-----Original Message-----
From: shawn beightol
[mailto:beights@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 7:10 AM
To: shawn
Cc: oz beightol
Subject: Worse than We Thought - The Rest of
the Christmas Story
If you like, a sea story:
Between December 24 and December 27, my
brother Oz and I were dealing with an extratropical cyclone system that appears
to have developed with two lows combining over our rhumbline to Bermuda out of
Maine. We had a third crewmember who
had become somewhat incapacitated and was unable to assist Oz and I through
this storm.
We estimated winds in excess of 60 kts and
regular seas at 40-50' with hourly rogue waves up to 80'. At the height of the storm we were in
contact with one of the 8 or so cargo ships that had also been caught in the
storm, the MV Tanabata. We began preliminary
abandonment preparations in case the boat was rolled or, as I feared, the mast
had punched through the hull on one of our drops. The email from MV Tanabata at the end shows that our estimations
were close, but
conservative.
I have a lot of respect for a Palmer-Johnson
made yacht now.
The following is some of the communication
and details that followed after the storm:
**********************
I've tried to express in words in my journal,
but I just can't find the words either.
we were so close to losing it -
3 days without sleep, challenging each and every wave (that towered over the
boat) with the
correct speed and alignment required
unbelievable focus and concentration - for 3 days without stop...We totally
relied on each other, supported and served each other in order to make sure
that whichever was on watch was capable of doing it right, time after time.
We fully believed that a roll over was
inevitable by late christmas night, as the waves had grown in size and fury
over the length of the ship (66 feet).
Contacting the container vessel was a
precaution that we felt would be needed before dawn. Somehow, as they moved out of distance (and put us in contact
with Bermuda Harbor Radio, who coordinated with Search and
Rescue, via sat phone), we began to realize
that we were learning to read and sail the conditions, not just defensively,
but offensively.
We began to put more sail out and tackle the
distance between us and
Bermuda.
***********************
To: MV Tanabata
On Christmas night (~0200 12/26/02, local) approximately
150 miles north of Bermuda, my brother (the skipper) and I were struggling
after 2 days without sleep to keep our 66 foot ketch from harm in 40 foot seas
and 60+ kt winds that had been building over 2 days. We were grateful to receive weather updates and (as seas
continued to build) assurance that help was at hand in a worst case scenario.
We were able to push on to Bermuda without
incident, but I feel tremendously indebted to the radio operator and captain
who let us know we weren't alone out there.
If this is the ship in your employ, would you
please pass word to these guys that 2 regular sailors are very thankful for
their assistance. I'd like to ask them
questions about their data on the seas and winds
to compare with our own.
Regards,
Shawn Beightol
Miami, FL
*************************************
From: M/V Tanabata
Hello Shawn,
First
of all, myself and crew were all very happy to hear that you made it in to
Bermuda safely. I maintained contact with Bermuda Harbor Radio to check your
status and condition.
At the moment, we are in and out of port in
Europe and sleep is at a premium. I will gladly send you some of the weather
information we have onboard by mail if you would like to send along your mailing address.
We estimated the seas to be 55+ feet with
winds gusting to over 80kts. We lost 2 days in the storm and did not arrive in
Baltimore until 28 December...I was glad to hear that you stayed on and
weathered the
storm. Please rest assured that I was
prepared to come to you aid had an imminent situation arose.
Once again, my crew and myself were quite
relieved and happy to hear that you made it OK.
Please forward your mailing address to me and I will be sure to
send you what maps and weather reports we have.
Following winds and following seas.
Captain David A. Ledoux
__________________________________________________
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