# Words to the wise!



## sati8d (Jun 21, 2012)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SailorsandCruisers/permalink/2143697959243040/

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk


----------



## bigdogandy (Jun 21, 2008)

No habla Facebook. 

Word.


----------



## Rezz (Oct 12, 2012)

To those of you who couldn't glean the enclosed information from the vague title of this thread, the link is an incredibly well written story about a retired couple sailing in rough seas, very close to their destination, hitting a storm, getting rolled, and then evacuated by the Coast Guard. The writer conveys the chaos, both around her and within her, during this experience. It's worth a read.

Thanks for sharing, sati8d. It's a sobering story.


----------



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Can the story be cut and pasted here? If posted to FB, I suspect it’s not protected.


----------



## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

You have to join their group to read it....


----------



## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

Given Mark’s attitude toward the world I’ve deleted my account and won’t rejoin. Thanks for the summary.


----------



## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

The Loss of KELAERIN (JUNE 17, 2018)

The following is information about the recent loss of the 46’ sailboat KELAERIN, and the rescue (by USCG helicopter) of her crew. 

The text below is from the owner of the boat, and in her words. It is a very vivid description of what happened and how conditions were at the time. I have highlighted by bold some of the points to note. 

This is one of the best descriptions I have read outside of a book. I am making no judgement of this incident or loss. I am glad the crew is safe. I also commend the USCG rescue of these sailors. The helicopter crew was at the limit of their fuel, and landed with just one minute of fuel left, after the rescue 180 miles offshore! Heroic.

I am sharing this account here with the sole intention of helping others see what can happen to even experienced sailors on a well found cruising boat. This boat is 46 feet long. Sailed by an experienced couple who had 17 years of experience. This happened to them as they neared the end of their circumnavigation. 

Note the description of how the boat was inside after the wave strike. Note the loss of the dinghy and the life raft. Note the multiple inoperable electric bilge pumps and why. Note the inoperable SSB radio. Note the onset of hypothermia. Note the importance of the ditch bag. Please remember this post is NOT a criticism of them. Instead, note these things can happen to anyone. 

They were experienced cruisers and have 17 years of cruising experience. This couple had previously sailed a very long distance around the world, almost a circumnavigation. They crossed the Atlantic, went through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, and had crossed the Pacific on their way home to Washington state in the USA. 

I am also including a link to the video from the USCG helicopter. It shows the sea state about four hours after the EPIRB signal was sent. I am also including a still image, captured from the USCG video. Watch the video. 

Coast Guard Helicopter Video


_________________________

Loss of Kelaerin, June 17, 2018

The owner of KELAERIN wrote: 

“For months, I had been imagining the end of our circumnavigation. We would finally pass by the Fuca Pillar make our way into Neah Bay and have a good two days rest, or three, and get the boat all cleaned up. Our daughter wanted to meet us at the visitor’s dock in Squalicum Harbor, Bellingham so she asked that we not get in until Sunday, June 24, as she lived in Portland, Oregon and needed to have the time off from work to be there waiting for us. We would drive up to the dock with all our courtesy flags from over 50 countries flying on the staysail halyard, banners from various rallies and events we had participated in hanging on the lifelines and personal burgees from different organizations raised up the signal halyards. I hoped to make a banner showing a globe with our circumnavigation route over the 17 years. There would be our daughters on the dock and maybe a few interested friends waving us in and then a celebration with champagne and M&Ms, a tradition we started back in 1991 in Costa Rica. Then we would toast our life’s dream accomplished and rest on our laurels a bit before entering the next phase of our lives. Whatever that was, it would still certainly include boats.

A completely different scenario took over. We had left Oahu, Hawaii on May 26, 2018. After weeks of watching the “high” develop in the north Pacific, we felt we could safely leave now and have reasonable weather for the 21-27 day trip to Bellingham, Washington. We sailed just west of the high and had somewhat rough conditions for several days, but that was to be expected. Uncomfortable, not dangerous for us. When we got to latitude 38 degrees north we were able to make easting in the westerly winds blowing on the top of the high. So far so good, all as planned, although still kind of rough for the most part with confused seas much of the time.

Finally, at around 137 degrees longitude we were making a nice northeast course, and according to the chart plotter, heading straight for Cape Flattery. Kelaerin was making good an average of over 5 knots through the whole trip. The horse could smell the barn, so to speak, and we were becoming excited now that this trip would be over soon.

On the evening of June 15, Jim downloaded a grib file and came up to the cockpit, discouraged. For the previous week, we saw that about this time we should be seeing light to variable winds from the southwest. We could expect to have to raise the spinnaker for the light winds or motor part of the way.

But suddenly the reports were different. The wind was to be 21 to 26 knots from the north/northwest so it would still be a bumpy ride to the very end. The conditions, although uncomfortable, were nothing that should stop us from making progress.

