Yeah they do some neat stuff. My friend I spent years in the army with got out and joined the coast guard and he is a crew member in a j hawk rescue helicopter in Alaska and some of the pictures he has sent me are nuts
This happened to a buddy of mine in Alaska. It was a 37 foot steel cutter he bought in Vancouver B.C. back in the 90's. I helped him sail it back to Seward, Alaska including a 500 mile crossing of the gulf of Alaska. As soon as I got aboard in Vancouver I realized the boat wasn't what I thought it would be. He told me it was a single chine hull turned out to be a flat bottomed boat with a fin keel , a 2 cylinder 20 H.P. Volvo Penta sail drive and spade rudder. The boat pounded in any kind of sea and the motor was so under powered it could only do 5 knots in calm water with no head wind. Plus we found out it burned a lot of oil on the first day. I sailed with him a lot along the coast of Alaska on trips to Kodiak and Prince William Sound. He did very little maintenance during that time as he had way too many irons in the fire plus the boat was two years old when he bought it and didn't think he had to worry about it. Ten years later he want's to take it back to Puget Sound to have some maintenance done. There were four of us aboard on the first attempt. We were all retired Fire Fighters by that time. We got 100 miles out of Seward and the motor that he had never repaired or replace blew up. He wanted to keep on going to Sitka 400 miles away, buy an outboard motor and attach it to the transom. I talked him into returning to Seward repairing or replacing the motor and trying again next year. He chose to rebuild the now 12 year old motor. Volvo no longer made parts for it and he had to order New Old Stock from Volvo dealers all over the U.S. and Europe. It ended up costing him more that a new engine. On the second attempt they got 100 miles out of Seward and the motor he had rebuilt blew up again. It only had a few hours on it since he had rebuilt it. I had told him to get at least 20+ hours on it before he left but he didn't listen. I couldn't go that trip. The three of them decided to keep going same crew as the first time but without me. The first day was calm and they didn't have enough wind to sail. That evening the wind picked up from the west and they were making good time to Sitka. The next day it clocked to the South and got stronger and the seas got rough. The day after the wind was blowing from the East and they were trying to beat into it. By evening the wind was 60+ knots and the seas were 20+ feet and they tacked all night to try not to loose ground. The next morning my buddy woke up and there was a foot of water on the floor. They couldn't figure out where the water was coming from. The batteries were almost dead by this time and the bilge pump couldn't keep up. They were still 80 miles from Sitka. My buddy had borrowed a Sat. EPIRB from a friend and had filed a float plan. They set it off not knowing if anyone was going to respond. They only had a VHF radio and couldn't raise anyone on it probably because the batteries were dead by now. Two hours later a Coast Guard Sea Stallion showed up. It was normally stationed in Juneau but just happened to be in Sitka when they got the call. They all survived but dumb luck had a lot to do with it.
@@RyanYoungATX No it sank 80 miles west of Sitka, Alaska in 1200 feet of water. My suspicion is because of the design of the boat basically a flat bottomed boat will a 4 foot fin keel. The keel was about 12 inches wide where it was attached to the hull and had 4 or 5 thousand pounds of lead in it. I think he had some corrosion in the hull and the keel/hull joint cracked in the heavy seas. But that's just a theory on my part. This wasn't built to be an open ocean boat in my opinion. It was originally built as a corporate yacht to take client's sailing out of Vancouver, B.C. It was the only major trip he took with it that I wasn't on board. The 3 on board were lucky the Coast Guard helicopter just happened to be in Sitka when they set off the EPIRB and it was close enough to reach them. It's normally stationed in Juneau. My buddy had a habit of getting himself into these situations on a regular basis. His nick name on the Fire Dept. was "Mad Dog". : )
@@Mark-pp7jy Well he was a friend of mine and I was trying to help him out. I wasn't very concerned about the hull integrity for the first 6-8 years until I read up on structural failures of fin keeled boats. I helped him do a lot of the maintenance on his boat. My wife and I sailed the coast of Alaska for 20+ years for months at a time in our 29 foot Columbia Sloop. I did a complete gut job on it and replaced the engine, cutlass bearing, fuel and water tanks, through hull fittings, sea cocks, wiring, plumbing, bow and stern rails, windows etc. We never had any failures. It was a 1966 Columbia with a hand laid epoxy hull and had none of the blister problems that plagued the early polyester hulls. I did get to go to a lot of interesting places on my buddies boat including Shuyack, Afognac, and Kodiak islands as well as Katmai National park. I didn't start having concerns about the condition of the boats seaworthiness until later on. Glad I chose not to go on his last trip. I had concerns on how it would go but I didn't expect him to sink it.
Everyone in the comments acts like it was the failure of the engine that caused this and they should be ashamed of themselves for not maintaining it. In my eyes on a sailboat an engine is a luxury not standard equipment. My boat never had an engine at all which made me get really good with the sails. I think they made their mistake by not changing course so the waves were less detrimental, especially knowing your in an old wooden boat.
Assuming I heard right that this is a wooden hull, you can't let them take a beating. Landing hard on the side will do this. So many wooden boats have sunk due to planks coming loose. Another mistake is no high water alarm. I don't like boats that don't have a deep bilge because you have to know you have a leak before the leak is under water. Once that happens you aren't going to find it. If you find it, you can at least slow it down. Also, never let things slide. You can replace fuel filters in rough conditions and he should have. That engine always has to be available to charge the batteries for just these types of situations (pumps running long and hard). Also, I think high output pumps is a relative term. Hundreds of gallons an hour is NOT high output pumps in my opinion. Think in the terms of several thousands an hour. Whale pumps are a better design but they are big and require big motors to run them, but way more capable when the bilge gets full of junk from the boat being tossed at sea. Which also brings up a point....if things are going to get rough, you gotta secure EVERYTHING, hopefully before it gets rough because when it does, you don't want to do anything and will make all kinds of excuses why you can't (see captain's decision not to change the filters). Speaking of filters, if you haven't cleaned the tank recently and you are motoring offshore, you are going to suck up a bunch of junk. These dangerous routes and yes this is one, you gotta make sure that tank is clean before you leave port. It is great though that he had the call for help equipment and got rescued, but I think this could have been avoided. The biggest mistake was sailing it too hard. I've been in those situations....you gotta fall off the wind and stop the pounding. I've heard my boat make cracking type sounds and immediately changed course before. Steep waves, even as small as 5 feet, along with too much sail up and sailing too close to the wind is very dangerous. Fall off the wind and let those sails out. We tend to make the habit of looking at the charts and GPS and say I gotta sail this course and it causes us problems. Just accept that it's going to take you longer than you thought to get to where you want to go and sail safely.
Appreciate your assessment. I agree with the fuel filter issue, but I also can confirm that certain operations in rough seas might be very difficult. Filter access might be an issue on some vessels.
@@ChrisJungmann Of course. I also wanted to bring a more critical POV as I think overlooking the serious errors made in order to be nice is silly. I guess I raced boats for too long, everything is up for criticism when mistakes are made, and owners are generally abused by crew. But seriously. Bilge pumps and alarm being off are basically unforgivable, yes? I mean, that's 101 seamanship. You have them turned off intentionally?????
I'm a USCG vet and sailor. This was such a beautiful episode and great leadership from the skipper who made the courageous decision to abandon ship. Semper paratus.
I have had my butt kicked numerous times in that exact area including loosing a boat when she rolled over twice and flooded beyond saving. I was one of the first 100 rescued by the CG using an EPIRB (1984). Can’t say enough good stuff about our CG! The Captain made the right call. Sad to see the loss of such a beautiful vessel. Well told story Tim!
Crikey, Dan. I can't figure out whether you were lucky that Neptune took pity on you, or you were unlucky that you angered him such in the first place. It sounds like you're very lucky to be alive.
No one likes post game criticism but "maintained to the highest standards" and "sludge in the fuel tanks" are contradictory statements. She was a beautiful boat, but perhaps past her prime for blue water racing. Glad everyone made it out safely; truly sorry for your loss Capt. Bacon.
@@davepersich3035 If that first pump had been successfully brought aboard it likely would have let her limp home; those pumps are no joke. Steel and fibreglass sailboats can also sink when they lose power in heavy seas, although if I was going to be on a sailboat without power in the Atlantic...I'd much rather it be steel or aluminum hulled. That wait for each person to be aboard the heli safely must have felt like an eternity for Capt Bacon.
Always polish your fuel prior to any offshore venture. I sail single handed so its even more important to polish fuel if you're caring for other passengers lives on board.
These guys are the true heroes. This is what our hard earned tax dollars are supposed to pay for. Not for those other tyrants in the coast guard who board our vessels in violation of the Constitution.
@@timothyrepp4259 I have a philosophical difficulty with doing one’s job as heroic. They did exactly what they were trained and payed to do. They did it as perfectly as humanly possible as was said. So they are heros for being well funded and well trained?
@@Pocketfarmer1 I understand your point. If you read my entire comment, I was just trying to give these guys credit for doing a job that saves lives. As opposed to others in the coast guard that take my hard earned money to destroy lives. And harass honest people in violation of their oath to the constitution. We are in agreement that we pay these men to do the job of saving the lives of sailors in peril. If they weren’t rescuing someone they would be simulating a rescue for training. Again my point was that at least these men are honorable in doing the life saving job we pay them to do. The other tyrants are dishonest in siphoning off money to pay themselves to do a “job” that’s beyond the scope of the coast guard and the constitution.
Good testament to the training and skill of the US Coast Guard and a captain making a good decision. One issue of preparedness is obvious. That is the lack of a way to change fuel filters in adverse conditions. A dual Racor system (Racor 75500 Max2) where the primary filter can be changed with a simple turn of a valve or valving to switch to a second filter of a different brand. A second issue is making sure the fuel tanks were clean before undertaking an ocean passage. Of course, if they even partially stove in some planking no pumps would have kept up even with a running engine. Basically sometimes the sea wins, no matter that you do.
and also, if you are the type who falls easily, get a full enclosure motorcycle helmet. Sounds funny, but I gotta tell ya, not only do they protect your head, they also work great in calming the storm. One of the effects of a storm at sea is the loud noise from the wind and the splash that causes all kinds of tension that wears you out. Put that helmet on and it's like you just stepped into your office and you are watching it all on the computer. I've ridden out hurricanes and gone outside on deck in 90 knots of wind and it was no big deal with the helmet on. You can see. You can think. You are calm. Once again, very important to making good decisions.
When in your video, before knowing the rest of the details, you read that the captain chose not to even try to restore his engine after what seems clear to be a filter blockage, that gave me chills, as you had already read that he thought he needed the engine as a backup and for battery charging. To not even try to get the engine running, wow. It is the first thing I always do, having experienced several filer blockages in rough waters. I am not badmouthing, but I am astonished at that decision. You ALWAYS want a backup, of everything, including propulsion. Might have given better wave angles, and the engine can be used as an emergency bilge pump, assuming you are mechanically inclined. Of course, hindsight is easy, and in no way do I think I know better about this passage, but it gave me chills he chose not to even try to fix what may have been a simple problem, in rough weather, when an engine can be critical.
