RAINMAKER DISMASTED OFF HATTERAS IN GALE

[Moonduster]

No surprise to see that you choose revisionist history over corrections and apologies. Your choice profoundly highlights your dedication to facts, truth and ethics.

I made damned sure that no fuel or paint contaminated anything. I personally siphoned more than 50 gallons out of the tanks and donated it to the village chief for the school generator. The paint and varnish on board, and most everything else, had been removed by locals before the wind abated.

As to an investigation, that would be the role of interested government or responsible investigative journalists. I hid from neither. I can only surmise that those with questions had them answered and that others were satisfied with the outcome.

You're the only person who has ever railed on the situation and always in an obvious effort to humiliate or silence me. They are petty, childish attempts, futile, too. Yet more testimony to your character, motive and goals.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

You're the only person who has ever railed on the situation and always in an obvious effort to humiliate or silence me. They are petty, childish attempts, futile, too. Yet more testimony to your character, motive and goals.

I never railed on anything until you made it your mission to stalk and snipe everything we do here. Otherwise, when your hating was about seamanship, you would just be another SA nutter rather than the dude who anchored his uninsured 47-footer in the path of a hurricane.

 

[TwoLegged]

That there was no investigation has nothing to do with me - I'd have been happy to participate. But there was no reason for an investigation as there was no involvement of any public resources at any time in any way. I know the difference between these situations is hard for you to follow - but please do try.

So you left tons of toxic lead on a beach somewhere, but there was no involvement of the public? Are you fucking serious right now? What about the fuel, oil, paint, and everything else you leaked into the water?

WHERE'S THE INVESTIGATION?

So far as the pictures showed, Moonduster appeared to be in the process of being very effectively recycled by locals.

The thing you seem to willfully ignore here is the fact that your old shitbox wasn't insured when you guaranteed her death by sticking her square in the path of a hurricane, so no one gave a shit what you said afterwards.

I never thought that I would hear a well-maintained S&S classic yacht derided as a "shitbox".

A wee friendly word of advice to anyone inclined to agree with that label: stay well away from Crosshaven, and preferably well clear of the rest of Cork. Denis Doyle and his Moondusters are local legends. Spitting on his boat like that won't earn you friends.

When a company is paying out millions of dollars, it doesn't work that way.

Some people did kinda suggest that money was the dominant factor in this story. Sad to see that confirmed.

 

[MR.CLEAN]

There will be lessons to be drawn from my interview with Chris, but this is not an investigation, because frankly I have no interest in 'investigating'. I trust Chris enough to put my life in his hands on a boat, which means I trust what he says to me, period. Whether you do or do not...not my concern at all.

That does not mean I will get the whole story, because Chris can only talk about what his advisors have told him he can, and I am under no illusions about that. So instead of the complete story, I have the most complete story available, which for this incident, is plenty for me. If the USCG or US Sailing starts requiring detailed investigations for non-injury incidents, let me know and I'll pass along what I know (Cue someone screaming about how their tax dollars give them a right to know everything).

 

[RKoch]

Thanks for laying out some of the details for the fateful voyage..

"I conducted a safety meeting with all crew in the salon. Covering where all fire extinguishers were, safety gear location, medical, and duties in case of emergency, along with our planned route and weather conditions."

With a crew of three highly skilled professionals with more than amble time in the type of boat, deep preparation for the trip and Two (2) guests. The only conclusion anyone could reach at this point is somehow a hidden design or build flaw in the Gunboat must have left the crew, who can do no wrong, in peril along with their Two (2) healthy male guests... unless of course other material facts are withheld at this time?

Gunboat unsinkable unless thunderstorm or squall conditions are experienced. Starting to sound like a Kiwi 35....

The Kiwi 35 remained afloat, and had righted itself when recovered in the morning. That said, it still isn't a suitable boat for a race of that length or conditions.

 

[adrumm]

Wow.....this has spun out of control!

I am just shocked to hear anyone would question the owner and crew for bailing. Who really thinks a rich !@#$ from (where ever) who spends 2.2M on GB 55' would stick it out when the shit hits the fan. I'm sure the experienced crew would have, but when the owner says it's time to go......it's time to go.

With regards to SA and GB's relationship......good bless them both. Lord only knows, when you charge that much for a production level boat, this affords you the opportunity to advertise and do promotional pieces. Anyone who argues this is either !@#$% or does not understand the marine industry.

