Good Delivery Gone Bad By Bradd and Maeve Wilson
Over our past five years and 35,000 miles of cruising on our own boat, a Beneteau 390 named Sampatecho, occasionally delivering boats for friends has been a welcome respite. It has allowed us to experience different systems and designs, which—in some cases—we have incorporated on Sampatecho. We have always been over-cautious when “surveying” the subject vessels before setting out. Safety and survival have always been paramount in our cruising—so we won’t be held to any artificial deadlines. This is the story of an experienced crew, a well-found, high-tech boat, a near-perfect forecast and a relatively short hop offshore—and how it all went terribly awry.
W
e agreed to deliver a boat from Fort Pierce, FL, to Norfolk, VA, for friends who had to return home for medical attention. Bradd and I had been working on our boat in a yard in Beaufort, NC, for a week, and Bradd’s arms were bruised and sore from fighting with plumbing hoses. We were both ready for a sailboat ride—and what a boat! She is a 47-foot custom-built racer, de-tuned from an Open 50 design by Roger Martin. She is a treat to sail with her self-tacking jib, power winches and carbon fiber sails. She really flies. We considered it a compliment that the owners would allow us to take their boat north. We spent a day with the owners learning the systems and reviewing the equipment above and below decks. One of the last queries Bradd had was, “Where is your emergency tiller?” The owner jinxed us by saying we would never need it—“This steering is a totally reliable fail-safe steering system. There’s no way you’ll ever need it!” —but he showed Bradd the emergency tiller just in case. Departure From Fort Pierce We left Fort Pierce at 0630 Tuesday morning with a reasonable weather forecast for the rest of the week. Bradd plotted a course that would curve with the coastline and not take us more than 50 to 60 miles offshore. If we drew a straight line from Fort Pierce to Beaufort, it would take us much further offshore, and north winds were forecast for that area of the
ocean for part of the week. So he felt it would be more prudent to stay closer to shore to take advantage of better winds but be far enough off to get a little help from the Gulf Stream along the Florida coast. We calculated that if we could maintain seven knots, we would be in Beaufort before noon on Friday and be in Norfolk by Sunday or Monday at the latest. Winds Tuesday were variable, and we did some motor sailing to maintain speed. After sunset, the winds picked up, and we flew along at 9 to10 knots. By midnight, the wind was up to 20 knots, so we reefed the main. The owner had told us that he doesn’t normally tuck a reef until the wind is close to 25. Seas had been building, and it was becoming a wet ride, but she has a hard dodger and a second chart plotter mounted on the coach roof by the companionway. So we let the autopilot drive the boat and stayed dry and comfortable under the dodger. Steering Problems By 0530, the wind was gusting over 30 knots, and Bradd decided to furl the jib and put a second reef in the main. We had just sorted out the lines to furl the jib when the autopilot failed, and she started to round up into the wind. Bradd grabbed the wheel, but before he could get us back on course, the steering “snapped,” failing completely, and we were at the mercy of the wind and sails. She started careening back and forth. Bradd took hold of the main halyard,
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February 2010
SOUTHWINDS
www.southwindsmagazine.com