Dramatic rescue while I was sailing across the Atlantic Feb 2017 

Peter Jennison takes a certain person to venture out into some of these oceans as a result a very tight knight community

it should be like that with the entire world.

indeed, imagine if vessels were automated, it would be impossible to hall as required by SOLAS.

What most people don't realize is that it's easy to make a decision to risk your own life to save your vessel knowing the risks. It's another thing to risk the lives of your crew (understand I don't know the crew or the vessel) especially if they don't fully understand the gravity of the situation. Me risking my life for my boat I would do any day of the week. Make no mistake, in those conditions with my mast gone dragging behind me like an anchor, hatches missing, hull damaged and taking on water, there's not a chance in the world I'm going to risk my crew's life for that boat. It's not worth it. Most people wouldn't fix that boat if it's sitting on the shore in the condition it was in. Why on earth would you risk other people's lives to bring it in?

Wrong boat first. As long the boat is fine the crew will be fine!

@@stephanwinter8497 maybe. But not worth a discussion because the boat was damaged beyond repair. At least in this situation...

John Vickers a

Get this man a drink from the top shelf. Well spoken.

John Vickers THATS HOW SKIPPERS END UP IN JAIL WITH NO TICKET!

awesome, I was thinking of going off on my own but know a 40' boat would be difficult mainly with docking, do you think that there is much of a difference between a 40' and 30; when the seas are rough or like you said am I looking at the ballast ratio ? what would you recommend in the configuration of a sailboat globe trotting solo ?

Hi Sheeple Barn......In my estimation based on my own experience, ocean voyaging is 25% skill and 75% endurance. Chose a boat that is one piece like GRP or steel. The latter being super strong and can take a knock or two, but if you loiter in the tropics too long they rust rapidly. A well built "older" GRP boat where the laminating was hand laid and thick, rather than the production yachts mainly produced in France. If you go single handed, you have to be aware of your own mental and physical limitations. A good gale lasting a couple of days duration should make you aware of what you can cope with. The simpler the rig the better. A sloop rig being the ideal for a single hander, less to take care of when all hell is breaking loose (it will). All sizes of boats have circumnavigated. I didn't meet the famous Shane Acton who is well known for going round on an 18ft plywood bilge keeler. The boat was called SUPER SHRIMP affectionately known as shrimpy. Its chronicled in a book called "Shrimpy" I met a Shane Acton lookalike in Fiji who had sailed from the UK on a similar boat. Any boat between 26' and 32' of GRP would do the job. A reliable motor also as they tend to give most trouble in the salty environs. The biggest dinghy you can stow on board which can double as a liferaft and preferably made of hyperlon. Dinghies take a lot of punishment on long voyages, mainly bashing against piers and rocky shores. So many people circumnavigate nowadays its become routine but no less dangerous. The biggest problem for most is actually plucking up the courage to get started.

Thanks.

Respect to the smaller older boats. Just sold our 1978 Catalina 25'. Not the most solid boat built of all time or anything, but it was one I felt the safest on because there are no through-hulls anywhere and everything was manual (no electronics to break). Super simple boat to operate and we took in on some very rough sailing days. :) Went for a 2007 Catalina 28' while still owning the 25'. The newer 28' was far more comfortable (I mean, you could actually stand up in the cabin!), but much bigger list of 'things' to check, engine oil, raw water impeller, through-hulls, all the valves, etc. Hopefully moving up to a 34' ASAP, we are looking at two this weekend. It'll be the biggest boat we've ever owned. At some point you gotta make room for family comfort. :)

sklenars what a wonderfully fulfilling adventure! After all that’s what we seek! In the recesses of our soul seeing death is how we face life.. wish I was there!

In deed , but please don't forget the other vessels and resources that responded.

exactly, I had your own thought

Agreed.

They where balls out hauling *ss.

That's the beautiful thing about the Royal Navy, they'll haul ass to assist whenever they can. The Type 45 Destroyer is a very capable beast!

Seriously!!! Hats off boys

@JP Pope Personally i've never done it but it's well known that going down from east to wast is much easier than returning north from the Caribbean, and In Winter in the Atlantic one finds awful weather.

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.

Wow, with tens of thousands of miles of cruising, I have been knocked down, spreaders in the water, but no further. That was bad enough. So sorry that such a stout and beautiful vessel had this happen. So glad all OK.

I'm going to get a boat next year and try and sail the seas alone... good idea? :D

@@hungryhiker800 IT all depends on your experience, your statt of mind, your troubleshooting skills, your boat and your spirit. Bring simply a boat is the ersieht Part of All.

@@whileysea I don't have experience in sailing but my mindset is right on for hardship and accepting that it won't be easy. Thanks for responding

I think its wonderful when these war ships get to rescue people as opposed to murdering children like they normally do

​@@zekiy6597 Lmao Modern naives rarely launch missile strikes. Meanwhile they assist in hundreds of search and rescue operations per year. The Royal Navy alone has rescued over 18,000 people between 2015 - 2018, whilst you have only been disappointing your parents. Typical mouthy communist who doesn't know what they are talking about.

@@zekiy6597 GFY

@@TexasVeteranPatriot incredible that with all the technology available they still havent figured out a way to prevent ex terrorists from having youtube accounts!

@@zekiy6597 You are an idiot too bad you were born.