@@louisavondart9178 Fair enough, but that won't stop them from being clogged with stuff stirred up in the tank. You still need to be able to change them on the fly
I've made multiple offshore passages as captain and setting sail with sludge at the bottom of the fuel tanks is not compatible with a well-maintained vessel. Loss of engine power (for steering and charging) seem to have been the catalyst that led to the loss of the vessel. There's no excuse for allowing this slowly-building condition to persist. Further, the state of the cabin in the photos was not what I'd consider shipshape -- rough conditions demand tidiness for both physical and physiological safety of the crew. Also, no mention of bilge alarms? Inexpensive devices that could have sent the crew on a leak search before the leak was obscured by rising water. And why were the automatic pumps not on from the onset of the passage -- that is the literal point of having them, after all. Lastly, Practical Sailor could do a much better job analyzing these situations for lessons to pass along to other sailors...much like the FAA does for serious air mishaps. Merely telling an exciting story and congratulating the crew on doing every thing perfectly is not only inaccurate but does a disservice to their readers/viewers. This was NOT an inexplicable accident that led to the loss of the vessel; it was caused by a preventable chain of mistakes and bad practices.
I would disagree. I think the crew did all they could in the circumstances. What happened here was a catastrophic failure of the wooden hull. The high performance bilge pumps could not cope with the leak in the hull. If it were a fibreglass or steel hull , the boat would of survived.
In any loss of a vessel hind sight is much clearer. It appears the leak was due to a hull seam opening up. Not sure how to catch that with a pre voyage maintenance check. We would need to go back to its last survey and find out how the hull was inspected. Solution is a pleasure boat that makes some serious offshore journeys for sport, that’s OK. I’m relieved no one perished and very impressed with the USCG rescue team.
Old wooden boat, unable to change fuel filter at sea, failure to arm automatic bilge or alarm. Three strikes and you're out. Leaks must be discovered immediately with bilge pump alarms or you'll never find them. Glad they were saved.
@@leeoldershaw956 I know a couple of world sailers that have 3 fuel tanks. two holding tanks for fuel, and a 3rd to drive the engine. They pump holding tank though filters to a tank to drive the engine. So by the time it hits the engine it has been filtered at least twice. I think one of the dudes ended up setting up double filters on the holding tanks. I am sure fuel in the states is pretty clean, but I was told it is not like that everywhere...he had stories of bugs, branches, leaves etc in the fuel in some areas...so I guess that is why people run so many fuel filters.
Also, about sea-sickness....there is a preventative skill/exercise. We each have our own tells that come to inform us that things are about to make a turn for the worse. With me, it's my mouth starting to water. I think it's to lubricate the throat for what is to come up. If then you get up and stand on the steps of the companionway with your arms on the deck, you then 'ride' the boat like a surf-board. You don't hold on, just keep your balance. Use your knees and legs to keep your head always pointing straight up. You let the boat move under you. Do that for 30 minutes and it will go away. May have to do it multiple times, but it works. If you wait too long, it's all over....too late. When you get better at it, you can learn to do it while sitting. Then it's about the mid-section. Let that butt stay attached to the boat but the body is on a gimble in the mid-section. I used to be so prone to sea sickness I could look at a picture of bad weather in my office and my mouth would start watering. Since I learned this trick, I haven't puked at all....40K miles at sea and not one problem. Sturgeon pills you can pick up outside of the states without a prescription really help too. Preferably the 15 mg pills, but you can split the 75 mg pills or just take 1 and be good for days. Combating sea-sickness is imperative to making good decisions at sea.
@@LoanwordEggcorn It's not about training the ear. It's about keeping the ear stable. Sea sickness is caused by mixed signals between the eyes and the ears. The eyes say we aren't moving but the ears say we are. By keeping the head stable (not rolling or rocking) then the signals match up a bit better. Also, like in my case, sea sickness can be mental as well. I've been sick so many times that just thinking about it would make me almost sick. Once I was able to do this a few times my mind was able to not be afraid of it. After about a year I could look at the water next to me as I sailed through it....the stern wave and not get sick. That was a major milestone for me. Now days, what worries me is I don't even get worried about anything for 15+ day trips.
I'm glad everyone made it home safely. That said mistakes were made here in both voyage planning and execution. The fuel filter problem could have been solved by turning down wind to stabilize the boat while changing fuel filters. Having a duplex filter installation would have made it just a matter of swinging a valve. The use of a large capacity manual diaphragm pump would have made a big difference in dewatering and detecting the source of the leak. Waiting for the cold front to pass before departing Bermuda would have made a difference as well. What would they have done if they had been halfway across an ocean?
@@claywebb8199 I threw a few tips below. I've learned a ton of stuff and forgotten a lot of it but these stories bring it back. My best advice is this: read some books (I know, they all told me that too and I hated that answer but turns out it is good advice) but remember, not all advice stories in books are good....and read about disaster stories and ask yourself what could have been done different. Try to use logic when reading and not just take things read and heard as truth.
With all the money that was spent on that beautiful boat I can't understand why it did not have its fuel tanks polished on a regular basis and more than one fuel circut as well as a dedicated electric fuel pump running a polishing fuel water seperator . Whenever we are at sea under sail ormotor our polisher is running. It uses a 2amp/hr draw a pushes 30 gallons per hour. We run two feed circuts to the engine that can draw off either fuel tank . Perhaps as a racing vessel they want to keep it as light as possible? Not a risk I would wish to run. Glad everyone was evacuated safely and hope the crew member with the head injury fully recovered. The loss of the vessel is very sad but stuff can be replaced . People not so much. I love the comment sections on this pod cast. Their is lots to learn from other people's experiences. I have got many great ideas on possible modifications from this pod cast and others. I thank everyone for sharing their knowledge.
A baby in diapers could carry those little Rule bilge pumps. 2000 gph weighs @5 pounds, = 30 gpm, which = a good Edison or Whale Gusher manual. A yacht with no 30 gpm manual pump is VERY poorly commissioned!
From my armchair I would suggest that in a well found vessel (especially a racing one) there are 2 fuel filtration systems. (A and B) Yes, if there is sludge in the tanks it’s conceivable (when crossing the Gulf Stream) the sludge would clog the fuel filter(s). But changing a filter at least in favorable conditions is a (in my experience) doable task. A third option would be to have a day tank on the ready to buy time (and keep the batteries topped up) I’ve suggested (and done) using at least bicycle helmets in rough conditions. I suggest these precautions not to criticize the captain or crew but to prevent further accidents.
Such stories offer inexpensive lessons to the rest of us. Sounds like a simple, reliable high volume manual bilge pump might have gotten them to safety or perhaps even enabled clearing the bilge enough to locate and stop or slow the leak. Dependence on relatively low volume electric pumps, particularly with only one means of producing electricity, clearly leaves the door open to regrettable outcomes.
I used to sail in the eighties a 43 foot heavy displacement steel yacht with a collision bulkhead and three other bulkheads with watertight doors. One between the saloon and the front cabin and the other two for the engine room. One centrifugal bilge pump driven by V-belts via an electric clutch by the engine and a manifold with pipes to the different compartments. As backup a high capacity Whale Gusher pump. Listening to this incident I believe the filtration of the fuel was the main problem. Had the engine been operational it would have been possible to save the yacht. Also wearing a kind of a helmet to prevent knocking your head would have helped. Anyhow I commend in this case the decision to abandon the yacht.
I agree, a functioning engine could have made the difference. Makes me wonder why a second filter on a bypass around the first (by turning a single lever 90 degrees) was not part of the system for an emergency such as this or a clogged gas line near shore, in weather, where getting fuel to the engine quickly is mandatory to save a boat. They certainly had the resources for this kind of setup but I realize it is a relatively rare occurrence and you can't plan or build or design for every potential threat situation.
Sad loss of a nice yacht. Our boat is of similar size and hull shape though we have 1" thick fiberglass hull versus a double wood hull. For consideration for other boaters I offer the following: We have a trash pump and a generator located higher up than the main engine. With this configuration we can run the generator to power the trash pump and charge batteries. Our boat was built with this generator configuration in 1968. In addition we have a second filter path we can switch to should one set of filters become clogged and a day tank that we run from v.s. running on one of the 2 bunk tanks. Fuel from the bunks is filtered before going into to the day tank so that tank always has clean fuel. In addition we have an old perkins which is not particularly sensitive about fuel like a modern diesel. We don't run dirty fuel but if some crud did manage to make its way there is much less chance of it stopping the motor.when the main engine is not functional.
We also have a 2 filter system. 2 ball valves are all it takes. Close one and open the other and you have a new filter operating. Additionally, there is a vacuum/pressure gauge between the filters and the engine. For the bilge there is a crash pump. That is a ball valve that is in the bilge. Open it and close the raw water seacock and let the engine raw water pump do the work. Just my system.
@@Lcvds The lack of an engine was cited as part of the decision tree. It is clear it would have provided different decision paths all through the last part of the trip. They may have been more comfortable riding the storm out at sea instead of continuing into the edge of the gulf stream, etc.
Phenomenal review Tim, thank you. I'm sad and impressed with the captain's decision - I would have had a hard time not choosing the pump over the rescue. I don't think it'll be as hard after watching this. Such a beautiful boat.. A second thought - don't allow the boat to slam on her side in heavy weather, just go the wrong way for a while until you are able to get back on course again. Maybe this is more important with a wood boat, maybe not.
Excellent story. Textbook. Thank you. Very sad to see such a beautiful and well built boat go. Must have been heart-wrenching for the owner and crew, but most importantly the skipper made all the right decisions and everyone got off safely. Only thing I was surprised about was that there was no secondary fuel filter in case the primary became blocked. It probably wouldn’t have made much difference in these circumstances other than perhaps having the power to manoeuvre and retrieve the air dropped pump, but a point to note. An HR54 owner.
I take it that your reference to the other offshore race that is out of sight of land is the Sydney to Hobart. It’s a 628nm race and first was held in 1945.
One rule I learned as recently as this past saturday is: First save your life; then (if possible) save your boat. I learned this while sailing my home-made scow on Lake St. Clair. I first had a failure of my steering system which I quickly repaired. But, by then, I had drift pretty far down wind. No problem. At least so I thought. But then my leeboard started giving me problems. I soon learned it was impossible to use. I the tried sailing without it. I once had a sailboat that achived this feat (though very poorly). But with this boat such proved impossible. I then tried paddling up wind. But the boat proved more inclined to turn rather than move forward. So I made the decision to beach at the first opportunity. I came ashore in a marshy area behind someones house. I had to wade though muck almost up to my knees, but the ground ateadily firmer. I ended up getting me and my 120 lb boat over a 5 ft breakwall then across the poor fellow"s lawn then out his driveway.
