[smackdaddy]

Amver, Saving Lives at Sea Since 1958: Amver ship saves two sailors in dramatic Atlantic rescue

THREE FREAKIN' HOURS IN THE WATER???? Yowza!

 

[smackdaddy]

Wow, smacky, you sure do have a way of finding things. I've been googling for an article like that every couple hours all day. That's them all right. I haven't heard anything about the weather except what was stated in the article smacky just linked (why is it so hard to find historical weather online?). 30kts and 8' seas doesn't sound too bad.

No worries rm. It's just awesomeness.

So, from what I heard in the audio, an oil cooler malfunction filled the engine with seawater, then the starboard main stays (shrouds?) parted...leaving them drifting on a sea anchor.

I didn't hear anything about them actively taking on water (apart from the oil cooler thing which happened a couple of days prior to the call according to the audio).

Regardless, definitely a bad day as he says.

 

[smackdaddy]

rockDAWG, I think you're right that those posts are related. I believe they've even given me enough information to know who CambridgeKid is. I am nearly certain I've met him around the marina.

I bet he's glad he turned down the gig at this point.

Looks like he generally got some pretty good advice in those threads.

 

[smackdaddy]

From the Amver article...

Monday, August 1, 2011
Amver ship saves two sailors in dramatic Atlantic rescue
Two people were rescued from the sailboat Triumph on Wednesday July 27, 2011 approximatley 780 miles northeast of Cape Cod, Mass. after their boat began taking on water.

The sailors sent a distress call to U.S. Coast Guard rescue personnel in Boston stating their sails were torn, their engine was disabled, and they were taking on water. Coast Guard rescue authorities immediately queried the Amver system and requested the tanker Kim Jacob divert to rescue the duo.

The rescue was complicated by the size of the Liberian flagged tanker and the worsening weather conditions as winds over 30 knots and waves over 8 feet hampered the the operation. One of the Triumph sailors fell into the ocean while attempting to climb aboard the Kim Jacob but the crew kept a sharp lookout and recovered the survivor three hours after he fell into the water.

Once onboard the Kim Jacob the survivors received medical attention, food, and talked to Coast Guard personnel. The survivors were equipped with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and life jackets. Their preparation, coupled with the skill and seamanship of the Kim Jacob crew, resulted in their rescue.

The survivors stayed aboard the Kim Jacob until it reaches its next port in Port Tupper, Nova Scotia. Their boat was marked as a hazard to navigation and left adrift.

The Kim Jacob is managed by Ernst Jacob GmbH and Company of Hamburg, Germany and enrolled in the Amver system on May 11, 1998. The Kim Jacob has earned 13 awards for for Amver participation.

 

[smackdaddy]

Could sea water have still been coming through the "malfunctioning oil cooler" (as he mentioned in the recording)? I'm not a diesel dude - so I have no idea. But I'd not heard of this kind of set up before. Heat exchanger yes, but not oil cooler.

I'm with you though on it being curious that this wasn't mentioned in the call.

 

[smackdaddy]

Doug and Evelyn are friends of mine, and I was just on their boat last month. Doug told me that they were having some "issues", but that he was addressing them before they left for the Azores to Gibraltar. Both of them are Coast Guard licensed captains and Doug has lived aboard for 20+ years.

I have not spoken with them, but am glad that they are at least safe! If I get in touch, I'll let you guys know the details!

Thanks to Chuck for letting me know!

Cool. Thanks Vep. It really sucks that he/they lost their home and investment. I'm just glad they're safe.

I'll look forward to more info.

 

[smackdaddy]

Who wants to go get the boat?

Every time I read one of these, I have the urge to go intercept the drifting boat and get it back to port and it's owner. (And thereby pay for our time and expenses.) Does anyone else share this compulsion, or it is me?

Rig some stays, add a couple galesails, and we'd be headed home. Bolt-on a transom mount and add a 20 horse outboard and we'd be making good time headed toward protected waters. Bring a boat first-aid kit - water pump, fiberglass, underwater epoxy, spare rigging, top climber, etc.

Who's in?

Regards,
Brad

If anyone could pull it off...it's you dude. Don't forget the Depoopinator.

 

[smackdaddy]

I have read more than a few threads here that detail the lose of a boat/lives at sea. More often than not they make me cringe and turn my head away from the monitor, too many arm chair quarterbacks. Not pointing my finger at anyone on this particular thread, just a general comment.

veptjack;
You make this thread a worth while read, I hope your friends make it home safe and are able to re-build their lives after the loss of their beloved home.

