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Peter, you're probably right ... most of the time. But you and I are
sitting at desks theorizing what it's like and I suggest neither of us can
make that decision for others.
Marchaj wrote a very thorough book dealing with the problems of race boats
in the ocean ("Seaworthiness, the Forgotten Factor"). It's an excellent
read, though quite technical. I've a friend who studied under Marchaj; his
opinion is that Marchaj is somewhat controversial in his viewpoints. I
don't have the education to analyze him. But I understand much of what he
says and it makes sense to me.
Westsails are very proven boats. No doubt at all. They can survive almost
anything. But my point is that the weak link in a boat is the human
inside. That person can be killed while the boat sails on. The fact that a
boat can survive a storm is no assurance that the people inside will be
safe. Regardless of how upside down you imagine the boat.
I doubt we'll ever know what really happened when Satori abandoned ship. My
suspicion is that the Captain originally resisted the order to leave, but
was convinced to change his mind and went willingly. He regretted his
decision later and has attempted to blame the Coast Guard rather than take
responsibility. The comment attributed to the Captain that he'd been
through hurricanes before and wasn't concerned shows a lack of intelligence
and respect for the sea, IMO. And the comment that the hurricane "was
apparently no biggy" is pretty scarey. I know of no prudent sailor who
would ever leave port in the face of a hurricane, unless he was in a vessel
fast enough to outrun it. We all know that's not a Westsail! :) And in
Satori's case, he left safe harbor with two unknown and untrained crew,
jeopardizing their lives as well. That's several times beyond
irresponsible.
I agree that in most cases, staying with the boat is the best solution. I
know of people who deliberately do not sail with a liferaft, because they
believe they're better off working to keep the boat afloat rather than
succumbing to the temptation to leave. That's pretty extreme, IMO. There's
probably some middle ground that's smarter.
--
Best,
Bryan Genez
"Capella" V40-158
New Bern, NC
On 2/6/06, Peter Ogilvie <> wrote:
>
> As I said, abandoning a perfectly good boat puts not only the crew, but
> the rescuers at risk. Yes a sailboat without a mast has a much worse motion
> than one without. That was not the case with the Satori. Satori was not
> suffering any distress other than would be expected from some significant
> wind and waves. Staying with the boat would have been a much safer
> proposition for all. I've done thousands of miles in a Wetsnail and they
> are about as comfortable a boat as you'll get when it gets very
> nasty. Haven't been in 'Perfect Storm' weather but have been in some nasty
> weather.
>
> As far as the Fastnet and other races, could it be the design of the
> hulls and rigs that are the problem. Extreme draft, wide beam, flat bottoms
> and light weight are not a formula for comfort at sea. These boats have
> extremely quick motion and the higher tech. they are, the more fragile they
> seem to be. Take a look at the three/four spreader masts and it makes you
> wonder how they are able to stay standing in the harbor and the same goes
> for the ultra thin hulls.. Yes they will go fast but do you want to be on
> one when it gets nasty.
>
> As far as the Satori's skippers decision to leave in the first place,
> the weather forecast was apparently not so bad. Either storm in itself was
> apparently no biggy. It was when they combined into a single cell that they
> became truly dangerous. An average Noreaster could be ideal reaching
> conditions for a heavy displacement boat like Satori. Storms off of Bermuda
> typically wander northeast and peter out. This one went due north and
> intensified as it combined with the other low. It was not conditions that I
> would have begun a passage. It also was not obvious that anything
> significant was going to develop.
>
> Anyway, in most situations, staying with the boat may be the best
> solution. Bailing out is usually a result of seasickness and fatigue which
> don't put you in an ideal state of mind to make life and death decisions.
>
> As far as being beaten up by the boat and it's contents. That smacks of
> poor preperation. Someone's treatise on preparation for ocean voyaging says
> to imagine the boat upside down. If there is anything that won't stay put
> in that orientation, it either needs to be secured or discarded.
>
> Aloha
> Peter O.
>
> Bryan Genez <> wrote:
> On 1/31/06, Peter Ogilvie <> wrote:
> >
> > People panic and bail out on perfectly safe boats. In doing so they
> risk
> > the lives of the rescue crews, as well as their own. To say a person
> would
> > not have survived on a boat that was perfectly fit including the
> rigging
> > after the storm is really pushing the limit. In a boat that isn't in
> > danger of foundering, it is safer to stay with the vessel. The Fastnet
> > race is a prime example where many of the fatalities occured in
> > abandoning boats that were later found floating and in no danger of
> > sinking.
>
>
> One often overlooked finding of the Fastnet race is that some crews
> abandoned their boats because they were being beaten to death inside the
> tumbling hulls. It was actually safer in the liferaft than it was in the
> still floating, but dismasted hull.
>
> Surely, many boats are abandoned because of crew panic. But others are
> abandoned after a careful evaluation of the situation. It's virtually
> impossible for people sitting on dry land to appreciate what goes into
> that
> decision.
>
> To use the rationale that because a boat survived intact, its crew should
> have known better than to abandon it, is just not dealing with the reality
> of the environment. Hindsight is always 20-20.
>
> --
> Best,
> Bryan Genez
> "Capella" V40-158
> New Bern, NC
>
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