If you're stuck at work and wondering what the crew are doing during their extended stay in Hawaii, here's an update from Jan F:
Well it's a bit of a chore being stuck here to be honest, all there is to do is sunbathe, drink Mai Tai's and generally relax and enjoy ourselves - it's hell!
At the moment Lucy, Rachel (Hull & Humber) and I are in North Shore primarily to escape the boats .... haven't managed to escape all the crew though as we bumped into Nicola (Glasgow) and John (Jamaica) hours after arriving, and today so far we've seen Richard (L08), Mikey (L08), Claire (Jamaica) and Mark Preedy (Skipper, Singapore).
This morning we had a Stand Up Paddle lesson (basically you stand on surboard and paddle) and will spend the late afternoon on the beach. Tomorrow we head back to Waikiki for a Luau on Thursday night and hopefully some diving on Friday that Neil was looking into. On Saturday Lucy and I fly to the Big Island where we will be taking a "doors off" experience helicopter ride over the volcano. Monday it's back to Waikiki ... and possibly surf lessons and/or parasailing, decisions, decisions ...
Lots of the other crew have done much the same, heading off to various places to chill out. We've been looked after fantastically well by Hawaii Yacht Club and Waikiki Yacht Club, they've been brilliant at arranging stuff most nights that people have stayed around for probably longer than they would normally.
Well, the beach is calling ......
J
Neil's quest to meet and greet as many fellow firefighters around the world has continued in Honolulu.
Neil is taking a sabbatical from his regular job as a firefighter with London Fire and Rescue Service and yesterday he met up with colleagues from the Honolulu Fire Department. Captain Terry Seelig and Battalion Fire Chief James Arciero showed him around and treated him to lunch at Honolulu FD’s station at Waikiki, where the engines and fire and rescue appliances are kitted out with surfboards to make it easier for them to reach casualties who get into trouble on and in the water.
It will be interesting to see whether Neil suggests the surfboard option to his bosses when he gets back to work in July!
Durban is due to arrive in Honolulu within the next few hours. Jan Flynn says the crew are looking forward to steaks and Mai Tais. After the anxieties of the last week, I think they deserve a break from tuna and noodles!
Join the party by mixing yourself a Mai Tai and drink along with Durban:
- 1 part White rum
- 1 part Dark rum
- 1/2 part Amaretto Di Saronno
- 1/2 part Apricot brandy
- 1/2 part Orange curacao
- 1/2 part Lime juice
- top up Pineapple juice
- 5 Ice cubes
Round the Worlder and watchleader Keith Howard has provided a very detailed account of the dismasting:
A number of accounts have been recorded of the events of late afternoon on 12 March, over 3 days ago now. I wanted to take the opportunity to give my personal account. I was watch leader of B watch on deck when the rig failure occurred. B watch is made up of 5 people, myself Keith Howard RTW, John Gray RTW, Mandy Brown RTW, Janet Flynn Australia to Santa Cruz and Wijbrand Tuinstra also Australia to Santa Cruz. I had sailed many legs with John, sailed from Singapore with Wijbrand and from Qingdao with Janet and Mandy. We have varying degrees of sailing knowledge and experience between us, likewise with helming ability. John, Janet and I have broad experience in varying conditions, helming both before the race on other boats and extensively since being on Durban 2010 and Beyond. Wijbrand joined the crew having never sailed before his training but his thirst for knowledge, his quick learning and eagerness to want to be involved have allowed him to develop his helming skills very quickly. Prior to joining my watch Mandy preferred to only helm occasionally usually in fair weather conditions and for a limited time. Over the weeks since leaving Qingdao we had worked well as a watch, carrying out many evolutions in a safe, efficient and competent manner. We had experienced all weather conditions, from being almost becalmed in a snow storm to powering ahead in Force 10 gales, we had dealt with varying sea states and I believe felt comfortable with all the conditions we had faced.
On the afternoon of the 12th March we were on a 14:00 to 18:00 watch, as was usual we did a fixed rotation around the helm, I normally took the first stint, followed by Janet, John, Mandy and Wijbrand, nominally we did 50 minutes each, though usually and as in this case Mandy did a shorter period. The wind was a little variable, ranging from an average 20 knots up 23 maybe 25 knots on occasions, the wind direction was generally steady though was bent on occasions by rain clouds overhead or the occasional front coming through. The sea state was moderate with the occasional big and sometimes awkward wave, I recall I soaked everybody on deck a couple of times whilst I was on the helm as random waves broke over the bow and sent gallons of water cascading down the deck. However the sea as was the wind were nothing more than we experienced many times before, we were certainly well within our comfort zone with the prevailing conditions especially given the conservative sail plan we had; two reefs, No 2 Yankee an staysail. On many other occasions in similar conditions we may have had just one reef and possibly still the No 1 Yankee.
