We are all subconsciously aware that an atrocity may occur when we embark on an ocean passage; but dismasting rarely crosses our minds. Until it happens. I’m about to share with you one of the most impressive and courageous sea stories that I’ve witnessed during my 45 years of ocean sailing. It’s a tale of endurance, bravery, seamanship, knowledge, self awareness and determination.
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What is the advised preventative maintenance and inspection cycle to prevent chainplate and stay failure?
I’m not sure if Practical Sailor has ever done it, but a concise, conservative guideline of what should be inspected and when, based on historical information, could be an excellent resource.
Bravo to John Jones for jury-rigging Quiet so efficiently! Bendall was written a cautionary story about shroud surveillance. It has prompted me to remove the protective tape from last season and inspect the turnbuckles before I cast off the lines next time, and also give the chain plates extra TLC.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Very glad you were able to to make it safely to a port.
I find your lessons good for any offshore sailor to learn. Routine inspections are a must.
Take care, Charla
As a sometime solo sailor and at most 1 or 2 crew (one has to sleep) I found John’s recounting of his experiences very much in line and in sync with my own and totally relatable to. I had the boom gooseneck shear off the mast 12 days out of Bora Bora on the way to Fiji and understand and enjoy his recounting of his awareness of being out there alone and totally responsible for one’s own ability to sort out and find an answer to any problems as, and if, they occur – in other words – no help is expected or available, although in John’s case I am thrilled that there was. I was more fortunate in as much as I had plenty of diesel and could make my own water, plus more food than I could possibly use, so I knew I was not in distress. However, I still had to sort out a boom that had landed on the deck with a fully extended main. I only had 1 crew, a young French lad who had never been on a boat prior, but was very observant and had lots of commonsense and was accepting of instructions from an over 60’s female owner/skipper. I instructed him to NOT leave the safety of the cockpit as he was young & had his life ahead of him & I did not want him hurt or compromised, the boat wasn’t going to sink so he would survive, that this was My problem being the owner/skipper, & he was to remain safe. After using every halyard & winch on board and from the safety of the cockpit – for both my 1 person crew and myself, we managed to lift the boom off the deck, and whilst it was now swinging wildly from both ends, my crew was able to mostly furl the mainsail into the mast whilst I hauled the boom up and toward the mast, although the lifting line on the boom caught in the mainsail and went into the boom when we had about 6-8ft to go, but that made it manageable, and I was able to tie/rope everything off – the event occurred at about 10pm and I stated it was safe and secure at about 3am. My genoa was not damaged, but by that stage and with all my halyards and winches otherwise designated, I was ‘over’ it, and turned the boat away from Fiji – many days away – and motored to American Samoa, only 2 days away, to top up my diesel supplies – I still had more than sufficient to motor all the way to Fiji, but felt it prudent to obtain more. That was another little adventure in itself & a story for another day. I then motored to Fiji and had the gooseneck re-bolted to the mast. The interesting thing is that the mainsail had not been damaged, the in-mast furling worked superbly and in a situation I’m sure never envisaged by it’s designers, the only damage being to the rigid boom vang which ended up being replaced after I sailed from Fiji to Australia. I was reliably informed that the solid construction of my in-mast furling system was a real plus – I have an Island Packet yacht and the quality of their build comes through when one is in dire straights. The usual in-mast furling used by most mass produced yachts would have failed. In the end, all good learning I and character building. My mantra –
Boats are replaceable, people are not. I have 2 sayings on my nav station – ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are’ and ‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone’. When solo sailing and issues arise, as they do, and when I deem both the boat and I are safe, and head below for some rest having battled issues for 9 hours or more, I see my little signs, and reach for the wine bottle and toast each little mantra. My understanding of myself is that whilst I often/mostly do not have an answer to a boat catastrophe, I do not panic, which then allows me to methodically work thru the problem, often to no avail and I have to start again and try another way, but eventually a way thru is found. I do not get hurt, the boat usually does not get hurt, and we are able to move on to other adventures and often challenges. Life is fun.
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