Just came across this...
http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/br...issing-from-wingnuts-20110718,0,7055567.story
http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/br...issing-from-wingnuts-20110718,0,7055567.story
Chicago/Mac race accident
- Thread starter DannyS
- Start date
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That is very sad indeed. It will be a very subdued group at the finish of one of the best of traditions. Prayers go out for the families.
How ironic, I did the 100th running of this race in '08 and we were hit with a similar squall at almost the exact same time and location. Our skipper opted to bail out of the race and head into Charlevoix to get out of the weather. After that squall cleared it was nearly dead air for the balance of the race. Sad to hear that these sailors had to die but as most of us learn it can get real $hitty really fast out there.
I was that skipper that Alan was with back in 2008. Today's news brought back a lot of memories. When I heard the early reports with where it had occurred and that it was a 35 foot boat, it was like deja vu. Although, honestly, I didn't then, and don't know, see the conditions as enough to turn over my 35.5. Later reports noted the boat was an ultralight Kiwi 35, < 3000 lbs to my 13k lbs which certainly had to have something to do with it.
My sympathies go out to the families of the sailors that perished. All reports that I have read indicate that those rescued were wearing PFDs, while the same has not been said about those lost. I do know we all had PFDs on during our adventure. I regret not finishing in 2008, but I don't regret dropping out. We had been getting pounded for several hours that evening, and my concern was not with the boat, but crew fatigue, my own included. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to sail with Alan and his patience with my rag tag crew. I think my sons a better helmsmen for the time spent with Alan over his shoulder at the wheel.
I've been gone from SBO and HOW going back to that race. I know, at the time, that I was second guessing my decision. But as time has passed, I know I made the right call. It didn't get us across the line, but it got us all home to race again another day.
T J Furstenau
My sympathies go out to the families of the sailors that perished. All reports that I have read indicate that those rescued were wearing PFDs, while the same has not been said about those lost. I do know we all had PFDs on during our adventure. I regret not finishing in 2008, but I don't regret dropping out. We had been getting pounded for several hours that evening, and my concern was not with the boat, but crew fatigue, my own included. I truly enjoyed the opportunity to sail with Alan and his patience with my rag tag crew. I think my sons a better helmsmen for the time spent with Alan over his shoulder at the wheel.
I've been gone from SBO and HOW going back to that race. I know, at the time, that I was second guessing my decision. But as time has passed, I know I made the right call. It didn't get us across the line, but it got us all home to race again another day.
T J Furstenau
There is never a bad decision that brings everyone home safe.
My heart goes out to the families of the 2 lost and I would not second guess any decisons they made. The storm came up very quickly and on the water you could not have any indication of the intensity of what is coming at you. I watched the storm during the course of the day and watched it build as it approached Lake Michigan and then completely dissipate as it hit Southern Ontario.
It gives you respect of what the Great Lakes can dish out.
Very sad indeed, and sounds like it wasn't the kind of tragedy due to lack of experience, not that that will make it any easier for friends and family. I don't know much about the race, but every year I seem to get caught up in the excitement of it from a thousand miles away, sounds like a close group of sailors.
TJ, thanks for your post, very thoughtful, and I agree with Scott B that any decision that brings your crew home safe was a good one. Better to be in the harbor wishing you were "out there," than out there wishing you were in the harbor.
DanM.
TJ, thanks for your post, very thoughtful, and I agree with Scott B that any decision that brings your crew home safe was a good one. Better to be in the harbor wishing you were "out there," than out there wishing you were in the harbor.
DanM.
Hey TJ, really good to hear from you. Couldn't help re-living those hours on the lake as I read the report. It was as if someone had copied our script but with a worse outcome.
I agree that the 35.5 is a much sturdier boat and can take a beating but it sure drains the crew to fight the waves hour after hour.
I'm still wearing the red Silent Voice T shirt. Great to hear from you, say hello to the wife and kids for me.
Cheers.
I agree that the 35.5 is a much sturdier boat and can take a beating but it sure drains the crew to fight the waves hour after hour.