The concern is if the crew were not under any pressure why did they leave in poor conditions when waiting for a weather window would have been a smarter option. Volvo crews face this all the time but they are experienced and prepared and racing

"This whole scenario turns out to be a great success" - an original use of that ultimate word.

Except the vessel appears to have been lost, unless, of course the owner or his agent were able to get a sea tug to tow her in

gerry penfold • I’m sorry, did you follow along? A “rogue wave” slapped them upside the head there. All the experience in the world may not matter in such a situation.

Often, the ones doing the critique is a person unhappy with themselves and/ or their lot in life. They need to try to knock someone down to make themselves feel better.

Thanks for putting this up for others to learn from and entertainment. I wouldn't waste anymore energy replying to armchair "Captains". Without a doubt, none of them have been in a similar situation.

yup you all came home that's the main thing can always build another boat

There are clearly some armchair idiots here. Sure they could have jury-rigged it or got the auxiliary working again perhaps, but there are valid reasons why you would put out a distress call and abandon the boat. For a start, the skipper is responsible for the lives of the crew. A plastic boat has little value in comparison! The skipper's responsibility is to get the crew home safely and sink the boat so it is not a danger to shipping. The law of the sea is that you have to attempt to rescue those in peril. So the Navy would not and could not charge for the rescue. There really are some clueless idiots who think they know it all from the safety of their computer screens!

Captain Freddy, nothing is wrong with that. Had you or I been skipper we may have done things differently depending on the circumstances. The fact is none of us were there and we don't know all the circumstances. The skipper made a decision based on the actual circumstances. He made the right decision for his boat and his crew. That isn't your or my decision. It would have also partly been dictated to him by HM Coastguard. I know several people who have been plucked out of the Atlantic and Western Approaches in similar circumstances. When they are standing in front of you with their crew all still alive, you don't tell them they did the wrong thing. EDIT: you removed your post! I wonder why.

That crew had to be rescued a week before departure

"I'm sure the crew knew what they were doing" - really?

yes less than excellent odds at best

Robert Seviour • With all due respect, sir, I’d like to put this into a perspective I don’t think you’re aware of. This Captain is rescued with all lives intact and no serious injuries. The Edmund Fitzgerald crew had loads and loads of combined experience, and all lives, including the ship, were lost. Come again about experience? I didn’t think so.

@@RobertSeviour1 If the crew knew what they were doing, they'd not be doing an eastward crossing above 45N at that time of the year.

I Googled it and the speed of the boat is quoted as 'over 30KN', however being a Naval vessel I doubt they would give an exact figure! She must have averaged 25ish KN in BIG seas to make that journey. That's impressive

The only boats the Royal Navy have are submarines.

@ I can't tell if that was sarcastic or not

@@michaelsills8038 Not sarcasm at all. The Royal Navy has plenty of ships, but submarines are specifically 'not' ships, so they're called 'Boats'. Sarcasm depends largely on voice tone and facial expression, and is therefore mostly wasted in the written word.

Or *IS* it?

Wow, glad you are ok?! Would love to hear the rest of your story!

I don't know anyone who would do an eastward crossing above 45N in winter.

Cool that you did that...

So i drive my car to a beauty spot crash it. Abandon it to the environment. Then get a free uber home from 660million vehicle that takes £290,000 to fill up. Just get dropped off and a thank you. Way to go carbon footprint....your insurance should pay for that instead of my wages..

@@jasonevans1679 w.a.w.

" This was of the for-hire variety, people paying to experience something outside the envelope of normal cautious practice - which would generally not include sailing a small yacht across the Atlantic in winter, out of season." - quite.

Very well put, Sir.

" Maybe I'm just old?"... I know, I feel the same - but we get old by experience, careful risk management, and recognising limitations. But you are right, there is a disturbing rise in risk taking. I did it myself when I was younger and I see it among friends and colleagues, particularly at middle age. There seems a difference too, between people who have been active and adventurous all their lives (they have invested in it), and those that have reached that certain age and feel they need to reinvent themselves. I have lost numerous friends over the years to thrill seeking, be it motorbikes, skiing or diving... and I'm not saying it is just an age thing but we push ourselves too far sometimes. We are so busy, so little time and we want as much bang for our buck when we can fit it in. These commercial thrill for hire enterprises are sometimes the most risky, not because commercial pressures could influence risk management - but because individuals often abandon personal commonsense , skill level or physical abilities, to an unknown guide / instructor or skipper. i.e. We pay the money and place our lives in someone else's hands... we don't want to learn to swim, we just want to jump in the deep end!

Agree. winter eastward crossings, especially getting above 45N are foolhardy, especially on a slow boat that has no chance of repositioning itself away from the worst. A winter westward crossing from Canries or Cape Verde would be safer.

Agreed. Commercial schedule overrides ocean route planning. Most yachts leave the Carribbean in mid May for Europe.

Opened the sea cocks.

It's an average of 24 knots in heavy seas!

It's the Royal Navy, not the Coastguard. and no, they will not be billed. That is not how we do things in the UK.

Well the guy in the southern ocean cost a million Aussie dollars to save so there was talk about making people liable for their rescues ..... put it in the insurance maybe

The navy can either sit in port drinking beer or get out and do something useful. Good training for them.

Name 3.