OT: Free Boat

[RU4Real]

It has been reported today that Wild Eyes, the 40 foot A.S.A. last sailed by then 16 year-old Californian Abby Sunderland, has been located adrift in the Indian Ocean after eight years.

Sunderland set out in 2010 to become the youngest female solo circumnavigator but approximately three months after her departure from Cabo San Lucas, and after successfully rounding both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, was repeatedly knocked down and subsequently dismasted near the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

She was rescued after a two day search by the French fishing vessel Ile de la Réunion and Wild Eyes was abandoned to drift.

Ms. Sunderland has no plans to recover the vessel, leaving it open to recovery under maritime salvage law.

 

[Knight Shift]

Give this guy some oars and bring her home

 

[RU4Real]

Abby Sunderland and Wild Eyes in happier times.

 

[T2Kplus10]

It has been reported today that Wild Eyes, the 40 foot A.S.A. last sailed by then 16 year-old Californian Abby Sunderland, has been located adrift in the Indian Ocean after eight years.

Sunderland set out in 2010 to become the youngest female solo circumnavigator but approximately three months after her departure from Cabo San Lucas, and after successfully rounding both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, was repeatedly knocked down and subsequently dismasted near the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

She was rescued after a two day search by the French fishing vessel Ile de la Réunion and Wild Eyes was abandoned to drift.

Ms. Sunderland has no plans to recover the vessel, leaving it open to recovery under maritime salvage law.

I guess that was a dumb idea. There are some things children shouldn't attempt.

 

[RU4Real]

I guess that was a dumb idea. There are some things children shouldn't attempt.

And yet Laura Dekker was successful at age 14.

If I were to critique Abby Sunderland it would be with regard to her boat choice. Most of these solo long distance sailors are pretty careful in selecting classic production cruising boats with a history of circumnavigations to their credit. They have reputations as "go anywhere" boats earned over years (or decades) of being easy to handle, having comfortable, sea-kindly rides and the ability to make way under any weather conditions.

Wild Eyes is what's known as an "Open 40". It's a racing boat, specifically built for single / short-handed ocean races. There's an Open 40 class that competes in the U.S. every season (The Atlantic Cup). These things are built to go fast. The ride sucks. They require seasoned pros to get the most out of them and they're pretty unforgiving of mistakes.

Also, the southern Indian Ocean is just. fukking. awful.

 

[BeantownKnight]

And yet Laura Dekker was successful at age 14.

If I were to critique Abby Sunderland it would be with regard to her boat choice. Most of these solo long distance sailors are pretty careful in selecting classic production cruising boats with a history of circumnavigations to their credit. They have reputations as "go anywhere" boats earned over years (or decades) of being easy to handle, having comfortable, sea-kindly rides and the ability to make way under any weather conditions.

Wild Eyes is what's known as an "Open 40". It's a racing boat, specifically built for single / short-handed ocean races. There's an Open 40 class that competes in the U.S. every season (The Atlantic Cup). These things are built to go fast. The ride sucks. They require seasoned pros to get the most out of them and they're pretty unforgiving of mistakes.

Also, the southern Indian Ocean is just. fukking. awful.

Yes, but the Kerguelen islands are lovely this time of year.

 

[RUSK97]

Yes, but the Kerguelen islands are lovely this time of year.

Are you being serious? It is peak summer there I guess, but it has to be just about one of the most isolated places in the world.

 

[jmg75]

Are you being serious? It is peak summer there I guess, but it has to be just about one of the most isolated places in the world.

Sarcasm from Beantown I would think. :)

 

[NickRU714]

I heard a joke:

The best two days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

Any truth?

 

[RUSK97]

I heard a joke:

The best two days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it.

Any truth?

Yeah, a very old joke. Apparently because of all the costs of maintaining and operating one (insurance, registration, fuel, maintenance in a harsh salt water environment, slip fees, winter storage, etc). Not that I know about that since I don't own one.

Hey boatowners: what about if you store your boat at home and tow it to the water? Is it still expensive then?

 

[RUBigFrank]

The Kerguelen Islands (/kərˈɡeɪlən/ or /ˈkɜːrɡələn/;[2] in French commonly Îles Kerguelen but officially Archipel des Kerguelen, pronounced [kɛʁɡelɛn]), also known as the Desolation Islands (Îles de la Désolation in French), are a group of islands in the Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large igneous province mostly submerged by the southern Indian Ocean. They are among the most isolated places on Earth, located 450 km (280 mi) northwest of the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands and more than 3,300 km (2,100 mi) from Madagascar, the nearest populated location (excluding the Alfred Faure scientific station in Île de la Possession, about 1,340 km (830 mi) from there, and the non-permanent station located in Île Amsterdam, 1,440 km (890 mi) away). The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands, Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands, and France's Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and are administered as a separate district.

