Search called off for missing yacht

Rick D · May 19, 2014

Catastrophic Loss

"...located an overturned hull that matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki..." Looks like the loss of the keel from the description. It's a (Beneteau) First 40.7 which ought to be a pretty stout boat, so I'll speculate it hit something.

It must be awful for the families and friends to have the search called off.

Kings Gambit · May 19, 2014

Re: Catastrophic Loss

Was this a chartered boat? A UK charter company was mentioned at the news website.

william24424 · May 19, 2014

Poor News coverage...

CNN is going with Miss Teen nude photos hacked on front page, New York Times nothing on front page, Cape Cod times has article, doesn't give name of missing, type of vessel, or descriptions/photos of those missing.

They could possibly be on a life raft alive? At least British news sources give photo of vessel, captain & crew. Maybe some vessel in area might have a crewman offline who could be alerted to look outside for an orange life raft.

william24424 · May 19, 2014

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/farnham-man-missing-along-crew-7137274

Kings Gambit · May 19, 2014

The boat, Cheeki Rafiki, is listed as a charter boat on Stormforce Coaching's website in the UK.

Jackdaw · May 19, 2014

The First 40.7 is a tough racer/cruiser; it has won the Sydney/Hobart event racing in conditions that most would not venture out in. That being said, it is not indestructible. The crew contacted UK authorities via sat phone and noted that they were shipping water from an unknown source. The keel of that boat is the same design as our First 36.7 and if the keel was damaged, spotting that would have been very easy. Rudder is a possibility; the lower bearing could catastrophically fail; but that would have totally disable steering and the crew would have noticed that.

The USCG search abandonment seems early but it's hard to 2nd guess that. They run sophisticated drift models based on weather and have a very good idea where bodies or lifeboats would have gone after leaving their last position.

I hope for a good outcome but that is sadly seeming less likely every hour.

Rick D · May 19, 2014

Yea, Jackdaw, but for the hull to be overturned and still afloat in those conditions, I have to assume the keel is gone. Hard to figure she'd stay inverted otherwise. Of course, that's all speculation at this point.

Jackdaw · May 19, 2014

Rick D said:
Yea, Jackdaw, but for the hull to be overturned and still afloat in those conditions, I have to assume the keel is gone. Hard to figure she'd stay inverted otherwise. Of course, that's all speculation at this point.

Oh I agree with that. With her huge keel, hard to imagine a 40.7 going over at all in 15 foot ocean swells, let alone staying inverted.

I'm just wondering how it came off, knowing that a good crew would be able to tell in 15 seconds that the keel was compromised if they looked there while trying to figure out how water was getting in..

25yearslater · May 19, 2014

Sadly these are the risks we accept when we venture out. As long as people have gone to sea there have been tragedies. Let's hope they are recovered. Be safe everyone.

Maine Sail · May 19, 2014

Rumor mill is that the MAERSK KURE came across the overturned hull, with no keel...

capejt · May 19, 2014

I guess it's just that season

I guess it's just that season.

I recently saw that vessel went missing (presumed sunk) on a trip from BVIs to Great Britain with 4 on board (if I remember right).

Locally, we had a mishap in Long Island Sound when a guy was out watching them move the newly restored Charles W Morgan from Mystic to New London. Apparently he was alone and is suspected to have fallen overboard. Someone noticed his pilotless boat adrift. They searched for about 16 hours, but never found him.

wufibugs · May 19, 2014

I am wondering whether one would be inclined to reason that in general a boat that's been in charter for a while would already have had the structural "kinks" exposed and that loss of the keel was therefore less likely to have been a dramatic structural failure, or do the rigors of charter result in greater structural issues for a boat? The message that they were taking on water did not include anything about a collision significant enough to take or severely compromise the keel. Perhaps a structurally weakened keel combined with the seaway, was enough to take it.