Hello from the UK An interesting talk. What puzzles me is looking at the video at 14:20 the vessel is sitting high on the water and the sea state is not that 'challenging' (I know the sea always looks flatter on video), why was the decision made not to take on a pump and airlift your casualty as that could have been one in one perhaps two lifts not the four for all the crew. Sandy
Last Fall a crew moved my 36 ft Robinhood from Nova Scotia to Annapolis. The boat had been totally refurbished by craftsmen in Nova Scotia. In addition to cosmetics, we had new rigging, new sails, new instruments, new saftey gear and a complete engine check. About 100 miles from Mass the crew encountered hours of very choppy seas, as did Solution. The engine failed. As with Solution, the problem was sludge in the bottom of the tank. This was the 3rd time I had lost diesel power due to bad fuel on 3 different boats. I could not believe I had neglected to have the tank inspected, cleaned and the fuel polished. Particularly since that boat had not been used regularly and the fuel was old. This stupid mistake on my part not only blew the delivery but wound up costing $10,000 for new injectors, fuel system, multiple boat hauls, towing and transportation costs for the crew. I have to wonder if Solution would have safely navigated home if it could have relied at times on engine power. Please have your tanks inspected and fuel polished annually. The fact your filters are clean means nothing if the boat has not been stirred up with the engine running for a few hours.
The problem with Solution was not the engine failure, but a catastrophic hull failure. She was a wooden hull built in the sixties. If she were fibreglass or steel she would still be with us.
As much as I love classic wooden sailing yachts, I don't think I would sail one in an ocean race that crosses the Gulf Stream. When race days comes you go, regardless of the weather, or decide to drop out. You can't pick you weather window, you get the weather you get. I've crossed the Stream a few dozen times racing to Bermuda and sailing elsewhere and when a northerly kicks in against the current it can be absolutely brutal on a boat, with it literally falling off of 6-7' waves and slamming down into the trough. And while this was the return trip, most boats need to head back soon after the race is over. One day of rest, a day or two of partying and cleaning the boat and provisioning and repairs and back you head to jobs, etc. The schedule is almost as tight as the race start. To be clear I'm not questioning the decision of the owner as it appears the boat is impeccably maintained, just expressing my own reservations. Yes plenty of wooden yachts have survived worse, but I would not tempt fate in one in that race.
I fully do not know what happened here, but reading about this incident it seems they stayed in the gulf stream with conflicting wind and current, possibly because it is so fast. That seems like a poor decisision. If you search this boat and captain, it seems to have had more than its share of mishaps, but that could be bad luck.
This story could have ended much differently without the captain making experienced calls under pressure and the heroic as well as calculated rescue by the Coast Guard. Kudos to the captain, crew, and the Coat Guard.
Perhaps easy to say from my arm chair, but driving a wooden yacht hard in steep seas is not smart. If the boat and crew are being punished, then heave-too and wait! Put on the AIS alarm and rest the crew. Eat tidy the boat and get the engine running. When the weather clear then carry on. Good seamanship is about patience.
Am I wrong? This boat is around 12*3.5m so fits in a 42m2 rectangle, at most area of the boat itself is half of it, around 21m2. Water raised by 25mm per 10 minutes so its 21*0.025 = 0.525m3 per 10 minutes or 52.5 liters per minute its like 4-5 buckets. I think at least it worth trying to outpace leak with a bucket, while pumps are still running there maybe was a chance to find a leak. If the engine was still running (with 2 filters setup or a clean tank as mentioned by others) with 4 crew u can probably even sail her for couple of days. I know they were tired and probably seasick, but form an armchair it sounds doable.
What a heartbreaking story, but a true testament to the knowledge and wisdom of captain and crew. Thank you for sharing this story, it's a great reminder to take preparation seriously but also to make sure you have your priorities straight. Crew > Boat. And god bless the coast guard!
Very good video Tim, it's always good to be reminded of what can go wrong and what one should do in these kinds of circumstances. Bacon, it seems, made his decision almost instantly. He had a very clear head and did what most sailors would have to contemplate for 15 minutes or more. It's a shame that he lost his boat, but he did make the right call. Very impressive. Yeah, all hats are off to the Captain! I hope he can get another boat and continue sailing!
Having read this account online a couple weeks ago, I watched this video hoping to learn from Practical Sailor's analysis that I assumed would follow the narrative. A bit surprised there was no discussion of any additional precautions that might have helped to prevent loss of the vessel. I agree that the captain showed exemplary preparedness and clear thinking. That said, a second fuel filter path, a bilge alarm, and of course pre-departure tank polishing might have helped or prevented this particular failure cascade. I'm sure there are other lessons to be learned here, as I'm far from an expert. A bit disappointed you didn't have more to say.
Excellent video and retelling on all points. I’m a single engine airplane pilot that spends a lot of time over open water. I like to think that if things ever start to go dark I’ll be able to rely on preparedness and practiced studied decision-making skills and experience . I think this video does not just relate to seamanship and sailboats. Thank you for sharing the story, and the positive outcome.
Bravo to the captain and the coast guard! This captain performed very well and calmly examined the problems and made decisions to preserve life as a priority as he should!
The Newport to Bermuda race requires that you have all your safty equipment working. I sailed the race for the first time this year. It took a solid six months of preparation.
hmmmmm …. e.g. all the things the captain/owner of Solution obviously neglected?… cleaning tanks, installing functionable electricals bilge pumps and alarms, checking out manual bilge pumps do work well, assuring that repairs were to be feasable at sea
@@chrst7346 I do believe, that the most important piece of safety equipment on a sailboat is the engine. I've also, some "old school" sailors don't focus on engine maintenance enough.
I would like to pass on something I have learned: Just because you are an experienced sailor/captain, doesn't make you a good one. Just because you are an inexperienced sailor/captain doesn't make you a bad one. Sailing education AND THE QUALITY of it matters more than experience BUT the ability to learn on your own when you get that experience means the most and above all, knowing your limits and capabilities. As far as being at sea, if you are the captain, you need to make sure you get at least 8 hours of good sleep a day. If you are crew, you gotta make sure that the captain gets his 8+ hours of sleep a day. This is absolutely critical. It is very possible this captain wasn't a bad captain, but just made bad decisions due to his lack of sleep. When we are tired and hungry and sea-sick, we make very bad decisions. When you see a captain like that, you have to motivate him because he is going to get lazy and will need some clarity. Phrases like "get your ___ up and fix this" can straighten out a captain who is putting things off. What may seem impossible starts to seem doable with the proper motivation. Get his juices flowing. BTW: I learned the lesion the hard way. I was the nice captain giving crew the best shifts, but that cost me sleeping time and I paid the price. The captain should always take the early shift because he is going to be awake anyway and will need to get tired a bit before he can fall asleep and then he needs to sleeeeeeep....unless something happens and then he needs to be wakened.
@@robertbennett6697 Before I got married in Tonga, I always solo-sailed, but there was one leg I wanted an extra pair of eyes. It was the leg from Panama to Cayman Islands. I figured a lot of ships would be going that way so I figured taking a crew member would help and we needed to pull shifts. I took the middle shift but I couldn't sleep early when I was supposed to, so when I was on shift, well, not so awake. I came across a ship coming my way. I had a terrible AIS receiving built into the radio. In these instances, I couldn't use the radio because the ship would bounce in and out of our path because it was rough so the alarm and warning display kept going off. I decided to heave to so he could pass. I did the heave-to easily but forgot to undo the wheel break when coming out. We sailed for 24 hours on autopilot with the wheel break on. It broke the bracket the autopilot motor was on. I discovered that when heaving-to the next night when I went to fix the bracket. Now I know this didn't cause this, but the cotter-pin on the top forestay fitting came out and when we came out of the heave-to the mast came down. The funny thing is, I was on my way to the Bahamas to get my rigging replaced. No riggers in Panama and I didn't trust myself to work on it. Because my crew threw away my pins, I couldn't just put the mast back up when we made the nearest port (A Colombian Island in the western Caribbean). I got lucky in that the mast landed on my solar panel arch and was stuck there. The only damage to the boat was the wind generator was knocked off and sunk to the bottom of the sea. Since the mast was already down, I decided to fly to Houston and give a list of parts I needed to my rigger up there to replace my rigging. I flew back with 5 big suitcases full of rigging because I didn't want to have to pay the 300% import dues on my rigging. I couldn't afford that. So glad they had this truck with a crane on it. At first I didn't think it was tall enough but turned out it was. I learned a lot about rigging then all due to a 10 cent cotter pin failure. I learned a lot during my 8 years of cruising due to things like this. I need to find a way to pass on my knowledge but not sure I remember enough to do so. My last stop before returning to Texas due to the virus, I had realized I had forgotten a lot. Some things you do at some places that you don't need to do at others like using a dinghy anchor to keep the dinghy off the docks is something I hadn't done in 6 years and it took a while to remember that.
Ted Heath's 44' Admiral's Cup ocean racer Morning Cloud 3 (S&S design, built in wood) was destroyed and sank in a storm in the English Channel in September 1974. 2 crew lost their lives. The boat was less than 2 years old.
In the 1960s a lot of wooden vessels were built using new technologies. Bent oak frames, aluminum braces, stainless steel bolts holding planks to frames. Beautiful boats, great classic lines, the past revisited but built using new methods to reduce the volume of wood required by using new techniques. This is the second 1960s wooden vessel lost on a northbound trip from Bermuda, that I know of. The other one is the SV Sorca built in 1969 in Nova Scotia. Mahogany plank on bent oak frames. Never a hull issue until her last trip. The year before she had been sailed to the Caribbean without issue. A trip to Bermuda that was abandoned after many5 to 7 days beating into the weather. Some hours after deciding to run for home she started taking on water a Mayday call was sent out and the crew of 4 was picked up by a passing freighter to the SE of Nova Scotia. The source of the leak was not determined the flood commenced before midnight and it was clear the bilge pump could not keep up. It was thought she might have hit an object?
So basically an old wooden boat broke while smashing into a big wave. It happens. The sail school I was instructor with had a 1954 wooden sloop. The same happened in the 1980's in the Irish sea between UK and Ireland. She did not sink but her sailing is limited to very coastal trips nowadays (check: la sereine). An old wooden boat, unless reconstructed from the keel up has it's weaknesses. It's made of so many parts as opposed to a fiberglas boat.
I had the same reaction, I was a yacht broker and have raced, also have all my US sailing certs mono/cat. I'm less kind to captains than this guy, having seen several do incredibly stupid things. First off, I'd never sail offshore in a 60yo sailboat that hasn't been rebuilt from the keel up, as you mention. Glass or wood - never in a wooden boat. NEVER. Life of a wooden boat is generally 40 years max. Second thing I have problems with is not changing the fuel filter when engine fails. He also apparently didn't have a genset. Captain is so prepared - but no genset while sailing offshore? A small honda gas genset can be had for under 300 bucks and runs for 24 hours on 5 gallons - there is zero excuse for not having a back up source of electricity while sailing offshore. And then the claim that it would be impossible to change out the filter while in rough seas? What? Heave to, wedger yourself in, have someone help and change that damned filter. I also do not understand why the bilge pumps were powered off and that there wasn't a bilge alarm firing off sooner. The video author here seems too eager to praise this captain instead of pointing out this obvious failing. I also have problems with his abandoning the boat but am clear that it was a 'judgment call" that he could make out of an abundance of caution. But it seemed like conditions had eased. He had 80 mins before water got to the batteries. Me? I'm trying much harder to recover that pump or taking the other pump from the helicopter. But I think he was given an 'or' choice. I would have wanted to get the guy with the concussion off the yacht, but kept whoever would stay. If I could get the water dropping or least from rising, you have a chance to find the leak/hole and make an emergency patch. He was not horribly holed as the boat would sink much more quickly of he was. He likely had a through hull fail, as that's where the weaknesses develop with rot etc. Did he have plugs? I would want to find the source of the water., if the CG would let me. Of course, timing is everything here, it may be he couldn't offload the injured guy and keep the option open to ditch. Sometimes you get a 'ditch or don't" choice from the CG. And if that was the case, without knowing the source of the leak, ya, I'd abandon ship too. It just seems to me that he gave up on the fuel filter, gave up on retrieving the pump and then gave up on the boat. Again, let me reiterate that he may not have had the choice to take the time with the second pump and still get rescued. But do you see what I mean? I'm not trying to be a jerk, rather just learn from it. I do like that he erred on the side of caution rather than being reckless but I think there may have been some chance to save the boat. What say you? Am I just being a crank?
