piece wasn't achieved at least all hands are safe and sound
Boats can be replaced, people can't

 

Well done Jordan! We had pretty benign weather conditions compared to what you're describing and only a couple of minor issues.

 

All the same .... you're not stepping on board my boat man!

[Guest]

did I miss something here?

 

Did 3 or four guys get off a perfectly good boat into a liferaft? Didnt step up into it and all because the rudder broke.

 

Sounds like a f*ck up to me.

 

Seem to remember Starlight Express crosing half the Pacific dragging a drouge because of a broken rudder?

 

Thanks you just made it harder and or more expensive for us all to get offshore insurance.

and i can garuntee they didnt have 4-6m swell and 30-40kts on the nose the whole way and they werent 700nm north of nz in hurricane season were they. since when is a yacht without a rudder a perfectly good one? next time i go offshore can you please come mate seeing as you obviously know everything and have been in these situations.

 

thanks you just lowered NZs average IQ by 3%

[wheels 543]

Heeyyy, not fair Brucey. My IQ is low enough already. I can't afford to have it drop another 3%.

[Clipper 343]

Still waiting on the pics, plus I had a chat with Jordan and his dad on the weekend and was able to ask a lot of questions, stand by for a write up.

 

Still standing by....

[Guest]

I know, it has to get an ok from the owner (who I am sure is still in discussion with the insurer).

 

 

Hey Jordan - tell them to pull finger.

[Guest]

sorry guys. our computer is in the shop and it will be for a while and i dont have squids report or any photos on this one. i ill do it as soon as we getthe computer back! but in good news, 1st on handicap in the squaddy 2 handed race on saturday

[Fogg 427]

log on to a mate's and read it! or someone else print a copy of for him, in fact don't you and squid live down the road from each other?!

[Guest]

Copied from latitude.

 

n the August 23 Oregonian, there was an article picked up from the New York Times News Service concerning the overuse of electronic devices — such as cell phones and GPS messaging devices — to call for help in National Parks. The examples included, "People with cell phones call rangers from mountaintops to request refreshments or a guide; in Jackson Hole, Wyo., one lost hiker even asked for hot chocolate." In the Grand Canyon, someone pressed the emergency button on their satellite location device, and when rangers arrived, the hikers complained that their water supply "tasted salty." They couldn't make this stuff up.

 

There is no question that electronic devices have saved many lives. Isis, our boat, has an HF radio, an AIS receiver, an EPIRB and three VHF radios — and I plan to get a satphone before we continue across the Indian Ocean. But the point of the Times article was summed up by the spokesperson from Grand Teton when she said, "Because of having that electronic device, people have an expectation that they can do something stupid and be rescued." This statement could apply to our dear Abby Sunderland, and perhaps others who go to sea.

 

The silly examples used in the Times article are not exactly like being dismasted between Beveridge Reef and Niue, as Latitude reported happening to the Praags aboard their Westsail 32 Tar Baby in June. And while I'm not for a minute suggesting that sailing to Oz is a stupid thing to do, when Mr. Pragg set off their EPIRB, he should have known that commercial carriers and fishing vessels rarely tow yachts to destinations of their choice. More importantly, before setting off the EPIRB and abandoning their vessel, I think they could and should have waited a few days for the weather to settle to see if they could fashion some sort of jury rig. After all, both Niue and Tonga were only a short distance away from their position. And if the jury rig didn't work, they could have called for help then.

 

I don't doubt that there can be heavy weather in the South Pacific Convergence Zone during cruising season. We got hammered one night with 55-knot winds going south from Niuatoputapu to Vava'u, Tonga. And this was when there was supposedly a weather window.

 

I wonder — and this is only speculation — if, following the failure of Tar Baby's windvane and the loss of her mast, Mrs. Praag, not being an experienced sailor, insisted that Mr. Praag call for help, and the only device he had for doing that was the EPIRB. And once the ship arrived, they couldn't resist getting on a larger vessel. If my suspicion is true, I'm not going to second-guess decision making that might be based on marital harmony. But I will take issue with simply abandoning the boat as opposed to scuttling her. They left an unlit menace for those yachts following in their wake. I'd sure hate to run into it.

