Sailor Lost Contact SV Celebration (Pacific)

[roland stockham]

Sleep deprivation is a possibility but at those lat so is dehydration and one may lead to the other. It is very easy to forget to drink if tired. Hopfully someone can find him

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Sleep deprivation is a possibility but at those lat so is dehydration and one may lead to the other. It is very easy to forget to drink if tired. Hopfully someone can find him

Hopefully he can find himself.

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Typically positive (+) indicates N and E; negative (-) indicates S and W. So the position indicates N and W hemispheres.

Obviously correct. Also the most probable interpretation, but the absence of the plus (+) could mean that the writer simply left off the minus (-). That is a reason why signs are used -to avoid the guesses/assumptions created by their absence. Alone out there for many days and little wind can hard on the nerves, although for some it is a form of peace and relaxation. Let us hope he is spotted or checks in soon with a positive result.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Hopefully he can find himself.

Exactly.

I would like to add that if his family Stateside were worried about him in general, that a little exaggeration may be coming from them, as well.

It is way too soon for him to have arrived in the Marquesas, and without reports from his homing device, he is too small a needle in the haystack of the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean to realistically expect to find him in a timely fashion.

Truly, I would expect him to fall asleep from exhaustion, if he is practical about survival. If he really was hallucinating, Lord help him. Lets all hope very strongly that he can find himself, catch some rain water in a squall, and carry on.

Ann

[Jim Cate]

Not sure if this is relevant, but that seems like a VERY slow passage plan from PV to the Marquesas. We did it twice, starting from Cabo, in our previous 36 footer: one in 19 days, one in 21. Admittedly, there were two of us, and a somewhat faster boat (similar LWL), but two months (almost) seems woefully slow. Are we sure of the date of departure?

We also have seen the evils of attempted regular reporting in to family or friends. There are so many ways that comms can break down, and then the landlubbers freak out. Actually, it isn't always landlubbers... we were once reported as overdue to the CG in Hawaii when we were 8 hours "overdue" on a passage from Bora Bora, by fellow yotties. But for folks who get worried when they are out of cell coverage for fifteen minutes, the realities of mid ocean communications are hard to grasp.

I really hope this bloke is OK and that he arrives in Atuona hale and hearty.

Jim

[TishFish]

This was sent by a friend on FaceBook:

Sailing people in my network, please read, any ideas or leads appreciated for Nurit Katz

Nurit Katz added 2 new photos — with Martha Carr and 4 others.
June 2 at 9:47am · Los Angeles ·
ANYONE WITH CONNECTIONS TO SAILING GROUPS, SEARCH AND RESCUE ASSETS, OR OTHER CONNECTIONS: My dear friend's father was sailing solo and has been missing at sea since Sunday after distress calls during bad weather- mid Pacific ocean far from any land. Coast Guard is involved and sent the alert below. If you know anyone that can help in the search, please share the information.

JRCC HONOLULU REQUESTS INFORMATION ON THE LOCATION OR STATUS OF SAILING VESSEL CELEBRATION CALLSIGN WDJ4510.
VESSEL DEPARTED PUERTO VALLARTA ON 02 MAY, DESTINATION HIVA OA, MARQUESAS ISLANDS WITH ESTIMATED DATE OF ARRIVAL 26 JUNE.
LAST REPORT VIA DELORME TRACKER WAS ON 28 MAY 2017 WITH POSITION 06 53N 127 35W COURSE 247T AT 0.7 TO 1.1 KNOTS.
VESSEL WITH 1 POB, 71 YEARS OLD CAUCASIAN MALE, NAME RICHARD CARR, IS BELIEVED TO BE IN DISTRESS.
SV CELEBRATION IS A 36 FOOT UNION CUTTER, WHITE HULL, WHITE SALES, GREEN DODGER AND TEAK TRIM.
VESSEL IS EQUIPPED WITH MARINE VHF AND SSB, AND IS POSSIBLY MONITORING DISTRESS AND CALLING FREQUENCY 8291 KILOHERTZ.
ANY VESSELS WITH INFORMATION ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT USCG JRCC HONOLULU ON 808-535 3333 OR EMAIL JRCCHONOLULU@USCG.MIL.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

but the absence of the plus (+) could mean that the writer simply left off the minus (-). That is a reason why signs are used -to avoid the guesses/assumptions created by their absence.

By that reasoning, you might assume someone has left a digit off the position (maybe it's 16N or 36N, vice 6N); or typoed an E in place of W (they're beside each other on the keyboard). I just pointed out the normal convention (that used to be quite common on older electronics/nav software, and still used in some publications),

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

t seems like a VERY slow passage plan from PV to the Marquesas.