@@War4theWestthat’s a great list of redundant systems for an offshore voyage. The fact that an engine failure would eventually cascade into a navigation crisis was insightful for me. I was also surprised that he so quickly gave up on the filter change. Maybe there’s more to it than was in the report.
A friend of mine is a wooden boat builder. I've worked on a couple of his restorations. It's surprising how good something can look until you start to pull it apart and get inside it. Wet rot, dry rot, rotten caulking, worms, loose roves, age brittle fasteners, shoddy repairs... they all add up to make a vessel that is anything but seaworthy.
yes, you‘re abslouteley right to me, but I‘d call the story „basically an old wooden boat broke while smashing into big waves after a number of negligences, misdecisions and failures of a selfish and overly optimistic captain a…..ole, who did not only risk the lifes of his crew but also that of several coast guard members“…..
@@War4theWest I love your idea of having a genset on board. It would require more maintenance than on the ground given the "humid" environment but when powering a cellar type water pump it takes water out much faster than any 12V pump would.
So you lost a boat, risked the lives of your crew and the Coast Guard because of a fuel filter. This is a prefect example of where the holes in the Swiss Cheese line up. The Captain/ owner of the boat failed, not once not even twice but 4-5 times. My hats off to the narrator, for not turning this into let’s bash the Captain video, but bad things happen to good people and mistakes will kill you.
Great captaining, great job by the USCG. Sad to see such a beautiful and historic vessel go down. Better than leaving her abandoned though as a hazard to navigation, which wasn't a question in this case.
I am reminded of the quote from another (fictional) captain. "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life." Jean-Luc Picard. The captain was well prepared, well equipped, and with a good ship and crew. I too salute his coolness "under fire." He made the right decision quickly and calmly. Quite possibly saving 3 other lives.
Another outstanding film, thank you. Is there any definitive guide as to materials of construction and hull integrity? I have more or less decided on aluminium for my vessel - obviously from an experienced builder with high levels of QA/ QC and weld inspection. Any thoughts? The biggest threat to any diesel engine - whether on sea or land (regular 4x4 overlander) is dirty fuel. There is no substitute for fuel filters - dual units allow for cartridge changes whilst on line with separate tanks for "dirty" and "clean" fuel. Kraken boats have this feature as standard.
Thank you for a well presented summary of the situation. Ultimately it seems that the leak was caused by heavy pounding. As the boat was built for racing I understand the willingness to keep pressing on especially as they knew that ahead out of the gulf stream were calmer waters. The only alternative would have been to heave to and wait for calmer weather when the filter could have been changed. As far as personal safety goes, a concussion below decks is not uncommon and whilst there is a natural focus on PFD's not enough attention is paid to head protection.
There seems to be a misunderstanding about how fuel filters work. E.G. "if they had a 2nd filter it would have been a matter of flipping a switch." Filters don't remove 100% of junk, nor do they remove 100% and then just plug and stop on a dime. Particularly if the boat is banging around, the engine is running at full throttle to get through the slop and the crew is busy and/or doesn't fell like getting a concussion putting their head into a tight engine room in rough conditions. Within a few hours, some bad sludge will make it past the Racor long before the Racor actually clogs. This can ruin the rest of the fuel system, including the injectors. The dual fuel filter is still recommended and works well for cruising. But, there is no getting around the need to clean and inspect tanks before going offshore and into potentially rough weather.
This crew and coast guard did excellent jobs, unfortunately the standard electric bilge pumps and manual pumps are not damage control devices and are not designed for this type of flooding.
Carter Bacon made some serious mistakes both in voyage planning and in response to the developing situation on his boat. A clogged fuel filter should not be an insurmountable situation. The boat should have had a duplex filter housing to enable switching filter with the swing of a valve. If not, just change the filter, yes it was rough but it was something that needed to be done. The boat could have been turned down wind or hove too, for improving the ride while the filter was changed and the leak situation sorted out. I'm really surprised to hear they did not have a manual diaphragm pump on board, as I thought they were required for the Newport to Bermuda race. A 2" Edson pump would most likely have kept the boat afloat. Don Street kept his wooden yawl afloat on a transatlantic voyage after a stem bolt broke causing a leak. Bilge pump capacity are rated at zero lift. The higher the pump has to pump to reach the discharge fitting the more that capacity is reduced. Consequently that "high capacity" pump quickly becomes alot less than "high capacity". This was an avoidable loss, that said I am glad to hear that everyone was rescued successfully. That said what would they have done if they were outside the range of Coast Guard aircraft??
Fuel outlet needs to be on the very bottom of the tank. Modern filters can handle water and sediment easily provided it's in small quantities and you drain the bowl regularly. It also prevents Fuel Bug. You can't do anything with flat bottomed tanks except not have them.
He should have changed that filter as soon as it got plugged. That way that could have a lot more options. You might spill some fuel but it is not that hard. Smart to pull the trigger and abandon ship when he had the chance.
The problem if you really stir up a dirty tank and the engine is running near full throttle is that the filter will clog and the engine will falter long before you notice any drop in performance. By the time the filter is that badly clogged, junk has probably made it into your fuel system and clogged the injectors. You would not be able to prevent this unless you were checking the filter not less than every 30 minutes, which simply is not done. The only way to prevent this is periodic (annual or less?) inspections of the tank (if you can actually see into the bottom and past all the baffles) and regular fuel polishing. Even fuel polishing will not help if there is firm sludge stuck to the bottom of the tank.
A testimony to the forces of nature being far beyond the best and most experienced humans, it any field of endeavor. I survived a hurricane at sea once. We did everything right, but fate spared us, not our abilities.
Running a sail under the boat can be pretty effective. A little trickier if you can't locate the source though. It's certainly what I'll try if faced with this.
My rule is, we may or may not be rounding Cape of Good Hope but the boat will be stowed as if we are. This was the first mistake. Second, that fuel filter needed to be changed as soon as the engine stopped. Not 1/2 hour later. If the engine worked it would have been easy to retrieve a real high capacity pump. Turn down wind. Easily replaced. Third, while sailing downwind everything seems much better. While sailing comfortably downwind start looking for a different landfall and do not continue pounding through the Gulf Stream. The pumps will work better as well. Bermuda is a nice place and you have the charts. Go back there if necessary. 4 people can bail a LOT of water, then find the leak and slow the flow. These are almost always cascading events. One bad decision leads to another and then it gets compounded. I sailed my own Luke built boat most of the way around the world alone. I really doubt the planking failed to such an extent. MUCH more likely something that was added after Luke turned her over. Seasick, scared, daughter, injured crew, etc all make the decision to abandon easier. But this is a good lesson to us all. Much to learn which is one of the joys of sailing!
The Coast Guard never gets enough respect for their insane level of badassery
Yeah they do some neat stuff. My friend I spent years in the army with got out and joined the coast guard and he is a crew member in a j hawk rescue helicopter in Alaska and some of the pictures he has sent me are nuts
This happened to a buddy of mine in Alaska. It was a 37 foot steel cutter he bought in Vancouver B.C. back in the 90's. I helped him sail it back to Seward, Alaska including a 500 mile crossing of the gulf of Alaska. As soon as I got aboard in Vancouver I realized the boat wasn't what I thought it would be. He told me it was a single chine hull turned out to be a flat bottomed boat with a fin keel , a 2 cylinder 20 H.P. Volvo Penta sail drive and spade rudder. The boat pounded in any kind of sea and the motor was so under powered it could only do 5 knots in calm water with no head wind. Plus we found out it burned a lot of oil on the first day. I sailed with him a lot along the coast of Alaska on trips to Kodiak and Prince William Sound. He did very little maintenance during that time as he had way too many irons in the fire plus the boat was two years old when he bought it and didn't think he had to worry about it.
Ten years later he want's to take it back to Puget Sound to have some maintenance done. There were four of us aboard on the first attempt. We were all retired Fire Fighters by that time. We got 100 miles out of Seward and the motor that he had never repaired or replace blew up. He wanted to keep on going to Sitka 400 miles away, buy an outboard motor and attach it to the transom. I talked him into returning to Seward repairing or replacing the motor and trying again next year. He chose to rebuild the now 12 year old motor. Volvo no longer made parts for it and he had to order New Old Stock from Volvo dealers all over the U.S. and Europe. It ended up costing him more that a new engine.
On the second attempt they got 100 miles out of Seward and the motor he had rebuilt blew up again. It only had a few hours on it since he had rebuilt it. I had told him to get at least 20+ hours on it before he left but he didn't listen. I couldn't go that trip. The three of them decided to keep going same crew as the first time but without me. The first day was calm and they didn't have enough wind to sail. That evening the wind picked up from the west and they were making good time to Sitka. The next day it clocked to the South and got stronger and the seas got rough. The day after the wind was blowing from the East and they were trying to beat into it. By evening the wind was 60+ knots and the seas were 20+ feet and they tacked all night to try not to loose ground. The next morning my buddy woke up and there was a foot of water on the floor. They couldn't figure out where the water was coming from. The batteries were almost dead by this time and the bilge pump couldn't keep up. They were still 80 miles from Sitka. My buddy had borrowed a Sat. EPIRB from a friend and had filed a float plan. They set it off not knowing if anyone was going to respond. They only had a VHF radio and couldn't raise anyone on it probably because the batteries were dead by now. Two hours later a Coast Guard Sea Stallion showed up. It was normally stationed in Juneau but just happened to be in Sitka when they got the call. They all survived but dumb luck had a lot to do with it.
Was it determined where the water was coming from?
@@RyanYoungATX No it sank 80 miles west of Sitka, Alaska in 1200 feet of water. My suspicion is because of the design of the boat basically a flat bottomed boat will a 4 foot fin keel. The keel was about 12 inches wide where it was attached to the hull and had 4 or 5 thousand pounds of lead in it. I think he had some corrosion in the hull and the keel/hull joint cracked in the heavy seas. But that's just a theory on my part. This wasn't built to be an open ocean boat in my opinion. It was originally built as a corporate yacht to take client's sailing out of Vancouver, B.C. It was the only major trip he took with it that I wasn't on board. The 3 on board were lucky the Coast Guard helicopter just happened to be in Sitka when they set off the EPIRB and it was close enough to reach them. It's normally stationed in Juneau. My buddy had a habit of getting himself into these situations on a regular basis. His nick name on the Fire Dept. was "Mad Dog". : )
After reading about how the boat was equipped when you boarded in Vancouver, why would you ever set foot on her again. What am I missing?
