JK 28 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Some more details from Yachting Monthly: Three people have been rescued from a British yacht that has sunk off Sri Lanka in Force 11 winds. Skipper Keith Harding, 68, originally contacted Falmouth Coastguard to receive medical advice after he injured his arm. But the situation worsened and within an hour Baccus, a Sun Odyssey 45.2, had begun to sink and had lost steerage. Mr Harding from Kent and his crew, Colin Clarke from Cambridge and Sieste Hoff from Belgium, were rescued by the merchant vessel, Maersk Surabaya, which was en route to Malaysia, after Falmouth Coastguard informed its colleagues in Mumbai and Colombo. Baccus was abandoned. Falmouth watch manager, Marc Thomas, said satellite broadcasts and EPIRB alerts meant rescuers were able to get assistance to the yacht quickly. He said: 'Utilising the good relationships we have with both the Sri Lankan and Indian coastguard, it was possible to rescue all three of the crew of the Baccus.' Mr Harding began the Blue Water Rally in 2007 with his wife Susan, 63, (pictured above together in Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia) but both of them had to return to the UK at various stages because of illness. Mr Harding was successfully treated for pancreatic cancer in 2008/9, but Mrs Harding was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year She had to remain in the UK to receive treatment, but Mr Harding wanted to complete the circumnavigation. He did not continue his trip with the Blue Water Rally. With the loss of the yacht, that dream is over and their son, James Harding, described the loss of the yacht as 'like losing a member of the family'. Link to post Share on other sites
smithy09 50 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Strong mast!! Took a hammering. Had to laugh at the ship's crew. They were more interested in who was in the video... The boat looked OK though. I wonder what went wrong. (sinking and lost steerage??) Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 If it wasn't sinking before the rescue it was by the end. Link to post Share on other sites
Marshy 30 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Do love it how they stuck fenders over the side.... Link to post Share on other sites
smithy09 50 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Do love it how they stuck fenders over the side.... Yeah I was thinking the same myself... Link to post Share on other sites
tuffyluffy 76 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Do love it how they stuck fenders over the side.... Yeah I was thinking the same myself... Its to protect the paint-job of course. The bloke obviously wants his boat to look good when its lying on the seafloor 2000m below. Link to post Share on other sites
Island Time 1,235 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 These guys left for Sri Lanka about 3 days before us, from Phuket I understand. I'm told that the weather was around 45knts, and on the nose. Several other boats reported large detours and very unplesant conditions. Baccus had a rudder failure, and I have heard that they had a leak around the rudder stock. All third hand, so could be completely wrong! At Phuket, several boats were lost, including race boats from the Kings Cup going ashore (from Anchor at Kata Beach). There were 2m waves in the Anchorage at Ao Chalong, and they had 40 + Knots there, with lots of boats dragging, and general chaos in the anchoring area. We have friends who were there. We left Langkawi so were a bit further south, and did not get more than 25-30 Knts. We were very surprised to find a boat had been lost to the north of us. Shame to see someone loose their boat. Furled headsail looks shredded. Many international cruisiers carry very limited storm gear, and have little experience in heavy weather. That may or may not be a contributing factor... Link to post Share on other sites
Fogg 427 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 He said: 'Utilising the good relationships we have with both the Sri Lankan and Indian coastguard A relationship that would have cost about INR 10,000 I'm guessing. Link to post Share on other sites
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