Fontaine Pajot Catamaran Needs Mast in Tonga

[Hamsailor]

Hi all,

My friends, Bob and Dawn Heasman, lost their catamaran's mast off the coast near Tonga, South Pacific. They were able to cut the rig free before it caused any further damage to the boat. They made land and are now in dire need of a new or used mast for the boat.

If you can help in any way, please read their story here:

Kudana's broken mast. | S/V Kudana

Hamsailor.

[Hamsailor]

Here is Bob's version of the events in his own words:

"On the 22nd. of May at 1000 on a beautiful clear morning. The Sun was shining bright and the wind was blowing at a steady 18 knots. We had one reef in each sail which put us clearly in the safety zone, and we were sailing at 6 to 7 knots. Suddenly there was an awful noise and the mast and boom came crashing down onto the Bimini and the Port side of the boat. The boat came to a standstill and I was left looking at a scene of utter devastation. I was completely numb and dumbfounded. I made a few attempts at salvaging some of it but it was a complete waste of time and effort, and after some discussion with my crew I decided the only course was to cut it all away. We were 40 miles from land and the sea was running at about 2 meters in height and I could just not see any way to save things. So out came the hacksaw and I began to cut stay wires. Eventually it all went over the side not causing much damage to Kudana and nobody was hurt. What a dreadful feeling cutting the last wire and watching the whole lot sink to the bottom of the sea.

It was obvious that the Forestay had broken and this had caused the disaster. Why this happened I can't imagine because we were not over stressing the rig. We then motored in towards the mainland and arrived at Ha'afeva at about 2200, where we thankfully dropped anchor and went off to bed. The next day being a Sunday there wasn't anything happening ashore so we just tidied up as best we could and relaxed. The following day we headed for Lifuka where we logged in with Customs, Quarantine, Health and immigration. What a circus. I needed fuel so had to do this in order to be allowed ashore to purchase some. The price of diesel is now awful. Having refueled we are now motoring to Vava'U, a distance of some 80 miles, where we hope to arrive on the morning of the 27th. of May.

Personally this has knocked the "wind out of my sails" (literally), and I cannot see a clear future in sailing, which, frankly, is devastating, but I am an optimist so after all this dust has settled I must get down to rebuilding my life, but at the age of 75 I really need a lot of help".

Any help by providing information on used masts, donations etc, will be greatly appreciated.

Please email me: zs4bdk At hotmail dott com (change this.)

Hamsailor.

[Therapy]

I am sorry I have nothing to offer except wishes for luck to waft your way.

[Hamsailor]

The new blog post for the Kudana dismasting is here:

Adventures at Sea: Sailing Cat loses Rig

Hamsailor