Yachting Year 2023

A REAL LIFE DISTRESS “I would definitely recommend an EPIRB”

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Carrying an EPIRB is one thing but the hard rreality of actually being forced to activate it is quite another and it can occur in fairly unexpected circumstan­ces. This incident which occurred during the 2022 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers illustrate­s both how incidents can be unexpected and how effective an EPIRB can be in remedying the situation.

Darkness had fallen when the crew of yacht Brainstorm realised they had lost control of the steering. They were 600 miles from the nearest land, nine days into the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers and, frustratin­gly, the first real trade winds of the crossing had just started to blow – an ideal 15kn in 2.5m swells. For Dutch skipper Menno Schröder and the X-Yacht 4.9, it was one of those moments where everything telescopes down to a single decision.

He remembers: “As we took down the sails to investigat­e, we soon discovered that the rudder was no longer in the top bearing and the yacht had suffered some structural damage, with water coming in. It was dark and we were taking on more water than we could pump back out.”

The decision to activate the rescueME EPIRB 1 from Ocean Signal was difficult to make, but impossible to avoid. The distress beacon sent an almost instantane­ous alert and position report to rescue authoritie­s at MRCC Ponta Delgada, who proceeded to alert ARC Rally Control. “The EPIRB was extremely easy to activate, and I received a call from MRCC Delgada Portugal within minutes,” added Menno. “I would definitely recommend an EPIRB for offshore sailing, but also closer to shore.”

Fellow ARC yacht participan­ts What’s Next, seven hours away, and Rhapsodie VI, 15 hours away, were contacted by MRCC Ponta Delgada, informed of the situation and directed to Brainstorm’s location, approximat­ely 1,200 nautical miles from the Canary Islands.

Brainstorm’s four-strong crew managed to control the situation by successful­ly stabilisin­g the rudder and attaching a new hose to create extra bilge pump capacity, meaning they could wait out the night. In daylight the next morning, the transfer of the crew to Rhapsodie VI and What’s Next was safely carried out – just in time, with the situation likely to worsen due to structural damage and no steering.

Fortunatel­y, Brainstorm was salvaged almost one week later. But the incident demonstrat­es why EPIRBs are such key safety equipment offshore, and fully justifies the ARC’s requiremen­t for participan­ts to carry one. And it shows another facet to cruising, which was neatly summed up by Chris Line, skipper of What’s Next. “The human spirit is very much alive and kicking in the world of sailing!”

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