I'm still wearing the red Silent Voice T shirt. Great to hear from you, say hello to the wife and kids for me.
Cheers.
This is a sad event and my sympathy goes out to the families ans friends of the two who perished. This is the first time in the 103 year history of the Mac race that there has been a fatality. The media reported this morning that the two who died were found still tethered to the boat which had turtled.
It appears that they were using the appropriate safety equipment, but could not detach themselves. No one may ever know what really happened. As a racer, I know how quickly things can go awry, even under the best of conditions.
As a person who sails on Lake Michigan, I have a healthy respect for how quickly it can get really nasty. I believe these people knew what they were doing, and knew their boat. On the other hand, its my personal opinion that the boat was simply too light for long distance offshore racing in Lake Michigan. Perhaps the race committee should discuss the feasibility of requiring minimum displacement regulations within the various classes.
It appears that they were using the appropriate safety equipment, but could not detach themselves. No one may ever know what really happened. As a racer, I know how quickly things can go awry, even under the best of conditions.
As a person who sails on Lake Michigan, I have a healthy respect for how quickly it can get really nasty. I believe these people knew what they were doing, and knew their boat. On the other hand, its my personal opinion that the boat was simply too light for long distance offshore racing in Lake Michigan. Perhaps the race committee should discuss the feasibility of requiring minimum displacement regulations within the various classes.
This incident raises a very important safety issue. If these men drowned as a result of failing to be able to detach their harness tethers then it re-enforces my belief that every sailor should carry a single hand opening knife that is tethered to the sailor. We have made this a mandatory piece of equipment on my boat for years. Failing to be able to free yourself from line or sails should not be an issue if you have one hand available to open and use a sharp knife which is always at your disposal and which could just save your life.
A very sobering report on Sail-World from another boat close by Wingnut. It certainly gives you respect for what the Great Lakes can dish out.
The Chicago Yacht Club's 103rd Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot—Hearing that it's windy and rainy is one thing. Hearing that water is vaporizing all around you is a completely different tale of horror.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All hell breaking loose: 100 knots and off the clock Event Media[/FONT]
Tim Prophit, owner and co-skipper of Fast Tango, a North American 40 out of the Bayview Yacht Club, and his crew have seen the other side. In fact, their descriptions of the 'strobing' lightning and 'white water everywhere' are on an entirely different level than anything that racing sailors in North America have seen in many, many decades.
But then again, how often have North American Corinthian sailors seen sustained winds of 100 knots? Answer: never.
Tragically, WingNuts, a Kiwi 35, capsized during this meteorological melee and two sailors, Mark Morley and Suzanne Bickel, from Saginaw, MI were lost.
Some back story: For the 361 raceboats entered in the Chicago Yacht Club's (CYC) 103rd Race to Mackinac, the first 30 hours (tack on 24 hours for the cruising boats) were brochure-quality sailing. No bugs, plenty of breeze from the right angle, a kindly sea-state, warm air and spinnakers punctuating the horizon as far as the eye could see. Nothing broken about this picture at all...yet.
The dogs came howling off their chains on Sunday night (July 17), sometime around 2300 hours, EST. According to several different sources (all racing sailors), the breeze (18 knots) was coming from the south before the maelstrom struck. Sheet lighting started illuminating the sky, and the scramble became one of getting the kites down and hoisting heavy-air sails.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Peter Wenzler Event Media[/FONT]
For Prophit and his Fast Tango crew, the feeling was that this storm would produce intense, short-lived winds of the one-or-two minute variety—the sort of squall that simply requires running off and letting the action pass before resuming the race. According to Peter Wenzler, Prophit's co-skipper aboard Fast Tango, this was a very, very different situation.
'We were within five miles of WingNuts, about 3.5 miles east and 1.5 miles south,' said Wenzler. 'We didn't think we were going to get anything like this. We were flying a reduced spinnaker that we had re-cut into a [heavy-air] Asymmetrical kite. The wind came up pretty quickly, we didn't shock-load the sail or anything—it just disintegrated, parting at the head and down its tapes. We quickly put up the brand-new Number 3 [headsail]. Then the wind [clocked] from about 145 degrees to—BANG!—about 265. The wind was then coming down in vertical shafts.
