Thanks for the abc news link!
(
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-american-sailors-rescued-after-five-months-sea-n814806)
That does shed some light on this adventure. Breaking a spreader would surly impact the ability to sail... but I have no idea why they were scared of tiger sharks, when they are on a boat...
I would think they could have fabricated something to replace that spreader, w/ climbing steps on the mast, and flat seas.. and months of time to do it... but their minds might have been screwed up, being worried about sharks and such... I can't imaging a shark breaking the hull...
this does sound like the making of a good book.. or movie...
On May 23, the women set off from Oahu bound for Tahiti, about 2,600 miles away, but problems soon arose. First, a piece of the mast called a spreader failed, Appel said, limiting the sailboat's maneuverability, and on May 30 a storm flooded the engine. Communications were also impacted.
Appel and Fuiava described a sense of despair after making daily distress calls for 98 days straight, but the calls were out of range. They spotted other ships that did not or could not respond, and fired at least 10 flares. Twice the ship was attacked by Tiger sharks, they said.
"I could see light and I could see vessels, and once you get closer, we thought it would be close enough to do a [distress] call," Fuiava told TODAY. "When they would turn and keep going, yeah, it was kind of sad."
The women were rescued along with their two dogs, Zeus and Valentine, who had been aboard with them. While the dogs provided an immense source of comfort during the ordeal, at times Appel and Fuiava feared they would tip off sharks circling around their boat.
"I went downstairs with the boys and we basically laid huddled on the floor and I told them not to bark because the sharks could hear us breathing. They could smell us," Appel said.
sharks can smell...... fear! :/
also, how much water is needed to 'flood' a diesel?
Q: would a 50' sloop have a mast with single spreaders? (which is what we see in the video), or did it have 2 (or more) and they re-rigged it for 1?
boat looks ok, for the ocean from what I can see...
