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Thread: Sea Wisdom: What happened out there?

  1. #11
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    Sep 2008
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    SF Bay Area
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Is there anyway of telling if your VHF was set to 22A on US frequencies, or possibly to 22 on International frequencies as DAZZLER suggests is a possibility? If it were the latter, then is that a possible reason the CG and you couldn't communicate on VHF?
    I added a picture of the Standard VHF to post #4 above. In the upper left corner of the VHF display it indicates which frequency set is in use.

    Tom P.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    Hi, Ignacio. I remember you from the pre race seminars. Then you kind of wandered off. It is nice to hear from you again. Earlier today I sent a thank you email to the SF Coasties and to Vessel Traffic, along with the video of Will Lee's experience in the LongPac. Robert Blomerth, Director of Vessel Traffic Service, Sector San Francisco, responded with a thank you email. Any additional response from either agency will be posted here.
    Thanks Jackie. Yes that was a tough year. I had the boat in LA (Cabrillo Marina) that I had sailed there from Alameda in 2015. But I live in Petaluma. I spent 2015-2016 driving between Petaluma and LA throughout the year doing prep, fabricating, installing, etc.... before I finally departed on 6/19/2016. I tried to squeeze in those seminars in between all of that.

    Thanks for posting this great interview and info. I’ll be following with interest!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    35

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Smokester View Post
    Hi Will,
    We had a similar incident on my return from Hawaii last year. In my case, a Sperm Whale rammed us from behind about midway through the passage. It nailed our stern quarter and bounced off the skeg bending the rudder post. Although the hull was not breached, we could steer only with difficulty and used a combination of the boat's rudder, emergency rudder and sail balance to sail the remaining 1200nm.

    After the first repair haulout and the boat was undergoing sea trials, we discovered that the rudder box (which contains the rudder post and rudder tube) was delaminated requiring a second haulout. This was hidden damage and, with a second hit, probably would have sunk us.

    Anyway, after 7 months, she was back in her slip as good as new.

    Glad you also had a good outcome.
    Thanks for sharing this story. Amazing feat that you sailed the remaining 1200 nm! It just happens that there is another Hinckley Sou'wester 42 Competition Sloop in KKMI right now. I noticed its upper rudder bearing bracket is rebuilt using all metal support and reinforcement, comparing to SEA WISDOM which was fiberbglass only, and was ripped apart. I think this is how I would rebuild the rudder box. I'm attaching photos for comparison between the fiberglass and the metal reinforced versions.Name:  IMG_4610 2.jpg
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    Last edited by seawisdom; 07-14-2019 at 07:07 PM.

  4. #14
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    Sep 2007
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    Will, do you still think the damage was from hitting something? Could it have been from wave action (given the rough conditions) combined with the non-reinforced structure?

  5. #15
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    Jul 2019
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    Thanks for trying to help me debug the VHF. I verified that my two HX890 handsets and SEA WISDOM's GX2200 VHF radio are all set to USA channels. FYI, 22A is renamed to 1022. They are the same channels. After realizing my HX890 was not working effectively on 22A, I also tried using my ICOM GM1600 which I took out of my grab bag. The GM1600 is a handheld VHF for GMDSS compliant survival craft communication. I thought the GM1600 would have CH 22A, but that was a mistake by my part. I just learned that the channel list for "Survival Operation" is a smaller subset of a regular VHF radio. Also, the cockpit remote mic for GX2200 was not convenient during a rescue operation. A reliable handheld VHF radio is paramount. Somehow my GX2200 did not have clear signal either on CH 22A. Interestingly, USCG's HX870 that the lifeboat tossed to me had crystal clear communication on CH 22A. My VHF communication with VTS on CH 12 was good on all my radios.
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    Last edited by seawisdom; 07-14-2019 at 07:27 PM.

  6. #16
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    Jul 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobJ View Post
    Will, do you still think the damage was from hitting something? Could it have been from wave action (given the rough conditions) combined with the non-reinforced structure?
    Hi Bob, we discussed this at length at KKMI. The main reason for the underwater collusion is the fact that both of the rudders were damaged at the same time during a relatively calmer sea state, especially comparing to Day 1 and Day 2 sea state. However, I do wonder now, if the rudder box is reinforced using all metal, would the primary rudder bend due to the collusion instead of being dislodged? Which case is better?

  7. #17
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    Jul 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Seems unlikely, but did you deploy the heavy drogue the CG passed you for towing?
    Fortunately, it was not necessary to deploy the drogue. I had a hard time just moving it around the boat. I could not imagine deploying it by myself. Here is a photo of the drogue during the rescue.Name:  IMG_4606.jpg
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  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    San Francisco Bay
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    Re the VHF: Are you set on Hi or Lo transmit power? This is set channel-by-channel and may be inadvertently set to Lo?

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Smokester View Post
    Re the VHF: Are you set on Hi or Lo transmit power? This is set channel-by-channel and may be inadvertently set to Lo?
    VHF transmit power was set to HI for all channels during the rescue. Squelch was also set to the lowest level without picking up noise.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    It looks to me like the steering box, the fiberglass one...the box itself is plenty strong enough. The box didn't fail, the attachment of box to deck failed.

    Do I have that right?
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

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