It was just after 5 pm we had made the final helm change at 10 past; Wijbrand was about 10 minutes in to his stint when … it happened…
John, Janet and Mandy were sitting in the cockpit, I was standing in front of the helm, just off to the port side, a position I quite liked, being close the helm, mainsheet, traveller and in earshot of instructions from below. All was well, I recall looking up at the mainsail when suddenly it moved and carried on moving, its hard to put in to words but one minute you are looking at a fully rigged boat, in the next moment that rig is falling, almost silently in a uniform somehow choreographed way away from you. The rig fell to starboard, we were obviously on a port tack, the mast fell at 90 degrees to the boat ending up lying across the deck and out in to the water, there was rigging and sail everywhere, the mast had broken at deck level, and there were was debris, bent, twisted and broken metal all over the deck.
We have all obviously discussed that moment when the rig fell and each of us on watch agree it was as if it fell in slow motion and without sound until it hit the deck; there was no snapping or twang or crack or bang just before it fell; it just fell! Once the noise of the collapse ceased there was once more silence but also the boat was almost motionless, the waves being curtailed by this big metal bar and sail lying across the water it didn’t seem right; no sound, very little movement, I suppose it’s not the way you would imagine a major failure on this scale to be.
I know there is speculation about a failed bottle screw, certainly it appears to have broken but as to whether it broke before or after the mast I wouldn’t like to say, especially as I have slept next to the mast since leaving Liverpool and on many occasions have heard noises very much like aluminium flexing; is there a possibility that the point where the mast broke had become work hardened and brittle? I’m sure detailed examination by Clipper engineers possibly assisted by ultrasonic NDT inspections will provide us with a clear answer to a question which must be on all our minds, why did the rig fall over so suddenly and in relatively benign conditions?
The silence that led up to the rig failure was only broken by the noise made as the rig hit the deck and water surface, the deck was a site of total carnage and destruction; the quote of the whole event must be from a private thought Janet had as she watched the event unfold, Janet John and Mandy were looking out to starboard so the first thing that changed in their eye line was the boom, Janet apparently looked at the boom and thought to herself ‘oooo that’s unusual, I’ve never seen the boom do that before’ as the boom crashed to the deck in front of her, laying neatly along the length of the boat, that thought was quickly followed by Janets shriek of ‘the mast, its gone, the mast its gone’ apparently it was at such a volume it woke those below who hitherto had been in a deep sleep. Ricky was quickly at the cuddy calling us to get below so that he could carry out a damage assessment and assess the risks associated with trying to make the boat safe.
The crew on Durban 2010 and Beyond rallied and all assisted under Ricky’s guidance to severe those parts of the rigging that were not recoverable, similarly to recover in what were quite dangerous conditions those parts of the rigging and sails that could be repaired or re-used. As was reported previously by WA the hydraulic cutters were the star of the show at this stage of the events making short work of cutting the shrouds, forestays, backstays etc. Once again difficult in just a few words to explain what was happening on deck suffice it to say adrenaline was running, determination was high, the commitment on getting the job done was obvious. Crew above and below decks worked hard for over two hours eventually recovering a large section of the mainsail, plus a not too badly damaged Yankee and staysail. The boom was disconnected from the mast as was the vang; they were secured safely along the cockpit line. All other lines running through or on the mast were systematically cut, each cut being made conscious of the fact that that could be the line holding everything in place. By this time the mast had broken about 2 metres higher up enabling the section still on deck to be recovered along with the valuable fittings attached to it. In the end the initial clearing exercise was complete, with no one seriously hurt a few strains and cuts were a small price to pay for what had the potential to be a very dangerous process. I think thanks must go Ricky for the calm and professional way he managed the clear up operation, also the way the crew collectively responded must in some part be down to the training they received from Clipper and their effectiveness as a team. Sailing a boat this size has to be a team event, no room for individual sailors.
I went in to myself a little after the initial making safe was complete, it had been my watch on deck when this happened, and did we do anything to cause the collapse? I went over what happened time and again, reassuring myself that we could have done nothing about what happened. I was obviously really thankful that no-one was injured, many of us stand on the rear deck holding on to the backstay for support, how lucky we were that none of us were doing that at the time of the collapse; the injuries could have been hideous. How lucky were we nothing fell on us, things maybe whizzed by at tremendous speeds and with terrific power but we escaped unscathed. Did we each have a guardian angel watching out for us at that moment!
