You may recall an earlier thread about this vessel and its rudder problem; this letter, a response from Hunter, was posted yesterday on the Hunter Marine web site. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "e; Over the past several weeks, we at Hunter have been asked about the recently publicized scuttling of the sailing vessel F2. More importantly, it is our best information that the F2 crew members are in good health, having transferred to another ARC participant's vessel. As to the F2's history, it appears that the Legend 450 was originally sold, delivered, commissioned during the model year 1999 and perhaps since used as a charter boat in Spain. We have little information about its use or maintenance. I have been told that the boat was sold in February 2002 to its present owners through a brokerage in the UK. On December 2, 2002, we were contacted about the F2's rudder loss approximately 450 miles northwest of Cape Verde while it was participating in the ARC race from the UK to St. Lucia. At about noon EST, Hunter spoke with the two person crew and advised them to use the accepted sailing techniques for alternative steering methods (See Offshore Special Regulations Manual 2002-2003, Code 4.15.1B, regarding emergency steering in the event of rudder loss), but the crew responded that they were not able to alternatively steer. The seas were described to be four feet with 25 mile per hour winds. Hunter Marine's staff tried three more times to reach F2 that day to check on the crew's progress, but the onboard phone was not operational. On December 3, 2002, after several phone call attempts, we were told that the F2 crew was on board the ship TENACIOUS and later that the crews of both were building a make-shift rudder for the F2. A naval engineer at Hunter Marine asked for and was given the dimensions of the rudder blade and stock/post being constructed so the team's structural calculations could be confirmed. It was agreed that Hunter Marine would call back in _ hour with their findings. Hunter Marine called back several times to say the calculations were taking longer than expected but to please stand by before proceeding with the construction and installation of the rudder. At 1:50 p.m. the information was relayed to the F2 and TENACIOUS that the makeshift rudder will fail once the boat reached heavier seas if it were not reduced in size before installation. After some brief conversations, Hunter Marine's suggestion to reduce the blade size was overruled. All communication was then terminated. The sea conditions given to Hunter at the time of the call were four to five feet with moderate winds. On December 4, 2002, at 1:30 p.m. it was confirmed directly that the F2 was underway (motor sailing) using the makeshift rudder. The TENACIOUS set sail around 05:30 a.m. that same morning for her original destination. With approximately 1,000 miles of fuel on board, it was suggested to the F2, by Hunter Marine, that she should consider making way, at reduced speeds, to the closest point of land to correct the rudder. The F2 decided to maintain its course and finish the ARC race with St. Lucia being nearly 1,600 miles away. Apparently, F2 did encounter heavier seas several days later and, as predicted, the makeshift rudder gave way. It is our information that the owners of F2 decided to not attempt any other alternatives, abandoned the boat and scuttled it. Because the boat left Hunter Marine's possession over three years ago and because Hunter Marine has not been supplied with enough evidence about the rudder failure, it is not presently possible to come to any conclusions as to the true cause or causes of the failure."