Sailin' Stories!

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Can it be.....say mid August????

Sounds good to me. Too soon to pick a firm date, but within a few weeks we can start to firm it up. And it's sweet that you remembered my birthday, too.

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

I thought we had a thread somewhere about sailing the Pacific Ocean but I can't find it.
There's very sad breaking news at http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article...ing_yacht_race and another link at http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/29/us/cal...html?hpt=hp_t3 . Apparently four people dead in the very famous Newport Beach to Ensenada race today.
(I've done this race many times, and at one time it was the world's largest international yacht race, with close to 900 boats each year for a while.)
Today's news is especially sad considering the five people who died two weeks ago during a race around the Farallon Islands just outside San Francisco.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Very sad. They believe a collision with a large ship was the cause.
If so, I bet the ship didn't even know they were there.
How the captain and crew of the small sailing vessel didn't avoid it, I don't know.

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Obviously there's going to be a long investigation.
Regarding the sailboat that was hit, I understand that there was almost no wind at the time (allegedly 1am) and perhaps the engine wouldn't start. I also wonder what kind of radar reflector they had, if any.
Regarding the ship, it's possible it was a smaller drug runner blasting at high speed and with no lights. Or if it was a big ship, they were most likely told that a race was in progress in that area with 213 sailboats, so certainly they should've had an increased watch on duty.
I recall several years ago when a commercial ship pulled into San Francisco Bay and never knew they'd hit a sailboat and were dragging parts of it on the anchor hanging off their bow. They said they never felt the collision.

[matapule]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Uaifi and I were discussing this tragic incident on our walk this morning. I have seen pictures of the AEGEAN the morning of the start of the race. Apparently the boat wasn't equipped with radar that I can see. This is not uncommon for a boat of this type and size. Now uaifi, who is a very experienced passagemaker in her own right, who can read a radar and who stands single watches at night, came up with something I hadn't thought of. She said, is it posssible with a lack of wind there could have been a heavy fog in that area, which is common this time of year in the San Diego/Ensenada area. Without radar, the victim boat would not know what hit them (freighters and container ships often travel at 20+ knots) before it was too late. Now if the watch stander on the victim boat had an IPOD in their ear, which is very common, they would not have heard anything either. A 37 foot plastic sailboat, without a high quality (expensive) radar reflector, is very difficult to pick up on radar if they are not making any way. It just looks like so much "sea clutter."

Consequently, uaifi has a standing policy that she will not make an overnight passage on any boat, anywhere, that is not equipped with a working radar.

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

I have seen pictures of the AEGEAN the morning of the start of the race. Apparently the boat wasn't equipped with radar that I can see. This is not uncommon for a boat of this type and size.

Yes, it was a fairly new 37' Hunter, put in charter service but sailed in this race by the owner. Hard to tell about radar or about a radar reflector, since the photos don't show much of the mast at all. These days most radars are installed on a pole on the transom, and there clearly wasn't one of those.

She said, is it posssible with a lack of wind there could have been a heavy fog in that area, which is common this time of year in the San Diego/Ensenada area.

Allegedly it was pretty clear when it happened.

Without radar, the victim boat would not know what hit them (freighters and container ships often travel at 20+ knots) before it was too late.

Another boat in the race was just a few miles from the one that got hit, and they reported that around that same time a freighter almost hit them too. They said the freighter was doing 20+ knots straight at them and had its running lights on. They had enough time to shine an extremely bright light into the freighter's wheelhouse and it turned in time to miss them.

EDIT: Now there is a second boat reporting the freighter in the area. Also, the rescuers claim that "it looks like the boat went through a blender. Most of the pieces we found were less than 6 inches." Also, they say that the three bodies that were recovered with in extremely horrible condition and were probably hit by the freighter's propellers. They haven't found the fourth body yet.

A 37 foot plastic sailboat, without a high quality (expensive) radar reflector, is very difficult to pick up on radar if they are not making any way. It just looks like so much "sea clutter."

