Nice work on getting all the doohickies in there.Håkan Södergren
Nice work on getting all the doohickies in there.Håkan Södergren
Holy Cow, my brother and family were in Chatham, Cape Cod, MA yesterday when, without warning, two EF1 tornadoes came through town as part of a 5x15 mile super cell thunderstorm. Their Boston Whaler and outboard were flipped at its mooring by wind estimated at 110 mph. Several 40 foot sailboats on moorings were rolled and dismasted. Hundreds of trees down, a nearby hotel's roof went into orbit, and thousands without power..
https://www.facebook.com/Boston25New...type=2&theater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McpQR8Mw_o8
Last edited by sleddog; 07-24-2019 at 10:12 PM.
Reportedly, the Whaler and its 40 hp outboard became airborne on its mooring as a waterspout, first sighted near Woods Hole, came ashore as an EF1 tornado just west of Chatham. Interestingly, the Whaler's AGM 12 volt battery was not affected by being submerged and the resulting short circuit fried the engine, wiring, and all the metal on the Whaler. The battery is the only thing still functional.
Last edited by sleddog; 07-25-2019 at 12:28 PM.
The circumstances and the photo generates some questions, or speculation.
The whaler may have been the lightest boat on a mooring, but there may be another similar skiff behind the red boat on the left side. Was it simply weight that made the whaler vulnerable? All the heavier boat seems to be OK, but no telling how much water in the bilge.
The roof removal on the earlier video was pretty dramatic.
Ants
Hi Ants,
My brother likened the flipping of the Whaler to driving down the freeway at 110 mph with the Whaler on a trailer behind, unsecured...he thought the shape definitely helped the boat become airborne.
Reminds me of a time I was anchored at beautiful Pelican Harbor at Santa Cruz Island. It was blowing so hard my dinghy, an Avon Redcrest inflatable about 9' long, was continually airborne and spinning on its painter behind WILDFLOWER. That was the day I learned you never leave anything in the dinghy when tied up behind a boat. How windy was it? Stones the size of golf balls were blowing off the tops of the surrounding cliffs to windward. An inflatable from a neighbor's boat became detached and sailed by at eye level, coming to rest against a large cactus on shore..
Due to missing and incomplete reports, it's difficult to analyze Transpac incidents and their causes.
One would believe equipment failures would lessen in modern times thanks to improved engineering and materials, coupled with lighter, faster boats lessening loads and more prepared and experienced crews. Curiously this has not proven true. The 2019 Transpac had more compromised steering incidents (7) than any previous race partly a result of record entry numbers (90) and the consistent wind and seas that produced high average speeds that put a premium on the steering integrity of both crew and boat.
Though Transpacific Race records date back to 1906, the dawn of fiberglass boats, aluminum spars and spade rudders racing to Hawaii began in 1965 with the appearance of the Cal-40. Since '65, there have been 66 Transpac races from California to Hawaii: 28 Transpacs (to Honolulu), 20 Singlehanded Transpacs (to Kauai), and 19 Pacific Cups (to Kauai and Kaneohe Bay.)
Prior to 1965, Transpac racers were mono-hulls with wooden hull and spars. Such construction was generally less robust: it was an (expensive) badge of honor to finish with a splintered spinnaker pole or a jury rigged (“fished”) main boom. In 1959 the 161' schooner GOODWILL finished first, re-rigged mid-ocean as a ketch after the 2 ton, main topmast broke. (See sleddog post #2789 of 8/27/2018 for this dramatic story.https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/showt...1493#post21493)
The 1977 Transpac had the most dismastings, 5 total, all occurring in the same area on a dark night during frequent strong squalls with confused cross seas. Carrying too much sail for the conditions was the primary blame. But there were other causes. Sailing by the lee was one.
Noteworthy, all 5 broken boats assembled jury rigs and logged excellent daily runs to the finish, NALU IV posting 165, 175, 162, and 175 mile 24 hour runs, while the Cal-40 CONCUBINE averaged 164 miles, and INCREDIBLE laid down a 184 mile day. In those days, Transpac racers were required to carry a heavy duty banding tool and stainless strapping for just such jury rig eventualities. For unknown reasons, this requirement has been discontinued.
