On the bricks

[Gunni]

The mayday came in before daylight, THIS is one of the things that can happen if you go overnight singlehanding. You could say that at 73 years he should have known better, but if you get away with it for 30 years you begin to think you’re bulletproof.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

The report said that he was transported to emergency services..... A mayday before daylight could have meant he had a medical emergency that prevented him from commanding the boat... We don't have any details.

Some people are old at 73...some aren't. I've known 40 yr olds who were old...My dad was pushing 90 when I went out to his house one day and found him up in a tree cutting out dead branches with a chain saw--and doing it very competently. As for me, I've always believed that it's impossible to grow old until you finish growing up..and at 76 I'm not even close to finishing growing up yet!
--Peggie

 

[Jackdaw]

He was transported to a hospital in the town I grew up in. If I hear anything I’ll report.

 

[DougM]

I resemble that remark!

I turn 73 next week and now I feel that I am being subjected to age discrimination!

 

[dlochner]

The report said that he was transported to emergency services..... A mayday before daylight could have meant he had a medical emergency that prevented him from commanding the boat... We don't have any details.

I think it is pretty standard procedure to have an EMT or ER visit after a rescue. He was certainly healthy enough to climb into the water and swim ashore with help.

I turn 73 next week and now I feel that I am being subjected to age discrimination!

Yesterday I was proofed when buying some beer and realized in 18 months I will have been of drinking age for 50 years.

Also saw this about a 70 year old circumnavigating the Great Lakes: https://northsails.com/sailing/en/loft-news/non-stop-navigation-of-the-great-lakes

 

[Ron20324]

He was transported to a hospital in the town I grew up in. .

Oh, come on, Jack... you haven't grown up yet!

 

[AlastairLC]

Meanwhile, a 73 year old is leading the Golden Globe by 1614 nms.

 

[Jackdaw]

Oh, come on, Jack... you haven't grown up yet!

I know, Jodi reminds me of that all the time!

 

[Jackdaw]

Also saw this about a 70 year old circumnavigating the Great Lakes: https://northsails.com/sailing/en/loft-news/non-stop-navigation-of-the-great-lakes

That should be a fun trip. He might sail right by this point, but it’s more likely that he’ll save 80 miles around the point by cutting through the Keweenaw waterway. Then he’ll get to visit Houghton/Hancock, a couple of cool towns! It’s where they brought the sailor that was rescued, by the way.

 

[Gunni]

I turn 73 next week and now I feel that I am being subjected to age discrimination!

You’re younger than Keith Richards! You just need to keep a song in your heart and a purpose in your step. Carry on.

 

[dlochner]

You’re younger than Keith Richards! You just need to keep a song in your heart and a purpose in your step. Carry on.

And we're all amazed that Keith Richards is still alive!

 

[Gunni]

And we're all amazed that Keith Richards is still alive!

A few years ago we were cruising the Windwards when news came that Richards had fallen out of a coconut tree and was being transported to a hospital. We all looked at one another thinking that a coconut had finally got the crusty bastard...but no! Still cheatin’ death.

 

[Jackdaw]

This accident happened only two miles from the spot where the USCG lost a buoy tender back in the 1990s (IIRC). The Mesquite was pulling a buoy and got lifted up on the shelf reef the buoy was there to mark! Unforgiving place.

 

[Parsons]

If I'm reading all this correctly, the CG got notified by the mariner calling on the radio that he was aground. The in-route helo could not find him without direction-finding his radio transmission, indicating that he did not know where he was. I would guess that "not knowing where you are" is probably the leading cause for grounding. Shame about the boat.

 

[Gunni]

Damn. Looks like the observing aircraft has guns.

That is the cockpit view of the MH60 Seahawk rotary wing, a variant of the Seahawk and Blackhawk. The classic USCG rescue horse. Those horns aren’t weapons, they are some kind of sensor or antenna. The guns are mounted low in the nose.

 

[Jackdaw]

That is the cockpit view of the MH60 Seahawk rotary wing, a variant of the Seahawk and Blackhawk. The classic USCG rescue horse. Those horns aren’t weapons, they are some kind of sensor or antenna. The guns are mounted low in the nose.

Even better, the helo the USCG uses at USCGAS Traverse City is the latest variant, the MT-60T Jayhawk.
Love their Facebook page photo.

 

[Davidasailor26]

If I'm reading all this correctly, the CG got notified by the mariner calling on the radio that he was aground. The in-route helo could not find him without direction-finding his radio transmission, indicating that he did not know where he was. I would guess that "not knowing where you are" is probably the leading cause for grounding. Shame about the boat.

I was thinking the same thing. Pure speculation, but it seems like if the cause was a medical issue or even falling asleep the captain would be able to state his position with the mayday. The fact that there was no position stated in the distress calls makes me think he had no operational nav equipment and/or lost awareness of where he was.

 

[Gunni]

Yes, the Jayhawk is the USCG variant, think it is the MH60T

 

[Jackdaw]

If I'm reading all this correctly, the CG got notified by the mariner calling on the radio that he was aground. The in-route helo could not find him without direction-finding his radio transmission, indicating that he did not know where he was. I would guess that "not knowing where you are" is probably the leading cause for grounding. Shame about the boat.

As @Gunni notes, this happened just before dawn. But still, it hard to imagine his S.A. being so far off that he did not know what he hit. Obviously the lighthouse was there. There are three on the top side of the Keweenaw. There is data to support he thought he was 25 miles farther east.

From the local news:
EAGLE RIVER — An unidentified 73-year-old man was rescued Saturday morning after his sailing vessel went aground on Manitou Island, approximately three miles from the eastern tip of Keweenaw Point in Lake Superior.

At 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie Command Center received a mayday call from the sailboat pilot, stating the boat had gone aground on the rocks, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The command center immediately launched a MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Traverse City, the report stated.

At 6:15 a.m., the Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office received a dispatch stating a vessel had gone aground somewhere in the Eagle Harbor area, which is roughly 25 miles west of Copper Harbor.

Sheriff Bill Luokkanen said his office launched its boat and patrolled the coastline between Eagle River and Copper Harbor three times, but saw no sign of a wrecked boat.

The Coast Guard helicopter established communication with the pilot of the grounded boat at 8:35 a.m. and employed direction-finding radio equipment to locate the vessel. The helicopter deployed a rescue swimmer, who assisted the distressed mariner, and hoisted him to safety. The man was then transported to emergency services at an undisclosed facility.

 

[Meriachee]

You’re younger than Keith Richards! You just need to keep a song in your heart and a purpose in your step. Carry on.

The only question becomes if you've ingested enough to be embalmed already, how do you know when you're dead? Or is it a case of "mostly dead?"