Atlantic Storm October 28-29, 2008
“Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan. Hello all stations. US Coast Guard Atlantic City has just received a report of an EPIRB signal located 100 miles east of Atlantic City. All vessels transiting the area are requested to keep a sharp lookout, assist if possible and report all sightings to the nearest Coast Guard unit.” I checked our own GPS position, 60 miles upwind of the reported location, and mentally calculated how long it would take us to reach them, at least 8 hours. But we were in survival conditions ourselves, hove to in a force 11 storm with wind gusting into the low 60s, an engine that wouldn’t start, and two crew members down with seasickness. An hour later I was relieved to hear on the radio that the Coast Guard had deployed a rescue helicopter to assist the vessel in distress.
Joy For All, a Farr 50 outfitted for offshore passage making, had left Mystic, CT the previous morning, motor-sailing in light wind from the southwest. Our destination was Hampton, VA, about 400 miles to the southwest where we would join the fleet gathering for the start of the Caribbean 1500 rally. The forecast was calling for a low producing northwest wind at 35 knots to arrive late Monday. We decided to head for the New Jersey coast where we would have a shorter fetch when the associated cold front arrived, and we could run down the coast on a reach. By Monday afternoon the forecast had changed. The low had slowed and was deepening, now producing winds of 45-55 knots with gusts to 60 knots. Tuesday morning at 0130 the front arrived, bringing a 90 degree wind shift immediately intensifying to 30 knots. We tacked, rolled up the genoa and reefed the main further. Engine on, we altered course to head for Atlantic City, 40 miles to windward.
The wind speed increased over the next several hours and the barometer dropped to 994 mb. By Tuesday afternoon our progress toward Atlantic City had slowed to about 2 knots. We were still 12 miles away, and it was apparent we would not reach safe harbor by nightfall. On the radio we heard Atlantic City turning vessels away. The west wind at 45 knots made it unsafe to enter the harbor.
All afternoon the waves breaking over the foredeck had been working on the dinghy lashings and by now the dinghy was lodged against the port stanchions. The lower lifeline had broken and the rigid bottom inflatable would soon be a danger to the boat. Someone would have to go forward. I turned the boat downwind while Gil hooked onto the jacklines with Joy acting as spotter. I tried to keep the boat as stable as possible, but the foredeck was still rolling quite a bit as we surfed down the backs of 12 foot waves at 11 knots. The apparent wind was reduced to 35-42 knots, we were no longer taking green water over the bow, but the foredeck work took longer than normal in those conditions and we held our breath until Gil returned to the safety of the cockpit.
The wind continued to build, now 50 knots sustained gusting to 60. Still motor-sailing with just a scrap of main to reduce the rolling, we idled the engine which caused it to stutter and then stall. All attempts to restart the engine were unsuccessful. Gil and I looked at teach other and I said, “Pull out some staysail.” We tried sailing southwest, then south, then southeast. As the sun was setting we made the decision to heave to. We pulled out enough main to balance the staysail and keep the bow about 70 degrees off the wind, locking the helm to windward. Immediately, the motion of the boat stabilized, heeling at 10 degrees and with a gentle roll as the waves passed under our hull. We were drifting toward the northeast at 3-4 knots, roughly parallel to the NJ shoreline but in the shipping lane. Shortly after we hove to, The Coast Guard hailed us on the radio to see if we were ok. Family had reported us missing when they couldn’t reach us on the sat phone. The cloud cover was so dense there was no satellite signal.
Gil and I took 3 hour watches to watch for ships, the other two crew still down with seasickness. No one felt like eating much, but we tried to stabilize the maelstrom in our stomachs with water and crackers. The wind was a constant howl, making it difficult to talk. I was very grateful for the cockpit enclosure as the temperature dropped into the low 30’s and the occasional wave broke over the cockpit, at times sending seawater down through the companionway hatch. I was cold in spite of three layers and practiced balancing against the motion of the boat to stay warm. We ran the generator to keep the cabin warm so we could ward off the chill between watches.