On June 16, the winds slowly increased throughout the day. As we entered the night hours, we had winds well into the mid-30’s and seas were building. Still, Kelaerin was sailing fine, however, we were losing our direct line to Cape Flattery and making easting towards the Columbia River. The seas continued to build to over 4 meters, then 5 and now we were heading directly south with the waves on our stern, paralleling the coast, and sailing away from our destination. 

Eventually we were sailing bare poles at almost 5 knots down steep waves, the largest waves I had ever seen while cruising. I estimated they were 30 feet. We decided to keep one hour watches. I went to bed around 2:30 for a quick nap and to warm up under the covers.

I awoke around 3:30 to first a hard hit by a wave, so hard it literally felt as though we had been hit by a train while sitting on the tracks. I was suddenly on the ceiling and tons of water came in through the companionway hatch. The noise inside the boat was deafening. I managed with some difficulty to swing out of the berth and when I put my feet on the floor I was standing in water up to my ankles. The water was sloshing violently back and forth and from bow to stern. I could barely comprehend what I saw. The aft cabin companionway ladder was across the cabin and bashed into the louvred door of the hanging locker. One of the two scuba tanks was out of their snap holders behind the ladder and sitting in the hanging locker. Jim called me from the cockpit and I answered him, telling him I couldn’t get out of the aft cabin. (If I had needed to escape, it would have to be through the deck hatch over the berth.) I was able to move the ladder and the scuba tank from the doorway into the pass through. Everything that was on the quarter berth was now on the floor. Stuff had been piled there and secured for years for passages, but now was a heap on the cabin sole. But the second scuba tank was now in that bunk. We had a bag of laundry sitting in the shop that was behind the engine and all the clothes were sloshing around the cables and chains of the steering. The heavy, sliding doors to the engine room were bashed into the pass through. I had some difficulty getting those out of the way and navigating myself through the mess and now into the main cabin. The sight was so horrifying and complex that I could barely take it in. Almost every locker door was open or broken and the lockers were bare, with the contents sloshing back and forth on the cabin sole. The bilge hatches were gone – they weren’t always the easiest to get up with their pull rings -- and the water tanks exposed to view. Locker lids either flat or on the cabin sides were askew and shelves were broken. It just couldn’t be possible that my beautiful boat, the one we had for 27 years and was so lovingly maintained, could look like this.

I got to the main cabin companionway and saw Jim at the wheel. He had blood covering half of his face. He looked shocked but was steering us down a huge wave. I had a hard time taking this view in as well. I was looking at clear sky where once there had been a full cockpit enclosure. I asked, “Where is the dodger?” and Jim just said, “It’s gone.” He asked me to get on the VHF and put out a MAYDAY call. I felt strange doing this, even hesitated for a few seconds, as I never pictured us asking for help. We never had since our first time together out in sailboats back in 1978. We got no answer. He then asked if I could take the wheel, which I did while he went down below to check the damage and make sure we weren’t taking on water. 

While behind the wheel I had to keep the stern to the waves. I concentrated on steering and at some point as I looked forward I could see that the dinghy was gone. The handrails it had been tied to were broken, snapped like twigs. 

Then I realized something else was missing….the liferaft. I leaned over to see if it had maybe been caught in between the cabin top and the lifelines or blanketed by the main sail but it was not there. It had been tied to a stainless steel luggage rack that we had constructed and bolted to the cabin top just forward of the dodger. The teak coaming that ran across the cabin top was broken off with a part of it in the cabin. It was probably that which had hit Jim and gashed him above his eye. The mainsail had been spilled out of the stack pack and was hanging down to the deck and possibly some of it over the lifelines and I could see that it was shredded in places. All these things had compiled in my mind and unbelievably I was ledgering the costs of the damage and what it would take to fix all of this. Never had I thought that at the end of our voyage we would have to rebuild our boat.

Jim appeared at the companionway and said that the SSB radio was dead. The two VHF radios were on but since no one answered our MAYDAYS we weren’t positive they were sending out our messages.

He was pretty sure, he said, that we weren’t taking on any more water. It had been almost two hours since the wave had tossed us now and we were both showing signs of hypothermia. Jim said my lips were turning blue and the blood caked on his face looked ghastly. I was doing o.k. with steering but every once in a while a bigger wave broke near me and we would begin to broach. I had to hold on to the wheel with everything I had to keep it stern to. I screamed now and then. I know this because my voice was getting hoarse.

We were in very dangerous shape now, with no communications and no way to get a weather report. No one was answering our MAYDAY calls. The boat was seriously damaged and we had tons of water going back and forth in the cabin. Things that had been in the aft cabin, including our spare Aries windvane which was tied down beneath the aft cabin berth, had been propelled incredibly through the walkthrough and into the main cabin and had managed somehow not to hit me when I was still in the bunk. I wondered why I saw the carton of milk on the cabin sole, the contents of our refrigerator and freezer scattered about the boat. The refrigerator lid was heavy with a pull ring and it took a little doing to get it up in normal conditions. Jim assessed that we had been turned upside down. When the wave hit, he was wearing his SoSpenders but not tethered. Jim has great reflexes, thankfully, and said he had to hold on to the steering pedestal with all his might or he would have gone over. In retrospect we don’t think the tether would have helped seeing as how so many other things had been ripped off the boat. He described the enclosure as shredding and blowing off like newspaper in the wind. Later inspection showed that the pedestal had broken at the base. It was lucky we had steering at all at this point. When he lifted the chart table lid there was nothing in it now, except a lone can of tuna fish. Nothing was dry, the stove was broken and the water tanks were probably fouled through the vents. The engine itself may have worked but the starter motor was surely dead as it was now underwater. The engine wouldn’t have helped anyway, not unless we could get closer to shore and now we were getting farther away every minute.

