Paul Lim rescued off Australia

[mitiempo]

It wasn't. Singlehanders cannot insure for offshore passages as far as I know anyway.

Paul is tough. He sailed from BC to Tahiti, Chile, around the Horn to South Georgia, and on to South Africa before this leg. All alone.

He also traveled far on his previous boat, a Haida 26.

If he could have saved Kekuli he would have, he has the skill and experience.

The boat was the same design Hal Roth made popular.

[steel]

Why did he sink it then?

I mean really what are the odds of a collision with another small craft? Couldn't he leave the anchor light on powered by the battery and solar panels?

I can't imagine another boat hitting it at 7 knots being all that bad for the boat that hit it. It would just smash in the top of the bow.

I read an article about how people have a tendency to want to get out the life raft and abandon ship in a storm and then days or weeks later their boat turns up somewhere still floating!

I have not read a lot about sailing but I have never heard of someone scuttling their boat when they abandon it.

To Scuttle or Not - That Is the Question - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

It wasn't. Singlehanders cannot insure for offshore passages as far as I know anyway.

So what would happen if I got a boat on credit which requires insurance and then I went single handed off shore?

[mitiempo]

To answer your last question first -If they knew you went offshore they would probably cancel the policy. Every policy has stipulated areas of navigation. If you had a claim they wouldn't pay and you would still owe the bank.

As far as scuttling the boat - it was the seamanlike thing to do. Would have sunk anyway eventually but Paul made it happen faster. As I understand it the aft third of the boat had considerable structural damage.

[OPossumTX]

Originally Posted by mitiempo

He didn't lose engine power. The engine broke its mounts in the rough seas and started to destroy the aft end of the boat. Volvo MD-2 with a weight of about 500 lbs.

In rough water, a 500 lb engine going around below decks like a pea in a police whistle is not conducive to maintaining a water tight hull to say the least. With seas like that, there would be no way to get it stabilized long enough to lash it in place. In any case, it would not be a one man job!

[soulfullspirit]

I have gone through quite a few articles written about Paul over the last few days and nowhere have i seen or heard if Paul had a Jordon Drogue or parachute device,
After thinking over what would i have done in the same situation and God hope i never am i thought it was imperative that the boat never rolled as he now has a missile loose in his yacht re his engine has come adrift.
Now this is where i stumble
1/ he has one on board but is so exhausted he is not thinking straight
2/ he dose not have one on board and there is no one to lend him one 10 years out of date
3/if he dose not have one why didn't he improvise one out of a sail
4/if he dose not have one why the hell was he out in the southern ocean in the middle of winter, summer is bad enough out there. You just never know what is going to hit you but you can guarantee you will get hit.
By southern ocean standards it was only a average type of blow nowhere near a survival storm of over 100knts.
I would like to think he was exhausted and had all the gear he needed but never used it you are right i was not out there but let me tell you there is a huge reason why i wasn't out on the southern ocean in winter

[soulfullspirit]

and here is another thought if you don't have the proper safety gear out there ie an EPIRB in date then you bloody well should have to pay for the rescue

[Minnewaska]

Paying for rescue is an age old debate. I think many would agree, but putting in writing an exact description of those reimbursable risks is very hard. The day before an EPIRB was invented, it wouldn't have been considered necessary. The next day, it still wasn't really commerically available, etc. Keeping those requirements current would be very hard.

As far as insurance goes, most banks require a Breach of Warranty clause in the policy, which will still pay their loan balance even if you violate the coverage requirements of the policy. None of your equity would be covered. Naturally, that clause typically costs a few more dollars, but not as much as one might think.

[bandaidmd]

Originally Posted by soulfullspirit

and here is another thought if you don't have the proper safety gear out there ie an EPIRB in date then you bloody well should have to pay for the rescue

say olde chap his beacon did its job I don't see where it has any bearing on the repayment of a successful rescue.


His so called "friend" that loaned him the beacon hopefully mentioned to him the battery s date,that's not to say he should not have checked it himself.

When a engine is "ripped from its mounts" you would think he would not have had to open a seacock to scuttle the boat i would think keeping it afloat would be the issue.

[bandaidmd]

Originally Posted by OPossumTX

In rough water, a 500 lb engine going around below decks like a pea in a police whistle is not conducive to maintaining a water tight hull to say the least. With seas like that, there would be no way to get it stabilized long enough to lash it in place. In any case, it would not be a one man job!

Totally agree,It would not be a good thing to wrestle with and have it pin you below deck.

[mitiempo]

I don't see how a Jordan Drogue or a parachute would have helped much. Paul has sailed in worse conditions when he rounded the Horn and sailed to South Georgia earlier in the voyage. The issue wasn't handling the boat in the conditions but that the engine was destroying its aft structure.

The Epirb worked - out of date or not so I guess those batteries aren't that bad. It wasn't loaned but given to him as better than nothing as far as I know.

He was not insured. I don't think a singlehander can get insurance for that kind of trip.

On this voyage Paul had sailed from Victoria through the Pacific and around the Horn and on to South Africa. On a previous trip in a smaller boat he has sailed many thousand miles as well. I don't think he was exhausted. I think in the circumstances he made the correct decision.

As far as paying for rescue I am against in in most circumstances. It is a tradition of the sea to rescue others when necessary.

soulfullspirit

Are you an experienced offshore sailor or a second guesser with a computer?