Forum Member's Boat and Daughter in Trouble off of Mexico

[Beersmith]

Originally Posted by atoll

i think it is a monitor windvane,that realys on the yachts rudder to steer.
so no tiller no steering

Rebel Heart has a Hydrovane, which can act as an auxiliary rudder if I'm not mistaken

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Bit of an understatement -- boat with no steering can't be sailed solo or with a full crew of novices or America's Cup veterans.

But Eric has a transom-mounted wind vane, I think, so surely has some kind of steering.

Edit: Beersmith beat me to it...

Didnt he say he had a hydrovane? I cant remember. I so they are incredibly robust and independsnt of the steering system.

My guess is that he does have steering but just no power and the media has spun it somewhat.

What a dreadful and difficult decision he has to make regarding the boat - can he sail it back? Should he sail it back?

Hopefully in all the chaos and fear for thier child they were able to make the decision together.

Children are amazing - as Atoll? said previously they get ill quickly and recover just as fast. Once in the care of professionals I am sure she will recover amazingly quickly.

We too crossed oceans with young children, we crossed the south atlantic from Cape Town to Rio with a 22mth old.

Her getting sick or injured was our greatest concern.

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

I just didn't know my "bailout" plan I advised would be the US taxpayer.

I told him to consider the Galapagos as an intermediate goal with the option to return to central or South America if things didn't go well.

Wow. Hopefully you will never find yourself or your family in such need. We sailors are all adventurers, and we take our chances.

I hope Eric and your family all the best.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Beersmith

Rebel Heart has a Hydrovane, which can act as an auxiliary rudder if I'm not mistaken

though it is more probable that they will all abandon given the situation.

[sww914]

Rebel Heart has a Hydrovane. I've been tying up my dinghy next to it since January. They were docked next to my in-law's boat for the last few months.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by sww914

Rebel Heart has a Hydrovane. I've been tying up my dinghy next to it since January. They were docked next to my in-law's boat for the last few months.

does he have a electric AP as back up if the hydrovane is broken?

[socaldmax]

Wow!

I hope everything turns out ok for them!

[SV THIRD DAY]

As a father that cruised with two kids, I can tell you that if one of my kids was in medical distress to the point where we needed to call for a chopper rescue, my wife and I would be waving goodbye to our boat from the chopper window without hesitation.

A boat is replaceable your family isn't.

What cruisers often times don't want to either admit or come to terms with is that **** Happens. No matter how good you are, how well the boat is outfitted and how many sea miles you have. You can make absolutely NO mistakes or bad judgments calls and still lose your boat to the sea. Admitting this makes people uncomfortable because then they have to come to grips with the fact that **** can happen to them...so it's always easier to look to cast some type of blame than just say..."**** happens at sea and I sure hope it doesn't happen to me".

If there is one thing we know about Eric and crew from their posts here and on their blog it is that they will get through this and share their experiences with the rest of us.

Any Cruiser/Sailor/Poster (especially at this point in what we know) that is more interested in casting blame or pounding their chests than in expressing well wishes to the crew/family...well frankly...if I was a moderator I'd kick their sorry ass off the site...hey...but that's just me…what do I know….

[deckofficer]

I think Eric has HF SSB onboard. My antenna is down so can't put out a call. Can someone put out a call? A friendly voice could go a long way for his spirits as he waits.

[foolishsailor]

Originally Posted by deckofficer

I think Eric has HF SSB onboard. My antenna is down so can't put out a call. Can someone put out a call? A friendly voice could go a long way for his spirits as he waits.

+1

Great idea! Would love to see that happen.

[Greenhand]

Unless you are in a position to offer physical help in a reasonable timeframe, I would leave them alone at this point. They are making hard decisions and possibly preparing to abandon their home.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

No matter how good you are, how well the boat is outfitted and how many sea miles you have...

That's right. And all those "expert opinions", your own confidences, go right out the window. Need to get to the level where you let go of all that, clear the mind.

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

Any Cruiser/Sailor/Poster (especially at this point in what we know) that is more interested in casting blame or pounding their chests than in expressing well wishes to the crew/family...well frankly...if I was a moderator I'd kick their sorry ass off the site...hey...but that's just me…what do I know….

Don't waste your thoughts or emotions. Why? The real experts lay quiet; they know better. The casters have no credibility, and this one in particular is focused on the build and not on sailing. Don't waste your calories.

[MarkJ]

Eric does have an Auto Pilot as well as the Hydrovane. The AP is a Raymarine X5 Wheel pilot.

Rebel Heart - Eric's Blog

The other point of interest was in his last blog entry he said theres been a lot of Force 5 winds.

When we did the Pacific (from Panama, not Mexico) it was always force 5 or 6... But further aft that he seems to been having.
The Pilot Charts say Force 4 but the only time we saw Force 4 was for the ten seconds when the wind was dropping from Force 5 to Zero!


No where else in the world could you get someone airlifted from 900 nms offshore.... Or parachutists with own RIB from a plane. Pretty cool stuff

[Beersmith]

[oldragbaggers]

Air National Guard From Moffett Field Rescuing 1 Yr. Old Off Coast Of Mexico « CBS San Francisco