So without going back and reading countless pages, have the salvaged the boat yet and how bad is the damage to the hull? I would have to assume that locating the boat would be ( or would have been) easy. Sure it's a large ocean, but I would have to assume the boat has some type of tracking device on board....either left by the crew or the USCG......right?

 

[JSoup]

I don't have a dog in this fight, but FWIW, here is the the link to the Moonduster loss. https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2009-12-16

I found it by typing: 47 lost hurricane site: latitude38 into a Google search

 

[billy backstay]

Wow.....this has spun out of control!

I am just shocked to hear anyone would question the owner and crew for bailing. Who really thinks a rich !@#$ from (where ever) who spends 2.2M on GB 55' would stick it out when the shit hits the fan. I'm sure the experienced crew would have, but when the owner says it's time to go......it's time to go.

With regards to SA and GB's relationship......good bless them both. Lord only knows, when you charge that much for a production level boat, this affords you the opportunity to advertise and do promotional pieces. Anyone who argues this is either !@#$% or does not understand the marine industry.

So without going back and reading countless pages, have the salvaged the boat yet and how bad is the damage to the hull? I would have to assume that locating the boat would be ( or would have been) easy. Sure it's a large ocean, but I would have to assume the boat has some type of tracking device on board....either left by the crew or the USCG......right?

Cliff Notes

1) Boat not found yet.

2) Many queries about a tracker, but no answers.

.

Plus lots of speculation and shit spewing and throwing. Typical SA...

 

[MR.CLEAN]

Wow.....this has spun out of control!

I am just shocked to hear anyone would question the owner and crew for bailing. Who really thinks a rich !@#$ from (where ever) who spends 2.2M on GB 55' would stick it out when the shit hits the fan. I'm sure the experienced crew would have, but when the owner says it's time to go......it's time to go.

With regards to SA and GB's relationship......good bless them both. Lord only knows, when you charge that much for a production level boat, this affords you the opportunity to advertise and do promotional pieces. Anyone who argues this is either !@#$% or does not understand the marine industry.

So without going back and reading countless pages, have the salvaged the boat yet and how bad is the damage to the hull? I would have to assume that locating the boat would be ( or would have been) easy. Sure it's a large ocean, but I would have to assume the boat has some type of tracking device on board....either left by the crew or the USCG......right?

You know what they say about assumptions

part two comes 'soon'

 

[fastyacht]

public shit-spewing is the new normal.

 

[adrumm]

It's impossible for me to imagine that either the crew or the USCG would not have placed a tracking device on the vessel.....just for tracking and safety purposes. A simple AIS so other marine traffic knows it there. Then again, I could see the owner not wanting it found if she was damaged. Lord knows he probably has a sweet insurance policy on the boat.

Anyway.....crazy story for sure!

 

[billy backstay]

public shit-spewing is the new normal.

In SA??? I know you are not a newb, so why so suddenly naive?? :blink:

 

[us7070]

It's impossible for me to imagine that either the crew or the USCG would not have placed a tracking device on the vessel.....just for tracking and safety purposes. A simple AIS so other marine traffic knows it there. Then again, I could see the owner not wanting it found if she was damaged. Lord knows he probably has a sweet insurance policy on the boat.

Anyway.....crazy story for sure!

you can't place one, if you don't bring it...

AIS would only work as long as the boat has power - which might be a while, or might not be...

most consumer devices are only going transmit for a few days to a week

edit - the YB tracker lasts a long time.., but if they didn't have one...

it has been reported here that the USCG does not typically put trackers on abandoned boats

 

[adrumm]

It's impossible for me to imagine that either the crew or the USCG would not have placed a tracking device on the vessel.....just for tracking and safety purposes. A simple AIS so other marine traffic knows it there. Then again, I could see the owner not wanting it found if she was damaged. Lord knows he probably has a sweet insurance policy on the boat.

Anyway.....crazy story for sure!

you can't place one, if you don't bring it...

AIS would only work as long as the boat has power - which might be a while, or might not be...

most consumer devices are only going transmit for a few days to a week

it has been reported here that the USCG does not typically put trackers on abandoned boats

That is just hard to believe......all the prep work and additional crap they brought on board and they amount of time the crew hard prior to being air-lifted.......seems strange. Anyway.....that's why they call it a story!

 

[us7070]

It's impossible for me to imagine that either the crew or the USCG would not have placed a tracking device on the vessel.....just for tracking and safety purposes. A simple AIS so other marine traffic knows it there. Then again, I could see the owner not wanting it found if she was damaged. Lord knows he probably has a sweet insurance policy on the boat.