Polling 66 Transpac Races (I do not include the Victoria to Maui Race as I don't have sufficient records) I have posted below the average percentage of racers per race suffering breakage or other disabling events. The average combined fleet size for the Honolulu Transpac, Pacific Cup, and Singlehanded Transpac has been 47 boats. These are not definitive numbers, some are estimates, and I welcome alternate thinking.
Dismastings = 3%
Broken spar or attachment (boom, spinnaker pole) other than mast = 5%
Steering Loss, all or partial = 7% (broken rudder, chain, quadrant sheave, bearing, tiller, etc.)
Loss or Reduction of Charging Ability = 3%
Significant Loss of Potable Water = 2% (leak, pressure water or watermaker failure,)
Sail Breakage = 50%
Loss of an AutoPilot or self steering (SHTP only) = 65%
MOB = .5% (4 in 49 races, excluding SHTP)
Failure of Compass Light = 20%
Detritus fouling keel, prop, or rudder, or hitting something = 65%
Instrumentation, Tracker, Radio Failure, All or Partial = 35%
Serious Medical Issue = 5% (skull fracture, perforated ulcer, broken ribs, staph infection.)
Sea Sickness = 75%
Retiring from Race = 6%
Abandonment of Vessel during Race = (5 total, 2 in SHTP, 1 in Honolulu Transpac, 2 in Pac Cup)
Loss of Vessel after Finish and Before Return to Mainland. = (9)
Other Unanticipated = 5%. Loss of mast on port tack J-36 GRYPHON in 1981 in prestart maneuvers when snagging rigs with mizzen of NATOMA; loss of skeg on 73 foot maxi GREYBEARD; loss of MEDICINE MAN just upwind and inshore of finish line when colliding with Diamond Head Reef; professional cook jumping overboard at West End of Catalina and retrieved by spectator boat; missing the finish due to navigational error (3).
In 1979 Transpac MERLIN lost cooking ability half way due to failure of a $12 propane regulator. (The top of the engine was used to heat water and fry eggs.) A Santana 35, FRIENDSHIP, with a broken rudder, was lifted aboard Navy ship in the 1980 Pac Cup.
The potential for jury rigging repairs while racing Transpacs has been part of the sport since early beginnings, and remains a valuable skill to this day. Needless to say, the better prepared and tested a boat and crew are, the lessening of chances of calamity.
Just because the rudder has gone, or the mast broken, doesn't necessarily mean DNF. In some exceptions broken boats have won trophies. Here are just a few memories . The schooner FLYING CLOUD in 1949 sailed the last two days with jury rigged steering after watching their rudder bob to the surface and float away behind. FLYING CLOUD continued racing, won Class A, and was only a few hours from winning overall.
RAGTIME in 1981 came flying down the Molokai Channel with no rudder, steering with twin jibs.
And who can forget CHEVAL in 1995 losing her mast on the last jibe before the Molokai Channel, her crew quickly jury rigging allowing CHEVAL to average over 8 knots for the last 40 miles and win the Barn Door Trophy.
And of course there is our own RUBEN on the 26' SPARKY who sailed the last 500 miles of the 2008 SHTP under jury rig.
PS: If you have a question or would like further details about above incidents or percentages, please post here and I will try to be more definitive.
Last edited by sleddog; 07-29-2019 at 12:07 PM.
That's a fascinating compendium of mishap, Skip...and really valuable to think over.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"
Wow, that's an amazingly thoughtful and comprehensive analysis. There's so much there there that I don't know where to begin. I do have "change LPG regulator and rest of hoses" as an item for the PacCup next summer. That one does worry me, but I'd really like to hear you expand on the issue with "Failure of Compass Light = 20%." Is this because of hand steering at night? Dang. I would have thought a jury-rigged small flashlight in the right spot would be the answer to that. I am going to have to put "fix the broken compass wire" back on the To Do list....
When moving a flash lite around a compass the little needle keeps pointing at the flash lite, Having the tools on board to repair the light is advisable.