@@Mark-pp7jy Well he was a friend of mine and I was trying to help him out. I wasn't very concerned about the hull integrity for the first 6-8 years until I read up on structural failures of fin keeled boats. I helped him do a lot of the maintenance on his boat.
My wife and I sailed the coast of Alaska for 20+ years for months at a time in our 29 foot Columbia Sloop. I did a complete gut job on it and replaced the engine, cutlass bearing, fuel and water tanks, through hull fittings, sea cocks, wiring, plumbing, bow and stern rails, windows etc. We never had any failures. It was a 1966 Columbia with a hand laid epoxy hull and had none of the blister problems that plagued the early polyester hulls.
I did get to go to a lot of interesting places on my buddies boat including Shuyack, Afognac, and Kodiak islands as well as Katmai National park. I didn't start having concerns about the condition of the boats seaworthiness until later on.
Glad I chose not to go on his last trip. I had concerns on how it would go but I didn't expect him to sink it.
Everyone in the comments acts like it was the failure of the engine that caused this and they should be ashamed of themselves for not maintaining it. In my eyes on a sailboat an engine is a luxury not standard equipment. My boat never had an engine at all which made me get really good with the sails. I think they made their mistake by not changing course so the waves were less detrimental, especially knowing your in an old wooden boat.
Assuming I heard right that this is a wooden hull, you can't let them take a beating. Landing hard on the side will do this. So many wooden boats have sunk due to planks coming loose. Another mistake is no high water alarm. I don't like boats that don't have a deep bilge because you have to know you have a leak before the leak is under water. Once that happens you aren't going to find it. If you find it, you can at least slow it down. Also, never let things slide. You can replace fuel filters in rough conditions and he should have. That engine always has to be available to charge the batteries for just these types of situations (pumps running long and hard). Also, I think high output pumps is a relative term. Hundreds of gallons an hour is NOT high output pumps in my opinion. Think in the terms of several thousands an hour. Whale pumps are a better design but they are big and require big motors to run them, but way more capable when the bilge gets full of junk from the boat being tossed at sea. Which also brings up a point....if things are going to get rough, you gotta secure EVERYTHING, hopefully before it gets rough because when it does, you don't want to do anything and will make all kinds of excuses why you can't (see captain's decision not to change the filters). Speaking of filters, if you haven't cleaned the tank recently and you are motoring offshore, you are going to suck up a bunch of junk. These dangerous routes and yes this is one, you gotta make sure that tank is clean before you leave port. It is great though that he had the call for help equipment and got rescued, but I think this could have been avoided. The biggest mistake was sailing it too hard. I've been in those situations....you gotta fall off the wind and stop the pounding. I've heard my boat make cracking type sounds and immediately changed course before. Steep waves, even as small as 5 feet, along with too much sail up and sailing too close to the wind is very dangerous. Fall off the wind and let those sails out. We tend to make the habit of looking at the charts and GPS and say I gotta sail this course and it causes us problems. Just accept that it's going to take you longer than you thought to get to where you want to go and sail safely.
I'm with you. I also wondered why he stayed hard on the wind when he started pounding, particularly in a 60yo wooden boat...Great input.
Bs ! A well maintained 60year old wooden hull will take as much if not more than a modern thin skin fiberglass hull!
Appreciate your assessment. I agree with the fuel filter issue, but I also can confirm that certain operations in rough seas might be very difficult. Filter access might be an issue on some vessels.
more so with 60 y old wooden boats
@@ChrisJungmann Of course. I also wanted to bring a more critical POV as I think overlooking the serious errors made in order to be nice is silly. I guess I raced boats for too long, everything is up for criticism when mistakes are made, and owners are generally abused by crew.
But seriously. Bilge pumps and alarm being off are basically unforgivable, yes? I mean, that's 101 seamanship. You have them turned off intentionally?????
I'm a USCG vet and sailor. This was such a beautiful episode and great leadership from the skipper who made the courageous decision to abandon ship. Semper paratus.
I have had my butt kicked numerous times in that exact area including loosing a boat when she rolled over twice and flooded beyond saving. I was one of the first 100 rescued by the CG using an EPIRB (1984). Can’t say enough good stuff about our CG! The Captain made the right call. Sad to see the loss of such a beautiful vessel. Well told story Tim!
Crikey, Dan. I can't figure out whether you were lucky that Neptune took pity on you, or you were unlucky that you angered him such in the first place.
It sounds like you're very lucky to be alive.
That Gulf Stream is a real hazard!
Incredibly valuable information. Every captain and every ocean sailor should listen to this. Great decision making. Thank you for sharing
No one likes post game criticism but "maintained to the highest standards" and "sludge in the fuel tanks" are contradictory statements.
She was a beautiful boat, but perhaps past her prime for blue water racing. Glad everyone made it out safely; truly sorry for your loss Capt. Bacon.
Wonder if it just lost prime and needed to be bled. So glad everyone got back safely
I think the main factor in this loss was the catastrophic hull failure. If she were steel or fibreglass she would still be with us.
@@davepersich3035 If that first pump had been successfully brought aboard it likely would have let her limp home; those pumps are no joke. Steel and fibreglass sailboats can also sink when they lose power in heavy seas, although if I was going to be on a sailboat without power in the Atlantic...I'd much rather it be steel or aluminum hulled.
That wait for each person to be aboard the heli safely must have felt like an eternity for Capt Bacon.
Always polish your fuel prior to any offshore venture. I sail single handed so its even more important to polish fuel if you're caring for other passengers lives on board.
Thank you coast guards around the world.
For keeping us idiots safe.
Idiots ,for keeping us safe.
These guys are the true heroes. This is what our hard earned tax dollars are supposed to pay for. Not for those other tyrants in the coast guard who board our vessels in violation of the Constitution.
@@timothyrepp4259 I have a philosophical difficulty with doing one’s job as heroic. They did exactly what they were trained and payed to do. They did it as perfectly as humanly possible as was said. So they are heros for being well funded and well trained?
@@Pocketfarmer1 I understand your point. If you read my entire comment, I was just trying to give these guys credit for doing a job that saves lives. As opposed to others in the coast guard that take my hard earned money to destroy lives. And harass honest people in violation of their oath to the constitution. We are in agreement that we pay these men to do the job of saving the lives of sailors in peril. If they weren’t rescuing someone they would be simulating a rescue for training. Again my point was that at least these men are honorable in doing the life saving job we pay them to do. The other tyrants are dishonest in siphoning off money to pay themselves to do a “job” that’s beyond the scope of the coast guard and the constitution.
Good testament to the training and skill of the US Coast Guard and a captain making a good decision. One issue of preparedness is obvious. That is the lack of a way to change fuel filters in adverse conditions. A dual Racor system (Racor 75500 Max2) where the primary filter can be changed with a simple turn of a valve or valving to switch to a second filter of a different brand. A second issue is making sure the fuel tanks were clean before undertaking an ocean passage. Of course, if they even partially stove in some planking no pumps would have kept up even with a running engine. Basically sometimes the sea wins, no matter that you do.
and also, if you are the type who falls easily, get a full enclosure motorcycle helmet. Sounds funny, but I gotta tell ya, not only do they protect your head, they also work great in calming the storm. One of the effects of a storm at sea is the loud noise from the wind and the splash that causes all kinds of tension that wears you out. Put that helmet on and it's like you just stepped into your office and you are watching it all on the computer. I've ridden out hurricanes and gone outside on deck in 90 knots of wind and it was no big deal with the helmet on. You can see. You can think. You are calm. Once again, very important to making good decisions.
The enclosed part of motorcycle helmet isn't a good choice, Hint: The PFD if one go MOB for some reason.
Yes!!!! An old professional delivery skipper taught me that trick!
I love it, protect your head and your psyche.
Agreed, but an open helmet. I have an old ski helmet for this situation, or just strong winds, solo.
When in your video, before knowing the rest of the details, you read that the captain chose not to even try to restore his engine after what seems clear to be a filter blockage, that gave me chills, as you had already read that he thought he needed the engine as a backup and for battery charging.
To not even try to get the engine running, wow. It is the first thing I always do, having experienced several filer blockages in rough waters. I am not badmouthing, but I am astonished at that decision. You ALWAYS want a backup, of everything, including propulsion. Might have given better wave angles, and the engine can be used as an emergency bilge pump, assuming you are mechanically inclined.
Of course, hindsight is easy, and in no way do I think I know better about this passage, but it gave me chills he chose not to even try to fix what may have been a simple problem, in rough weather, when an engine can be critical.
Having two fuel filters should be standard practice. As is cleaning your tanks from time to time.
@@louisavondart9178 Fair enough, but that won't stop them from being clogged with stuff stirred up in the tank. You still need to be able to change them on the fly
I've made multiple offshore passages as captain and setting sail with sludge at the bottom of the fuel tanks is not compatible with a well-maintained vessel. Loss of engine power (for steering and charging) seem to have been the catalyst that led to the loss of the vessel. There's no excuse for allowing this slowly-building condition to persist. Further, the state of the cabin in the photos was not what I'd consider shipshape -- rough conditions demand tidiness for both physical and physiological safety of the crew. Also, no mention of bilge alarms? Inexpensive devices that could have sent the crew on a leak search before the leak was obscured by rising water. And why were the automatic pumps not on from the onset of the passage -- that is the literal point of having them, after all. Lastly, Practical Sailor could do a much better job analyzing these situations for lessons to pass along to other sailors...much like the FAA does for serious air mishaps. Merely telling an exciting story and congratulating the crew on doing every thing perfectly is not only inaccurate but does a disservice to their readers/viewers. This was NOT an inexplicable accident that led to the loss of the vessel; it was caused by a preventable chain of mistakes and bad practices.
I would disagree. I think the crew did all they could in the circumstances. What happened here was a catastrophic failure of the wooden hull. The high performance bilge pumps could not cope with the leak in the hull. If it were a fibreglass or steel hull , the boat would of survived.
Spot on. It was a chain of mistakes. You can tell yourself hundreds of stories what you did but you should also tell the 10 stories you did not do.
@@davepersich3035These are not high performance pumps at all. they are for a leak in the plumbing system but not for a hull damage.
No blame to sloppy crew & un shipshape conditions - want the insurance company to pay ?
In any loss of a vessel hind sight is much clearer. It appears the leak was due to a hull seam opening up. Not sure how to catch that with a pre voyage maintenance check. We would need to go back to its last survey and find out how the hull was inspected. Solution is a pleasure boat that makes some serious offshore journeys for sport, that’s OK. I’m relieved no one perished and very impressed with the USCG rescue team.