I felt for my crewmates, we had all been working hard for the past three weeks to secure a podium position and never more than in the past few days with the end of the race in sight, everyone to a man/woman was committed to doing their best for the boat we all knew it was necessary to get on the podium to maintain overall lead. Any hope of points were now lost for this race and what of the future, will Durban be re-fitted in time to continue racing with the rest of the fleet. A number of anxieties were on my mind for probably twenty-four hours or so.
On talking with the guys on board it was clear (apart from the normal windups, demolition watch etc. J) that no one held me or us responsible for the catastrophe that had occurred. I also thought of my fellow watch members and how they were feeling especially Wijbrand who was helming when it happened, as I’ve said a determined guy, maybe an older head on young shoulders, It was important to me he was ok and not personally affected by the events that unfolded before him. I spoke to him privately that evening and unsurprisingly he was controlled and pragmatic about what happened.
We are now motoring towards Hawaii at a slow and frustrating pace, with no mainsail the boat rolls and pitches wildly at times, its slams in to the on coming waves shaking the boat to its bones, there are concerns the boom etc that are lashed to the deck may break free and puncture the deck or be lost over the side.
As I type this Liverpool 08 is alongside transferring fuel, Uniquely Singapore are standing off waiting to assist with more fuel and supplies, New York, Qingdao and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper are en route to us; we still have 308 miles to go which we estimate will take around another 100 hours.
There is now every reason to look forward positively, the sun is shining, we have our friends on the other Clipper boats supporting us, friends and family at home are sending waves or support and encouragement, we are making way to Hawaii and we will get there. We know following recent email correspondence from Joff and Sir Robin that everything that is possible to be done is being done to get both Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com sailing again, the crew on Durban 2010 and Beyond will, I am sure, do everything to assist in facilitating that process once we get to Hawaii, we are all really keen to get the boat fixed and get ‘Durban 2010 and beyond’ back racing and show our stern to those other boats in the fleet.
Keith Howard
Sail Safe, Sail Happy, Sail Fast…
It's been a busy day for Durban, as Jan's latest update explains:
A busy morning on Durbs - we've had a few visitors, L08, Singers & Qingdao all gave us fuel and Glasgow, who will be sticking close by til we get to Hawaii, sent cake, DVDs & other goodies. We were also able to help Glas out with their own emergency - they've been without tea bags for 5 days ...!! And we thought we were hard done by losing just a mast ;)
J
It sounds like Ricky and crew are making the best of a bad situation. Morale is always high on Durbs and, after the initial shock of the dismasting, it sounds like they are all settling into a new, more leisurely routine. With luck (and a new rig fitted in time for us to leave with the rest of the fleet) the crew should be well rested and ready to defend Durb's position at the top of the overall leaderboard on the race from Hawaii to Santa Cruz.
In today's report on the Clipper site, Ricky describes what the crew have been doing:
Durban 2010 and Beyond is making good headway with several of the other teams in loose formation shadowing them towards Oahu. With sufficient fuel to get them to Oahu without having to stop, skipper Ricky Chalmers gave an update of life onboard, “We spent today measuring things,” he said. “We measured all the bits which they need to build us a new shiny mast and checked how much of our mainsail remains - the answer sadly is not much. We also checked and repaired our Yankee 2 and Staysail, the sails we were flying when the big bang happened. There were some small holes and tears, but they are all fixed again. The blue anti-foul stripes on them will remain for a while to remind us of the whole exciting episode.”
In today's email from Jan, she describes what she thinks the crew have been doing!
Another sunny day on Durbs spent topping up the tans - well not much else to do around here. Clipper are doing a great job of keeping us all well informed on all their efforts to source and ship all the gear that is required to get us back to normal & it must be one heck of a logistical nightmare with all the bits needed from various parts of the globe. Just over 500 miles still to go, so still a few more days to work on the tans!
J xx
Here's the latest from Jan F on board the mighty-but-mastless Durbs:
All fairly routine here now, we're motoring along to Hawaii, only another 640 miles to go. We now have company in the shape of Singapore, when they arrived we sent them a gift of magazines, chocolate (from Claire's personal stash no less) & bbq sauce. It is likely that we'll do the fuel transfer in the next couple of days when the sea gets a bit less bouncy.