We had 4 electric bilge pumps, one was a large capacity pump. All 4 clogged with debris. The debris was from all the soft back books we had on board. The cheaper paper turned to mush with all the sloshing and went right through the screens into the pumps. There was no way we could operate the manual pump in these conditions and to get that much water out. While Jim was describing this to me, I kept looking over to where the liferaft had been. Then the reality of our situation seemed to be clear to both of us. I said, “I think we should activate the EPIRB” and he agreed. We had a 406 Mhz EPIRB and he went to get it out of its holder and brought it up to our binocular box on the cabin (the binoculars were gone) and set it in there and and pushed the button.

We couldn’t be sure that anyone would be able to get to us or hear us. We had the EPIRB properly registered and overhauled with new batteries every few years as required. Originally we had our daughters on the contact list, but we got frustrated with trying to get them at times. It could be days before we ever heard back and that could happen while we were in distress. Jim had asked old buddies of his if they would be contacts. Ed was a HAM radio operator and Richard was a tugboat captain. Both of these guys were in almost daily contact with Jim through winlink and Jim would report our position to them and the sea conditions. We had set off the EPIRB around 0538. The coast guard immediately contacted Ed and Richard to verify that we were indeed in trouble and they reported back our position the evening before, our course, our destination and that we had reported rough conditions. Then they went into action.

Almost 4 hours later, as I was at the wheel, I heard the Coast Guard call us on the old VHF radio in the aft cabin. I reached in to answer, “This is Kelaerin”, and immediately felt we just might survive this ordeal after all. They were coming from the Warrenton, Oregon base. They said they were 20 minutes away from us. I told them that incredibly the chart plotter was still functioning and I could give them our exact position, which I did. They informed me that when they arrived they would have only a few minutes with us and we needed to make the decision: they could give us a dewatering pump and we would be on our own or they could extract us from the vessel. I looked at Jim and asked, “which?” and he answered, “the dewatering pump”. Still at this point, I did not envision us leaving Kelaerin. The pilot radioed back that we had to think about that and have our possessions we wanted to take with us ready to go. Jim got back on the wheel for awhile while I changed clothes (a few things were still dry) and I went about the boat collecting hard drives, cameras, etc. This was much harder than I had anticipated. I could not get over all the stuff floating around inside the boat to get to the box where our passports and cash were. Jim’s wallet had been in the chart table and was just gone. My backpack which held my wallet was nowhere to be seen. Jim’s good Nikon camera was in a locker up forward with all kinds of stuff blocking the way. I got the hard drives, the go pro camera and the little Nikon Coolpix I used. Jim’s new LG phone was gone but mine had survived. I had a small dry bag and stuffed everything I could in there. Jim had gone up to get the cash but when he went into the cockpit he pulled it out of his pocket and the cash began flying in the wind out of his hands. I stuffed what was left into a small cooler. Then I went back to steering while Jim continued to try and get water out of the boat.

The Coast Guard continued to call me asking me to count down so their RDF could locate us. For a while I wondered if they would find us in time, but eventually I saw them coming. They informed me that they would drop a swimmer in so I told them we would lower the stern ladder and Jim would stream a heavy line so the swimmer could grab it. I informed them that I was going bare poles at 4.6 knots at that time and there would be no way whatsoever I could turn around. I’m sure they already knew that. I asked if they would drop the swimmer on the port side of the boat as the mainsail was blocking my view off the starboard side. The helicopter dropped low, on the starboard side, and the swimmer jumped in but I could not see any of this, only the blades as they whipped around near me. I was not aware when he came aboard. I kept looking for him not realizing he had already boarded and was discussing the situation with Jim at the stern. I was waiting for the pump and then looked over to see the Coast Guard swimmer coming towards the cockpit and informing me that we were getting off the boat. “No,” I said. “We are staying on the boat, we just need the pump.” Then Jim was behind him and said, “Joy, we are getting off.” I was incredulous. It was beyond comprehension that we would ever leave the boat. I still felt that, although, we were in serious trouble here, that we could save Kelaerin. How could we possibly leave her, after nearly 70,000 miles of cruising and 27 years together with only 150 miles to go? Jim had always said he wouldn’t abandon the boat unless he had to step up into a liferaft. So when he confirmed the Coast Guardsman’s declaration, with all his experience at sea, I knew finally that this battle was over. The sea had won.