Anyway.....crazy story for sure!

you can't place one, if you don't bring it...

AIS would only work as long as the boat has power - which might be a while, or might not be...

most consumer devices are only going transmit for a few days to a week

it has been reported here that the USCG does not typically put trackers on abandoned boats

That is just hard to believe......all the prep work and additional crap they brought on board and they amount of time the crew hard prior to being air-lifted.......seems strange. Anyway.....that's why they call it a story!

i don't know whether they had a tracker or not - but lot's of boats don't have anything that will transmit for a long time

 

[eric e]

seems to me

that the front didn't fall off because it hit a wave

however the top fell off because it was hit by wind

the white-out stuff

is very bermuda triangle

http://www.funtrivia.com/en/General/Bermuda-Triangle-18571.html

 

[Clove Hitch]

Well, it's a good story so far. I remember seeing RM at the Annap. boat show. I puttered by in my modest yacht. Looking back at the doomed boat, I remember that the GBs were always stocked with excellent Spanish white wines when I snooped around on board during the show-- an Albarino, for example.

 

[Ed Lada]

That there was no investigation has nothing to do with me - I'd have been happy to participate. But there was no reason for an investigation as there was no involvement of any public resources at any time in any way. I know the difference between these situations is hard for you to follow - but please do try.

So you left tons of toxic lead on a beach somewhere, but there was no involvement of the public? Are you fucking serious right now? What about the fuel, oil, paint, and everything else you leaked into the water?

WHERE'S THE INVESTIGATION?

So far as the pictures showed, Moonduster appeared to be in the process of being very effectively recycled by locals.

The thing you seem to willfully ignore here is the fact that your old shitbox wasn't insured when you guaranteed her death by sticking her square in the path of a hurricane, so no one gave a shit what you said afterwards.

I never thought that I would hear a well-maintained S&S classic yacht derided as a "shitbox".

A wee friendly word of advice to anyone inclined to agree with that label: stay well away from Crosshaven, and preferably well clear of the rest of Cork. Denis Doyle and his Moondusters are local legends. Spitting on his boat like that won't earn you friends.

When a company is paying out millions of dollars, it doesn't work that way.

Some people did kinda suggest that money was the dominant factor in this story. Sad to see that confirmed.

Hate to break it to you but for the last, oh, 5,000 years the dominant factor in life life has pretty much been money for most people.

 

[bigmarv]

There will be lessons to be drawn from my interview with Chris, but this is not an investigation, because frankly I have no interest in 'investigating'. I trust Chris enough to put my life in his hands on a boat, which means I trust what he says to me, period. Whether you do or do not...not my concern at all.

That does not mean I will get the whole story, because Chris can only talk about what his advisors have told him he can, and I am under no illusions about that. So instead of the complete story, I have the most complete story available, which for this incident, is plenty for me. If the USCG or US Sailing starts requiring detailed investigations for non-injury incidents, let me know and I'll pass along what I know (Cue someone screaming about how their tax dollars give them a right to know everything).

So Chris won't say more to you. Have you or your team spoken to GB or its people about this? What do they say? Have they had input on content?

 

[Ed Lada]

"I’ve sailed about 30,000 NM on Gunboats in winds up to 65knots"

(1) honest/true winds up to 65kts are extremely rare offshore (except in hurricanes). You usually have to have F*&Ked up pretty badly to see that. In our time (rather more than this skipper's), we only saw low 60's twice and it was my F*&k up both times that got us into it.

(2) it is 2,600nm from the canaries to the Caribbean. And 1,500nm from Hatteras to Caribbean. So, at his age, this skipper had actually done 11 transatlantic equivalents, all on gunboats?

​I will comment that the three things sailors love to and systematically exaggerate are: wind speeds, miles, and passage speed. And on the front page, I am pretty sure one is exaggerated, strongly suspect another is, and would not be surprised if the third was.

Remember GB units of measurement are different to everyone elses.

GB speak for a 7 knot average is "18-20"

Judging by the way they measure boat speed ,I reakon their miles sailed figures are not rhumbline but the squiggly track all over the ocean including little daysail jolly's.

Nothing like a little embellishment if one has self confidence problems.

You know why women are so lousy at guessing measurements don't you? Because all of their adult lives they have been told this (holds thumb and forefinger 3-4 inches apart) is 10 inches.