The main island, Grande Terre, is 6,675 km2 (2,577 sq mi) in area and is surrounded by a further 300 smaller islands and islets,[3] forming an archipelago of 7,215 km2 (2,786 sq mi). The climate is raw and chilly with frequent high winds throughout the year. The surrounding seas are generally rough and they remain ice-free year-round. There are no indigenous inhabitants, but France maintains a permanent presence of 45 to 100 soldiers, scientists, engineers and researchers.[4] There are no airports on the islands, so all travel and transport from the outside world is conducted by ship.

 

[RUSK97]

Sarcasm from Beantown I would think. :)

I'm sure you're right about Beantown, but...if you google pictures of the islands...they are incredibly beautiful.

 

[RUScrew85]

It has been reported today that Wild Eyes, the 40 foot A.S.A. last sailed by then 16 year-old Californian Abby Sunderland, has been located adrift in the Indian Ocean after eight years.

Sunderland set out in 2010 to become the youngest female solo circumnavigator but approximately three months after her departure from Cabo San Lucas, and after successfully rounding both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, was repeatedly knocked down and subsequently dismasted near the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean.

She was rescued after a two day search by the French fishing vessel Ile de la Réunion and Wild Eyes was abandoned to drift.

Ms. Sunderland has no plans to recover the vessel, leaving it open to recovery under maritime salvage law.

Sounds like illegal ocean pollution and a hazard to navigation. She's really setting the bar high as someone who loves to sail.

 

[RU4Real]

Sounds like illegal ocean pollution and a hazard to navigation. She's really setting the bar high as someone who loves to sail.

It's a derelict vessel. There's no prosecutorial mechanism for derelict vessels which have been abandoned under appropriate circumstances.

You want to be concerned about that sort of thing, be concerned about the roughly 10,000 shipping containers that are lost from container ships every year. They float for some considerable period of time, either just at or just below the surface, and pose a significant hazard to small vessels.

 

[RU4Real]

Yeah, a very old joke. Apparently because of all the costs of maintaining and operating one (insurance, registration, fuel, maintenance in a harsh salt water environment, slip fees, winter storage, etc). Not that I know about that since I don't own one.

Hey boatowners: what about if you store your boat at home and tow it to the water? Is it still expensive then?

A boat small enough to tow is a basically a toy,

 

[RUSK97]

A boat small enough to tow is a basically a toy,

I'd argue that they're all toys, regardless of size (with the rare exception of someone actually residing on their recreational sailing craft). Not that that's bad right? Toys = fun.

 

[RU4Real]

I'd argue that they're all toys, regardless of size (with the rare exception of someone actually residing on their recreational sailing craft). Not that that's bad right? Toys = fun.

Cruising sailboats are not toys. Many sailboats > 30' and nearly all >40' are capable of crossing oceans in relative safety and varying degrees of comfort.

It's really very simple.

Toy:

Not a Toy:

 

[Ronnie_B]

I was hoping you were giving away for free Carton Boat. Oh well.

 

[e5fdny]

Cruising sailboats are not toys. Many sailboats > 30' and nearly all >40' are capable of crossing oceans in relative safety and varying degrees of comfort.

It's really very simple.

Toy:

Not a Toy:

 

[RutgersRaRa]

Yeah, a very old joke. Apparently because of all the costs of maintaining and operating one (insurance, registration, fuel, maintenance in a harsh salt water environment, slip fees, winter storage, etc). Not that I know about that since I don't own one.

Hey boatowners: what about if you store your boat at home and tow it to the water? Is it still expensive then?

Not as expensive, but the inconvenience of driving your boat to a launch ramp every time you want to use it is considerable, and limits the size of the boat you could own. Anything over 22’ becomes progressively more unwieldy to launch and then pull out of the water every time you want to use it, not to mention that you’d need an appropriate vehicle to be able to handle towing the boat to the launch sites. A V-hull of just 24’, which is considered to be small, would be a lot of work to tow, and a 30’er would be essentially impossible. But a runabout of 18’ or under, though, towing is the way to go.

Sailboats are a whole different animal due to the masts and keel, which others on here could talk about better than I could, but I imagine that towing it would be more difficult than a power boat.

 

[gunboat]

Had someone ask me 2 years ago in July to go fishing one morning out to the canyon in his 39' Wellcraft. I couldn't go due to work so he and his buddy left Red Bank about 8 am. They were running about 40 miles offshore of Shark River Inlet when the deck became a wash. Boat was going down and the auto raft did not deploy when he pulled the release. He had a cheap little raft in the bow he used for his kids so he grabbed his handheld and smoke flares and they jumped in the raft. CG Cape May dispatched a helicopter who found them but could not lower a diver in the water because they were surrounded by sharks. When the boat went down all the bait went into the water. This is just a snapshot of an amazing story but they were finally picked up by a dragger. He had just gotten the auto raft back after being certified!