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5 Rescued From Damaged Boat Off Nantucket

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Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/28/2006 : 08:25:32

NEW YORK (AP) - Five Canadians were rescued from a battered sailboat off the New England coast after withstanding days of gale-force wind, a Coast Guard spokesman said Sunday.

Coast Guard rescuers hoisted the men from their boat into a helicopter late Saturday after they radioed for help, said Petty Officer Christopher Evanson.

"They weren't confident that they could make it through the night," he said.

The men were checked by medical personnel after landing at Atlantic City, N.J., and appeared to be uninjured, Evanson said.

The sailors were caught in the bad weather about 250 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass. While they waited for their rescuers for about five hours, a Coast Guard plane flew overhead to keep track of them, Evanson said.

"They were very isolated, and that's why it took us so long to get out there," he said.

It was unclear how much structural damage the boat, the Caledonia II, had sustained, or where the men had set sail from.

The Coast Guard identified the sailors as Philip Carson, 57; David Maclaren, 54; John Crosland, 63; David DeLuca, 65; and Michael Togner, 64.

1997 250 TR WK (sold)
1984 O'Day 28 (sold)
1979 SISU 22
Bath, NC.

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 05/28/2006 : 12:36:02

Wonder if it crept up on them or if they knew about the weather.
Average age was 60, wonder what the average experience was?

Paul

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2006 : 12:37:37

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by britinusa
 ...wonder what the average experience was?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
A bit more now than before.

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stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2006 : 22:04:39

There was a story in the local paper today (Calgary Herald) about this ill-fated trip. One of the owners of the stricken boat is a local Dentist, they were on a five day cruise from Bermuda to Maine.
The newspaper account did not give too much detail - must've been a landlubber doing the interview.
Here in Calgary, we're 1,000 Kilometers from the nearest ocean and 6,000 KM from the ocean this event took place on, and this is what the owner of the boat said to the newspaper reporter: "I felt like instead of being in the Prairies, with rolling hills, we were in the mountains, with mountains of water on either side," Crosland said Monday evening
The sailboat was caught in a 3 day storm and sustained structural damage - the crew decided to abandon the boat before they drifted out of rescue range.
Makes me wonder how much book learn'n they had VS how much practical.

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Dave Bristle
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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2006 : 13:16:41

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by stampeder
 ...Makes me wonder how much book learn'n they had VS how much practical.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Almost no amount of learn'n can prepare you for a North Atlantic Storm that's been cookin' for several days. Imagine one 5-story wall of water after another, getting ready to crash down on you. And since the steep waves from one storm might be opposing the Gulf Stream current or intersecting with the swell from another storm over a thousand miles away in another direction, the scene can be beyond our comprehension. I know somebody who was in some of that, and that's all I needed to learn! Say what you want about forecasts--when you're hundreds of miles off-shore in the vicinity of the Gulf Stream, which regularly makes up its own weather, you stand a good chance of getting caught in something that will teach you why you should be in a blue-water boat and not a coastal cruiser--or better yet, why you should have stayed around the coast. And don't tell me about "deciding on your own risks" unless you also agree to leave the Coast Guard and everyone else out of it.

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stampeder
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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2006 : 17:58:37

This is a topic near and dear to me. I've experienced some big ocean weather events and have learned enough about myself that I will not be putting myself in harm's way again. I'll con the coast and keep a weather eye out.
When I lived on the island, I saw far too many examples of flat-landers taking on the ocean without a real understanding of the power of the sea. Now that I live on the Prairie again, I continue to see disrespect for large bodies of water, and a reluctance/inability on the part of many boaters to think past their own bow.
I don't know this dentist, I don't know his competance as a sailor, but I do know the profile: wealthy, confident, intelligent.
I know from experience that this profile can work to the detriment of a person, willing to push their own limits.

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OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3510 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2006 : 10:43:05

Some things I learned from early on sailing experience:

Always have respect for the sea

Cruise vessels, barges, etc have the right away

Other boats do not always know a sailboat has the right of way.

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