Month: April 2018

New Zealand

South Pacific Day #14

So if you want to test the limits and strength of your relationship, get on a boat and sail into the big blue ocean. It’s out here, when you’ve spent days or weeks together and fatigue and sore muscles abound that you really begin to know each other. You learn each other’s strengths, weaknesses and tipping points. There are days when a simple look or word can hurt the other or create feelings of frustration. Yes, this is just part of the journey.

But, in the midst of bickering over who left the coffee pot on the stove to spill or how there’s a better way to access the freezer, you get the radio call we all dread hearing. A fellow boater from the fleet is drifting and considering abandoning ship. What’s worse, it’s not because they are on fire or the boat is sinking. It’s due to a steering issue. The boat itself is solid.

As sailors we all agree on one thing; you never leave your vessel until the last possible moment. As one dear friend, Ray of SV Seanote, said to me, “You never step down into a life raft. You step up into one.” This means you don’t get off until getting off is the only thing that keeps you above the water.

That said, simply drifting at the whim of the sea with no ability to control your course can also be very dangerous. With just the right set of swells and wind to hit you broadside your boat could roll over and begin taking on water. A truly good sailor knows how to heave to. This is essentially parking the boat in the ocean. You steer headlong into the wind and set your sail and rudder just right and voila you almost stop the vessel from moving. Sure, it still drifts a little but it stays well positioned in the sea. This can prevent a rollover and you can literally stay this way for days.

The vessel in question here is SV Aftermath. She’s a Canadian flagged vessel with a Captain, John, and two crew aboard. They’ve been literally plagued with issues since they left Banderas Bay about ten days ago. First their spinnaker got tangled in their rigging, then the HF radio was causing the autopilot to do crazy Ivans, then a leak in the hydraulic lines to the autopilot and now the whole thing has seized up leaving them with only an emergency tiller to use for steering. The problem with that is it’s in the aft cabin so you can’t see where you’re going and steer at the same time. If you’ve ever tried to hand steer a sailboat in rough weather you know that it’s critical to be able to see the swells and watch everything going on around you. Yes, it’s a bad design but it’s what they have to work with right now.

Unfortunately for John his two crew members have had enough fun and want to get off the vessel. As you can understand, it’s not that easy. Yes, there are other boats coming through but we all have limited space and provisions on board and since their lives are not in immediate peril, it’s not really something many are willing to take on. I mean, we would have turned in a split second if she was sinking, but asking us or any boat for that matter, to reverse course and beat into 8’ – 10’ swells and 20 knot winds just because two crew members don’t want to do the hard work is a bit much. When you step onto a boat making this sort of passage you are accepting a level of responsibility and loyalty to the Captain and the vessel. You can’t just jump ship because it’s not fun anymore.

And that’s only part of it. There’s the risk to the “rescuing” boat and her crew as well as to the crew hoping to get off of Aftermath. Let’s face it, out here you don’t just pull up alongside the other boat and have them step onto yours. No, this is not a redneck yacht club. This would involve putting those crew members in the water and that is dangerous no matter how you do it.

Nonetheless, Captain John put out a plea on the net last night asking if anyone would be willing to take his crew. We heard crickets! Perhaps because Captains wanted to consult with their crews or perhaps for the very reasons I’ve previously stated. Either way I believe his crew needs to suck it up and do what needs to be done.

There’s another component here I’ve yet to mention and that is if the crew gets off, Captain John is left to single hand this vessel some 1400 miles. It would be difficult at best to do it with crew aboard when you could have someone in the cockpit telling the person at the tiller where to steer, but to have one person trying to do both is just not a good idea. Add in the fatigue factor and this is a very bad idea in any terms.

On the net last night Dan as well as Ernie, the Captain on SV Patience tried to talk to John about the dangers involved in trying to single hand his vessel in its current state. John listened but I’m not sure, if in his state of extreme fatigue, he was really processing it. “I know it’s a risk but I’m just not ready to give up my boat.” John told Dan over the radio. John built the entire inside of his boat and so obviously he’s got his heart and soul into it and it sounds to me like he’s thinking with his heart, not his head. In the end, she’s just a boat and we all have to be mentally prepared to leave our homes if and when the time comes.

There is an entire fleet of vessels out here hoping and praying they are able to get Aftermath into port yet most of us are thinking the same thing. At some point you have to be prepared to cut your losses, contact SARS (Search & Rescue) and scuttle the boat. For now, no one has stepped up to take on his crew so they are stuck in their situation. It’s our hope that they will step up, dig in and do what needs to be done to get them through it. Quite frankly that’s the best option for all involved.

We’ll keep you posted on what transpires with SV Aftermath and her crew. In the meantime, keep them in your thoughts and prayers, I know we will be.

Until next time,
Jilly

P.S. I guess it goes without saying that we quit caring about the spilled coffee and the freezer. After all, we are together and safe on Dazzler, what is there to bicker about?