'It came up really quickly to 60 knots, which we've sailed through enough times to know what it's like. Usually, it blasts through after a minute or two, then it's over and we can keep going. So when the stuff really hit the fan, the instinct is to bear off and run with it, initially—we didn't have time to drop the sails or put in a reef.
'We're just screaming downwind—the water had been pretty flat—and I'm doing my best to stay under the rig, hoping that I didn't wipeout too badly. It was unbelievable! I'm not sure how fast we were going, but water was just BLASTING off the side of the boat. I had three guys up on the foredeck, trying to get the jib down, and then the boat just dove down, right into the lake. So we called everyone back [from the foredeck]; I figured that if the bow goes in [to the lake any further] that I'd lose control of the rudder.
'It just never stopped. It just came on stronger and stronger. It got to the point where we just had to stop and lay the boat down. Heaving-to wasn't an option.
'Our owner always tracks [and graphs] information coming off the anemometer on his laptop—after [the worst of the storm] had passed, we took a photograph of the screen. There was a twenty-minute section in there where we were obviously exposed to some very challenging conditions.
'There was about a seven-minute section where the wind was pegged between the instrument's maximum, which is 100 knots [Ed. Note: 100 knots is 115 mph or 200 kilometers per hour], and 90 knots. It's just blasting out there.
There was more wind than I've ever experienced in 35 years of racing all over the Great Lakes and on the oceans, and I've been through tons of squalls. This thing was different.
'The boat really handled it beautifully. It's absolutely watertight. We ended up just laying her down,' said Wenzler.
'We were going sideways at nine knots!' ventured another Fast Tango crewmember who was standing by during the interview.
'We were at a point where the waterline was above the cabin-house windows,' said Wenzler. 'The rig was out of the water, with the mainsail just above the water. [Brett Zimmerman] was using his body to fill the companionway. We had [companionway] boards but they were down below and this was happening now.
'I think it was a downburst, so we were screaming along in this ridiculous wind that was in front of whatever happened, and it was over-taking us. It went from a dead run to a bit of a reach, it overtook us, and [then] it was smack-dab on top of us, blowing with more force than I've ever seen in my life.
'The water was vaporized...pulverized... In the cockpit there was water up to my knees, and it was white. And the water outside the boat was also white. I was standing on the side of the cockpit, driving, crouched within the wheel frame, with my head ducking below the windward side of the cockpit so that I could see the instruments. Believe it or not, we were still able to give the boat some [steerage].
'It didn't stop! It just kept going. The lightning was strobing. It was black and then white; there was so much of it that it was white all the time. Water was everywhere. Then the boat was lying on [her] side. It felt like capsizing a Thistle [e.g., a much smaller boat].
'I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it was longer than anything that I've ever experienced before. We were like a watermelon seed, being squeezed between two fingers—we were absolutely pressed against the surface of the water. Some crewmembers who were on the rail were thinking about how they were going to escape the lifelines if the boat went over.'
'It was 12 minutes of sustained winds over 50 knots,' said Prophit, who compared the experience to standing in the direct wash of a jet engine.
'Horrific conditions, for sure. It can be imagined that the WingNuts crew experienced a similar set of conditions. Given that a 40-footer was put on her side in this weather, it seems that the scene on WingNuts was far, far worse.
According to race regulations, all boats are must carry a GPIRB (a GPS-enabled emergency locator beacon] or a liferaft. The Chicago Mackinac Race shares the same safety requirements with the Bayview Mackinac Race. The crew of WingNuts took safety extremely seriously. Rather than simply carrying one GPIRB aboard, each crewmember was wearing his or her own personal beacon. Moreover, each crewmember was wearing a PFD and they were all also tethered to the yacht, as per sailing's universally accepted best practices.
