2010 Caribbean 1500 Rally

[PamlicoTraveler]

Sunday, November 7
Namaste, Club Carp, and I'll Think About It started today. The Pre-Start weather briefing for the rest of the Tortola-bound fleet is scheduled for 3pm today.

[xxuxx]

And.............they're off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Joli]

<trackerhome1500rally2010>

Originally Posted by xxuxx

And.............they're off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Therapy]

They all went overland over Virginia Beach as far as I can tell from the map!!!

[PamlicoTraveler]

Originally Posted by Therapy

They all went overland over Virginia Beach as far as I can tell from the map!!!

I'm not sure how frequently the transponders update but it must be an hour or more.

[PamlicoTraveler]

From the carib1500 site

Rally veteran Jeff Carpenter on Club Carp had this to offer, just after the Roll Call earlier this evening:

We have had a great first day at sea.
Started at 10:30 AM Sunday with 20-25 knot winds from the northwest.
Winds built to 20-30 knts. We made it to the gulf stream by 1:00 AM Monday.
Gulf Stream crossing was chilly, fast, and not too lumpy. We have been sailing with a full Genoa and a small main due to following winds & seas.
The worst seas were 10-15 feet with a few 20s. Most of our time has been at 9-11 knts of boat speed. We saw the speed over ground hit 15 and 16 knts
a few times! WOW!
We picked up a tiny hitch hiker today for an hour, a goldfinch 150 miles off shore.
We did not try to fish yet, too rough.
We are now on our rumb line to BVI.
Also we have another Jeanneau 54 "Namaste" sailing with us. She just behind us now about 10 miles.

[Joli]

The OP should finish today. Looks like they had a good trip and nice wind most of the way.

[xxuxx]

What is OP?
Only a few will finsih today, many are still 2-5 days out. Take a look at "It's About Time"

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by xxuxx

What is OP?

"OP" is Original Poster, s/v Sunsets in this case.

[btrayfors]

Sad news. The 2008 Jeanneau 45DS "Rule 62" -- a participant in the Caribbean 1500 Cruising Class 7 -- reportedly ran on a reef at the northeast corner of Linyard Cay early this morning.

Last reported position, with a speed of 0.0 knots, was at 0757Z Monday @ 2622.7N 7658.8W. That's about 4,400 ft south of the North Bar Channel which one assumes he was attempting to enter.

The worst part is that one of the four crew -- a female named Laura -- is missing.

Conditions reportedly were pretty rough, with "rage seas" in the area which can make many channels impassable.

Rule 62 was almost halfway to the BVI when she diverted to the Bahamas.

We can only pray that Laura is somehow safe.

Bill

[PamlicoTraveler]

Terrible news. Do we know why they diverted to the Abacos? Was there a mechanical problem?

[btrayfors]

Unknown. Only mention on the Caribbean 1500 website was yesterday PM, viz, "Rule 62 are diverting to the Bahamas -- they should be in port in short order."

Unfortunate comment. And, as it turns out, boat name. "Rule 62" comes from the world of Alcoholics Anonymous and apparently means, "Don't take yourself too seriously," e.g., lighten up.

Hope the survivors are OK, and that they find the missing crewmember soon.

Bill

[Vasco]

Weather has not been great there lately. Looks like large northerly swells. Here's a pic from yesterday off Guana. The cuts would not be easy.

[Vasco]

From Sailnet.


11/15/ Monday- Pray for Laura’s Rescue
With this morning’s report we were shocked to hear about the sinking of “Rule 62” a 45’ Jeanneau in the cruising class. Around 9pm last night they attempted to enter a narrow cut into the Bahama’s in the midst of a “rage.” If I understand correctly it means the current is going in one direction and wind and surge in another creating a lot of turbulence. It’s unclear if a large wave knocked them down or if it was making contact with a reef. All 4 crew members were thrown overboard.

We do not know if they were wearing any floatation at the time. Three crew members including the husband and wife owners made it onto a reef, the fourth crew member, Laura, is missing. An active search and rescue mission is underway by the Coast Guard and our hope and prayer is that Laura managed to stay afloat or make it onto a reef and will be spotted in the daylight. The rescued crew was taken to Nassau for treatment. The boat is considered a loss as it wrecked upon the reef. We’ve had heavy northerly swells this entire trip and it most likely was a factor, along with fatigue. We also are unclear as to whether they were originally bound for Bermuda, as some of the fleet did have that as destination, or whether they diverted because of weather or illness. Details are sketchy still, but we urge all our friends to continue to hope for a good outcome.

[cfarrar]

From the CRA Website:

November 15, 2010…Cruising Rally Association (CRA), Hampton, VA…Steve Black, owner of Cruising Rally Association, announced today that crew member, Laura Zekoll from Atlanta, GA is the subject of a search and rescue mission by the US Coast Guard and the Bahamian Defense Force.

The news of the search was received by CRA mid-day on Sunday, November 14, 2010 from boat owner, Richard Ross. The emergency contact information for Laura Zekoll, was communicated to the Coast Guard who notified her contact that a search was in process. The notice of the search was shared with the fleet on Monday morning, during the radio check-in at 07:00 hours AST (Atlantic Standard Time).

The owners of sailing vessel Rule 62, Richard and Debra Ross, also from Atlanta, GA, communicated earlier that they were going to leave the fleet and divert to the Bahamas. During the Saturday 19:00 hours AST radio check-in, Richard reported that they were nearing the Bahamas. According to the satellite transponder provided by the CRA to each vessel in the fleet, Rule 62 stopped moving at 20:56 hours AST Saturday, November 13.

Black said, “with great sadness, we report that Rule 62, a Jeanneau 46DS, was swamped while attempting entry into the Bahamas. Richard and crew Laura Zekoll were washed overboard. Another crew member and Debra launched the life raft, which subsequently overturned in swells.” The boat is currently on a reef in the Bahamas. Boat owners Richard and Debra Ross along with one crew member were airlifted to safety after their emergency signal was received by the Coast Guard. The search for Laura Zekoll is still continuing.

The sailing vessel Rule 62, is part of a fleet of 71 sailing vessels, the majority of the fleet is still at sea. The fleet departed Hampton, VA on November 8, 2010 in route to the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. This is the 21st year of the annual passage