Another Crew Loses their Sailboat

[Mr B]

The Vikings didnt have dissenters, 2 feet of sword thru the Guts would have been enough to keep them quiet,

[svseachange]

I've also been tracking unsuccessful ocean crossings. Collected information on hundreds if ocean voyages and about seventeen unsuccessful ones over the last few years. If you want to help:
1. Bluewatersailingdata.com
2. Click "Add a boat"
3. Enter as much information as you know.
4. Click the check box next to "Unsuccessful" ocean crossing.
5. Enter the reason for the unsuccessful crossing in the comments section.

Here is what I have learned so far:
1. Lots of lightweight production boats successfully cross oceans.
2. The smaller the boat, the more likely it is not going to make it.
3. It's amazing how often perfectly good boats are abandoned then wash ashore later. The sea is scary.
4. A common way for boats to get lost is for slower boats to follow faster boats into small weather windows.
5. Old wooden boats should stick to coastal cruising.

If you are interested, you can also track my voyage there (Sea Change).

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

david, how would you track "lost" vessels? There are those reported missing, and there are those simply missing, but not reported. You could probably track the reports, at least for some 150 nations that might issue them, or perhaps for only those nations that maintain an ocean SAR resource. But what about the rest? You've got us damned Colonials, you know, we just up and leave as we please, no zarpe, often no float plan, no way to tell whether we're missing or simply hungover.

Mostly from the power of..........CF - a worldwide reach .

It was primarily set up to cover missing yachts (and numbers wise won't be too many of those - hopefully!), and they ain't missing until someone notices! and then likely that includes at least something on the Internet.

But I will start to include SAR's, once I have decided how to do that! It won't be every SAR in the world (no time or resources to do that), but I think will include notable ones that are relevant to long distance sailors / cruisers. Basically anything trans ocean, but that not a hard and fast rule as likely some interesting near shore events that are interesting.

The Key to this (for me) is not involving a lot of time - apart from the bare details the idea is that the Register also includes at least one link off to the "story", so folks who are interested have enough to hunt down more details themselves.......as I mentioned already (I think!) part of the problem with these events is not having a clear single source of verifiable information, that being part of the reason for me not including every last details (plus the time thing!)......albeit for missing yachts I may add a page for each for the story and some pics etc (but that very much in "due course")..........but I think the bones of the story (boat name, location, bodies onboard, outcome etc) would suffice for most, with added value coming from easy comparison to other events via a simple list. Well, that's the plan!


Just noticed that www.LostYachts.com was taken yesterday - ROTFLMAO. Just goes to prove what reach CF has .

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

I've also been tracking unsuccessful ocean crossings. Collected information on hundreds if ocean voyages and about seventeen unsuccessful ones over the last few years.

Some interesting overall Stats , I have included a link.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

Here is what I have learned so far:

1. Lots of lightweight production boats successfully cross oceans.
2. The smaller the boat, the more likely it is not going to make it.
3. It's amazing how often perfectly good boats are abandoned then wash ashore later. The sea is scary.
4. A common way for boats to get lost is for slower boats to follow faster boats into small weather windows.
5. Old wooden boats should stick to coastal cruising.

If you are interested, you can also track my voyage there (Sea Change).

Here is what I have learned this far:

1. Lot of lightweight production boats sail the oceans.
2. Sure, Astrid, Lady Domina and Niña are all small boats.
3. It is.
4. Choices.
5. Old wooden boats should be maintained to schedule, same as any other material.

Good effort, worth continuing. Improve statistics methodology though.

b.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

2. Sure, Astrid, Lady Domina and Niña are all small boats.

Good effort, worth continuing. Improve statistics methodology though.

b.

Good effort Barny, but read the blinkin' website and you will see Lady D, Nina etc ARE big boats! They are above 40 foot thats the catagory cut off.

[svseachange]

I've added a list which includes boat names, my notes, and some references to news stories. I think you agree it is fascinating reading:
List of Unsuccessful Bluewater Sailing Passages
Started a new thread to discuss so as to not hijack this thread.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Good effort Barny, but read the blinkin' website and you will see Lady D, Nina etc ARE big boats! They are above 40 foot thats the catagory cut off.

