Sailing questions from a novelist

[alitaptap]

I think a lot of what should happen to the yacht in the story could be answered by knowledge of where the story goes after the event . . . Is everyone aboard supposed to survive? Are they rescued? Do they find an apparently uninhabited island? Is it a real island or an mystery island? How are they supposed to eventually find their way to safety?


In 2017 I encountered a bow-echo storm approaching off the starboard quarter. I had never seen a bow echo storm before, it was dramatically huge and dark, and beautiful in its way, but it appeared to be passing behind us so we were little concerned until . . .


the breeze went from 10 knots off the port beam to zero within 30 seconds it remained zero for about 90 seconds during which time instinct told me to get the crew to drop both sails and then the breeze went from zero to 50 knots from the stern within 15 seconds as the storm started to expand and spill its load, 7 knots boat speed with bare-poles, four hours later we were in calm waters again.


A year later, aboard a different yacht, that had recently been refitted with a carbon-fibre boom and shrouds, one crew at helm, me (off duty) asleep on a sail bag on the leeward bow, an approaching thunderstorm caused the boat's heal to wake me, I moved to the cockpit as the first significant gust hit and, with one hand on the wheel and one on the helm, the crew at the helm tried to ease the mainsail . . . but he only had two wraps on the winch so it slipped and burned/cut his hand so he let go, the boom hit the starboard shroud, the boom broke in two (no more mainsail), the force of the boom hitting the shroud broke the shroud (high risk of losing the mast).


What could have happened, if the bow-echo had been that storm and if the yacht had crash-gybed, was that the wind in the jib could have broken the mast (because of the missing shroud), the lines in the water could have fouled the propeller shaft and the yacht would have just drifted before the wind and waves until the storm subsided.


No sails, no mast, no SSB, no usable engine. All crew safe but shaken, ready for rescue and the adventures of the next chapter.

[Sonny36]

I suggest the best way, other than these posts and other video/literature, is to crew on a sailboat similar to your boat, on the same route you propose for your novel.


It may be that the storm is only a part of your novel, but in crewing, you could ask a lot of questions from the capt & crewmates.

[Carl-T705]

A collision with a Chinese nuclear sub could render the sailboat unable to continue the passage. But then I imagine the IPIRB would still function, unless the signal was being block by the newly formed Space Force of the USA. Then they could be rescued by a passing solo sailer on a Pearson Electra, with a sextant for navigation.. What a story....

[danstanford]

Originally Posted by Carl-T705

A collision with a Chinese nuclear sub could render the sailboat unable to continue the passage. But then I imagine the IPIRB would still function, unless the signal was being block by the newly formed Space Force of the USA. Then they could be rescued by a passing solo sailer on a Pearson Electra, with a sextant for navigation.. What a story....

Then they could be rescued by a passing gorgeous solo sailer on a Pearson Electra, with a sextant for navigation.. What a story....

[Carl-T705]

Originally Posted by danstanford

Then they could be rescued by a passing gorgeous solo sailer on a Pearson Electra, with a sextant for navigation.. What a story....

Or they could be rescued by a solo sailor on a gorgeous Pearson Electra....

[raahell]

Wow Fantasy, you've really got the CF groupies animated with thoughts of what could go wrong on a sailboat... It's something most of us try to avoid thinking about except in "What if" scenarios to better prepare and provision ourselves for a voyage or in performing a refit or modifications to a boat.

I haven't done an trans-ocean passage and never sailed a HR of any size, though their reputation for robustness preceeds them. Those Swedes! I can only offer some advice on how accidents happen, from my experience as an aviation pilot, marine engineer and recreational sailor.

As some other posters have mentioned, catastrophic events in sailboats, aircraft (or any situation, really) almost never occur as a result of one spectacular event, such as your proposed storm. Rather it starts with a series of small human errors, omissions and/or failures which pile up on each other to create said disaster. Maybe (but not necessarily) these are abetted by a weather event, a collision with submerged object like a sea container (increasingly frequent), a side swipe by a larger vessel, an MOB, an incapacitation of one or more crew members or a mere unexpected wind change or wave of nominally increased size and from an unexpected direction, not adapted to in time by the crew.

