Missing Schooner

[cjmcfall]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/...812800278.html

Let's hope they are all ok!!

[camaraderie]

Also...this 25 footer enroute from California to Mexico:
http://www.boatwatchnet.org/FullText.htm

[teshannon]

Cam,
Interesting reading! My prayers are with them all.

[Valiente]

Sounds like Picton Castle: a conversion job.

[kwaltersmi]

And still no new news about the other missing boats reported on Boat Watch Networked from earlier this fall.

[camaraderie]

When newbies dream of crossing oceans and relate stories of how this boat or that boat did it...it is always helpful to remember how this boat or that boat didn't. Too often boats are lost with little fanfare or public commentary while the daredevils who make it are celebrated.
Nothing wrong with a well-prepared small boat and an experienced captain exceeding what most of our personal comfort zones are. But there IS danger out there and these sad tales drive the point home.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by cjmcfall

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/...812800278.html

Let's hope they are all ok!!

More on this here, including an image of the ship. It appears that communications is not their strongpoint. Hope for the best but not looking good. Not much in the way of bolt holes once they are south of Minerva and I'm presuming that would be the first place the searchers would look.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...812824824.html

Nah, I'm crazy. If they were/are on passage from Norfolk, Minerva is way off to the east. Between Norfolk and Nth Island NZ there is nothing except a little place called Great Island.

[Hartley18]

The skipper and crew are apparently very experienced and the EPIRB hasn't been activated, but it seems no-one set up a regular sked with them so they haven't been contactable on SSB. Doesn't seem like they've got a satellite terminal or phones either, which on a ship that does this regularly, surprises me a bit.

I heard an interview with the owners this morning on the ABC on the way to work and they didn't sound too worried - apparently this particular 28-metre steel-hulled 3-masted schooner is not terribly fast in light winds and they've been late before!

The owners said that they probably got becalmed somewhere and will turn up in a week or so. Let's hope so...

[labatt]

Cam - Scary and humbling site. Thanks for posting it, I think.

[tdw]

Cameron,
ETA was last Saturday into Auckland. Norfolk is approx 550nms out of Auckland. Even at 3 knots that's a seven day passage and they are already 5 days overdue. Of that 550nms nearly 200 is coastal NZ.

Now , having just said that ......

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/mis...812869942.html

They've found her.

Now look, it's great they have been found and all on board are OK but eta is now ten days away which makes them 15 days late on a 550nm voyage. Man that is some speed machine.