Jury rudder finish
NEWPORT BERMUDA RACE CREW IMPROVISE WHEN RUDDER STOCK BREAKS
In a noteworthy feat of seamanship, a crew competing in the Newport Bermuda Race in June completed the final 100 miles of the race under a self-built jury rudder after the yacht’s carbon rudder post broke and the blade came away.
Carol Tobian was at the helm of the Blue Jacket 40 Bailiwick late at night in 20-knot reaching conditions when she suddenly lost steerage. The boat was sailing at 8-9 knots with double-reefed mainsail and jib, and when the rudder post broke the yacht spun out of control. Skipper Roger Echols reports hearing a loud bang as it broke.
He immediately went below to check and was relieved to see the boat was not taking water – though when he found the quadrant and steering cables intact he realised the rudder must have broken off.
While taking the sails down in pitching seas one crew on the cabin top was putting a sail tie around the main when she slipped and fell. She bounced off the guardwires and was badly bruised.
To help stabilise the yacht, now rolling with no sail up, the crew deployed a Galerider drogue as they’d practised before the race.
It allowed the boat to hold a broad reach while slowly motoring, but the swivel couldn’t prevent the drogue from spinning, twisting the bridle and winding the drogue in until the transom was lifting and landing on the leeward bridle line.
After more than an hour of recovering and untangling, they deployed the drogue again, and again it twisted – this time around the propeller.
At first light, navigator Mark Gervais put on a mask, snorkel and harness and went over the side. He could immediately see where the rudder had broken from the stock, clean off at the hull. He cut away the tangled line and the crew regrouped.
They were in touch by satphone with the MRCC and race organisers in Bermuda throughout.
“We were confident we were being well watched. We never felt lost or abandoned,” said Echols.
Trial and error
Bailiwick’s crew discussed the best way to create a jury rudder and decided to take a bulkhead panel and attach it to the end of a pole.
First, they removed one of the yacht’s wheels to allow room for the jury set-up. After some trial and error, they lashed the panel – roughly the same surface area as the rudder blade – to a whisker pole with Dyneema and prevented it from twisting around the pole by drilling holes in the pole and inserting and lashing a screwdriver in place.
The pole was then lashed to the yacht’s emergency tiller, which was used as a pivot point for steering.
Control lines from the end of the pole were led to each quarter and then outboard sheet winches.
With the jury rudder in place, the crew was able to steer the boat, though she yawed a good deal, sometimes as much as 60° from the desired course. They made sail again, and tweaked the arrangement. It was under tremendous load and it took two to three people to manage the rudder.
A difficulty was that the pole was buoyant and kept pushing the emergency tiller up, so the crew dealt with this by sitting on it – “riding the tiller”, they joked.
After 15-20 miles they realigned the rudder, drilled new holes for the screwdriver and added a second through the whisker pole.
“Once these modifications were made,” recalls watch captain Steve Burton, “we were able to steer a much more consistent and direct course for Bermuda.”
For the last 90 miles the crew took turns sitting on the tiller to keep it down. They arrived “punch drunk,” with sore rears and hands.