Jim Dobie
settle in, when we got slammed as if by a freight train. I didn’t see the wave but I heard it. The boat was knocked down and I was thrown over the side. What felt like a lifetime later, she righted, dumping me back on deck in the process. I looked over at the empty helm and the cold grip of fear clutched my heart. Then I heard him shout – he was on the sugar scoop! He had been washed out by the wave and ended up on the scoop, saved by his tether.
Our steering wheel had buckled making it impossible to use, and the companionway hatch had vanished along with the washboards. We had already taken on a lot of water, one more wave like that and we would be swamped.
Steerage was my first issue. Together with a few double-tethered crew, we manhandled the emergency tiller out of the lazarette and fitted it. It would be impossible to steer with this industrial bar so I lashed it down to starboard. With no sails, I wasn’t sure how she would respond but we needed to fix the massive hole in the deck. Using various emergency hatch covers, we rigged something that wasn’t watertight by any means but would stop us being swamped.
The crew down below had avoided serious injuries but there was a lot of water. The pumps were on the centreline and, as we were heeled, they were sucking air so we used large pots to bail water down the heads, as the galley sink drained into a grey water tank. Pots were passed down a chain and it took an hour to bail most of the water. Thank God for a working heads.
I didn’t know how the boat would respond with bare poles and the helm lashed down. Waves would pick her up and push her bow down but once she had momentum, her rudder would turn into the wind before slowing and heading back downwind again, scalloping up and down. The occasional wave would breach our makeshift hatch but this was manageable. I told the crew to sleep and kept a radar watch but, in the middle of the world’s biggest ocean, I knew we were probably on our own. Soon the silence overwhelmed me and I fell asleep there.
We woke at first light refreshed and renewed. Over the satphone I heard that our sister yacht California had been rolled and lost her rig. We were relatively close so, after bending back the wheel and modifying the steering bracket, we diverted to offer assistance, improving the companionway repair en route. After transferring about 500 litres of diesel to California, we continued racing. It was with elation and relief that we sailed under Golden Gate Bridge with our spinnaker up.
This savage storm tried to get the best of our yacht. As it happened, it brought out the best in her crew. Jim Dobie is chief instructor and training manager at Vortec Marine Training. An RYA examiner, instructor, Ocean Yachtmaster, accomplished racing skipper and yacht training specialist, Jim has spent most of his life on the ocean. When not sailing, he delivers talks and advises on yacht safety.