Old wooden boat, unable to change fuel filter at sea, failure to arm automatic bilge or alarm. Three strikes and you're out. Leaks must be discovered immediately with bilge pump alarms or you'll never find them. Glad they were saved.
I think you’re describing the “Swiss cheese effect” I’ve heard fighter pilots are trained when all the “holes” line up you’re in big trouble
If the injectors get plugged with dirty fuel, changing a fuel filter won't help you.
@@cymruambyth322 The filters almost always get clogged and stop fuel to the engines without letting particles through to clog the injectors
@@leeoldershaw956 yes
This problem is one argument for a 'day' tank, rather than always pulling from the main tank.
@@leeoldershaw956 I know a couple of world sailers that have 3 fuel tanks. two holding tanks for fuel, and a 3rd to drive the engine. They pump holding tank though filters to a tank to drive the engine. So by the time it hits the engine it has been filtered at least twice. I think one of the dudes ended up setting up double filters on the holding tanks. I am sure fuel in the states is pretty clean, but I was told it is not like that everywhere...he had stories of bugs, branches, leaves etc in the fuel in some areas...so I guess that is why people run so many fuel filters.
Also, about sea-sickness....there is a preventative skill/exercise. We each have our own tells that come to inform us that things are about to make a turn for the worse. With me, it's my mouth starting to water. I think it's to lubricate the throat for what is to come up. If then you get up and stand on the steps of the companionway with your arms on the deck, you then 'ride' the boat like a surf-board. You don't hold on, just keep your balance. Use your knees and legs to keep your head always pointing straight up. You let the boat move under you. Do that for 30 minutes and it will go away. May have to do it multiple times, but it works. If you wait too long, it's all over....too late. When you get better at it, you can learn to do it while sitting. Then it's about the mid-section. Let that butt stay attached to the boat but the body is on a gimble in the mid-section. I used to be so prone to sea sickness I could look at a picture of bad weather in my office and my mouth would start watering. Since I learned this trick, I haven't puked at all....40K miles at sea and not one problem. Sturgeon pills you can pick up outside of the states without a prescription really help too. Preferably the 15 mg pills, but you can split the 75 mg pills or just take 1 and be good for days. Combating sea-sickness is imperative to making good decisions at sea.
Thanks for the tips. Sounds very logical too, in terms of training the body and inner ear to learn the motion.
@@LoanwordEggcorn It's not about training the ear. It's about keeping the ear stable. Sea sickness is caused by mixed signals between the eyes and the ears. The eyes say we aren't moving but the ears say we are. By keeping the head stable (not rolling or rocking) then the signals match up a bit better. Also, like in my case, sea sickness can be mental as well. I've been sick so many times that just thinking about it would make me almost sick. Once I was able to do this a few times my mind was able to not be afraid of it. After about a year I could look at the water next to me as I sailed through it....the stern wave and not get sick. That was a major milestone for me. Now days, what worries me is I don't even get worried about anything for 15+ day trips.
@@FranklinGray Yes, that's training the brain's interpretation of the balance signals from the ear and eyes.
I'm glad everyone made it home safely. That said mistakes were made here in both voyage planning and execution. The fuel filter problem could have been solved by turning down wind to stabilize the boat while changing fuel filters. Having a duplex filter installation would have made it just a matter of swinging a valve. The use of a large capacity manual diaphragm pump would have made a big difference in dewatering and detecting the source of the leak. Waiting for the cold front to pass before departing Bermuda would have made a difference as well. What would they have done if they had been halfway across an ocean?
I appreciate this story. It's important for novice sailors like myself, to hear an experienced captain's thought process in adverse conditions.
Find a better captain to listen to.
@@claywebb8199 I threw a few tips below. I've learned a ton of stuff and forgotten a lot of it but these stories bring it back. My best advice is this: read some books (I know, they all told me that too and I hated that answer but turns out it is good advice) but remember, not all advice stories in books are good....and read about disaster stories and ask yourself what could have been done different. Try to use logic when reading and not just take things read and heard as truth.
This guy is full of it. I’ve looked at a some of his other vids. Very ordinary.
@@FranklinGray- Please impart your wisdom here for us all to learn from, i for one am all ears.
The captain was disabled. Someone else was deciding, I think.
With all the money that was spent on that beautiful boat I can't understand why it did not have its fuel tanks polished on a regular basis and more than one fuel circut as well as a dedicated electric fuel pump running a polishing fuel water seperator .
Whenever we are at sea under sail ormotor our polisher is running. It uses a 2amp/hr draw a pushes 30 gallons per hour. We run two feed circuts to the engine that can draw off either fuel tank .
Perhaps as a racing vessel they want to keep it as light as possible? Not a risk I would wish to run.
Glad everyone was evacuated safely and hope the crew member with the head injury fully recovered.
The loss of the vessel is very sad but stuff can be replaced . People not so much.
I love the comment sections on this pod cast. Their is lots to learn from other people's experiences. I have got many great ideas on possible modifications from this pod cast and others. I thank everyone for sharing their knowledge.
A baby in diapers could carry those little Rule bilge pumps. 2000 gph weighs @5 pounds, = 30 gpm, which = a good Edison or Whale Gusher manual. A yacht with no 30 gpm manual pump is VERY poorly commissioned!
"Stuff can be replaced" No this vessel cannot be replaced.
@@seandelaney1700 It SHOULD not be replaced. It's a man-killer!
Meh, it wasn't the engine that sank that boat. It was sailing hard in a confused sea. Sometimes it's better to be late than split your hull open.
From my armchair I would suggest that in a well found vessel (especially a racing one) there are 2 fuel filtration systems. (A and B) Yes, if there is sludge in the tanks it’s conceivable (when crossing the Gulf Stream) the sludge would clog the fuel filter(s). But changing a filter at least in favorable conditions is a (in my experience) doable task. A third option would be to have a day tank on the ready to buy time (and keep the batteries topped up) I’ve suggested (and done) using at least bicycle helmets in rough conditions.
I suggest these precautions not to criticize the captain or crew but to prevent further accidents.
Those are great suggestions.
I carried and used a white water kayak helmet, most often working on the foredeck, and secondly when hoisted aloft.
There's also the concept of having a day-tank. Fuel who has passed the filter(s) from the main fuel tank.
@@charonstyxferryman I guess you didn't finish reading my post...
A proper offshore sailboat doesn't NEED an engine.
Such stories offer inexpensive lessons to the rest of us. Sounds like a simple, reliable high volume manual bilge pump might have gotten them to safety or perhaps even enabled clearing the bilge enough to locate and stop or slow the leak. Dependence on relatively low volume electric pumps, particularly with only one means of producing electricity, clearly leaves the door open to regrettable outcomes.
I used to sail in the eighties a 43 foot heavy displacement steel yacht with a collision bulkhead and three other bulkheads with watertight doors. One between the saloon and the front cabin and the other two for the engine room. One centrifugal bilge pump driven by V-belts via an electric clutch by the engine and a manifold with pipes to the different compartments. As backup a high capacity Whale Gusher pump. Listening to this incident I believe the filtration of the fuel was the main problem. Had the engine been operational it would have been possible to save the yacht. Also wearing a kind of a helmet to prevent knocking your head would have helped. Anyhow I commend in this case the decision to abandon the yacht.
I’m all for headgear on deck, but below deck on a multi day passage is hard
I agree, a functioning engine could have made the difference. Makes me wonder why a second filter on a bypass around the first (by turning a single lever 90 degrees) was not part of the system for an emergency such as this or a clogged gas line near shore, in weather, where getting fuel to the engine quickly is mandatory to save a boat. They certainly had the resources for this kind of setup but I realize it is a relatively rare occurrence and you can't plan or build or design for every potential threat situation.
I got a shiver down my spine from the words "As close to perfection as humans get.".
Kudos to those guys and gals.
Sad loss of a nice yacht. Our boat is of similar size and hull shape though we have 1" thick fiberglass hull versus a double wood hull. For consideration for other boaters I offer the following: We have a trash pump and a generator located higher up than the main engine. With this configuration we can run the generator to power the trash pump and charge batteries. Our boat was built with this generator configuration in 1968. In addition we have a second filter path we can switch to should one set of filters become clogged and a day tank that we run from v.s. running on one of the 2 bunk tanks. Fuel from the bunks is filtered before going into to the day tank so that tank always has clean fuel. In addition we have an old perkins which is not particularly sensitive about fuel like a modern diesel. We don't run dirty fuel but if some crud did manage to make its way there is much less chance of it stopping the motor.when the main engine is not functional.
We also have a 2 filter system. 2 ball valves are all it takes. Close one and open the other and you have a new filter operating. Additionally, there is a vacuum/pressure gauge between the filters and the engine. For the bilge there is a crash pump. That is a ball valve that is in the bilge. Open it and close the raw water seacock and let the engine raw water pump do the work. Just my system.
Do you think if the ship had a on board fuel polishing system that was regularly used. This tragedy could have been avoided??
@@Lcvds The lack of an engine was cited as part of the decision tree. It is clear it would have provided different decision paths all through the last part of the trip. They may have been more comfortable riding the storm out at sea instead of continuing into the edge of the gulf stream, etc.
Neither I nor most yachties crossing the Pacific in the 70s had that stuff.
Oldschool good setup👍👍
Bravo Zulu to the Coast Guard crew and to the Captain for making a sound decision to save his crew.
Even though the boat was a loss, the story had a happy ending - no lives were lost. And kudos to the US Coast Guard!
🎯
Phenomenal review Tim, thank you. I'm sad and impressed with the captain's decision - I would have had a hard time not choosing the pump over the rescue. I don't think it'll be as hard after watching this. Such a beautiful boat..
A second thought - don't allow the boat to slam on her side in heavy weather, just go the wrong way for a while until you are able to get back on course again. Maybe this is more important with a wood boat, maybe not.
Excellent story. Textbook. Thank you. Very sad to see such a beautiful and well built boat go. Must have been heart-wrenching for the owner and crew, but most importantly the skipper made all the right decisions and everyone got off safely. Only thing I was surprised about was that there was no secondary fuel filter in case the primary became blocked. It probably wouldn’t have made much difference in these circumstances other than perhaps having the power to manoeuvre and retrieve the air dropped pump, but a point to note. An HR54 owner.
Love our IS USCG. Son just completed 22 years active service as Chief MK on several vessels. Very proud we are.
Congratulations!
I take it that your reference to the other offshore race that is out of sight of land is the Sydney to Hobart. It’s a 628nm race and first was held in 1945.
One rule I learned as recently as this past saturday is:
First save your life; then (if possible) save your boat.
I learned this while sailing my home-made scow on Lake St. Clair.
I first had a failure of my steering system which I quickly repaired. But, by then, I had drift pretty far down wind. No problem. At least so I thought. But then my leeboard started giving me problems. I soon learned it was impossible to use.
I the tried sailing without it. I once had a sailboat that achived this feat (though very poorly). But with this boat such proved impossible.
I then tried paddling up wind. But the boat proved more inclined to turn rather than move forward.
So I made the decision to beach at the first opportunity. I came ashore in a marshy area behind someones house. I had to wade though muck almost up to my knees, but the ground ateadily firmer.