Dawn arrived on Wednesday morning, and the wind died down to gale force, 35 to 45 knots. During the 17 hours we were hove to we had drifted about 50 miles back the way we had come. We were only about halfway to Hampton and the engine still wouldn’t start after changing the fuel filter and bleeding the fuel line. It was time to start sailing again. Sails sheeted in tight, we jibed slowly to a course of 210, close reaching but still a bit east of the bearing to Hampton. Hot oatmeal for breakfast revived the crew, and we were back up to our full complement of four, each taking a three hour watch. I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep and life returned to somewhat more normal for an offshore passage. We followed the wind shift to the northwest and we were able to sail through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel as the sun was setting on Thursday afternoon. We were towed the final five miles to Blue Water Yachting Center in Hampton, VA, grateful to have arrived safely at our destination.
We were saddened to learn that the fate of the vessel and crew that had activated their EPIRB early Tuesday evening was not so positive. The vessel was a Swan 44 called Freefall that had been rolled and dismasted. The Coast Guard was able to rescue two people from the boat, but a third crew member lost his life. Phil Rubright from Detroit was a fellow member of the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society. We also heard of two additional vessels, a 67-footer and a 100-footer that remain missing. We agreed that we dealt with the situation as best we could. We monitored the forecast and were prepared for the approaching weather. We were uncomfortable, but never felt our lives were in danger, and we trusted our boat to keep us safe. We maintain a healthy respect for wind and water, but we will continue to head out to sea.
The start of the Caribbean 1500 Rally has been delayed until Thursday, November 6 as we wait out a low heading off the east coast directly in our path. Follow Joy For All’s progress toward Tortola on the Caribbean 1500 web site http://www.carib1500.com or on my Spot satellite messenger shared page.
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Free Fall Swan 44 US 777
Stunning account of a storm that really spooled up rather quickly.
We've posted more photos of Free Fall and a link to the weather (sea state and wind) at the time, over at http://lifefloatingby.blogspot.com
Joseph's Great Adventure! Atlantic Storm
WOW! Now I know why I am a land-lubber(sp)! : ) Glad you arrived safely! Jackson is doing great! All is well in Denver! Thanks for the posting and the email!
Good luck to you all! Our prayers and thoughts are with you.
Melissa Jepperson
Atlantic storm
What a terrible tragedy. Glad you are safe and sound.
Best of luck in the race on Thursday. Be safe out there, and keep us posted, we'll be watching your progress.
My husband was in the same storm
My husband was doing a boat delivery from Atlantic City to Miami and got caught in the same storm system, although a little further south than the above mentioned people - probably by a hundred miles or so. His seas were only up to 20 feet (yes, TWENTY feet) and winds up to 50 knots - he was on a 41 foot Jeanneau with the boat owner and a deckhand. While my husband (a seasoned sailor and certified OceanMaster by the RYA) was never worried for their safety, didn't get seasick and managed to sleep soundly when he was not on watch, the other two people on the boat had a terrible time - very very ill (seasick), unable to eat or drink anything for about 3 days, and they were all pretty much hunkered below, scared, being thrown around, unable to do more than 2 knots a day. My husband knew the capabilities of the boat and was 100% confident in the vessel's ability to withstand the storm - not to be confused with bravado or nonchalance - and while he was munching on a sandwich, albeit it cold and wet through, he understands that the other two men on board were scared, dehydrated and ill and felt very sorry for them. Having said that, they did ask him several times to abandon the boat and call in the coastguard - which my husband said was not necessary - and that if he felt they were in imminent danger, or any danger at all, he would be the first to be on the satphone or vhf radio, calling for help. He said it was extremely uncomfortable, the conditions, but not life-threatening - and reassured them they would be OK. They even wanted to abandon the boat into the life raft - and my husband was adamant - you NEVER step DOWN from a boat into a life raft - you only ever step UP (from a sinking boat) into a life raft - and that their best option was to remain with the boat, unless there was any imminent danger. Things got worse when one of the batteries started dying, and they were forced to start the engine and keep it running at all times. If they turned the engine off, they were afraid they would not be able to start it again and without batteries, there was no way of charging up the satphone, using the technology/systems on the boat, and no navigation lights - so keeping the engine going was imperative. Their sails shredded, thank goodness they had extras on board - plus all the necessary safety equipment: 2 epirbs, life raft, satellite phone, plus flares, lifejackets etc.
