Grizz
Grizz
The image attached was taken Sunday 7-16 @ 0920 EDT, shortly after the diver (Scuba Steve) assisted in pulling the remnants. This image was included in another very popular anti-establishment sailing website, buried in an article detailing carnage resulting from a hellish frontal wind shift @ 2330 7-15.
There will probably be future updates and explanations, but it's important to clarify that this rudder snap was not a casualty of the storm that occurred later. We were sailing in near champagne conditions (if not 'champagne', then certainly Miller Highlife conditions, it the stated champagne of beers); port gybe, 7.5 knots, AWS of 11+, AWA of 120, under running asymmetric kite, eased main, moderate waves, considering when to gybe to starboard to maintain our strategy.
There were 2 boats off our starbard aft quarter: 1 boat less than 1/4 nm, another approximately 3 x's that. Both unnamed and unknown at the time (more on that later).
We had 5 crew up, none in pfd's (champagne makes one slack), one in bare feet. 2 crew were below deck, sleeping, off watch.
I was seated aft and to port of helm and watched as he countered a puff with a very slight roll of the wheel to starboard...there was a discernible 'pop', not heard, but felt, and the bow careened hard to port, the boat immediately heeled to an 'Oh Shit!' degree (well beyond 45°). Chaos ensued.
Helm declared, in retrospect with dead-nuts accuracy, "I have no rudder!", which was countered by another crew member with "turn the wheel the other way!", he thinking "I have no helm" was in effect.
The kite blew into the forestay and shrouds, the spin and main halyards were released kamikaze, too late for the kite, already torn diagonally.
I dove into the aft quarter berth with a flashlight to burrow into the most-aft area where the rudder tube and steering quadrant are housed, thinking a cable had snapped (it hadn't) or jumped a sheave (it hadn't). "Turn the wheel!" was followed by "Which way?" followed by "it doesn't @##$$%%&# matter!" followed by "Confirmed, we have no rudder". The wheel and quadrant remained intact, there was nothing beneath to influence the boat's direction. Ugh.
The shredded kite was being squirreled into the v-berth down the main hatch as I was exiting the aft quarter berth. The main was down and being gathered and tied to the boom. We were not taking on water, nearest land and city (Ludington MI) was 13.5 nm to our East. It was daylight, warm, moderate waves on our beam rolling us port/starboard. We could breath and assess. We calculate that it took less than 5 minutes, perhaps 4, from start to finish. A classic 'Blink of an eye' situation.
We were just assessing our next course of action when we received a VHF hail from the boat (Kamma Hele) furthest from our aft starboard quarter, "Is everyone OK? Do you require assistance?". We answered "negative, no need for assistance, all onboard are unharmed, continue your race, thank you and good luck". The other boat, who will go unnamed, did nothing, breaking RRS 1.1, even though this event occurred immediately in their field of vision. Not good, at all. Still pissed...
The Coast Guard was notified, professional response by all. Tow Boat US contacted, professional response by all. The CYC Race Committee was notified, professional response by all. We attempted to sail the boat on an ENE course while waiting for the tow, which took 3 hours to arrive (into winds and building seas). It took 2.5 hours to get to Ludington, we on the receiving end of the worst crack-the-whip or tube ride ever, the boat racing to port until the towline ran out, snapping the bow to starboard, accelerating and repeating the experience for 2.5 hours. Ugh.
And, of course, The Badger, the last coal fired ferry on the Great Lakes, was scheduled for departure as we entered the channel. She blew her departure horn 45-seconds after we passed her port side, ending that unneeded excitement (no, she did not reply to any of the 4 hail attempts by Tow Boat US, for some reason).
Somehow we located a diver, while in a bar listening to a great cover band, at 1 AM, he based out of a building immediately to the east of Lake Street Marina (great people, lucky we were delivered there). He dove the boat @ 0900 Sunday morning and the picture was taken at 0920.
Preliminary evaluation of "what happened?" is "not sure". Did we hit something? Perhaps, but unlikely. It's w/o question that a birth defect from 1989 didn't help at all, as the rudder split at a welded seam, buried and invisible, 3" below the top of the rudder. A welded seam!? Really? Mid-span in a tube that takes those types of lateral and cyclic loads? Wow.
Finco in Santa Ana has a check in hand for the 50% down needed to build the replacement rudder (1 tube, no welds!), the Chicago UK loft has Mr. Happy for evaluation and (hopefully) repair. The boat is docked in Ludington, which is 122 nm from Chicago on a rhumb line. Timing for the return trek, after installation of the rudder, is definitely 'TBD'.