P.S.S. As you can see we are experiencing some rain and squalls. For those asking themselves why I’m happy and dry while Dan is in foulies and chilled to the bone, let me say I was that way at 4 a.m. I have since volunteered for watch duty again but Dan refused saying only one of us needs to be wet and miserable. You see, even on Dazzler it’s not always sunsets and cocktails.

New Zealand

South Pacific – Day#13

4.7.18 @ 1000 Local, 1700 Zulu Day #13
Latitude: 09°45N Longitude: 125°29W Covered Distance Last 24 Hours: 107 Distance to the Marquesas: 1414 Distance from Punta de Mita, Mexico: 1486 Weather: 80% clouds with some rain Winds: 17 NNE Sea State: 6′-8′ swell NNE Barometer: 1014.5 Crew’s Mood: Another day of outstanding.
You will know them by there deeds
This world is a funny place. Some of us don’t even know the name of our neighbors and some of us do. There are those that keep to them selves and have very little eye contact with those living around them for what ever reason. But I’d like to speak about those you know that are all around you. These individuals are the grocery clerks, the plumbers, the domestic engineers, the retired nurses or the police officers. Ordinary people that do extra ordinary things in life in their communities.
The boating community in particular has many individuals from all walks of life and from all ethnic, religious and political backgrounds, but many of them seem to be stitched with a similar thread that makes them who they are. That fabric that creates binding and long lasting friendships that are sometimes created after a single incident.
For me there have been many incidents where I have been there to help many boaters along my boating life and there have been many that have provided me with countless advise, assistance and friendships. A tool, help with anchoring, friendly advise or just a smile all are part of the common language that boaters and in particular sailboaters have in common. Many of us have done well enough to purchase a boat and live the reality of a dream we call cruising. And even if that boat never leaves the dock, those individual that live on it are still living a dream of the cruising life style. Most of us are the ones that see a plastic bag in the water and use our boat hook to remove it and place it in the trash can. We do offer our help freely without any strings attached. Paying it forward or doing good to others because we might be on the receiving end of assistance in the future.
I have a friend that loves to fish. His whole life has been involved with fishing in one way or another. One of the many days he was fishing at Catalina Island in his tender, he saw birds diving well off shore near White’s Landing. He thought he saw something in the water so he fired up his trusty tender and went out to investigate. He found a girl splashing about in the ocean. Apparently she had fallen off one of the island sight seeing boats. After he got back to his boat, he called the US Coast Guard. They had just received a report of a missing girl on a tour boat out of Avalon Harbor. Another acquaintance postponed an opening in a weather window to tow another sailboat back to an anchorage. I can go on with countless stories about these individuals.
All of this comes to mind recently because a vessel within 80 miles of us had reported a hydraulic steering/autopilot issue several days back. The issue was reportedly mitigated. Yesterday, we learned that they thought they had fixed the problem, but were still leaking approximately one liter of fluid every six hours and they needed more oil to mix with diesel fuel as a make shift hydraulic fluid to get them to safe harbor. Dazzler had a few extra gallons of oil on board willing to share with the distressed vessel. Another vessel Nightide was also going to contribute some oil as well. A coordinate was established and we all set course for that coordinate. John’s voice, the owner of the distressed vessel, was obviously stressed and fatigued from trying to locate the source of the hydraulic leak. For several days he had been unsuccessful in finding it. I suggested that he check the area surrounding all of his bilges for oil running down the inside of the boat to the bilge area. All three of us are heading to the rendezvous site when at about 1700 local time a message from John indicating he had found the leak and it had been stopped. The need for more oil was gone for now. I had never even met John before. But, there you go complete strangers in a HUGE ASS ocean willing to render aid at the mention of assistance needed. That’s what cruisers do. We step up and help those around us that need it. The aftermath of Hurricane Odile that hit Baja California a few years ago had endless stories of boaters helping boaters with no expectation of more than a thank you.
I’m not trying to paint the picture of cruising as rainbow farts and sunshine kisses. There are those in the cruising community that are expecting the rest of the community to support them by running to their call of assistance only to find that the individual is basically looking for free rides, parts and or free labor. Those individuals are known throughout the many different boating communities and are usually avoided.
My hats off to the hundreds of cruisers, men, women, pets and kids as well, who have rendered assistance at the slightest whisper of help. Acts of donating blood, picking up groceries while at the market, helping keep a boat of the rocks, providing assistance of some fashion, rescuing a wayward tender or pumping out nearby tenders after a heavy rain. You all know who you are and I say a heart felt thank you! You are known by your deeds.
Until next time, stay well my friends.
Cheers!
Captain Dan
PS The photo is of our Ol’ faithful generator. She helps us manage the power needs of the Engels freezer and make up for those cloudy days. Dazzler’s solar array and wind generator do just fine during the daylight hours. But, sometimes you just need a little help from little friend.