 

While I was at a dock in Melbourne, an Aussie came aboard Isis, and we talked about boats. He told me the unusual story of how his Contessa 32 got to Australia. A woman had sailed her there singlehanded from South Africa. But on the way from Cape Town, she was rolled and dismasted in the same area as Abby Sunderland when the same thing happened to her. Since the woman didn't have an EPIRB, she had no choice but to come up with a jury rig. It took her an additional 40 days to reach Fremantle, but it certainly proves what can be done.

 

John Colby

Iris, Hylas 42

Portland, OR

[Guest Brucey]

So when do we get the report on this?

 

I an interested to hear he story which lead to abandoning the boat. I wonder if the insurance company was contacted and given the option of sending a tow before abandonment?

 

Interested!

[Guest Brucey]

Hey Jordan, if there is a reason you dont want to talk about this you should say so?

 

I just feel that there is probably some worthwile information you can share with us all about your experience, and maybe someone else will have had an experience which can also shed valuable insite as to possible solutions to the challenge you encountered.

 

We all have a vested interest in sharing information and experiences so as many as possible of our offshore voyages end succesfully, as we all bear the shared costs on our insurance for failures. I know that over the years there have been hundreds of boats, travelled hundreds of thousands of miles using emergency steering.

 

Stuff like:

What happened?

Was the boat taking on water?

What steering systems did you try?

Did you have a drouge on board?

Was there discussion with people ashore about solutions or assistance during the emergency?

How many crew?

What was the crews background?

How much rum did you have on board to sustain life?

 

I for one would be most interested, and am suprised a prolific poster like you is so quiet.

 

Maybe someone who has had a similar unfortunite experience could post their experience and start a worthwhile generic "emergency steering" discussion?

[Guest]

sorry brucey, the computer has been at the shop for the past month and im using my brothers right now so i dont have squids report or any of the photos on here. promise i will put them on here on monday when i get home.

yes, we had a drogue, parachute anchor etc. the boat could knot have been set up any better and im sure james (proasailor) can vouch for that as he was also onboard. the owner was an old salt, knot really a yachtie but had done a half circumnavigation on a 72fter. my dad was the most experienced onboard with a fair few thousand ocean miles. hes also a boatbuilder, fireman mechanic etc and a very hands on man. we tried everything from different sails to towing chains and warp. but punching into 30kts and 6m swells wasnt helping either. we had enough deisel to get back to fiji (400 ish nm) but we couldnt steer the thing. the spinnaker pole and floor board theory is a load of sh*t. details on that to come later with the pictures. the boat was stocked with food and water that could have easily lasted us 5-6 weeks. we had constant contact with wellington via sat phone and they said any chance of a tow was non existant. ill do the full monty on monday with squids report and pictures

[Guest]

heres a sneak preview ladies. some of the pictures have writing on them cause the ship captain had to do it to show the insurance company

[Guest]

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[Guest]

pictures of our jury rudder are on the camera which is currently f**ked so they will hopefully come soon

[Guest]

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[Guest]

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[cam 0]

glad you didnt have to rely on that liferaft for any reason jh.

That's a fairly sobering image of black sea where the floor should be.

[wheels 543]

Having had experience myself........at taking pictures of sea that is far bigger than what the camera seems to show, someone needs to invent a Camera that shows the true size of the waves.

In fact I can think of several other false representations taken by camera.

I always seem to look much bigger than I really am.

A McDonalds Burger always looks far bigger, healthier, fresher and very much more appertizing in the Pic.

and Jordan looks like a fine young man

[Guest Brucey]

glad you didnt have to rely on that liferaft for any reason jh.

That's a fairly sobering image of black sea where the floor should be.

 

Some comment please for our future trips,

 

Was the raft issue a faulty raft (Zodiac?) or did the floor get damaged somehow?

Assuming that loosing the boat was an undesirable outcome, what equiptment or preperation can you recomend is carried or practiced by future crews to enable steerage?

Did you try steering using the drouge on a briddle off the stern?

Did you consider running back to Tonga or even more down wind to F1J1?

 

Any other suggestions? Maybe the others may have comments and suggestions?