Then everything went at hyperspeed. The Coast Guard swimmer said I had just a minute to go and gather my things. This is when good sense left and stupid crazy set in. Since we had not planned to leave the boat, I was not prepared well at all. I ran down below, threw out the computer, my “pink book” with all our personal and important info in it, my dry bag, and the red cooler into the cockpit. The CG had taken over the wheel and he kept telling me to be quick, “Go, go, go” he said. I ran back to the aft cabin (this was when nonsense set in for a bit) to retrieve some jewelry. Later I couldn’t believe I had done that as it had taken precious time when I could have better secured the more important items. I threw out my forearm crutch which I needed to walk and he was now telling me there was no more time and I had to get back to the stern of the boat. I asked, “what about my computer and the red cooler?” and he said he would get it and urged me back. Jim grabbed the red cooler and threw it towards the stern and it lodged out of my reach. I again said, “I need my computer and the red cooler” and the CG swimmer said, again it was OK. He told us to inflate our sospenders and jump. What!!!!! Of course this was the only thing to do, but I hesitated for a second and looked at the giant wave coming at us and said, “I’m not jumping in that” and he said GO NOW, Jim said JUMP and I was in the water. Jim later said he had never seen me swimming so fast. I just wanted to get to that basket being lowered before a wave tumbled me under and I might possibly never come back up. Getting into the basket was easy, I just rolled in and moments later I was in the helicopter. The basket lowered again for Jim and he was helped out into the helicopter. Then the swimmer came up and I was hoping that I would see the computer and the red cooler but, of course, it wasn’t there. I knew it wouldn’t be there. The doors were closed and we started to fly away. I had to restrain myself from shouting that I wanted to go back. The hardest moment of both Jim’s and my lives were when we could see Kelaerin through the window and we both realized she was probably lost forever, that somehow we had failed her when she had been so good to us for so many years.

The ride back was over an hour long. The pilots made conversation with us through miked up helmets they provided. We all introduced ourselves. I was just amazed at how professional and highly trained these guys were. The swimmer had to grab the line behind the boat and pull himself into the ladder as we were going nearly 5 knots, which he did in just seconds. His job was to get us off the boat in short order once Jim had made the decision to leave Kelaerin. He was not cruel or impersonal when ordering me to get going. All through that I realized he had a job to do and could not brook any nonsense from me. He was completely in charge and trained to handle this situation. They must come up against some serious stubbornness when trying to get people off boats and they know how to handle it.

When we were about to land Jim heard the pilot tell ground control that they were landing off base at an alternate site near Astoria as they were down to one minute of fuel. ONE MINUTE!!! They had been at the far extension of their range when they had reached us 180 miles out to sea and no time to spare. When we disembarked the copter, I hugged all four Coasties, Jim shook their hands. The pilots came around with smiles on their faces….a job well done, a successful rescue. Then they told me that I was pretty cool on the radio and it helped them a lot. Thank God, I did something right. The EMTs were waiting for us and now I realized we were without any ID whatsoever, we were soaking wet and shivering, no shoes for me and I didn’t have my forearm crutch so I had to be supported across the tarmac to the ambulance.

My small dry bag which held my phone and the camera filled with water as I swam to the basket. Incredibly the phone still worked and I was able to call our girls. Our daughter, Kelly, lived in Portland so she dropped everything and came to Astoria to pick us up. Our oldest daughter, Erin, was visiting friends in Missoula and immediately booked a flight to Portland. They took excellent care of us, even buying us some clothes and Erin helped us get back online by buying a computer for us until our credit cards came within a couple of days.

I share this story in the hopes it helps anyone else for preparation or even the realization that just anything can happen during a passage. 

Our biggest mistake that we could have avoided was not putting all our important personal items in a ditch bag. The lifesaving ditch bag had been on a shelf with the handle facing outwards so that we could grab it, but it was of no use if we had to jump in the ocean from a sinking boat and no liferaft. In any case, it wasn’t there after we flipped over and I have no idea as to where it went. I’ll be kicking myself forever for not having the IDs, passports, cash, hard drives and even the little bits of jewelry in a bag ready to go. As for everything else, it is an unimaginable loss. My pictures that we’ve taken over the years were on a hard drive. I had thought about putting them up on the cloud, but didn’t. All our logs were on hard drives, print and computers, but they could not be retrieved in time. I had my collection of courtesy flags and small coins, that were of no value to anyone else but me, in a bag under a setee seat. My assortment of boat cards from the many friends we have made while cruising is gone. We will have to rely on memory now for most of the last 17 years of cruising and that, at 70, is going to be quite a challenge. I’ll have to get on it soon.”
___________________

Here is the text of the USCG Press Release: 

Coast Guard rescues 2 off of sailing vessel 180 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash.