He was averaging 60 nm/day up to the last position. The doldrums look like they were a bit more unfriendly than usual, and I have heard sailing was slow this year north of them. But it was still a slowish pace - I initially thought he might be in the 'take sails down and go to sleep at night' camp - but that does not square with sleep deprivation.

Two things the OP and family should know are:
(a) that sailors (especially single handers, and even more so older ones) being slow and overdue are not uncommon and +90% of the time they come right. You just need to be patient - we have seen some come in months overdue, after averaging only 50 nm/day when they expected 150nm/day. The text messages about the fishing vessel does make this case a little unusual - hard to know what to make of them.
(b) You have done all the right things btw. That is a really big empty part of the ocean, and it has been a while since his last position, and there is unfortunately not really much more to be done that you have not already done.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

By that reasoning, you might assume someone has left a digit off the position (maybe it's 16N or 36N, vice 6N); or typoed an E in place of W (they're beside each other on the keyboard). I just pointed out the normal convention (that used to be quite common on older electronics/nav software, and still used in some publications),

lodesman, you are incorrect. the family is not nautical but they have the number correct. he was 6 degrees north of equator and out in pacific on his way to hiva oa. there is no way in hell the lat number could be 16, as he is sailing west south west from puerto vallarta to hiva oa. he has in reach. in reach gives numbers to the watchers correctly. he has been gone from land for 5 weeks now. ali copied numbers from in reach data
60 miles daily is a good average for a slow boat.
yes he left may 2.
his eta is june 26
his boat is slow.
he is not yet overdue. ali (daughter) knows this. we chat occasionally. no she has no new information.
if she did i would post it.
i am hoping he finds self and gets it going as he planned. i hope he makes it to destination without other than sleep deprivation.
it is his first long passage. getting to mazatlan he stopped a few times and was not far from coast.

[inchcailloch]

I have soloed the Atlantic 3 times each time averaging approx 133 miles per day. I expected the same for the Pacific. No! Once out of Gulf of Panama was nearer 70 per dayaverage, sometimes little more than drifting an 40 miles a day. There was no rush, no deadline and planty of food just limited fuel. Pacific is arguably the safest ocean to catch up on sleep as go for weeks with no sightings of vessels......not even on AIS and despite daily radio transmissions, no replies and no picking up of other radios transmissions. Its a big place with poor winds when I sailed March/April 2017

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

By that reasoning, you might assume someone has left a digit off the position (maybe it's 16N or 36N, vice 6N); or typoed an E in place of W (they're beside each other on the keyboard). I just pointed out the normal convention (that used to be quite common on older electronics/nav software, and still used in some publications),

The reasoning does not transfer directly; it has subtleties. Sure, typos are always possible (I make far more than my share) but they generally fall into two broad categories. Those that are quite obvious (such as if I had typed "quit obvious"), or are not immediately unidentifiable such as just as in your examples. Omissions, such as the one indicated in the original post, the absence of the "+" sign, may not be a typo, but they immediately provide a basis for a a concern about a possible typo. was a "+" intentionally omitted, erroneously omitted, or was a "-" erroneously omitted?

If you disagree, please say so, but I will not reply since I feel enough is enough, at least on this thread, and it is probably my fault for even raising the question of a possible error or a basis for uncertainty.

[travellerw]

To the OP...

We have a buddy boat that just arrived in Hiva Oa.. I have asked them to put out a call on the VHF with these details. They have promised to put out the call around all the islands.. Hope it helps..

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by zeehag

lodesman, you are incorrect.

No, you've misunderstood the context of my response to buzzstar.
I also hope he is found safe.

[Hollys Bliss]

This search has consumed me over the past week. I have seen all the inReach texts I think but have not seen anything specifically related to a fishing ship intercept and or possible boarding. Were there other forms of family communication in passage other than inReach? If so could they be posted here with time stamps to attempt to interpret. Now a couple questions for the blue water experts. His vessel has a radar onboard, Would that likely be running constantly while underway or normally off until he felt he needed it. Also, he has a wind power generator onboard, Would that turbine be turning under normal circumstances in open ocean or is that normally locked down and not spinning while underway?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Hollys Bliss

This search has consumed me over the past week. I have seen all the inReach texts I think but have not seen anything specifically related to a fishing ship intercept and or possible boarding. Were there other forms of family communication in passage other than inReach? If so could they be posted here with time stamps to attempt to interpret. Now a couple questions for the blue water experts. His vessel has a radar onboard, Would that likely be running constantly while underway or normally off until he felt he needed it. Also, he has a wind power generator onboard, Would that turbine be turning under normal circumstances in open ocean or is that normally locked down and not spinning while underway?

Given his location and weather, I would expect the radar to be off and only turned on as required.
The wind generator would normally be running 24/7.

IMHO.

BTW, welcome aboard CF, sorry that your first post is under these circumstances.