RAINMAKER DISMASTED OFF HATTERAS IN GALE

[us7070]

Unlike most here I have been around diamond shoals in January in 20' seas and 35 knots of wind. Should we have been there? Probably not but in a 80' maxi downwind really not that big of a deal. In a 55' cat fuck that. I cant even imagine the pure luck and driving skill needed to keep from flipping that beast. 20' seas in the gulfstream is no laughing matter even downhill. Sometimes the waves are so steep they just break right on top of you other times off you go a 20 knots trying not to pearl dive into the wave in front. Great fun in a maxi other than the ones that break into the cockpit. I cant even begin to imagine dealing with that in a boat that doesnt really heel. The shock loading must have been huge and the driving skill and luck needed to keep the boat in one piece and not flip it off the charts.

Glad everyone is safe but that was a stupid call to leave with that type of boat in those conditions IMHO. The rig letting go probably saved the boat from a capsize which would have probably caused the loss of life.

The last few posts are the best info yet on this thread.

Don't go out in that forecast with a cat.

Be very prepared and patient if you are going to try to salvage.

Fucking insurance companies.

Turd may have a lot of experience on 80ft maxi's.., but he hasn't told us anything about his experience on big catamarans.

why should i believe his assertion that cats are any less safe than mono's in the conditions encountered by RM?

 

[DryArmour]

Conditions continue to deteriorate...

225 miles SE of Hatteras.

Station 41002
NDBC
Location: 31.862N 74.835W
Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:50:00 UTC
Winds: SSW (200°) at 31.1 kt gusting to 38.9 kt
Significant Wave Height: 11.8 ft
Dominant Wave Period: 8 sec
Mean Wave Direction: SSW (197°)
Atmospheric Pressure: 29.88 in and falling
Air Temperature: 70.7 F
Dew Point: 60.6 F
Water Temperature: 70.5 F

 

[DryArmour]

Unlike most here I have been around diamond shoals in January in 20' seas and 35 knots of wind. Should we have been there? Probably not but in a 80' maxi downwind really not that big of a deal. In a 55' cat fuck that. I cant even imagine the pure luck and driving skill needed to keep from flipping that beast. 20' seas in the gulfstream is no laughing matter even downhill. Sometimes the waves are so steep they just break right on top of you other times off you go a 20 knots trying not to pearl dive into the wave in front. Great fun in a maxi other than the ones that break into the cockpit. I cant even begin to imagine dealing with that in a boat that doesnt really heel. The shock loading must have been huge and the driving skill and luck needed to keep the boat in one piece and not flip it off the charts.

Glad everyone is safe but that was a stupid call to leave with that type of boat in those conditions IMHO. The rig letting go probably saved the boat from a capsize which would have probably caused the loss of life.

>The last few posts are the best info yet on this thread.

Don't go out in that forecast with a cat.

Be very prepared and patient if you are going to try to salvage.

Fucking insurance companies.

Turd may have a lot of experience on 80ft maxi's.., but he hasn't told us anything about his experience on big catamarans.

why should i believe his assertion that cats are any less safe than mono's in the conditions encountered by RM?

I have sailed both in fairly extreme conditions. I have no preference over a mono or a multi if they are properly rigged and prepared for Storm level conditions. There is a more room for error on the maxi but of you are "ON IT" you can sail out of bad weather or avoid it completely on a multi with proper routing.

 

[DryArmour]

If a weather specialist was given the coordinates of the boat at the time of the rescue and then talked to the skipper about how they handled securing the helm (Assuming they did) you could do a pretty good job of calculating where the boat should be right now. The conditions yesterday were ideal for salvage. Today...not so much.

 

[davidprobable]

Unlike most here I have been around diamond shoals in January in 20' seas and 35 knots of wind. Should we have been there? Probably not but in a 80' maxi downwind really not that big of a deal. In a 55' cat fuck that. I cant even imagine the pure luck and driving skill needed to keep from flipping that beast. 20' seas in the gulfstream is no laughing matter even downhill. Sometimes the waves are so steep they just break right on top of you other times off you go a 20 knots trying not to pearl dive into the wave in front. Great fun in a maxi other than the ones that break into the cockpit. I cant even begin to imagine dealing with that in a boat that doesnt really heel. The shock loading must have been huge and the driving skill and luck needed to keep the boat in one piece and not flip it off the charts.

Glad everyone is safe but that was a stupid call to leave with that type of boat in those conditions IMHO. The rig letting go probably saved the boat from a capsize which would have probably caused the loss of life.

>The last few posts are the best info yet on this thread.

Don't go out in that forecast with a cat.

Be very prepared and patient if you are going to try to salvage.

Fucking insurance companies.

Turd may have a lot of experience on 80ft maxi's.., but he hasn't told us anything about his experience on big catamarans.

why should i believe his assertion that cats are any less safe than mono's in the conditions encountered by RM?

Because he is a turd.......and in this case correct........still a turd.

 

[eastern motors]

If a weather specialist was given the coordinates of the boat at the time of the rescue and then talked to the skipper about how they handled securing the helm (Assuming they did) you could do a pretty good job of calculating where the boat should be right now. The conditions yesterday were ideal for salvage. Today...not so much.

Maybe they just set the auto pilot to drive back to the dock and didn't tell anyone.

 

[Raked Aft\\]

Anyone know if a salvage attempt was made at all yesterday?

 

[DDW]

Fucking insurance companies.