WARRENTON, Ore. — The Coast Guard rescued a husband and wife off a sailing vessel 180 miles off the coast of Grays Harbor, Washington, Saturday morning.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew, from Sector Columbia River, tracked the sailing vessel’s electronic position indicating radio beacon and safely hoisted the couple before transporting them to the sector’s base in Warrenton.
The Coast Guard District 13 Command Center in Seattle received an EPIRB alert at 5:46 a.m. from the 46-foot sailing vessel Kelaerin. The sailors were reportedly transiting between Hawaii and Bellingham, Washington, when they ran into rough weather and seas. 
The helicopter aircrew and a crew aboard a C-27 Spartan aircraft from Air Station Sacramento were launched to assist. The helicopter crew arrived on scene at 9:33 a.m. and lowered a rescue swimmer to assess the situation. The sailing vessel wasn’t actively taking on water but seawater had washed aboard. The aircrew conducted the hoist at the request of the vessel owners because of health concerns.
________________

I guess (one) the lesson(s) learned here..paper is not your friend...


----------



## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

Amazing that they survived. Sea always wins. Very depressing story actually. Coasties were amazing.


----------



## denverd0n (Jun 20, 2008)

Minnewaska said:


> If posted to FB, I suspect it's not protected.


Even things posted on Facebook are protected by copyright laws. Heck! This posting of mine is protected by copyright laws.


----------



## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

The article said the boat was NOT taking on water when they were on the chopper. Did they close it up tight? Or scuttle it?

Is it adrift somewhere and can be recovered? What are the prevailing currents where the incident took place? 

(What happened to the abandoned boat in the Caribe that the owner was trying to organize a recovery?)


----------



## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

We'd read this earlier in the day, and it was a pretty sobering account to me. 
In my experience of being capsized three times in a tropical cyclone off Fiji, we had many similar experiences, but our pumps were fouled by can labels instead of books, a fuel tank split open, etc. but essentially the interior was every bit as messed up as she described. We'd lost our dink as well, but there was no lifeline out there, back then. It was on us to save the boat and survive.
I've read a lot of 'abandon ship' yachtie stories and most seem overly dramatic and mostly written as justification for leaving a boat because they were terrified, not because they really had to. And perhaps with their skill level, they really did need to abandon that boat at that time. But this story rings true of the agony of *having* to abandon your boat/home/life and dreams. 
Like the captain of Kelaerin, I've always said that I wouldn't leave the boat until I had to step up into the liferaft, but this story kinda shook my certainty, even though I've survived a similar incident. I was under 30 back then, not over 70. So, let's hope I never get in that position again, as once is truly enough, IMO.


----------



## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

Capta,
This story was posted elsewhere in a lifeboat thread. I’ve skimmed it, enough to get the gist, I’ll read it more carefully when I have more time. Sobering indeed. 

Thanks for your additional remarks. As I close on 68 this year I share your desire to avoid similar circumstances.


----------



## SanderO (Jul 12, 2007)

30 and 70 make a world of different... even 50 and 70. Seniors will to go offshore at their own peril. It in not prudent to do it without some young strong hands on board. Learn to accept the diminished capacity and change.

This couple was too old for what they had to face.. and not prepared and their guard was down. But who wants to sail with the expectation of a killer storm in their path?


----------



## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

You are too hard on them. They only did what anyone in their position would do. The skills and judgement they used probably saved their lives. Its gotta be hard. But the husband acted and made the decision because protecting his wife was more important than any boat.


----------



## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

Don’t care what their age is. Was the time to leave.
Note:
I’ve take to having my raft in a valise. Initially to prevent theft but later after hearing canister rafts on mounts on the push pulpit being washed away and canisters mounted on deck being torn while inflating or the whole canister washing over board.
I won’t go off shore without a JSD. Period. These folks could have put one out. Buttoned up and still had a boat in all likelihood.
I given up on singling except coastal. Nothing to do with age but rather too many experiences where even with the AP steering had desperate need for another pair of hands for a key repair. 
God bless the CG. Their missions can be every bit as dangerous as a firefight and an interdiction can be a firefight. Have Navy friends make fun of the CG. Don’t get it.


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

God bless the Coasties👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍


----------



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

It reads like they retrieved their boat at a later date. Anyone have the epilogue? Passage during hurricane season, albeit early?

Note to self........ wife never reads this story.


----------



## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

outbound said:


> I won't go off shore without a JSD. Period. These folks could have put one out. Buttoned up and still had a boat in all likelihood.


Is that some sort of drogue? I was wondering is such conditions they did not have one out? I try not to judge their actions because they have a world of sailing experience over me. Well not quite the world but close.


----------



## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Jordan Series Drogue. 
You will find some 10 y.o. posts by SailingDog here where he raves about the JSD.


----------



## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

You can put it out by yourself. Then it’s totally a passive technique. You go below. Keeps you stern to the waves and slows you down enough you won’t pitchpole. But allows enough forward motion a wave strike won’t destroy the boat. In hurricane conditions I’d probably lose my hard dodger with a wave strike but won’t lose my boat or life. 
I’ve been pooped while at the wheel while running. I broke ribs. I had a bruise that perfectly outlined where I was pressed against the wheel for weeks. I got the bruise through fleece, foulies and foam life vest/harness. That was in a storm of much less severity than these folks report. I’ve come to believe I’m a wimp. Want to set the boat up, button down, lie on the sole, whimper and cry for my mama. I think it’s crazy to believe you can survive hand steering and running in a storm like reported here. Regardless of age and fitness you will be exhausted in short order. Make any mistake you broach and roll.


----------



## aeventyr60 (Jun 29, 2011)

SanderO said:


> 30 and 70 make a world of different... even 50 and 70. Seniors will to go offshore at their own peril. It in not prudent to do it without some young strong hands on board. Learn to accept the diminished capacity and change.
> 
> This couple was too old for what they had to face.. and not prepared and their guard was down. But who wants to sail with the expectation of a killer storm in their path?


It's pretty much an AARP convention out here mate.

My friends Jim & Joy were not to old to do this! I guess a windward passage SESE from Asia to Fiji and then down to New Zealand and back to the PNW to complete their circumnavigation wasn't enough preparation in your book? Read a bit more carefully and ask your self why Joy was looking for her walking stick? We used to ride bikes together in Malalysia..she had suffered from a crippling leg issue form a childhood bout with polio. Some of the gutsiest and experienced cruisers i've met.

Don't let your own infirmities cloud your ideas what others are be doing out here.


----------



## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

CalebD said:


> Jordan Series Drogue.
> You will find some 10 y.o. posts by SailingDog here where he raves about the JSD.


After i posted the question I did a random search of the files in my head and came up with the name. It did not take long for me to figure it out since they have my name. It seems like a no brainer to have one of these when crossing oceans. Although I seem to recall some posters being against them or at least conversations as to which way to have the boat lie when deploying them.


----------



## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

aeventyr60 said:


> It's pretty much an AARP convention out here mate.
> 
> My friends Jim & Joy were not to old to do this! I guess a windward passage SESE from Asia to Fiji and then down to New Zealand and back to the PNW to complete their circumnavigation wasn't enough preparation in your book? Read a bit more carefully and ask your self why Joy was looking for her walking stick? We used to ride bikes together in Malalysia..she had suffered from a crippling leg issue form a childhood bout with polio. Some of the gutsiest and experienced cruisers i've met.
> 
> Don't let your own infirmities cloud your ideas what others are be doing out here.


I assumed these were your friends based on your post earlier. I imagine it's got to hurt vicariously to see them go through this. Even though they survived, to see their circumnavigation cut short, would feel like loosing a friend.

Were they able to recover the boat?


----------



## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

I don't believe the age of the captain and crew had any bearing on the outcome. Maybe because I'm old, but I've run across lots of 30 somethings that could not have handled the same situation as well.

Gary


----------



## OldEagle (Nov 16, 2013)

Here's video shot by the USCG as their helicopter approached the vessel during this rescue:





And here's a post-rescue interview. 



 Seeing it makes the points.
Looks & sounds like the crew did well, the Coast Guard did well, and the correct decision--to abandon the vessel--was quickly made.


----------



## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Minnewaska said:


> Passage during hurricane season, albeit early?


There is no hurricane season in the North Pacific Ocean!


----------



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

No, but there is where they departed and the spillover can still hurt. What caused the problem?


----------



## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

jephotog said:


> Is that some sort of drogue? I was wondering is such conditions they did not have one out? I try not to judge their actions because they have a world of sailing experience over me. Well not quite the world but close.


I don't like drogues, period. I believe the boat is safer being able to be steered out from under a breaking wave, kinda like a surfboard.
But that's my personal preference, from my own experiences, and I do not advocate that my preference is correct for anyone else.
I will say though, I fished that coast from Mexico to Alaska on crabbers and salmon boats as a teen, and it is one of the most consistently rough and dangerous places I have ever been. Hurricane season in the Caribbean is a cakewalk in comparison. After all, you can avoid the hurricanes, especially with internet weather that we have available today, but that coast has few safe harbors and even if you know bad weather is coming, there's little you can do to avoid it, if offshore.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

I have a sea anchor. If I had a cat I would have a series drogue. 

I haven't rear the article and have no intention of reading it. I know what the risks are. 

*They got off an unsunked boat of their own volition. Reasons probably age/shock/injuries/mental health.

Met a guy yesterday... Been waiting at this maria 5 years waiting for his mother to die. Sounds like she has another 5 years in her. So he will be 70 before he starts again. 

Go now. 

Oh, the other bit about old people... They think cruisibg is healthy, it is... But they don't do any gym. They are old, healthy but soft. 

When in Port work out.


----------



## Yawlman (Feb 19, 2017)

I don't understand the reported conditions. 30 kts of wind and 30 ft seas. Is there a counter current in that area, shallow depth? And what would have been the mechanism of the roll? Broach and roll?