The strangest thing was that when the storm hit, they were sailing on the Monday, they were in 10 - 12 knots of wind, seas 2 - 4 feet - nothing out of the ordinary. My husband was off watch, sleeping in his cabin, and he said what surprised him the most was that within 10 seconds, the boat went from being upright and calm, to heeling right over. There was no gradual build up of winds and seas - it went from 0 to 50 in 15 seconds - without any warning at all.
He called me twice a day to get weather reports - which I got from NOAA and Wunderground and a friend of mine gave me his Maxsea reports - but every prediction they gave me turned out to be wrong - the reports would tell me "tomorrow, winds changing to NE, dropping to 30 knots" (for example) and I would tell my husband that when he called at night for his safety checkin call - and the next day he'd call me and say the winds hadn't changed and had gone to the West and were stronger. And I wasn't relying on just one weather report - but several - so this storm was definitely highly unpredictable. I myself was worried for their safety, not being a sailor myself and imagining the worst, and I did ask him at one point (shouting at him through the satphone's poor reception and him sounding like he was in a tumbledryer, barely able to hear eachother) if I should call the coastguard, and he said emphatically NO. When he got back, he told me that the only person to make that decision is the captain of the boat - and he would not have hesitated to call the coastguard if he felt they were in trouble. He said being uncomfortable and cold and wet and seasick and thrown around like the inside of a tumble dryer did not warrant a coastguard rescue - and I absolutely respect him and trust his judgment. The storm raged on through Thursday night and it was only on Friday night that he called and said the winds had dropped a little and he managed to get the other two up on deck - which immediately made them feel better - seas started dropping and eventually they made their way to Charleston for repairs to the boat. It was the mechanical issues that made them seek refuge in Charleston - the battery problems being number 1. They had ample sails to continue to Miami, but if the engine had died and if the battery failed, they would have no instruments, no nav. lights and that was not an option for them to continue t heir journey like that. So the boat is in Charleston, getting repairs, and my husband and the boat owner are going to return in a few weeks to pick it up and continue the delivery.
My husband said he has sailed in worse weather before - but not for so many days - normally it's maximum 1 - 2 days of rough weather, so he said that's what made it the most uncomfortable for the other two crew members - the length of the storm (Monday night through Friday) - and poor chaps were so ill, and scared, it must have been a horrendous experience. They did say how glad they were NOT to have abandoned the boat, and how pleased they were to have pulled through such a bad storm - but who can blame them for wanting to get off that awful ride. I'm so glad they are all home safely, and our hearts goes out to those who suffered loss during the storm - our sympathies and condolences.
Atlantic Storm - Further to the story above
... Just a couple more things I forgot to add. My husband told me that both the boat owner and the deckhand were very competent and very brave and my husband said he really admired them for how they held up. At the time, wished he could have soothed them more than he did, or given them the reassurance he felt himself but he wishes he could have really made them know that the boat would be fine. It's one thing for someone like my husband to know that they will be alright, but for these two other individuals, who had not been in such weather conditions before, not knowing what was going to happen - it must have been really a horrible, frightening experience, made a lot worse by the seasickness and resulting dehydration and inability to sleep (they were bounced around so much) - and then by the electrical problems. Both my husband and I take my hat off to them for doing so well in such tough circumstances. He said that they never complained (although they were both so ill) and it was a pleasure to sail with both of them. Let's just hope that none of them have to face conditions like that again.
Caribbean Rally 1500
Dear Gale and Shanti Crew,
I have been following your course from the start and keeping you in my prayers, I praying that your journey will be much smoother from now on., Thumbs up to Joe for me and all of you Gods Speed!
Keep up the good work
And Fair Sailing!
Lee
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