OREGON Search ended for lost sailors

[this_side_up]

(snip)


The sailors were on the final phase of a global journey to deliver a luxurious fiberglass catamaran to a new owner in Seattle. The Voyage 440 -- a 44-foot, oceangoing cruiser with four staterooms -- sells for about $600,000. It was manufactured in Cape Town and slated to appear next month at a boat show in Seattle.

(snip)

Anstess' sister, Lindy Roberts of England, said in an Internet posting that her brother "lives for adventure and survived many bad seas. He was also a crew member on a lifeboat in Durban, South Africa, for many years so he knows all about the dangers and how to combat them."

(snip)

"In San Francisco, they were going to do a crew change," Gasparin said. "They may have been in San Francisco overnight. When they're out on delivery, they don't want to waste any time in port."

(snip)

On the day the catamaran made its last log entry, the seas had become hazardous, with sustained winds of 40 mph and swells from 20 to 25 feet. Later that night, the swells reached 30 to 40 feet.

(snip)

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/19/BAG8JN28GF1.DTL

[MADem]

1. The northwest seems to be 'Tragedy Central' of late

Or maybe it just seems that way, like FL and sharkbites. That guy who died over Thanksgiving leaving his family in the car during the snowstorm to get help, the mountain climbers, and now these fellows....

[this_side_up]

3. Oregon has more hazardous conditions than

people realize. Add in arrogance, inattention or the need to be
some place by or before a specific time and kaboom,
you are dead.

The sneaker waves on the coast always get at least
1 person every year and usually more than 1. A couple
of years ago, I think the total was 6.

[rodeodance]

2. whow, all attention on the MT and not the Ocean.

[this_side_up]

4. Yep, I was wondering about the lack

of coverage on these 3 men. What's the difference?

Their families are/were on tv and these 3 are not?
The mountain families according to the paper "are
intensely religious"? {shrug} I dunno. Maybe
drowning while delivering a 600K boat is not
the kind of news the media is looking for. They
want news that is more homespun?

[MADem]

5. With a boat, you either sink or you don't. The mountain story had an element of media drama

Did they dig a snow cave? How long can they live in these conditions? Here's the type of parka/shovel/food pack/sleeping bag they had....and 'best' of all, here's a picture of the very mountain and the rescuers scurrying about. Family interviews are gravy.

The ocean, eh, you've seen one wave, you've seen them all, there's no compelling pictures to be had...at least that's how I imagine the TV producers saw it.

I find the whole "deathwatch" coverage of these tragedies rather hideous, myself.

[maxsolomon]

6. worst windstorm in 40 years

got both the sailors & the climbers. and 12 dead so far around the Puget Sound. thousands without power. hundreds & hundreds of trees down - it rained 2" before the winds hit.

this was an anomaly - almost an extratropical cyclone. the NW is used to benign weather - never too hot, never too cold, and the ecosystem is used to it, also. a day over 90 with no humidity will kill your garden in one afternoon. it rarely snows, and when it does, the region falls apart - californian emigrants have no idea how to drive on ice or snow - what do you mean i should hang up my phone & drive?

you cannot draw conclusions about the NW or NW weather patterns from this storm - except to say the global heating is real, and this was a really bad storm. i'm surprised more didn't die, but this is not the season to be in the backcountry for most recreators.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. A number of people died in this storm.

One woman died when she was caught in a basement during a flash flood.

Two people were killed by falling trees.

A family of four were killed from carbon monoxide poisoning, while using a generator due to the black out.

These three sailors were killed when their boat capsized.

And the three climbers killed while trapped on the mountain.

[Arugula Latte]

8. Damn. Also in Oregon, a four-man crabbing crew died when waves

swamped the boat.

Jeez, our state seems to be downright treacherous right now.

[kestrel91316]

9. Hope the searchers remember to bill the next-of-kin for the cost

of the search.

:sarcasm:

[Porcupine]

10. The crew must have been caught on deck....

because catamarans that big are designed to be survivable if flipped over. It should have had a special section in each hull that could be cut to make a hatch.

Rouge waves regularly pull people off beaches, walls and rocks on the Pacific Coast. It took a very big wave to flip this boat. Hopefully the crew is in a survival raft but unlikely.

Nature bats last.

[Lurking Dem]

11. Was there no EPIRB on this vessel?

I can't imagine doing that much sea without one. I wouldn't GET on my boat without one and mine is bigger than that was.