----------



## sati8d (Jun 21, 2012)

There happened to be a piece on FB about those waters st the confluence of the Columbia and the Pacific, great video....nasty body of water. They got caught wrong place wrong time. We should not quibble or Monday morning quarterback their actions.
There's always somebody else's opinion. They're alive after a 35+day passage, probably tired. We weren't there.

I too have my learning points gleaned from this saga. They didn't want to be pulled, but when tired, freezing in 50 degree water up to your ankles, etc etc...might do the same...and the CG can be rather convincing I'm sure.

Let's just nod and be grateful, not judgemental please.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


----------



## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

sati8d said:


> ..and the CG can be rather convincing I'm sure.


Though not mentioned in the article..the USCG can deem a vessel unseaworthy and justifiably terminate the voyage of that vessel and extract all crew...


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

aa3jy said:


> Though not mentioned in the article..the USCG can deem a vessel unseaworthy and justifiably terminate the voyage of that vessel and extract all crew...


Very difficult to force someone to abandon ship.

Especially an Australian with a full larder of expletives. Starting with that one about sex and travel.


----------



## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> Very difficult to force someone to abandon ship.


I can't imagine the Coast Guard forcing someone to abandon ship in a storm. It's seems difficult and dangerous enough getting a willing rescue victim into a helicopter in a pitching sea. To forcibly extract them would be a lot harder, with or without the Aussie Attitude.

If I recall this happened 180 miles offshore. Does the USCG have any jurisdiction there?


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

jephotog said:


> If I recall this happened 180 miles offshore. Does the USCG have any jurisdiction there?


Nope.

They claim to have ability to board any US flagged vessel worldwide for drug inspections... But I cant see happening without a host country permission. So only in international waters for that. 
In reality drug seisures are normally don't when a suspect vessel arrives in the next port.

But your point on how difficult it is to get a willing person off a boat safely is the crux. If a USCG swimmer 180nms off the coast had to somehow overpower a citizen on a non-sinking ship the Damages claim in court would be Huge!


----------



## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

jephotog said:


> If I recall this happened 180 miles offshore. Does the USCG have any jurisdiction there?


I believe that if you have called them for assistance, then they DO have full, legal jurisdiction, even that far offshore.

Gary


----------



## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

Note..in Mexican/International waters..

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...-owner-from-sailboat-2011dec05-htmlstory.html

"The Coast Guard may board any vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, whether on the high seas, or on waters over which the United States has jurisdiction, to make inquiries, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of U.S. laws. 14 U.S.C. § 89."

Note: the USCG Search and Rescue areas..

https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=gmdssArea


----------



## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

travlin-easy said:


> I believe that if you have called them for assistance, then they DO have full, legal jurisdiction, even that far offshore.
> 
> Gary


I guess if you call them and they show, they should have something to say about the continuation of your trip.

I think the story about the blind guy is fishy.

He called in an emergency.
Unless the aft cabin was filled with $100 bills or it had a gold keel, no Flicka is worth $150k.


----------



## MarkofSeaLife (Nov 7, 2010)

aa3jy said:


> Note..in Mexican/International waters..
> 
> Coast Guard forces owner from boat - The San Diego Union-Tribune
> 
> ...


As I said, that's for drug inspections.


----------



## Arcb (Aug 13, 2016)

aa3jy said:


> Note..in Mexican/International waters..
> 
> Coast Guard forces owner from boat - The San Diego Union-Tribune
> 
> ...


I would be a bit surprised if Mexican teritorial waters extend 60 miles out to sea, more likely 12 miles.

The vessel in the article was an American flagged vessel in what is likely international waters. The USCG has legal authority to inspect US flagged vessels on international waters for safety.


----------



## aa3jy (Jul 23, 2006)

MarkofSeaLife said:


> As I said, that's for drug inspections.


Yea..right... ?

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/b6912f2a-5fbc-48b3-b098-48a4f6093906


----------



## Pendragon35 (Jun 26, 2014)

chef2sail said:


> God bless the Coasties👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍


Amen to that!


----------



## sati8d (Jun 21, 2012)

How about we keep the thread on topic

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


----------



## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

So, did they get their boat back? The article reads like they found broken bits, after the fact. Seems unlikely, but if they did, that's quite a story.


----------



## Sal Paradise (Sep 14, 2012)

I read this account over again. In everything the husband does and says, I see him guarding his wife, keeping her calm - and then getting her off quickly. He tells her that her lips are blue. Despite his grusome injury he steers, goes below to check for leaks, he calls the coast guard, he lies to his wife and says they are just going to get a pump. Then he tells her the decision is made, we are getting off. 

It is heroic in the sense that he knew, I assume he knew early on.,.... even when she didn't know. 

He knew the choice he had to make, he knew that he had to save his wife - and I commend him for his focus. I am sure their daughters appreciate having their mother back alive.

Its seems like there was no discussion of a sea anchor, which if nothing else would have stabilized the boat and bought them time to consider options.