Good luck getting your rain jacket back

John

+1.

Instead of quarterbacking in the abstract - it would be great if this was a place where someone like the skipper of Triumph felt comfortable coming on and telling us exactly what he went through...and why he made the decisions he made.

If the ACQs get too self-righteous we never get that chance. The place becomes more about them than the real people that were in the shizzle.

 

[smackdaddy]

Doug - thanks so much for the write up. It is exactly the kind of thing we hope for around here...a report from the actual skipper.

I'm sorry you lost your boat. But I'm very happy you and your wife came home.

Thanks for your honesty. This is really valuable stuff.

 

[smackdaddy]

And another thing....

Don't be too hard on yourself, Doug. You bring up one of the most critical things that I don't think is thought about or talked about all that much in cruising...the impact of family as crew.

That's got to be the hardest possible thing to deal with. Honestly. It seems to have been a major factor in the Rule 62 incident as well.

If my wife and/or kids are begging me to "think about them" and "get them out of the situation I put them in - immediately" - it would be really, really hard to know what the right move was.

You now know in retrospect as you say above. Hopefully that will help me and others know if we're ever in that situation.

It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing entirely to make that call when you're looking your miserable, frightened, angry loved ones in the eye.

 

[smackdaddy]

Glad you're both still here and looking forward to the next leg of your journey. I, for one, think the thread deserves "sticky" status, as it reminds us all that sometimes this sailing hobby is actually serious business. Good luck.

+1 on the sticky.

 

[smackdaddy]

I know, don't be so maudlin or depressing... but, Hell, part of still being alive is you get to complain.

Hell yeah!

 

[smackdaddy]

Question: In this scenario, where you have made final decision to abandon and a tanker is within sight, would it make more sense to go ahead and deploy the LR and get away from the boat? Would this make a safer rescue platform?

 

[smackdaddy]

So, Captains, learn from Doug Sabbags' mistakes. In the LONG run, you will be much happier.

I'll make a deal with you Doug. I'll absolutely learn from your mistakes...IF....you agree to not beat yourself up about them for more than 1 or 2 more weeks.

Whaddayasay?

I do and will have plenty of my own too. I'm just glad you guys survived it.

 

[smackdaddy]

As to the concept of "felling our rigging", are you kidding me? Our main and mizzen are keel stepped. Unless we had some serious cutting tools, that aint happening.

But, without felling trees out to sea, what about (as I mentioned earlier), using the tanker / freighter's STERN instead of alongside....?

Their Captain went up and down in a harness off of their stern without any problems.

We could have used our dinghy, and calmly pulled up to their stern, while having a cigarette.....

And a MaiTai!

+1 on the rig felling not being a great idea. Like you don't have enough to do anyway without throwing around some seriously heavy and dangerous pieces of metal and cable in a tossing sea.

PS - Great pics in your gallery!!! You soloed that thing across the Atlantic???? Impressive dude. As for the pics of you in/under the water - spooky.

 

[smackdaddy]

No, I'm not.

I could make a pretty devastating argument Main Sail, regarding Calbrese, Doug, and the facts on the ground in both cases. Both personally, and the decisions both made in both situations.

 

[smackdaddy]

Au contraire...

 

[smackdaddy]

mitiempo, and rest of forum:

Would it be inappropriate for me to ask some specific questions citing things already written, said and done by both captains, respectfully worded as best as I possibly can, regarding why Calabrese was viewed by the majority here one way, and Doug is viewed by the majority in another?

Yes. Why? Because you really need to try to stop making every thread all about you.

 

[smackdaddy]

Now, I am hearing from the peanut gallery that we shouldn't really focus on the gold, but on the true beauty, blah, blah, blah.... sure I get that too.

Can't we have BOTH?

+1. That's my vote.

See, I can drive around in a nice car and still have nice conversations with banded pigeons...telling them to "get the hell off my nice car".

 

[smackdaddy]

To emoney's point, I dropped Doug's account in the Salt's thread. It deserves preservation.

I'd say if you want to argue how granite is far less superior to formica covered particle board for long-term maintenance issues, or why being poor/rich is so noble, or why you feel you need to "speak to the forum", or anything else that has nothing to do with the rescue, you really need to take it to this thread:

FightClub For Sailors

All out bashing is what the thread is all about. You need only have a set to enter.