Urgent help needed to recover abandoned yacht NW Barbados

[RPZ]

Originally Posted by travellerw

You land it on the tramps... Its much easier than you think... You can even hover it and grab it out of the air (maybe not in 5M seas)..

The one referred to is a fixed wing.

However, there are some good size rotary wing drones out there. The question is only really down to cost effectiveness; they are not cheap.
However, range is perhaps a little less important than altitude, the higher it can fly the farther the 360 view over the horizon. If you have two, one can be recharged while the other is up.

[Kemp]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I was thinking more along the lines of one of these to be honest.. or similar, not being a drone nerd.. allows for 20mins flight time.. does not say what winds are to strong tho'.. or how far off the video can/will pick things up with some clarity. Have no idea what the previous mentioned drone looks like.. or its size.

Such drones are wind sensitive and use battery, so short range. Long range one use turbine engines, so you need to look for UAV planes or helicopters. There are many discusions on long range UAV's in RC forums, google "long range UAV glider" and you will find some.

[a64pilot]

Trust me, two people with good Binoculars will see more and better than a drone.
The field of view of a camera that is not real wide angle is like what you see looking through a toilet paper tube, if real wide angle, then it cant see as far as your unaided eye.
An unpracticed person will have a heck of a time finding a target with a decent high powered rifle scope, because the field of view is so small.
I know cause I have hundreds maybe thousands of hours looking for "stuff" through multiple sensors in a Target Acquisition System

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

With my Solar panels and the Delorme plugged into a USB charging port it would work until weather tore up the panels or something and a 660 AH bank running just bilge pumps and the Delorme and position lights would last a long time, weeks I would think.
I don't have one so I'm not sure as to how it works, but if I understand if the OP had one, finding the boat is a non issue, all you have to do is arrange a way to her.
I had thought AIS would do this too, but I am finding out that is not the case
From a legal standpoint I have to wonder, can someone salvage a boat if the owner knows its exact position? Wouldn't that be a bit like salvaging a boat at anchor while the crew was in town?
I'm no Lawyer either, but to me it sounds like a case could be made that if you know the location at all times, its not abandoned, you left with the intention of coming back.
Plus there is the one in a million stolen boat tracking issue.

Apologies to the OP, but each post does bump your thread to the top. I think a reward posted for information may not hurt

I don't think that the owner knowing where the boat is affects salvage rights. I believe you can salvage a boat with the owner actually still on board.

[RPZ]

Think that's called piracy.

But on the high seas any unoccupied vessel is fair game.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I don't think that the owner knowing where the boat is affects salvage rights. I believe you can salvage a boat with the owner actually still on board.

First an agreement has to be struck.. you can't just appear and say.. "Oi mate.. consider yourself salvaged"

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I know cause I have hundreds maybe thousands of hours looking for "stuff" through multiple sensors in a Target Acquisition System

no no no man I've been on youtube, that stuff looks sooooooo easy

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

It's still got to be way quicker & cheaper than flying around in a C-130. I can scan the whole west coast of Florida in a few minutes.

Sorry Scout but HelloSailor is right.
It was tried on this forum a few years ago when the Nina was lost with 8 or 9 deaths (or was it 6 people?). That was a 70 foot boat. And they had a firm lat and lon less than 24 hours old. But the size of a boat is exactly the same size as a white cap, and the Caribbean has been blowing 30knots for the last few weeks, them whitecaps are big and everywhere.

So all these people scoured sat photos trying to save peoples lives until it was months past an insane endevour.
No one is going to do that for a boat without survivable people on board unless there's an imperative.

And remember the secrecy about this case... the OP won't give out the L&L, boat name or MMSI so why help someone who refuses to help himself?

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by RPZ

But on the high seas any unoccupied vessel is fair game.

Yes and the salvage value maybe as high as 90%
However, if the owner broadcasts the L and L, drift patterns, MMSI and boat name and has issued a reward any person finding the boat using that information would get a much lower share of the salvage value.

This is why it seems strange to keep the info a secret.

[Paul L]

I don't understand the fear of salvage in this case. Salvors are held to a no cure, no pay standard. The salvage amount is set based on the risks and costs of the salvage, the valve of the vessel with an intent of fairness to both parties. Far better to recover the vessel and argue in Admiralty court than to have nothing.

[autumnbreeze27]

Any updates?

Hope you find your boat.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by SFS

Battery life on a DeLorme would still be an issue, but when set for maximum interval between outgoing pings, it would last a while. Company claims 100 hours on a fresh battery, but I don't know if that's based on one ping every 10 minutes, or one ping every 4 hours, which are the two ends of the spectrum, IIRC.

There's another thread about this at the moment.

The 100 hours would be using the 4 hourly update (that's about what I get).

As I pointed out in the other thread, plug it into a 20,0000 mAh phone recharger and it will run for weeks - even in a life raft.

Plug it into a charging socket on your house 12V system and it will run as long as your batteries+solar hold out.

[Alastair A]

Leaving ground tackle down is well known good practice in areas with shoaling shores. The trouble, like all else is doing this difficult and time consuming task in dangerous / crisis conditions. Likely as not, if you can achieve this you won't need to abandon (unless medical). Best wishes and heart felt care and support. A

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by RPZ

Think that's called piracy.

But on the high seas any unoccupied vessel is fair game.

As I recall my Boat US insurance newsletter stated that salvage is defined by the circumstances. If you have a hard grounding or your vessel is in jeopardy, you call for help and then receive help that is a salvage. I have a form that they recommend that you get signed, before help is rendered if possible, that gets the salvor to agree to a predetermined price. Otherwise the value of the salvage is based on the risk to & expenses of the salvor. I believe that means that if the OP finds the boat & then tells someone where it is & they then go out to the boat & tow it to safety the boat has been salvaged. Whether salvors engage in piracy is a matter of perspective.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Alastair A

Leaving ground tackle down is well known good practice in areas with shoaling shores. The trouble, like all else is doing this difficult and time consuming task in dangerous / crisis conditions. Likely as not, if you can achieve this you won't need to abandon (unless medical). Best wishes and heart felt care and support. A

The OP was two days out from Barbados after making a crossing, so say 300 miles out give or take. I think the depth around there is in the neighborhood of 600 fathoms. Dropping the hook would not have been of much use, other than perhaps keeping/delaying the boat from grounding when it drifted close to shore.