----------



## Skyeterrier (Feb 11, 2016)

I read this account and it seems like the main elements of the story, as told by the couple, include:

-rough seas
-a large wave striking the boat, probably with the hatch into the cabin open? With ingress of a LOT of water from that wave.
-at the same time the wave caused a lot of other damage including loss of life raft and dinghy?
-inability to dewater the boat due to a paste of debris from wet paper clogging the bilge pump filters
-hypothermia/shock/fatigue affecting both of them
-no comms available except regular VHF and the EPIRB, they had SSB radio but it didn't appear to function after the wave event

It didn't sound like the boat was sinking or taking on additional water, but from what I could piece from the story the hypothermia and overall condition of the two and the loss of life raft and effective communications, along with the ongoing sea state, meant the situation was pretty dicey and no room whatsoever for bad luck or error. So the evacuation, while no doubt a gut wrenching decision, seemed warranted.

The main lesson learned seems to be that this could happen even to very experienced sailor/cruisers on a well found boat, and that if the hatch was indeed open when the wave struck just the detail of having it closed could have prevented the need to abandon the vessel.

Outstanding job by the USCG.


----------



## OldEagle (Nov 16, 2013)

I agree with the assessments by both Sal Paradise & Skyeterrier.

On reading the account, I, too, wondered whether the companionway had been left open--the volume of water that got into the cabin seemed large in a very short time. There were experienced sailors, though, so I'd be surprised if they'd done so.

Age makes a difference. The account mentioned that they were rotating on 1 hr watches. That's very little time for rest, but a 1 hr watch might have been the best that they could do. Younger folks might have tolerated longer watches, then recovered better between watches.

The wife appears to have been a bit disoriented and misfocused after the hit; in contrast, the husband, despite his injuries--and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he wasn't concussed given the impact force to his head--seems to have retained excellent situational awareness.



> It didn't sound like the boat was sinking or taking on additional water, but from what I could piece from the story the hypothermia and overall condition of the two and the loss of life raft and effective communications, along with the ongoing sea state, meant the situation was pretty dicey and no room whatsoever for bad luck or error. So the evacuation, while no doubt a gut wrenching decision, seemed warranted.


But added to this--the steering pedestal was apparently broken by the impact of the hit from the husband. If this actually occurred, then they were at risk of losing their ability to steer, at any moment, without additional warning.

It's easy to look at a story like this and say the boat wasn't sinking, they could have solved this problem this way, that problem that way, etc. Maybe a crew of 3 or 4 young fit resilient adults would have had more capacity to do so. I think the husband correctly assessed the situation in its totality, not just its parts, and kept his priorities straight. The sea will always be there, and you can buy another boat.


----------



## outbound (Dec 3, 2012)

At the age of 30 in storm conditions our standard was no more than 20 to 30 minutes at the wheel with at least one other on deck to assist as necessary. This was with experienced, fit, committed racers. 
Hand steering in a storm especially down wind while surfing is very dangerous and requires a extremely high level of attention. On a balanced spade rudder takes not much strength unless you oversteer. 
Continue to believe either warps or drogues are mandatory for a mom and pop or small crew if you are going to employ this technique regardless of age. In fact continue to believe for a small crew of any age in true storm conditions one must have the ability to setup the boat to be safe passively. Totally without input from crew. Age isn’t the determinant. If you get exhausted in 15 minutes or 1/2 hour or 4 hours it makes no difference. You’re just as exhausted and non functional. The sea in a storm is stronger, and last longer than you. I don’t care how buff you are.
Cruisers tend to be fit. Maybe not when they start but soon thereafter. Seems these folks are likely to be fit and well experienced. Think it unkind to throw any stones at them.


----------



## OldEagle (Nov 16, 2013)

Here's a happy ending! USCG recovered their boat, apparently intact...I'll bet this will take a great deal of the "sting" out of their rescue & abandonment of the boat:
https://kymkemp.com/2018/07/24/coast-guard-rescues-sailing-vessel-near-fort-bragg-after-it-was-abandoned-near-washington-state/


----------



## UPHILL (Dec 22, 2010)

Minnewaska said:


> So, did they get their boat back? The article reads like they found broken bits, after the fact. Seems unlikely, but if they did, that's quite a story.


Looks as of they have..
https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2018-07-25


----------



## OldEagle (Nov 16, 2013)

Per the link I posted--the USCG towed the boat in on July 22, so 3 weeks after Minnewaska's post. The photos show an apparently intact boat, and the USCG deemed it seaworthy enough to warrant bringing it in.


----------



## 505722 (Jun 17, 2018)

thank you for sharing!


----------



## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

It's always helpful to learn from the experiences of others. Could have done, and should have dones, are one of the aspects worth examining. In the real world, real time, things are a lot more difficult to assess. At any rate, the Kelaeron crew - in my opinion - come across as competent and experienced. What happened to them could have happened to any of us. 

I was dismayed that they lost everything, and so close to home. And now ... the boat has been found. I am so happy for them and wish them the best of luck. May they find their Kelaeron back in the "cruising" mode and all their dreams come true.


----------