Busy week, unexpectedly. Heck of a way to burn vacation time. More to follow.
There will probably be future updates and explanations, but it's important to clarify that this rudder snap was not a casualty of the storm that occurred later. We were sailing in near champagne conditions (if not 'champagne', then certainly Miller Highlife conditions, it the stated champagne of beers); port gybe, 7.5 knots, AWS of 11+, AWA of 120, under running asymmetric kite, eased main, moderate waves, considering when to gybe to starboard to maintain our strategy.
There were 2 boats off our starbard aft quarter: 1 boat less than 1/4 nm, another approximately 3 x's that. Both unnamed and unknown at the time (more on that later).
We had 5 crew up, none in pfd's (champagne makes one slack), one in bare feet. 2 crew were below deck, sleeping, off watch.
I was seated aft and to port of helm and watched as he countered a puff with a very slight roll of the wheel to starboard...there was a discernible 'pop', not heard, but felt, and the bow careened hard to port, the boat immediately heeled to an 'Oh Shit!' degree (well beyond 45°). Chaos ensued.
Helm declared, in retrospect with dead-nuts accuracy, "I have no rudder!", which was countered by another crew member with "turn the wheel the other way!", he thinking "I have no helm" was in effect.
The kite blew into the forestay and shrouds, the spin and main halyards were released kamikaze, too late for the kite, already torn diagonally.
I dove into the aft quarter berth with a flashlight to burrow into the most-aft area where the rudder tube and steering quadrant are housed, thinking a cable had snapped (it hadn't) or jumped a sheave (it hadn't). "Turn the wheel!" was followed by "Which way?" followed by "it doesn't @##$$%%&# matter!" followed by "Confirmed, we have no rudder". The wheel and quadrant remained intact, there was nothing beneath to influence the boat's direction. Ugh.
The shredded kite was being squirreled into the v-berth down the main hatch as I was exiting the aft quarter berth. The main was down and being gathered and tied to the boom. We were not taking on water, nearest land and city (Ludington MI) was 13.5 nm to our East. It was daylight, warm, moderate waves on our beam rolling us port/starboard. We could breath and assess. We calculate that it took less than 5 minutes, perhaps 4, from start to finish. A classic 'Blink of an eye' situation.
We were just assessing our next course of action when we received a VHF hail from the boat (Kamma Hele) furthest from our aft starboard quarter, "Is everyone OK? Do you require assistance?". We answered "negative, no need for assistance, all onboard are unharmed, continue your race, thank you and good luck". The other boat, who will go unnamed, did nothing, breaking RRS 1.1, even though this event occurred immediately in their field of vision. Not good, at all. Still pissed...
The Coast Guard was notified, professional response by all. Tow Boat US contacted, professional response by all. The CYC Race Committee was notified, professional response by all. We attempted to sail the boat on an ENE course while waiting for the tow, which took 3 hours to arrive (into winds and building seas). It took 2.5 hours to get to Ludington, we on the receiving end of the worst crack-the-whip or tube ride ever, the boat racing to port until the towline ran out, snapping the bow to starboard, accelerating and repeating the experience for 2.5 hours. Ugh.
And, of course, The Badger, the last coal fired ferry on the Great Lakes, was scheduled for departure as we entered the channel. She blew her departure horn 45-seconds after we passed her port side, ending that unneeded excitement (no, she did not reply to any of the 4 hail attempts by Tow Boat US, for some reason).
Somehow we located a diver, while in a bar listening to a great cover band, at 1 AM, he based out of a building immediately to the east of Lake Street Marina (great people, lucky we were delivered there). He dove the boat @ 0900 Sunday morning and the picture was taken at 0920.
Preliminary evaluation of "what happened?" is "not sure". Did we hit something? Perhaps, but unlikely. It's w/o question that a birth defect from 1989 didn't help at all, as the rudder split at a welded seam, buried and invisible, 3" below the top of the rudder. A welded seam!? Really? Mid-span in a tube that takes those types of lateral and cyclic loads? Wow.
Finco in Santa Ana has a check in hand for the 50% down needed to build the replacement rudder (1 tube, no welds!), the Chicago UK loft has Mr. Happy for evaluation and (hopefully) repair. The boat is docked in Ludington, which is 122 nm from Chicago on a rhumb line. Timing for the return trek, after installation of the rudder, is definitely 'TBD'.
Busy week, unexpectedly. Heck of a way to burn vacation time. More to follow.
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