While WingNuts did not have a liferaft aboard, multiple ocean-racing experts agree that it could well have been useless. In winds potentially exceeding 100 knots, the raft's tether line (attaching it to the yacht so that the crew can safely board the liferaft) could have immediately chaffed through, likely succumbing to friction between the tether line and/or lifelines or the yacht's anti-skid deck.
Moreover, in winds potentially exceeding 100 knots, the liferaft could have immediately cartwheeled away from the yacht. This happened during the 1998 Sydney-Hobart Race, with crew aboard, in less wind.
Safety tethers have been proven to have saved countless lives, and their use is absolutely the best accepted practice for sailing offshore, at night, or anytime that there is even the slightest chance of a crewmember going overboard; PFDs, of course, should be worn at all times. These practices were exceeded by the WingNuts crew.
'An accident in sailing affects all of us who spend time on the water,' said Gary Jobson, President of US SAILING. 'There are always lessons to be learned from tragedies. It's important that the appropriate parties take the time to thoroughly review all the factors that have taken place. Early indications, based on the report of the crew that were present, is that the accepted standard practices were met, including each member of the crew [wearing] a GPIRB. I would like to add my personal condolences to the family and crew that were part of this sad event.
'Just last week, I participated in the Marblehead-Halifax Race,' continued Jobson. 'We had a record-breaking run. I kept my safety harness attached to the boat during the nighttime hours.'
According to Chicago Yacht Club race officials, WingNuts was removed from race documents immediately following the disaster in an effort to protect the lost sailors' families. This was by no means intended to hide information—only to help provide some privacy to the close-knit family crew aboard WingNuts amidst the media frenzy of the past 36 hours.
The CYC will republish WingNuts data on their website, in due course.
Here is a partial list of the boats that stood by to assist during the tragedy: Turning Point, La Tempete, Sociable Buzz, J Crew'd, Northstar, Nautilus, MENTAL, Que Loco II, Timberwolf, Gauntlet, Usual Suspect, Bozos Circus, Lady K, and Say Uncle.
Specifically, Robert Arzbaecher's Sociable, a Beneteau 40.7 from the Milwaukee Yacht Club, deserves special mention, as they successfully rescued six of WingNuts surviving crewmembers. While Arzbaecher and crew have requested privacy during this difficult time, they deserve to be recognized as heros.
The loss of two sailors from the WingNuts crew is the worst tragedy in the race's proud 103-year history.
Please take a long moment of silence to honor two lost members of our extended sailing family. Please also seriously consider the safety equipment on your boat, and constantly re-familiarize yourself and your crew on the best MOB practices.
While the WingNuts crew undoubtedly practiced excellent seamanship, and best-accepted practices, their boat was simply no match for 100-knot winds.
Sadly, this is a stark reminder that all boaters must accept the fact that—while extremely rare—these sorts of freak storms are a possibility that every skipper must be prepared to encounter.
The Chicago Yacht Club's 103rd Race to Mackinac, presented by Veuve Clicquot—Hearing that it's windy and rainy is one thing. Hearing that water is vaporizing all around you is a completely different tale of horror.
Tim Prophit, owner and co-skipper of Fast Tango, a North American 40 out of the Bayview Yacht Club, and his crew have seen the other side. In fact, their descriptions of the 'strobing' lightning and 'white water everywhere' are on an entirely different level than anything that racing sailors in North America have seen in many, many decades.
But then again, how often have North American Corinthian sailors seen sustained winds of 100 knots? Answer: never.
Tragically, WingNuts, a Kiwi 35, capsized during this meteorological melee and two sailors, Mark Morley and Suzanne Bickel, from Saginaw, MI were lost.
Some back story: For the 361 raceboats entered in the Chicago Yacht Club's (CYC) 103rd Race to Mackinac, the first 30 hours (tack on 24 hours for the cruising boats) were brochure-quality sailing. No bugs, plenty of breeze from the right angle, a kindly sea-state, warm air and spinnakers punctuating the horizon as far as the eye could see. Nothing broken about this picture at all...yet.