Bad category cut off. Category ocean going sailboats of today actually starts at +40ft. Give or take a couple of loonies like myself.

To make statistical guesses (the smaller the boat ...) one want max data points.

b.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SmartMove

I have to respectfully disagree. We (hubby and I) spent 15 years sailing a 27 foot Catalina and then jumped to a 47 foot Beneteau (French built). I do not think it is any more complex, unless you count the number of thru-hulls. Yes we have added a lot of new systems and electronics to the boat since moving aboard to make life more comfortable, but none of these really affect the basic ability to keep the boat afloat and sail her. In a lot of ways, sailing the Bene is easier with two people because all of the line handling happens in the cockpit.

I'm not in the camp that 'bigger is better' but IMHO our Bene has made sailing much more pleasurable and (to some degree) easier. I think that if we have a when TSHTF moment we will cope as well as we did in our 27' Catalina.

That is your prerogative...
However a great many 'Newbie Voyagers' don't spend 15yrs sailing around in a 27ft Catalina before buying a 40+ftr... they just buy the 40+ftr... like these folk we're talking about... and can't cope..
Same with the folk selling their 40+ft luxury Cat after just 2 yrs for the same reason...
But there we go... that's life..

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by shanedennis

I've added a list which includes boat names, my notes, and some references to news stories. I think you agree it is fascinating reading:
List of Unsuccessful Bluewater Sailing Passages
Started a new thread to discuss so as to not hijack this thread.

Neat You might want to embed the links though.

[svseachange]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Neat You might want to embed the links though.

No worries, I will do that. Thanks!

[Invictus69]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

The New Zealanders agreed the Picton Castle, a three-mast Seegelboot, which is tremendously technically well equipped and we provisionally fixed the shrouds and also threw a look at the machine. We were at this time about 160 nm (24) from Suwarrow. They thought it could due to the machine and the condition of the boat will be hairy. We decided under common advice in Suwarrow, which no infrastructure, but some restful nights absolutely asked, and immediately seek shelter waiting for a good weather window to sail to American Samoa. Why there? American Samoa is about 3 nights away, offwind, ie sailing tailwind. Fuer boat and crew less demanding I decided in my dependence on 4 weather information August break. The first 24 were well, unfortunately the weather changed rapidly and brought a lot of wind from south. We were now on half wind course. Due to the stress for the boat structure the ring structure broke at multiple sites. I tried to repair with Epoxydmatten, but for a fiberglass boat, the ring structure is vital! The situation was thus: - engine and fuel are insufficient to American Samoa - machine is heavily damaged (bent camshaft, total failure) - sailing only partly possible because the shrouds were damaged and if the mast we abort maneuver and thus in extreme danger. - Water leakage through the propeller shaft .

Given the substantial damages as described in the press release, I am wondering on what basis was decided (especially by the Picton Castle crew being "experienced and techincally well equipped") that it is safe for Gobo to continue the journey on its own.

It is not clear to me what caused those damages (bent camshaft??)

[artisanmach]

He is the brainaic from the TV show Big Bang Theory.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Invictus69

Given the substantial damages as described in the press release, I am wondering on what basis was decided (especially by the Picton Castle crew being "experienced and techincally well equipped") that it is safe for Gobo to continue the journey on its own.

It is not clear to me what caused those damages (bent camshaft??)

To be fair, that is a Google translate - that could simply mean "handy with the spanners" .

But sounds like they made a good decision to jump ship - and a bad one to set sail in the first place (boats only suddenly go bad when folks don't know what they are looking at beforehand).

[Danibug]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Go soon, go small, go now ... Get rescued oh well


Dave

Haha, exactly this! I like the Go soon, go small, go now mantra, but for me it's more like Go soonish and smallish. We aren't ready yet! And certainly weren't years ago.

By the time we leave we will have been working on our boat and learning to sail for 5 years and hopefully we can be gone for 5 years. With everything I've learned over this refit I can hardly imagine going out to sea on a boat I didn't know EVERYTHING about. This was a hidden benefit to buying a project boat, it wasn't ready, and neither were we!