Extreme conditions

[brokesailor]

Here's a good article to read over a hot cup of coffee. I have sailed on this boat from Saint Martin to NY thru OPO in not so extreme conditions. I think this happened around 2008.

Ocean Navigator | The magazine for long-distance offshore sailing and power voyaging

[MarkofSeaLife]

I refused to read the article after this line

The forecast was for winds from the west at 40 knots, gusting to 50 for the next 24 hours.

Knowing that we were well prepared for these conditions, Hilgenberg gave us the green light to go.

Thanks for posting the article as it beggars belief.

Only an idiot would go to sea in those conditions. Only a real IDIOT! And to say some weather router gave them the 'green light' is just foolish to the extreme.

If people wish to head out from port in 40-50kts they are not just risking lives they are making a culpable negligent foolhardy decision.

They rile me at their gross stupidity.


I think I need a coffee. Ooops, no, that too stimulating..... maybe a quiet walk along the beach.


Mark

[imagine2frolic]

Snotty weather like that is something you get caught in. Not prepare to leave in........i2f

[capttb]

What a wimp I am, when caught out by 30+ knots I start running with a storm jib.

[Boasun]

When I worked commercially offshore. There was a couple of times when I stuck my nose out and went straight back to my berth. The name of the game is SAFETY FIRST. The few times that I was caught offshore I either rode it out hanging off a platform with 300 foot line or raced back to the harbor before it caught up to us. Though One Time We were well caught by a fast moving tropical depression because the company man on the platform wanted a safety boat out there, Just in case of the worst senerio.
I rode that one out at anchor with 8:1 on the Anchor Chain with engines running if needed.
Have rode out a hurricane on a ship, the so called prefect storm on a Navy Destroyer. And many other storms that have come and gone... But all of the time of my sea going career the foul weather was only about 5% of the time. Though when you are in it, it does seem much longer.

[IslanderGuy]

Originally Posted by MarkofSeaLife

I refused to read the article after this line



Thanks for posting the article as it beggars belief.

Only an idiot would go to sea in those conditions. Only a real IDIOT! And to say some weather router gave them the 'green light' is just foolish to the extreme.

If people wish to head out from port in 40-50kts they are not just risking lives they are making a culpable negligent foolhardy decision.

They rile me at their gross stupidity.


I think I need a coffee. Ooops, no, that too stimulating..... maybe a quiet walk along the beach.


Mark

While I completely agree that it's crazy to go out in those conditions and would not have left myself then either, I did go ahead and read the story and it was a good read. After they left, they handled it just fine, then the weather abated for a few days and THEN a surprise storm with hurricane force winds came up. It was not the initial storm that caused him troubles, and even if it had been blowing 15 when he left, the second storm, the scarey one, still would have come along anyway, it was just not predicted.

[smackdaddy]

That is an incredible story! And how 'bout that JSD!!!

I've got to link to that in the BFS thread as well. Way too valuable in terms of first-hand info.

There's a member called "kimberlite" around here (from way back) - although I haven't seen him in a long time. Is that the same dude?

I'd definitely buy him as many rounds as he wants.

[brokesailor]

Yes that his him, Eric Friedman. I could not find the Coast Guard video the article refers to.

[smackdaddy]

I haven't found the rescue video yet, but here's some photos of the crew rescued from Free Fall:

https://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/236907/

Edit: I think this is the video...

081029-RescueHoists

In the beginning night vision portion - you can see where everything started going south when the hoist cable snaps taught due to a monster wave.