I'm going to suggest that the insurance company is partly to blame for the abandonment. I think that was true in the Alpha 42 case as well.

In this case the owner is a wealthy venture capitalist. He is used to betting large sums on long odds, and cutting his losses when the outcome looks bleak. That is what they do. Add to that the fact that the boat was insured - this means that the loss is not yours, you have already traded that risk to someone else. You cannot put these facts out of your mind while weighing them against even a small possibility of death.

A land bound analogy is: your house begins to burn. You can run inside and attempt to put it out with 80% chance of success and 20% chance of dying. It is insured. Do you run inside to try to save it, or watch it burn and file a claim?

If the Alpha or the Gunboat had not been insured, would more effort - and risk - have been put in to trying to save them?

I don't make these observations lightly. My boat is insured, similar circumstances would have me thinking hard.

 

[TQA]

Here is why it all happened. I believe this is from the Gunboat Facebook page ;-

"It’s easy to understand the universal enthusiasm for the 17.35-meter catamaran. From daysailing to circumnavigation, the Gunboat 55 can handle whatever type of adventure you throw at it."

and the Atlantic ocean said "Hmm you sure about that?"

 

[fastyacht]

Conditions continue to deteriorate...

225 miles SE of Hatteras.

Station 41002

NDBC

Location: 31.862N 74.835W

Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:50:00 UTC

Winds: SSW (200°) at 31.1 kt gusting to 38.9 kt

Significant Wave Height: 11.8 ft

Dominant Wave Period: 8 sec

Mean Wave Direction: SSW (197°)

Atmospheric Pressure: 29.88 in and falling

Air Temperature: 70.7 F

Dew Point: 60.6 F

Water Temperature: 70.5 F

That's warmer and nicer than a transatlantic eastbound -- in July. That wind is what gets you to England in 10 days.

 

[TheDragon]

Conditions continue to deteriorate...

225 miles SE of Hatteras.

Station 41002

NDBC

Location: 31.862N 74.835W

Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:50:00 UTC

Winds: SSW (200°) at 31.1 kt gusting to 38.9 kt

Significant Wave Height: 11.8 ft

Dominant Wave Period: 8 sec

Mean Wave Direction: SSW (197°)

Atmospheric Pressure: 29.88 in and falling

Air Temperature: 70.7 F

Dew Point: 60.6 F

Water Temperature: 70.5 F

That's warmer and nicer than a transatlantic eastbound -- in July. That wind is what gets you to England in 10 days.

You are forgetting the sea state.

 

[DA-WOODY]

 

[spike]

Current conditions in the search area. I would say the poor RM is making some serious SOG towards Ireland

 

[fastyacht]

Conditions continue to deteriorate...

225 miles SE of Hatteras.

Station 41002

NDBC

Location: 31.862N 74.835W

Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2015 14:50:00 UTC

Winds: SSW (200°) at 31.1 kt gusting to 38.9 kt

Significant Wave Height: 11.8 ft

Dominant Wave Period: 8 sec

Mean Wave Direction: SSW (197°)

Atmospheric Pressure: 29.88 in and falling

Air Temperature: 70.7 F

Dew Point: 60.6 F

Water Temperature: 70.5 F

That's warmer and nicer than a transatlantic eastbound -- in July. That wind is what gets you to England in 10 days.

You are forgetting the sea state.

Actually no I'm not--been in that exact sea state and wind out in the N.Atlantic and it was great. You make miles when you are running with that kind of sea.

The point was merely the irony that at that one capture Dry made, it wasn't bad at all for passagemaking. The real issue is that it was and will be considerably worse in the near past and near future. That's the nature of WNA...

Did you happen to notice that the Stellwagen Bank buoy and the one 16mi east of Boston Harbor reported sig wave ht >24' with winds 48 gusting 58 kts during the nor'easter blizzard last week? That's the shit that gets you. It is possible that the catamaran had that kind of conditions too. The buoys are a very coarse network of information. Really bad conditions can easily happen 'between the buoys'

 

[Gypsyclubjuggler]

^ They airlifted the Harlisaki off the FH??

 

[Heynoose]

Already recovered and on the dock in Wanchese, NC

https://www.facebook.com/swordfishobx/posts/10152994218097488

Current conditions in the search area. I would say the poor RM is making some serious SOG towards Ireland

 

[ropetrick]

They got the busted mast chocked on deck after an open ocean recovery?

I got my doubts. Looks more like an ICW transit.

 

[DryArmour]

Nop

Already recovered and on the dock in Wanchese, NC

https://www.facebook.com/swordfishobx/posts/10152994218097488

Current conditions in the search area. I would say the poor RM is making some serious SOG towards Ireland

Nope. That is a new boat being ready to be commissioned. They cut away the RAINMAKER'S rig at sea. Now finding THAT* would be the needle in the haystack!

 

[mcsailor0303]

doesn't look like a lot of damage to that rig... in fact looks brand new?

 

[DryArmour]

You think it's owner is wondering if he can get his deposit back?

Nop

Already recovered and on the dock in Wanchese, NC

https://www.facebook.com/swordfishobx/posts/10152994218097488

Current conditions in the search area. I would say the poor RM is making some serious SOG towards Ireland

Nope. That is a new boat being ready to be commissioned. They cut away the RAINMAKER'S rig at sea. Now finding THAT* would be the needle in the haystack!

I think Farris Buehler said it best: