SEARCH PATTERNS
A search pattern is complex, dynamic and difficult to manage. With a full crew it should be a full-time and crucial job.
The skipper and one other should discuss and practice a simple procedure that can be adapted to the weather conditions. For Raphaël Dinelli I chose to work downwind in an ever widening cone from his last position. Singlehanded on a very rough and dark night, with no time for the chart table, I could build up a simple visual scribble on the plotter. Something that I could reference with a glance as the cone developed with each gybe. This was done under jib alone so that my focus was on lookout as opposed to complex sail handling. Time was lost raising the main to work back up to windward but I felt it was time well spent.
One of the biggest frustrations of Raphaël’s rescue was the lack of pattern to his position updates. A secondary depression and front meant that his raft was galloping all over the place. With little weather information we were essentially guessing and it wasn’t good enough. EPIRBS are a lot more accurate these days but still proved erratic for Le Cam. It seems that the game changer was Météo-france’s new Mothly drift prediction programme which added weight to one of the position reports. It was here that Le Cam found Escoffier.
Most of us don’t have access to Vendée Globe resources and I wonder if manufacturers may consider developing a basic search grid to overlay a chart plotter. A simple solution that could be orientated to an ‘on the ground’ sense of drift. It could ultimately make the difference between a quick fix and a drawn out episode.
Practice using your peripheral vision. An empty horizon can reveal all sorts if you rescan it whilst focussing well above it. This doesn’t feel natural and needs practice but I use it all the time to great effect and often pick up things that others have missed with binoculars. Be precious about your night vision. If you have crew, put someone just forward of the mast and turn off your nav lights. If they need relieving make sure the replacement stands with them until confident of their night vision.