Chuck

B

bhofler

.
May 31, 2006
263
- - Vancouver
VEGAtarians:

I thought I would start a new thread because there seems to be some
confusion regarding this discussion. I've known Chuck since I organized
the firsr VEGAtarian Rendezvous. As you know they intended to attend
the annual reunion on the July 1st. weekend in the San Juan's. They did
not arrive at Lopez and, as of this posting, no one has heard from
them. I contacted the motorcycle dealership that Chuck worked for in
Hawaii and they have no additional information. They are concerned as
well. I have sent as much information as I have regarding the boat and
their intended departure date to the US Coast Guard asking if they have
any knowledge of their whereabouts. I have not heard from the CG yet. I
suggest that any VEGAtarians that can provide additional information
(i.e. sail plan, family contacts, etc) may want to contact the US Coast
Guard as well.

Brian - Putachieside
 
V

vegatern

.
Oct 2, 2005
465
Brian, on July third I called West Marine in Hawaii (where Laura
worked) to see if they had heard from them. They had not. They
referred me to a friend of Chuck's, Jerry Dubois, who operates a ham
radio network for the North Pacific. Jerry was unable to talk Chuck
into installing a radio. They are carrying an EPIRB but have no other
way to send or receive. Jerry indicated that they had trouble getting
away on schedule and I double checked with West Marine again, and the
consensus was that perhaps they left about the first week of June but
nobody knew for sure. If they left on May 24 they are overdue (46
days by my count). If they left the first week of June they should be
getting in now. Brian, I have called the marina at Port Angeles WA
(360-457-4505) but they have not seen them yet. I have a call into
the Seattle Rescue Center, (They handle the EPIRB traffic.) To find
out if there is a way to learn if an EPIRB has been activated. I have
not heard back and suspect I may not get a response over the weekend.
If I don't hear back this weekend then perhaps someone else might try
on Monday (206-220-7001). I placed a call to the Port Angeles Coast
Guard station (360-417-5840) but at the time of my call they were busy
with multiple emergencies and unable to spend much time with me,
however, they don't believe an EPIRB has been activated. I will call
the Coast Guard back and report Chuck overdue tomorrow morning. It
seems that is what everyone is thinking should be done now and this
would just piggy back or your report. My understanding is that the CG
will then watch for them during their regular patrols, run a harbor
search, and issue a PAN for other ships to be on the lookout for them.
Of course there is no thought of conducting a search in that the area
would cover 3000 by 1500 miles, and we are in no position to ask for
one anyway. In the mean time if anyone has a good description of the
boat, (color?, dodger? weather cloths? Are his sail numbers on the
sail?) Does any one have family contacts for them? Brian, would Harley
Davidson have that? I can be reached of list at 831-659-2661.
Craig
 
V

vegatern

.
Oct 2, 2005
465
This morning I called the Coast Guard and reported them overdue.
I provided as much information that I could, but they would like a
cell phone or pager number for them if possible. The CG can use it to
determine the position of the last call and possibly determine when
they actually left. Perhaps Chuck's employer has that number. If
someone has that information, or anything else, it should be provided
to officer Renee McKinnon at 206-220-7001 or renee.v.mckinnon@...
I did E-mail a generic photo of the vessel type and a photo of the
Lealea's stern to help identify the boat. The CG will begin with a
harbor search and a call for other vessels to be on the lookout.
I did find in the newsletters that Tony Skidmore left Hawaii on
Aug1 and arrived in Vancouver on Sept.9, 40 days. Chuck and Laura
will probably arrive shortly and find all this amusing.
Craig
 
S

SVFlyAway

.
Oct 31, 2019
303
Just a couple of thoughts. If you live in the Northwest and have crossed the
Pacific or returned from Mexico you already know this I am sure, so pardon
the repetition.



Off the West Coast there is a standing high pressure cell. This high moves
from as far south as California to as far north as Canada. Since it is a
high the winds circulate in a clock-wise direction. Thus, the normal route
from Hawaii is northern often as high as Alaska and that is often the first
port of call for some folks (even coming from Mexico many folks, yours truly
included, go as far as 600 miles west). The high right now is far north,
well into Canada. So if they are following the wind-patterns they are
probably going very far north and this is adding to their trip. (When the
high is off California one can "cut the corner" and aim pretty much for
Puget Sound. )



The sea state off Alaska is pretty calm right now (swells under 10 feet)
and winds are relatively moderate (no more than, say 20 mph). So,
considering their experience and the fact that they can't power for days on
end, they are probably moving slowly along on what will be a very long trip.

As has been said, predicting the arrival of a sailboat crossing is nearly
impossible. I was once two weeks late on a crossing to the South Pacific
because of running into very light conditions and was in a much bigger boat
than my Vega with plenty of fuel to motor for days at a time (which we
didn't do anyway).



By the way, if they do put into a Canadian port I doubt the USCG will be
monitoring this.





From: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of vegatern
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 10:58 AM
To: AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlbinVega] Re: Chuck



This morning I called the Coast Guard and reported them overdue.
I provided as much information that I could, but they would like a
cell phone or pager number for them if possible. The CG can use it to
determine the position of the last call and possibly determine when
they actually left. Perhaps Chuck's employer has that number. If
someone has that information, or anything else, it should be provided
to officer Renee McKinnon at 206-220-7001 or renee.v.mckinnon@...
mailto:renee.v.mckinnon%40uscg.mil
I did E-mail a generic photo of the vessel type and a photo of the
Lealea's stern to help identify the boat. The CG will begin with a
harbor search and a call for other vessels to be on the lookout.
I did find in the newsletters that Tony Skidmore left Hawaii on
Aug1 and arrived in Vancouver on Sept.9, 40 days. Chuck and Laura
will probably arrive shortly and find all this amusing.
Craig
 
V

vegatern

.
Oct 2, 2005
465
The Coast Guard has been able to determine that Chuck and Laura left
Hawaii on June 2, not May 24 as in their blog. This extends their
timeline quite a bit. No doubt they will be arriving in a few days.
Craig
 
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