I won't offer examples of such combinations of seemingly inconsequential details, as many already have. But if you want authenticity then you really should look to real-life and develop your plot to include such a cascade.

For real-life examples there's lots to choose from. Go to https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-r...ine/index.html for accident investigations of Canadian flagged vessels. There are 520 investigation in that listing but if you type "sail" into the search engine you'll get useful investigations of sailboat disasters. "Knockdown and Capsize of Sail Traning Yacht Concordia" is a really good example of the type of cascading of events similar to what you seem to be thinking of in your plot.

For accidents in American waters and American flagged vessels go to https://cgmix.uscg.mil/IIR/IIRSearch.aspx and choose "recreational vessels" in their selection menu to access that database of marine Incident Investigation Reports (IIRs) involving boats/crews like what you're writing about

I'm sure the UK has a similar database.

What you'll find as you read these reports: The cascade doesn't necessarily happen in rapid succession. In most accident investigations it has been found that the first element(s) in the train of event happens weeks, months or even years before the disaster. The subsequent events will often happen with increasing rapidity, however, until the triggering event creates the "last straw" which causes the whole thing to come crashing down onto the heads (literally, sometimes) of the unfortunate crew. Not nice to experience in reality, especially if/when you realize with guilt remorse and self-loating you were culpable in one or more of the events later determined to be a contributor to the accident.

Not being an author, it nevertheless seems to me that this approach could lead to some desirable qualities in your writing. Certainly there will be a mounting sense of foreboding and tension as the seemingly unconnected errors, omissions and failures start to pile on. Typically some crew will be more cognizant of the possibilities of the cascade of events while others ignorant, leading to interpersonal tensions. There is also the detective novel aspect, as characters try to figure out - once they've dealt with the immediate aftermath to save their vessel and lives, to understand what lead to the disaster. Also, some will respond very poorly to the impending disaster and aftermath, while others will show tremendous leadership, insight and courage. Who responds in what way is often not connected to how the persons act in normal circumstances.

I hope you will be showing the efforts of others to find and render assistance to the vessel in distress. Coast Guards and SAR services are often the least funded of our government agencies, yet put their own well-being at risk time and again to help others. Other vessels and crews will often come to the aid of a vessel in distress, well before any official body responds. There is a special camaraderie among sailors that impels many to risk their own safety to give aid to others in distress. There is a strong sense of "There, but for the grace of God, go I" in our thinking. Authenticity of your writing will be assisted by characterizing this. Read "Close to the Wind" by Pete Goss to find a real, extreme example of this.

Good luck in your endeavour!

[robertandanneke]

Hi,
Jeroen Siebelink, Dutch writer, not a sailor, wrote a nice book: called : De oversteek (the crossing).
Nice to check with him how he wrote it (it was based upon a real story).
Google him to get in touch with him (he is also on facebook)

[Harvey Cail]

Hello, my family and I sailed from Bermuda to the Azores in our 45 foot cutter Direction, as part of a voyage from San Francisco to Whitby on the north east coast of England.That was in the eighties, but it's the same ocean.
There is a full account of the trip, including a blow a few days out from Bermuda, in my second book, Onward to England, which is available at Amazon.
Just enter my name on Amazon and my books will come up.

[gerson]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Yes, a strong sailboat can get rolled and survive, many have though they lose all or part of their mast necessitating a jury rig to get somewhere for repairs.. however this will rarely incapacitate the engine unless some of the rigging entangle the prop.. also some water will get in but not enough to sink her.
One scenario could be losing the mast in a roll and due to poor fuel tank maintaince or bad fuel could clog all the filters and any spares after being fitted..
Loss of the rudder is also another reason boats are abandoned though there are techniques to regain some control under sail but under engine more dubious.