The dogs came howling off their chains on Sunday night (July 17), sometime around 2300 hours, EST. According to several different sources (all racing sailors), the breeze (18 knots) was coming from the south before the maelstrom struck. Sheet lighting started illuminating the sky, and the scramble became one of getting the kites down and hoisting heavy-air sails.
For Prophit and his Fast Tango crew, the feeling was that this storm would produce intense, short-lived winds of the one-or-two minute variety—the sort of squall that simply requires running off and letting the action pass before resuming the race. According to Peter Wenzler, Prophit's co-skipper aboard Fast Tango, this was a very, very different situation.
'We were within five miles of WingNuts, about 3.5 miles east and 1.5 miles south,' said Wenzler. 'We didn't think we were going to get anything like this. We were flying a reduced spinnaker that we had re-cut into a [heavy-air] Asymmetrical kite. The wind came up pretty quickly, we didn't shock-load the sail or anything—it just disintegrated, parting at the head and down its tapes. We quickly put up the brand-new Number 3 [headsail]. Then the wind [clocked] from about 145 degrees to—BANG!—about 265. The wind was then coming down in vertical shafts.
'It came up really quickly to 60 knots, which we've sailed through enough times to know what it's like. Usually, it blasts through after a minute or two, then it's over and we can keep going. So when the stuff really hit the fan, the instinct is to bear off and run with it, initially—we didn't have time to drop the sails or put in a reef.
'We're just screaming downwind—the water had been pretty flat—and I'm doing my best to stay under the rig, hoping that I didn't wipeout too badly. It was unbelievable! I'm not sure how fast we were going, but water was just BLASTING off the side of the boat. I had three guys up on the foredeck, trying to get the jib down, and then the boat just dove down, right into the lake. So we called everyone back [from the foredeck]; I figured that if the bow goes in [to the lake any further] that I'd lose control of the rudder.
'It just never stopped. It just came on stronger and stronger. It got to the point where we just had to stop and lay the boat down. Heaving-to wasn't an option.
'Our owner always tracks [and graphs] information coming off the anemometer on his laptop—after [the worst of the storm] had passed, we took a photograph of the screen. There was a twenty-minute section in there where we were obviously exposed to some very challenging conditions.
'There was about a seven-minute section where the wind was pegged between the instrument's maximum, which is 100 knots [Ed. Note: 100 knots is 115 mph or 200 kilometers per hour], and 90 knots. It's just blasting out there.
There was more wind than I've ever experienced in 35 years of racing all over the Great Lakes and on the oceans, and I've been through tons of squalls. This thing was different.
'The boat really handled it beautifully. It's absolutely watertight. We ended up just laying her down,' said Wenzler.
'We were going sideways at nine knots!' ventured another Fast Tango crewmember who was standing by during the interview.
'We were at a point where the waterline was above the cabin-house windows,' said Wenzler. 'The rig was out of the water, with the mainsail just above the water. [Brett Zimmerman] was using his body to fill the companionway. We had [companionway] boards but they were down below and this was happening now.
'I think it was a downburst, so we were screaming along in this ridiculous wind that was in front of whatever happened, and it was over-taking us. It went from a dead run to a bit of a reach, it overtook us, and [then] it was smack-dab on top of us, blowing with more force than I've ever seen in my life.
'The water was vaporized...pulverized... In the cockpit there was water up to my knees, and it was white. And the water outside the boat was also white. I was standing on the side of the cockpit, driving, crouched within the wheel frame, with my head ducking below the windward side of the cockpit so that I could see the instruments. Believe it or not, we were still able to give the boat some [steerage].
'It didn't stop! It just kept going. The lightning was strobing. It was black and then white; there was so much of it that it was white all the time. Water was everywhere. Then the boat was lying on [her] side. It felt like capsizing a Thistle [e.g., a much smaller boat].
'I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it was longer than anything that I've ever experienced before. We were like a watermelon seed, being squeezed between two fingers—we were absolutely pressed against the surface of the water. Some crewmembers who were on the rail were thinking about how they were going to escape the lifelines if the boat went over.'
