# SV Elusive Abandoned 23/may/14



## MarkofSeaLife

Engine breakdown in front of a storm, heavy seas, then something got worse.
350 nms off Virginia USA.
Dunno where they were going.



> the US Coastguard report they have arranged the transfer of three crew from a 41ft yacht Elusive, was beset by storms in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 350 miles east of Virginia Beach.
> 
> Rescued are Larry Monesson, 60, Sean Monesoon, 40, and James Moore, 40.
> 
> The father of James Moore contacted Coast Guard 5th District Command Center watchstanders at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday reporting he received a message via satellite phone from his son. The message stated the crew of the Elusive were experiencing high winds, 25-foot ocean swells and engine failure, but were attempting to repair the engine and not requesting assistance at the time.
> 
> The upturned hull is seen from the Maersk Kure which stood by the Cheeki Rafiki for a time before being stood down by the US Coast guard. The yacht has only just been relocated by the US Navy. - Click Here to view large photo
> District command center watchstanders established a communication watch with the crew of the Elusive. The watchstanders also conducted a search for the closest automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue (AMVER) ships to the distress and conducted an enhanced group call (EGC), a broadcast service using the Inmarsat communication system, asking for possible assistance from ships in the area.
> 
> The crew aboard the Bow Clipper, a 600-foot Norwegian flagged tanker, responded to the Coast Guard's EGC broadcast and contacted the crew of the Elusive via VH-F radio.
> 
> At approximately 5 p.m., a crewman aboard the Elusive contacted the district command center watchstanders and informed them the situation worsened, and the crew intended to abandon ship and transfer to the Bow Clipper.
> 
> The two crews coordinated the rescue and at approximately 7:15 all three people were reported safe aboard the Bow Clipper.
> 
> 'The early communications by the crew of the Elusive and the proactive response by the crew of the Bow Clipper allowed the watchstanders to arrange for the Bow Clipper to be in position to effect an immediate rescue when the situation aboard the sailing vessel Elusive deteriorated,' said Lt. Cmdr. Tim Eason, the 5th District's search and rescue mission coordinator. 'Additionally, the crew of the Elusive took the proper precautions before departing port by ensuring they had a working satellite phone and personal locator beacons.'
> 
> The Bow Clipper's next port of call will be Wilmington, North Carolina.
> 
> There are no reports of injuries.


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## night0wl

Any idea of the make and model of the yacht? 

Seems like these commercial vessels will eventually get pissed off at having to rescue all these recreational vessels in the middle of the ocean. How much longer till AMVER starts facing pushback from the commercial set...?


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## ravinracin

Looks like a Morgan Out Island 416 from USCG documented vessels.


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## argonaut

SY Marlin's crew report on their Blog a sighting of the Elusive:

23 « Juni « 2014 « SY Marlin

Rough translation/summary from the German:

SY Elusive was seen unharmed mid-Atlantic by SY Marlin one month later on their way to the Azores. They contacted the German RCC and were called back by USCG, who assured that this was a closed case. They considered salvaging the Elusive, but towing it was out of question, so they would have not only to sail it somewhere (slight problem of crew count) and then facing the legal details of doing anything with it, so they let it continue its drifting course.

-is


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## jzk

I would have a really hard time just leaving a vessel floating out in the Ocean if there were any chance I could sail it back.


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## argonaut

jzk said:


> I would have a really hard time just leaving a vessel floating out in the Ocean if there were any chance I could sail it back.


Well, yes - but they're a family crew, would have meant sailing both ships with only 1.5 hands if I read thery blog right...

-is


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## MarkofSeaLife

jzk said:


> I would have a really hard time just leaving a vessel floating out in the Ocean if there were any chance I could sail it back.


SV Marlin was in Grenada when I was there a year ago and its a big strong steel or aluminium boat with mum dad and about 35 children. It would be triple the value of Elusive.

It would be a hard ask to chuck mum only the salvaged boat and tell her to sail it 1,000 miles... Or send Don on the prize and leave mum to sail the big boat.

And that passage aint easy, as we have seen this year.


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## SVAuspicious

> ... said Lt. Cmdr. Tim Eason, the 5th District's search and rescue mission coordinator. 'Additionally, the crew of the Elusive took the proper precautions before departing port by ensuring they had a working satellite phone and personal locator beacons.'


I disagree with LCDR Eason. Satellite phones aren't part of GMDSS and I suggest for good reason. Would anyone expect it to be reasonable to use a cell phone to call a family member to in turn call emergency services?

It seems unlikely that anything would have turned out differently with an SSB or Inmarsat F77 aboard. However things could have gone even more horribly wrong with the sat phone.

Ah well - it's hard to argue with the _perceived_ convenience of a sat phone, and the familiarity of the form factor. If you use it like a cell phone it must work like a cell phone, right?


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## JonEisberg

jzk said:


> I would have a really hard time just leaving a vessel floating out in the Ocean if there were any chance I could sail it back.


In most cases, _FAR_ easier said than done...

No less a sailor than Matt Rutherford learned that last summer, when he came across the abandoned Swan 48 WOLFHOUND several hundred miles from Bermuda. After contacting the owner and insurance company, they agreed on a $40K salvage fee if he could get it to port...

After a few days of trying, he gave up on the attempt... And, if we know anything at all about Matt Rutherford, he's not one to give up easily...


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## svHyLyte

JonEisberg said:


> In most cases, _FAR_ easier said than done...
> 
> No less a sailor than Matt Rutherford learned that last summer, when he came across the abandoned Swan 48 WOLFHOUND several hundred miles from Bermuda. After contacting the owner and insurance company, they agreed on a $40K salvage fee if he could get it to port...
> 
> After a few days of trying, he gave up on the attempt... And, if we know anything at all about Matt Rutherford, he's not one to give up easily...


The suggested compensation is ridiculous and the (former) owner and insurer certainly knew it. For more on Salvage Law and Wolfhound, in particular, see SALVAGE LAW: Do You Get to Keep an Abandoned Boat?


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## Zanshin

I have to agree emphatically with SVAuspicious - a sat phone or cell phone is not part of the GMDSS system and should not be relied upon for emergencies.
Only the components described at 



 Wiki are recognized links in the rescue chain; and while PLBs use the same technology, they are usually not part of GMDSS and using them in an emergency might not get the type of response that the manufacturers extoll, for example take a look at 
CEPT.ORG - ECC - Topics - More topics... - Maritime - Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) usage in CEPT for some information on what countries don't allow them and which have local databases (meaning if your PLB is registered in the USA but you are in European waters, it will take a while for SAR to be activated, since the NOAA database is a national one)


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