I ended up getting me and my 120 lb boat over a 5 ft breakwall then across the poor fellow"s lawn then out his driveway.
Hello from the UK
An interesting talk. What puzzles me is looking at the video at 14:20 the vessel is sitting high on the water and the sea state is not that 'challenging' (I know the sea always looks flatter on video), why was the decision made not to take on a pump and airlift your casualty as that could have been one in one perhaps two lifts not the four for all the crew.
Sandy
So sad to see a beautiful yacht sink. At least everyone was rescued ok with the help of the coastguard.
Great commentary. You doit well. Cheers
Last Fall a crew moved my 36 ft Robinhood from Nova Scotia to Annapolis. The boat had been totally refurbished by craftsmen in Nova Scotia. In addition to cosmetics, we had new rigging, new sails, new instruments, new saftey gear and a complete engine check. About 100 miles from Mass the crew encountered hours of very choppy seas, as did Solution. The engine failed. As with Solution, the problem was sludge in the bottom of the tank. This was the 3rd time I had lost diesel power due to bad fuel on 3 different boats. I could not believe I had neglected to have the tank inspected, cleaned and the fuel polished. Particularly since that boat had not been used regularly and the fuel was old. This stupid mistake on my part not only blew the delivery but wound up costing $10,000 for new injectors, fuel system, multiple boat hauls, towing and transportation costs for the crew. I have to wonder if Solution would have safely navigated home if it could have relied at times on engine power. Please have your tanks inspected and fuel polished annually. The fact your filters are clean means nothing if the boat has not been stirred up with the engine running for a few hours.
The problem with Solution was not the engine failure, but a catastrophic hull failure. She was a wooden hull built in the sixties. If she were fibreglass or steel she would still be with us.
@@davepersich3035the problem with solution was not being a wooden boat, but it‘s captains choices
From Lady K to Practical Sailor. Good job! What a commitment to a life passion. Sorry to hear about Solution. Glad all souls are safe.
As much as I love classic wooden sailing yachts, I don't think I would sail one in an ocean race that crosses the Gulf Stream. When race days comes you go, regardless of the weather, or decide to drop out. You can't pick you weather window, you get the weather you get. I've crossed the Stream a few dozen times racing to Bermuda and sailing elsewhere and when a northerly kicks in against the current it can be absolutely brutal on a boat, with it literally falling off of 6-7' waves and slamming down into the trough. And while this was the return trip, most boats need to head back soon after the race is over. One day of rest, a day or two of partying and cleaning the boat and provisioning and repairs and back you head to jobs, etc. The schedule is almost as tight as the race start. To be clear I'm not questioning the decision of the owner as it appears the boat is impeccably maintained, just expressing my own reservations. Yes plenty of wooden yachts have survived worse, but I would not tempt fate in one in that race.
I fully do not know what happened here, but reading about this incident it seems they stayed in the gulf stream with conflicting wind and current, possibly because it is so fast. That seems like a poor decisision. If you search this boat and captain, it seems to have had more than its share of mishaps, but that could be bad luck.
This story could have ended much differently without the captain making experienced calls under pressure and the heroic as well as calculated rescue by the Coast Guard. Kudos to the captain, crew, and the Coat Guard.
Perhaps easy to say from my arm chair, but driving a wooden yacht hard in steep seas is not smart. If the boat and crew are being punished, then heave-too and wait! Put on the AIS alarm and rest the crew. Eat tidy the boat and get the engine running. When the weather clear then carry on. Good seamanship is about patience.
Indeed. This sounds like a classic case of get-there-itis.
Am I wrong? This boat is around 12*3.5m so fits in a 42m2 rectangle, at most area of the boat itself is half of it, around 21m2. Water raised by 25mm per 10 minutes so its 21*0.025 = 0.525m3 per 10 minutes or 52.5 liters per minute its like 4-5 buckets. I think at least it worth trying to outpace leak with a bucket, while pumps are still running there maybe was a chance to find a leak. If the engine was still running (with 2 filters setup or a clean tank as mentioned by others) with 4 crew u can probably even sail her for couple of days. I know they were tired and probably seasick, but form an armchair it sounds doable.
What a heartbreaking story, but a true testament to the knowledge and wisdom of captain and crew. Thank you for sharing this story, it's a great reminder to take preparation seriously but also to make sure you have your priorities straight. Crew > Boat.
And god bless the coast guard!
What a loss, such a beautiful boat. Thanks for the story, well done.
Very good video Tim, it's always good to be reminded of what can go wrong and what one should do in these kinds of circumstances. Bacon, it seems, made his decision almost instantly. He had a very clear head and did what most sailors would have to contemplate for 15 minutes or more. It's a shame that he lost his boat, but he did make the right call. Very impressive. Yeah, all hats are off to the Captain! I hope he can get another boat and continue sailing!
Having read this account online a couple weeks ago, I watched this video hoping to learn from Practical Sailor's analysis that I assumed would follow the narrative. A bit surprised there was no discussion of any additional precautions that might have helped to prevent loss of the vessel. I agree that the captain showed exemplary preparedness and clear thinking. That said, a second fuel filter path, a bilge alarm, and of course pre-departure tank polishing might have helped or prevented this particular failure cascade. I'm sure there are other lessons to be learned here, as I'm far from an expert. A bit disappointed you didn't have more to say.
Excellent video and retelling on all points. I’m a single engine airplane pilot that spends a lot of time over open water. I like to think that if things ever start to go dark I’ll be able to rely on preparedness and practiced studied decision-making skills and experience . I think this video does not just relate to seamanship and sailboats. Thank you for sharing the story, and the positive outcome.
Thank you for the new channel. This was a great idea. Do more if you have the time.
You're doing all of the correct things to be a big hit.
Awesome and inspiring tribute to the Coast Guard.
Bravo to the captain and the coast guard! This captain performed very well and calmly examined the problems and made decisions to preserve life as a priority as he should!
The Newport to Bermuda race requires that you have all your safty equipment working. I sailed the race for the first time this year. It took a solid six months of preparation.
Curious what you had to do that took 6 months?
hmmmmm …. e.g. all the things the captain/owner of Solution obviously neglected?… cleaning tanks, installing functionable electricals bilge pumps and alarms, checking out manual bilge pumps do work well, assuring that repairs were to be feasable at sea
@@chrst7346 I do believe, that the most important piece of safety equipment on a sailboat is the engine. I've also, some "old school" sailors don't focus on engine maintenance enough.
I would like to pass on something I have learned: Just because you are an experienced sailor/captain, doesn't make you a good one. Just because you are an inexperienced sailor/captain doesn't make you a bad one. Sailing education AND THE QUALITY of it matters more than experience BUT the ability to learn on your own when you get that experience means the most and above all, knowing your limits and capabilities. As far as being at sea, if you are the captain, you need to make sure you get at least 8 hours of good sleep a day. If you are crew, you gotta make sure that the captain gets his 8+ hours of sleep a day. This is absolutely critical. It is very possible this captain wasn't a bad captain, but just made bad decisions due to his lack of sleep. When we are tired and hungry and sea-sick, we make very bad decisions. When you see a captain like that, you have to motivate him because he is going to get lazy and will need some clarity. Phrases like "get your ___ up and fix this" can straighten out a captain who is putting things off. What may seem impossible starts to seem doable with the proper motivation. Get his juices flowing. BTW: I learned the lesion the hard way. I was the nice captain giving crew the best shifts, but that cost me sleeping time and I paid the price. The captain should always take the early shift because he is going to be awake anyway and will need to get tired a bit before he can fall asleep and then he needs to sleeeeeeep....unless something happens and then he needs to be wakened.
Care to expound on your sleep deprived f'up?
@@robertbennett6697 Before I got married in Tonga, I always solo-sailed, but there was one leg I wanted an extra pair of eyes. It was the leg from Panama to Cayman Islands. I figured a lot of ships would be going that way so I figured taking a crew member would help and we needed to pull shifts. I took the middle shift but I couldn't sleep early when I was supposed to, so when I was on shift, well, not so awake. I came across a ship coming my way. I had a terrible AIS receiving built into the radio. In these instances, I couldn't use the radio because the ship would bounce in and out of our path because it was rough so the alarm and warning display kept going off. I decided to heave to so he could pass. I did the heave-to easily but forgot to undo the wheel break when coming out. We sailed for 24 hours on autopilot with the wheel break on. It broke the bracket the autopilot motor was on. I discovered that when heaving-to the next night when I went to fix the bracket. Now I know this didn't cause this, but the cotter-pin on the top forestay fitting came out and when we came out of the heave-to the mast came down.
The funny thing is, I was on my way to the Bahamas to get my rigging replaced. No riggers in Panama and I didn't trust myself to work on it. Because my crew threw away my pins, I couldn't just put the mast back up when we made the nearest port (A Colombian Island in the western Caribbean). I got lucky in that the mast landed on my solar panel arch and was stuck there. The only damage to the boat was the wind generator was knocked off and sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Since the mast was already down, I decided to fly to Houston and give a list of parts I needed to my rigger up there to replace my rigging. I flew back with 5 big suitcases full of rigging because I didn't want to have to pay the 300% import dues on my rigging. I couldn't afford that. So glad they had this truck with a crane on it. At first I didn't think it was tall enough but turned out it was. I learned a lot about rigging then all due to a 10 cent cotter pin failure.
I learned a lot during my 8 years of cruising due to things like this. I need to find a way to pass on my knowledge but not sure I remember enough to do so. My last stop before returning to Texas due to the virus, I had realized I had forgotten a lot. Some things you do at some places that you don't need to do at others like using a dinghy anchor to keep the dinghy off the docks is something I hadn't done in 6 years and it took a while to remember that.
Loved this channel. The stories and the comments.
Great article.
Awesome video. Well written and concise. Useful for absorbing lessons learned. Glad the crew lived to sail another day
Nicely done Captain! Bravo US Coast Guard!!🙏💪👊
thank you for sharing this account. You reading of the account was chilling and thank goodness for Coast Guard perfection.
Great job on this.
Ted Heath's 44' Admiral's Cup ocean racer Morning Cloud 3 (S&S design, built in wood) was destroyed and sank in a storm in the English Channel in September 1974. 2 crew lost their lives. The boat was less than 2 years old.
I didn’t hear you say anything about manual bilge pump?
In the 1960s a lot of wooden vessels were built using new technologies. Bent oak frames, aluminum braces, stainless steel bolts holding planks to frames. Beautiful boats, great classic lines, the past revisited but built using new methods to reduce the volume of wood required by using new techniques.
This is the second 1960s wooden vessel lost on a northbound trip from Bermuda, that I know of. The other one is the SV Sorca built in 1969 in Nova Scotia. Mahogany plank on bent oak frames. Never a hull issue until her last trip. The year before she had been sailed to the Caribbean without issue. A trip to Bermuda that was abandoned after many5 to 7 days beating into the weather. Some hours after deciding to run for home she started taking on water a Mayday call was sent out and the crew of 4 was picked up by a passing freighter to the SE of Nova Scotia. The source of the leak was not determined the flood commenced before midnight and it was clear the bilge pump could not keep up. It was thought she might have hit an object?
great recount of what happened and how important it is to be prepared while off shore. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks again Coasties
So basically an old wooden boat broke while smashing into a big wave. It happens. The sail school I was instructor with had a 1954 wooden sloop. The same happened in the 1980's in the Irish sea between UK and Ireland. She did not sink but her sailing is limited to very coastal trips nowadays (check: la sereine). An old wooden boat, unless reconstructed from the keel up has it's weaknesses. It's made of so many parts as opposed to a fiberglas boat.