Although some dirtyness and dampness (water in the fuel tank due to the breathing pipe)canpenetrate in the engine fuel lines due to the rolling go iof the boat, turning it inoperable

[Coquina]

Originally Posted by FantasyIsland

Hello all. I'm writing a story in which a crew is sailing from Bermuda to the Azores (on a Hallberg-Rassy 44), but midway through their journey they encounter a severe storm which damages their sailboat.

My big question is this: What kind of storm damage might occur which would render a sailboat inoperable, say, unable to sail and also unable to motor, basically leaving it adrift in the Atlantic?

I've read of "death rolls" and masts being broken, but would the damage need to be that extreme to leave it stranded?

Also (and please correct me if I'm wrong), a well-built sailboat can capsize and get rolled by a wave but not sink, as long as it's companionway washboards are in place, and it's essentially watertight...true?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Maybe this got mentioned:
A mostly submerged container is bobbing vertically in the waves. The boat hits it just right (just wrong?) to bend the prop shaft and bend or rip the rudders off plus put a hole in the boat.
The crew is going to be very busy plugging the hole and pumping the boat out, but not before salt water takes out the batteries.
Now you have a boat that can't steer, can't motor, can sail in circles maybe, and has no power. That would take some time to fix.
Also if the boat has wet batteries, add in the drama where batteries + salt water = a cabin full of chlorine gas. That happened to someone I know, the gas drove them all out on deck until they could pump the boat and open the hatches once the weather calmed down.

[scareygary]

All this talk about broken rudders completely disabling a sailboat has me thinking again (always dangerous). When competing in an international Yacht Race off the coast of Washington between Oregon and Canada, we competitors had to prove we had a way to steer if our rudders were disabled. Some carried second rudders and installed gudgeons, some had other methods, but I proved I could steer my boat (under power or sail) by dragging a smallish DROGUE behind the boat hooked to an adjustable Y shaped tether. I extended the beam on my boat by putting the spinnaker pole across the boat in front of the primary winches, with blocks at each end to run the line through that went back to the drogue. Pull the drogue to port, you turned to port. Pulled to the starboard side of the boat, the drag pulled you to starboard. Retrieve it if you want to go straight for awhile! What is a rudder anyway but a means of creating DRAG one way or the other....? I don't claim you could maneuver around the docks very accurately, but this method could get you to safety... I don't leave home without one!

[hornby sailor]

if you hit a container, (too simple of a plot)it has to open up and be filled with somerhing really ironic, but some is retreived, and ends up saving the day. like rubber ducks, or condoms, or vibrators, or epirbs with no batteries. or the vibrator batteries power the radio!!!!

[OndinePLC]

Congratulations Fantasy Island! I believe you have found a rich motherlode of plot ideas for nautical novels. Surely just about every imaginable survivable seagoing disaster has already been experienced by CF mariners.


I do suggest that you have the sailing parts of your draft revised by me or somebody like me (!) with experience to do a technical reality check and eliminate bloopers and gaffes that tend to spoil a novel for sailor readers.


James Clavell, an excellent writer, once wrote something like:
“ the lights of the fishing fleet lay scattered like jewels over a velvet sea. Mast lights like white diamonds, port lights like green emeralds and starboard like red rubies”
A nice simile spoiled by poor technical editing.


I have written two books about sailing adventures, real- life not novels, one of which, “Desperate Deliveries” tells about two disastrous voyages where everything went wrong.
I took a 45ft Halberg Rassy from Colombia to Ft. Lauderdale two years ago. A day out from Sta. Marta in a gale the steering failed and we had to return. After leaving the second time the autopilot drive stripped its gears and we had to hand steer to Jamaica, not at all easy with a shorthanded inexperienced crew on dark nights.
I have crossed the Atlantic twice and been wrecked twice on Caribbean reefs.


I would be happy to help you with a technical review of your draft. If you are interested please PM me.

True sailing adventures by Cris Robinson;
“A Small Slip” and “Desperate Deliveries”(with colour photos)
Available at Amazon kindle as eBooks and paperbacks