From a relative newby's perspective, are there trimming or helmsmanship errors that put a keel at risk in heavy seas and high winds? I am guessing that to tear the keel off, one would have had to be flying lots of canvas and be hit broadside by a monster gust. Even then, seems like the mast would go well before torque on the keel from a capsize would take it.

Kings Gambit · May 19, 2014

From someone who has chartered a fair amount for vacation cruises, as well as being a member of charter sailing clubs in FL and CA, I can say that charter boats are never in top condition compared to owner-maintained boats of similar age. That's no secret. People who buy new boats and put them into charter service basically suck money out of them, and it shows. So, a charter boat sailing from the UK to the Caribbean to race [if that's what they did], and then back again; several weeks at sea and several thousand miles in a rented boat--I don't know. Boats can get damaged in charter service and not be repaired fully or correctly, I believe (assuming damage is even discovered). A "failure" can begin obscurely, progress without much notice, and then "bam", some force comes along and it breaks. And we're always in a hurry; never enough time it seems to inspect CAREFULLY.

Jackdaw · May 19, 2014

Maine Sail said:
Rumor mill is that the MAERSK KURE came across the overturned hull, with no keel...

Not a rumor, the USCG confirmed that sighting on Saturday.

Jackdaw · May 19, 2014

Kings Gambit said:
From someone who has chartered a fair amount for vacation cruises, as well as being a member of charter sailing clubs in FL and CA, I can say that charter boats are never in top condition compared to owner-maintained boats of similar age. That's no secret. People who buy new boats and put them into charter service basically suck money out of them, and it shows. So, a charter boat sailing from the UK to the Caribbean to race [if that's what they did], and then back again; several weeks at sea and several thousand miles in a rented boat--I don't know.

BVI charters for sure, but this is an entirely different animal.

European race charter companies own and charter top-flight racing boats equipped for blue-water races and ocean crossings. Every year, dozens of such boats race to the carib in the ARC, and then stay for Antigua race week, the Heineken Cup, and then are sailed home with charter crew. In the summer they do the Fastnet. This was one of these boats. I know several people that have sailed on Cheeki and they say it was maintained to a very high standard.

Kings Gambit · May 19, 2014

That may be true in general, but the yacht and its crew have been regrettably lost; it apparently lost its keel, and was evidently shipping water (inexplicably) before going turtle, according to what I've been reading in this forum. I think they would know if they had hit something.

Jackdaw · May 19, 2014

Kings Gambit said:
That may be true in general, but the yacht has been lost; it apparently lost its keel, and was evidently shipping water (inexplicably) before going turtle, according to what I've been reading in this forum. I think they would know if they had hit something.

I agree with all of that. I just don't think its 'charter boat' related.

It is peculiar; if the keel/structure was compromised to the point it started letting in water; my teenage son would have known how to see that on a First 40.7. There were 4 RYA ocean-rated sailors on board. I don't know how they could not have seen that; the bolts and the grid structure are RIGHT THERE.. It seems unlikely that they would have abandoned the boat for some other failure/leak, and THEN the perfectly good keel falls off. Sad and strange.

Kings Gambit · May 19, 2014

If the boat is pitching and rolling, and/or hard over on one tack, it might not be so easy to ascertain where water is entering, especially in dim light. I'm not convinced it would be a "no-brainer." If the water is even a few millimeters over the keel-bolt washers by the time it is noticed, how could you detect its entrance going forward unless coming in very fast? Did it come in fast initially? I guess we don't know. Also, a question. Did the yacht receive the crew that was lost after the ARC leg had been completed, or did that same crew take her over?

Sailvayu · May 19, 2014

This is why it is important to have an EPIRB and life raft with hydrostatic releases. I survey boats all the time with the EPIRB safely strapped in down below and that is where it was reported on this boat. I also see life rafts stowed below or so securely lassed to the deck it would take several minutes to undo. Things just may have turned out different if the safety gear was automatic. Things can go to hell fast and you may not always have time to deploy safety gear. Sad story my thoughts are with the families.