'It was 12 minutes of sustained winds over 50 knots,' said Prophit, who compared the experience to standing in the direct wash of a jet engine.
'Horrific conditions, for sure. It can be imagined that the WingNuts crew experienced a similar set of conditions. Given that a 40-footer was put on her side in this weather, it seems that the scene on WingNuts was far, far worse.
According to race regulations, all boats are must carry a GPIRB (a GPS-enabled emergency locator beacon] or a liferaft. The Chicago Mackinac Race shares the same safety requirements with the Bayview Mackinac Race. The crew of WingNuts took safety extremely seriously. Rather than simply carrying one GPIRB aboard, each crewmember was wearing his or her own personal beacon. Moreover, each crewmember was wearing a PFD and they were all also tethered to the yacht, as per sailing's universally accepted best practices.
While WingNuts did not have a liferaft aboard, multiple ocean-racing experts agree that it could well have been useless. In winds potentially exceeding 100 knots, the raft's tether line (attaching it to the yacht so that the crew can safely board the liferaft) could have immediately chaffed through, likely succumbing to friction between the tether line and/or lifelines or the yacht's anti-skid deck.
Moreover, in winds potentially exceeding 100 knots, the liferaft could have immediately cartwheeled away from the yacht. This happened during the 1998 Sydney-Hobart Race, with crew aboard, in less wind.
Safety tethers have been proven to have saved countless lives, and their use is absolutely the best accepted practice for sailing offshore, at night, or anytime that there is even the slightest chance of a crewmember going overboard; PFDs, of course, should be worn at all times. These practices were exceeded by the WingNuts crew.
'An accident in sailing affects all of us who spend time on the water,' said Gary Jobson, President of US SAILING. 'There are always lessons to be learned from tragedies. It's important that the appropriate parties take the time to thoroughly review all the factors that have taken place. Early indications, based on the report of the crew that were present, is that the accepted standard practices were met, including each member of the crew [wearing] a GPIRB. I would like to add my personal condolences to the family and crew that were part of this sad event.
'Just last week, I participated in the Marblehead-Halifax Race,' continued Jobson. 'We had a record-breaking run. I kept my safety harness attached to the boat during the nighttime hours.'
According to Chicago Yacht Club race officials, WingNuts was removed from race documents immediately following the disaster in an effort to protect the lost sailors' families. This was by no means intended to hide information—only to help provide some privacy to the close-knit family crew aboard WingNuts amidst the media frenzy of the past 36 hours.
The CYC will republish WingNuts data on their website, in due course.
Here is a partial list of the boats that stood by to assist during the tragedy: Turning Point, La Tempete, Sociable Buzz, J Crew'd, Northstar, Nautilus, MENTAL, Que Loco II, Timberwolf, Gauntlet, Usual Suspect, Bozos Circus, Lady K, and Say Uncle.
Specifically, Robert Arzbaecher's Sociable, a Beneteau 40.7 from the Milwaukee Yacht Club, deserves special mention, as they successfully rescued six of WingNuts surviving crewmembers. While Arzbaecher and crew have requested privacy during this difficult time, they deserve to be recognized as heros.
The loss of two sailors from the WingNuts crew is the worst tragedy in the race's proud 103-year history.
Please take a long moment of silence to honor two lost members of our extended sailing family. Please also seriously consider the safety equipment on your boat, and constantly re-familiarize yourself and your crew on the best MOB practices.
While the WingNuts crew undoubtedly practiced excellent seamanship, and best-accepted practices, their boat was simply no match for 100-knot winds.
Sadly, this is a stark reminder that all boaters must accept the fact that—while extremely rare—these sorts of freak storms are a possibility that every skipper must be prepared to encounter.
I was helming another boat in the race about 14 miles south of Wingnuts at the time of the incident. While we only saw 60knots, it was entirely possible that there were 100knot bursts in the storm as the cells tend to jump around. Even 60 knots with the driving rain and constant lightning flashes is disorienting and intimidating. My heart goes out to the survivors. I also applaud the heroics of the rescuers who risked their own safety to bring the crew aboard in those conditions.
