Unfortunately my crew for Lord Howe has had to pull out. I can go solo but would prefer company. Anybody interested?

G'day crookeye. I sent you an email, can you let me know whether you got it?

Salvage rights. Does anybody know where he was when rescued and what date?

Looking at the CSIRO site on currents it will be drifting to NZ at 25nm a day. If I end up there I'll need salvaging. Not saying it can't happen, but I hope not.

Got me stuffed how he did it. Not only is it strange he didn't know where he was when GPS and chartplotters are $14.95 on your phone. The current out there is only 1/2 to 1 kt so that didn't cause him to get 270nm offshore if he was motoring or trying to get to the coast.
There is probably more to this than appears at first glance.

Dosen,t mention it but am wondering if he was knocked out for a while. Dare say his electrics fried when he got knocked down and demasted. Then again he may be old school and just use paper charts

SandS said...
Interesting how the Canadian passenger jet diverted to the location to help find him !

That's teamwork !!!!

It didn't divert of its own volition, it did so at the directive from AMSA, as did the Air NZ A320

Not sure if anybody has received any news of the S&S34 that sank off Byron Bay a few months back. I received a text from the skipper a couple of months ago.
The boat suffered a savage knockdown at about midnight and started taking a lot of water. The two crew bailed all night and couldn't find the point of ingress in the dark and with the bailing workload.
The leak was so bad they couldn't stop bailing for very long.
Having set off the epirb the rescue helo arrived at first light. Just as it arrived he found the leak which was from the rudder shaft tube/gland and he felt could have been stemmed adequately to remain afloat. However, at that point he was committed to going with the rescue so had to abandon the boat.
It sank soon after.
How the rudder shaft tube/gland became damaged and what the damage was I can only speculate. Looking at my boat with the same set up, I suppose it was possible the rudder and tiller were slammed hard over in the knockdown and the shaft was displaced enough to break the tube around the rudder shaft. The skeg hung rudder is immensely strong and the gland is normally above the water line. However the lower pintle bearings do wear and maybe there was enough wear to allow the shaft to be displaced.
Many S&S34s have a sail drive under the cockpit making it difficult to see and get to the rudder shaft, I'm not sure whether this boat had that setup. My engine is in the middle of the boat.
The Association members I spoke to have never heard of this type of damage to an S&S34.
The first S&S34 to sink at sea and from such unusual damage. Another spot to look at if you have water coming in.

For some reason I can only get one pic into a post.

Looks good Pete. Do you plan a refit?

The boatyard found the fuel tank leak, old sealant in the filler connection, and the fuel tank is back in but yet to be filled to test it. My new prop arrived in Sydney with the wrong nut so one is now to be delivered on Monday from Melbourne.

Hopefully it will all come together because the Seabreeze forecast winds for ETD on Wed till Friday look to be ideal for getting to Lord Howe.

The EAC is about 110nm off the coast so Wednesdays NNE 15-20kt wind will take me out to the current by Thur morning, about 20-30nm south of track. The wind won't be against the current so shouldn't be too uncomfortable.

On Thur morning the wind goes NNW, with the current, so I can track NE although with the EAC about 2kt to the SE I'll track about parallel to the required course for a day.

Then on Friday the wind goes south so I can achieve a CMG of whatever I need to get back on or north of the track. I'll be out of the EAC by then so won't have the southerly wind fighting the southerly set. In fact I should have a northerly set by then going in the same direction as the wind.

What are the odds the boat will be ready and the weather stays as forecast?

The BOM forecasts for the middle of the week are appalling. Have a look at Buoyweather.com and find the appropriate buoys for the area your interested in. I use the one off the South coast and when I was droplining found these forecasts the most accurate.

MorningBird said...
Graham, I can only get a two day forecast on the Buoyweather site. How do you get a longer one?
The BOM don't do weather far enough out to affect me yet. The major problem out there for me is when there is a decent breeze against the current. Its rough, slows you down and is bloody uncomfortable.
Getting a usable open ocean forecast isn't easy. The BOM ones cover such a big area and are so general they are useless for sailors.
The Seabreeze forecast, noting it is coastal, shows when fronts are coming through and approximate strength. The weather map is used to determine wind speed and strength at sea.

Subscribe. It used to be free. I find locally the Bom forecasts are pretty spot on. Seabreeze is OK for showing a trend but are always well under the actual conditions we are experiencing by quite a margin.

The weather is now not shaping up too well. Strongish nor easters nearly all week with the southerly not due until the weekend, as late as late Sunday.
With the need to keep north of the sea mounts I'm hoping for a change in the forecast.
Bugger. All the preparation and Hughie might stop me getting there before the Tuesday BBQ.

Seabreeze is coastal so has local effects. I have been looking at Weatherzone as well. I can't see much probability of anything around 30kts and max looks about 25.
It will be on the nose or a bit north so we will need to tack north before getting to the sea mounts. Should be able to take advantage of the northerly set about 200nm out.
My new prop is on and prop speeded, back in the water tomorrow first up. The fuel tank might still have a weep. Check in the morning and decide then whether to explore further or ignore it and go. It is proving hard to fix, tank passed the pressure test. Might be breather!!

Fuel tank is weeping. Ignoring it.
Need to get the stern gland nipped up in the morning, haven't touched it for two years and it is too stiff.
Currently on my mooring in Pittwater, blowing hard this afternoon, gusts to 32 knots. Forecast is better for tomorrow.
Otherwise the new prop is great and we are ready to go.