I had the same reaction, I was a yacht broker and have raced, also have all my US sailing certs mono/cat. I'm less kind to captains than this guy, having seen several do incredibly stupid things. First off, I'd never sail offshore in a 60yo sailboat that hasn't been rebuilt from the keel up, as you mention. Glass or wood - never in a wooden boat. NEVER. Life of a wooden boat is generally 40 years max. Second thing I have problems with is not changing the fuel filter when engine fails. He also apparently didn't have a genset. Captain is so prepared - but no genset while sailing offshore? A small honda gas genset can be had for under 300 bucks and runs for 24 hours on 5 gallons - there is zero excuse for not having a back up source of electricity while sailing offshore. And then the claim that it would be impossible to change out the filter while in rough seas? What? Heave to, wedger yourself in, have someone help and change that damned filter. I also do not understand why the bilge pumps were powered off and that there wasn't a bilge alarm firing off sooner. The video author here seems too eager to praise this captain instead of pointing out this obvious failing.
I also have problems with his abandoning the boat but am clear that it was a 'judgment call" that he could make out of an abundance of caution. But it seemed like conditions had eased. He had 80 mins before water got to the batteries. Me? I'm trying much harder to recover that pump or taking the other pump from the helicopter. But I think he was given an 'or' choice. I would have wanted to get the guy with the concussion off the yacht, but kept whoever would stay. If I could get the water dropping or least from rising, you have a chance to find the leak/hole and make an emergency patch. He was not horribly holed as the boat would sink much more quickly of he was. He likely had a through hull fail, as that's where the weaknesses develop with rot etc. Did he have plugs? I would want to find the source of the water., if the CG would let me. Of course, timing is everything here, it may be he couldn't offload the injured guy and keep the option open to ditch. Sometimes you get a 'ditch or don't" choice from the CG. And if that was the case, without knowing the source of the leak, ya, I'd abandon ship too. It just seems to me that he gave up on the fuel filter, gave up on retrieving the pump and then gave up on the boat. Again, let me reiterate that he may not have had the choice to take the time with the second pump and still get rescued.
But do you see what I mean? I'm not trying to be a jerk, rather just learn from it. I do like that he erred on the side of caution rather than being reckless but I think there may have been some chance to save the boat. What say you? Am I just being a crank?
@@War4theWestthat’s a great list of redundant systems for an offshore voyage. The fact that an engine failure would eventually cascade into a navigation crisis was insightful for me. I was also surprised that he so quickly gave up on the filter change. Maybe there’s more to it than was in the report.
A friend of mine is a wooden boat builder. I've worked on a couple of his restorations. It's surprising how good something can look until you start to pull it apart and get inside it. Wet rot, dry rot, rotten caulking, worms, loose roves, age brittle fasteners, shoddy repairs... they all add up to make a vessel
that is anything but seaworthy.
yes, you‘re abslouteley right to me, but I‘d call the story „basically an old wooden boat broke while smashing into big waves after a number of negligences, misdecisions and failures of a selfish and overly optimistic captain a…..ole, who did not only risk the lifes of his crew but also that of several coast guard members“…..
@@War4theWest I love your idea of having a genset on board. It would require more maintenance than on the ground given the "humid" environment but when powering a cellar type water pump it takes water out much faster than any 12V pump would.
Kudos to the Coast Guard and the well prepared Captain. Quite a tale. Thank God all are alive
Sad loss, beautiful yacht. 🫡🇦🇺🦘
Well done video. Thanks.
So you lost a boat, risked the lives of your crew and the Coast Guard because of a fuel filter. This is a prefect example of where the holes in the Swiss Cheese line up. The Captain/ owner of the boat failed, not once not even twice but 4-5 times. My hats off to the narrator, for not turning this into let’s bash the Captain video, but bad things happen to good people and mistakes will kill you.
Great captaining, great job by the USCG. Sad to see such a beautiful and historic vessel go down. Better than leaving her abandoned though as a hazard to navigation, which wasn't a question in this case.
excellent reading - thank you
I live in Bermuda, this year two yachts were abandoned on the way here during the race too. One reported having hit something tearing the rudder off.
I am reminded of the quote from another (fictional) captain. "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life." Jean-Luc Picard.
The captain was well prepared, well equipped, and with a good ship and crew. I too salute his coolness "under fire." He made the right decision quickly and calmly. Quite possibly saving 3 other lives.
Great recount and thank you for sharing. These stories are important to hear.
Another outstanding film, thank you. Is there any definitive guide as to materials of construction and hull integrity? I have more or less decided on aluminium for my vessel - obviously from an experienced builder with high levels of QA/ QC and weld inspection. Any thoughts?
The biggest threat to any diesel engine - whether on sea or land (regular 4x4 overlander) is dirty fuel. There is no substitute for fuel filters - dual units allow for cartridge changes whilst on line with separate tanks for "dirty" and "clean" fuel. Kraken boats have this feature as standard.
Thank you for a well presented summary of the situation. Ultimately it seems that the leak was caused by heavy pounding. As the boat was built for racing I understand the willingness to keep pressing on especially as they knew that ahead out of the gulf stream were calmer waters. The only alternative would have been to heave to and wait for calmer weather when the filter could have been changed.
As far as personal safety goes, a concussion below decks is not uncommon and whilst there is a natural focus on PFD's not enough attention is paid to head protection.
Really great presentation
There seems to be a misunderstanding about how fuel filters work. E.G. "if they had a 2nd filter it would have been a matter of flipping a switch." Filters don't remove 100% of junk, nor do they remove 100% and then just plug and stop on a dime. Particularly if the boat is banging around, the engine is running at full throttle to get through the slop and the crew is busy and/or doesn't fell like getting a concussion putting their head into a tight engine room in rough conditions. Within a few hours, some bad sludge will make it past the Racor long before the Racor actually clogs. This can ruin the rest of the fuel system, including the injectors. The dual fuel filter is still recommended and works well for cruising. But, there is no getting around the need to clean and inspect tanks before going offshore and into potentially rough weather.
Sad but amazing story, thanks for
sharing.
This crew and coast guard did excellent jobs, unfortunately the standard electric bilge pumps and manual pumps are not damage control devices and are not designed for this type of flooding.
What manual pump? I heard no mention of any manual bilge pump. A good one pumps 30 gpm!
Fascinating and harrowing tale. But top seamanship prevented loss of life.
Props to the captain and of course the Coast Guard!
The best preparation always includes good decision making. Well done, sad loss, live to sail another day.
Carter Bacon made some serious mistakes both in voyage planning and in response to the developing situation on his boat. A clogged fuel filter should not be an insurmountable situation. The boat should have had a duplex filter housing to enable switching filter with the swing of a valve. If not, just change the filter, yes it was rough but it was something that needed to be done. The boat could have been turned down wind or hove too, for improving the ride while the filter was changed and the leak situation sorted out. I'm really surprised to hear they did not have a manual diaphragm pump on board, as I thought they were required for the Newport to Bermuda race. A 2" Edson pump would most likely have kept the boat afloat. Don Street kept his wooden yawl afloat on a transatlantic voyage after a stem bolt broke causing a leak.
Bilge pump capacity are rated at zero lift. The higher the pump has to pump to reach the discharge fitting the more that capacity is reduced. Consequently that "high capacity" pump quickly becomes alot less than "high capacity".
This was an avoidable loss, that said I am glad to hear that everyone was rescued successfully. That said what would they have done if they were outside the range of Coast Guard aircraft??
Fuel outlet needs to be on the very bottom of the tank. Modern filters can handle water and sediment easily provided it's in small quantities and you drain the bowl regularly. It also prevents Fuel Bug. You can't do anything with flat bottomed tanks except not have them.
Start the engine and take the raw water from the bilge (use the hose going to the raw water filter), before it's too late to start the engine...
They don't pump very much cooling water. Maybe 4 gpm. A good manual pump does 30 gpm.
It would be interesting to know how long it had been since the fuel had been polished. Should have been done prior to the race.
Excellent narration! It made for a very engaging video.
Thanks for sharing this story.
He should have changed that filter as soon as it got plugged. That way that could have a lot more options. You might spill some fuel but it is not that hard. Smart to pull the trigger and abandon ship when he had the chance.
The problem if you really stir up a dirty tank and the engine is running near full throttle is that the filter will clog and the engine will falter long before you notice any drop in performance. By the time the filter is that badly clogged, junk has probably made it into your fuel system and clogged the injectors. You would not be able to prevent this unless you were checking the filter not less than every 30 minutes, which simply is not done. The only way to prevent this is periodic (annual or less?) inspections of the tank (if you can actually see into the bottom and past all the baffles) and regular fuel polishing. Even fuel polishing will not help if there is firm sludge stuck to the bottom of the tank.
"Expertly maintained to the highest standard" and sludge in the fuel tank stirred up by rough seas may have led to fuel blockage to the engine?
good episode, thanks Tim.
Helmets, rethinking fuel filter set up and perhaps a back up portable tank and a small gas powered pump of their own.
A testimony to the forces of nature being far beyond the best and most experienced humans, it any field of endeavor. I survived a hurricane at sea once. We did everything right, but fate spared us, not our abilities.
Great story, Tim. Always reassuring to hear of a cool head prevailing in a nail-biting situation.
Begging for rescue is not MY idea of a cool head.
Very good video. Thanks.
Well done Coast Guard👍👍
A very good job telling the story.
Running a sail under the boat can be pretty effective. A little trickier if you can't locate the source though. It's certainly what I'll try if faced with this.
How sad, such a beautiful boat. Did you scuttle her?
The wind map at 3:51 shows the Philippines and Southeast Asia, not the area described.
My rule is, we may or may not be rounding Cape of Good Hope but the boat will be stowed as if we are. This was the first mistake. Second, that fuel filter needed to be changed as soon as the engine stopped. Not 1/2 hour later. If the engine worked it would have been easy to retrieve a real high capacity pump. Turn down wind. Easily replaced. Third, while sailing downwind everything seems much better. While sailing comfortably downwind start looking for a different landfall and do not continue pounding through the Gulf Stream. The pumps will work better as well. Bermuda is a nice place and you have the charts. Go back there if necessary. 4 people can bail a LOT of water, then find the leak and slow the flow.
These are almost always cascading events. One bad decision leads to another and then it gets compounded.
I sailed my own Luke built boat most of the way around the world alone. I really doubt the planking failed to such an extent. MUCH more likely something that was added after Luke turned her over.
Seasick, scared, daughter, injured crew, etc all make the decision to abandon easier. But this is a good lesson to us all. Much to learn which is one of the joys of sailing!