PS. We were lucky as were sailing downwind when the leading edge of the storm hit us. We had our motor on (not in gear) to charge our batteries since our radar was eating them up as we tracked the approaching storm. The big surprise was the 40 degree wind veer as the first gusts hit causing an uncontrolled jibe. We were sailing at 8-1/2 knots at the time as we were trying to get to Leeland to meet an ambulance for an injured crewman. The wind gusts initially were in the 40 knot range. I immediately idled the engine and put it in gear to head into the wind. In a matter of minutes the horizontal rain hit and the sustained 60 knot winds were upon us as we struggled to secure the main. The waves picked up to 8 feet with the storm and they were plenty confused as the wind had veered and the new waves piled up against the 6 footers from the previous weather direction. All this around midnight after a full day of high speed reaching and surfing.
This will be a Mac to remember.
PS. We were lucky as were sailing downwind when the leading edge of the storm hit us. We had our motor on (not in gear) to charge our batteries since our radar was eating them up as we tracked the approaching storm. The big surprise was the 40 degree wind veer as the first gusts hit causing an uncontrolled jibe. We were sailing at 8-1/2 knots at the time as we were trying to get to Leeland to meet an ambulance for an injured crewman. The wind gusts initially were in the 40 knot range. I immediately idled the engine and put it in gear to head into the wind. In a matter of minutes the horizontal rain hit and the sustained 60 knot winds were upon us as we struggled to secure the main. The waves picked up to 8 feet with the storm and they were plenty confused as the wind had veered and the new waves piled up against the 6 footers from the previous weather direction. All this around midnight after a full day of high speed reaching and surfing.
This will be a Mac to remember.
Yes, they had PFDs on. They were found still tethered to the boat.
"Six crew members scrambled to unclip or cut their safety lines and were ultimately rescued. Mark Morley, 51, and his girlfriend Suzanne Bickel, 41, died from head trauma suffered when the boat capsized, said Charlevoix County Sheriff Don Schneider. Both were from Saginaw, Mich.
Keel Bulb Missing
I noticed in the companion thread, in the photo of the WingNuts capsized, the keel bulb is missing. I checked thinking it might have just been the daggerboard, but the Kiwi does have a bulb keel on the bottom of the lifting keel, and it isn't there in the photo. Haven't seen mention of it.
I noticed in the companion thread, in the photo of the WingNuts capsized, the keel bulb is missing. I checked thinking it might have just been the daggerboard, but the Kiwi does have a bulb keel on the bottom of the lifting keel, and it isn't there in the photo. Haven't seen mention of it.
My heart goes out to the families of those sailors. If you look at the structure of the race boat (a kiwi 35 I believe) it might explain how such high winds and waves could have contributed to the capsize. It has wings to better leverage crew weight as ballast. http://islands.cc/photos/kiwi35.htm
It's a beautiful race boat but in the sea state they encountered it might have been overwhelmed. They were all highly experienced. God bless their souls.
It's a beautiful race boat but in the sea state they encountered it might have been overwhelmed. They were all highly experienced. God bless their souls.
Re: Keel Bulb Missing
I think it's there, just not very big. It's only supposed to have 1100 lbs, so it wouldn't be very big. You can see the yellow strap that's holding on the lantern wrapped around it.
I think it's there, just not very big. It's only supposed to have 1100 lbs, so it wouldn't be very big. You can see the yellow strap that's holding on the lantern wrapped around it.
If you read the account in the story I pasted above, a 17,000 lbs. 40 ft. boat was pinned on her side with water up to the cabin windows for a considerable amount of time. A much lighter Kiwi 2,800 lbs., and ballast of only 1,100, 8 crew of close to 1,600 lbs on deck, winged cockpit, if it went sideways would flip very quickly or if started to dig in bow first would pitchpole. Wrong type of boat for that type of race.
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