The aluminum mast does give a fair radar return. The biggest danger is wooden boats with wooden masts, which don't show up on radar.
I know you know all this stuff, Matapule, so I'm just adding it for other readers. And please let us know if you hear any more. Are you still in Mexico?

[matapule]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

It is just inexplicable how this could happen. I assume that all hands would be on deck all night for a 24 hour race. That would be 8 eyes looking for any signs of trouble. And then why didn't anyone hear any calls from the victim boat prior to the incident. If there was a freighter bearing down on them, you would think one of the other rally boats would have heard a call from the AEGEAN to the freighter several minutes before the collision. Also, a new Hunter 37 would have a reliable engine. Why wouldn't they have just powered out of harms way? This is just horrible.

Are you still in Mexico?

Yes. Yesterday I met Cecil Lange at Marina de La Paz. Cecil is a legend in yacht building. For years he built the beautiful Cape George Cutters in Port Townsend. They were works of art. Cecil told me he retired to La Paz 23 years ago and he has a Mexican wife, Carmen. He said he is 87 years old and stays busy by surveying local boats, which he was doing yesterday. It was an honor to meet one of the real pioneers in the modern yachting era. With the physical condition he is in, I expect him to be around several more years!

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Maybe there were no radio calls because AEGEAN's batteries were dead.
Also, they may have had all four people on deck, even at 1am, but as I'm sure you know the Newport-Ensenada race is a party race and sobriety during the race is, um, pretty rare.
Heck, for decades most people claim the official race title is The Race To Hussong's Cantina.
( http://www.cantinahussongs.com/ )
And I'm glad you got to meet Cecil Lange. Yes, his boats were indeed works of art.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Gardner McKay and the race...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjTAp...eature=related

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Great old video, Ron. Thanks. And TutuSue will love seeing old Newport Beach in it.
Too bad they didn't shoot the start of the race. Broken down into various classes but still 70 or 80 boats in some of those classes. Lots of crashes at the starting line.
Did you ever do the Ensenada race, Ron?

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Did you ever do the Ensenada race, Ron?

Not even close. I was just becoming acquainted with sailing when I moved from LA to Oahu, at which point I started that part of my life and included regular inter-island outings aboard Sallee, a 90' Alden schooner that won many West coast cups, including the Ensenada races.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

We had a wonderful time sailing Kolohe from Ala Wai to Keehi today!


Here are the photos... http://www.flickr.com/photos/6989123...7629735624680/

[Menehune Man]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

Coming attractions!

Saturday morning 6/16 we'll take Kolohe to Keehi South Lagoon to scrub the vegetation off the bottom again. Also getting her 100% provisioned and sail ready.

Then Sunday morning 6/17 we'll start a sail around O'ahu. Should take 3 days or less to sail a non-stop circumnavigation. What an adventure!

Hey Likanui... is there a preferred direction for this?
I was thinking of heading West when we leave Keehi Lagoon, around Kaena Point way. Or is it a better way to head past Diamond Head first?

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

I'm no Lika, but I'd beat it around DH/KH and enjoy running with the trades all the way to KP and maybe Kona's will suddenly hit for an easy dip back to port, if not, that final jaunt will be no biggie.

[LikaNui]

Re: Sailin' Stories!

In typical northeast tradewind weather I'd say to head west and go around Kaena Point because in typical tradewind weather you get your butt kicked by headwinds and waves between Diamond Head and Koko Head, then even worse between Koko Head and Makapuu Point. (Winds and waves increase in the funnel between Oahu and Molokai.) Big winds and waves would be right on your nose and you spend as much time going up and down on the waves as you would on forward progress.
But this weekend we'll have extremely light southeast breezes so this time I'll suggest the Diamond Head route. The DH to KH and KH to MP legs will have very flat waves and the wind direction will make those legs a nice downwind/broad reach run instead of beating directly into strong northeast trades.
Regular trades shouldn't be back until Monday or Tuesday, so you might actually have the extreme luck of a broad reach all the way around the island!
How many people are going with you?