And a blog report from Tim Ettridge on Uniquely Singapore:
We’ve just joined up with Durban 2010 and Beyond only moments ago, having spent the night hove-to so that they could stabilize what’s left of their rig and motor up to a rendezvous point. At around 1:00 p.m. they radioed that they had us in sight but it was another 45 minutes before I was the first to finally spot them, having climbed all steps on the mast to do so. Back down on the deck, it was not until they approached to within a few hundred yards that we could consistently spot them in between the waves. It was astounding how small, frail, and invisible they looked without the towering mast we see on other boats from miles away.
Durban 2010 and Beyond has erected what looks like a broomstick for a mast and has their South Africa flag proudly flying from it. From the smiles and happy waves they gave us right away (along with passing over a flarebox of goodies), you’d never think anyone on Durban 2010 and Beyond was anything but pleased with the adventure. The Durban team was so gracious in defeat I felt embarrassed that we had no gift prepared to hand right back. We assured them that we’d pass something over once the wind and waves settled down as predicted.
We’ll be motoring side by side towards Hawaii now for a few days, competitors but team mates, too.
Timothy Ettridge
You can see Uniquely Singapore's video of the rendezvous and the transfer of the goodie box here: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/multimedia/videos/comments/uniquely_sinagpore_rendezvous_with_durban_2010_and_beyond/
How quickly situations change when sailing, Claire’s blog for early Thursday reports our thoughts on domestic matters of food and arriving Hawaii, whilst sailing in higher winds and at a more extreme angle, but nothing unusual in the wet and windy conditions. As Claire’s watch went below deck, half to sleep and half to prepare supper, Keith’s watch took charge of the boat at 2pm - Keith, Jan, John, Wijbrand and Mandy. Wind strength was about 23 knots, apparent gusting up to 30, with a sail plan of Yankee 2, Stay Sail and the Main Sail with 2 reefs in. We were beating into the wind in choppy seas sailing at 40 degrees apparent wind. The first three hours were lively with the sea state building and with more confused wave patterns, and the wind veering from different angles. At 1710 hours I (Mandy) came to the end of my 50 minutes helming, the first 25 had been lively, but the second 25 minutes a real battle to hold course, I handed over to Wijbrand and exited to the cuddy swearing at the experience and rubbing my shoulders. I sat next to Jan and John muttering darkly about confused seas and looking at the mast and the two reefs to see if they were holding.
Simultaneously, after 3 minutes on helm Wijbrand hit another of the large waves, and the crew watched as the boom bounced and swung towards the low side, then the whole of the 81-foot, one tonne mast tilted from its base and crashed onto the deck in a sideways movement. This tore away not only the mast and all three sails, but all the rigging, forestay and baby forestay and the running backstays, No rigging or structural supports were left standing - it was quite an unbelievable sight. Jan shrieked - naughty word ‘the whole mast has gone’, and I shrieked ‘Ricky we’ve dismasted’. The amazing thing is that for the level of destruction the bang as it hit the deck was not that loud, it had been slowed down by all the sheets and Halyards attached, none of which broke. (Which is amazing when you think that we broke 5 sheets and a Halyard just sailing to Qingdao?) Crew down below were startled by the shrieks but just thought the vang/kicker had broken, but were then confused by the eerie silence and the complete loss of boat speed that followed. Those few seconds on deck with the mast hanging over the side having bent and crushed the stanchions, and the silence and sense of disbelief were profound. Wijbrand was still at the helm, even though the running backstay lines had shot past his ears and now we had no sails. We appeared to be in some parallel universe.
We then hit emergency drill, all of us down below, everyone in the saloon with life jackets, headcount, and ready for evacuation if needed. However apart from some of the rigging banging on the side the boat and our rocking with the waves we were amazingly stable. Our lack of panic might also be down to our knowledge that westernaustralia2011.com had also dismasted earlier in the race, although in a different fashion (theirs folding in half and going forward to the pulpit), but we knew all their crew were safe and well, having communicated with them, and knew they were travelling under jury rig and heading for Hawaii.
Once the initial shock had subsided the clean up began. Lines with bungee and spectra were sourced, as were all tools and cutters, strapping lads and the ever-strong Claire started a clear up operation to save the sails and cut the mast free. The mast has to go overboard so it does not bash a hole in the hull, and also so we can motor to our destination. I went to the navigation station and entered the time and location in the ships log - with the simple description ‘dismasted’, it was surreal. For nearly three hours clearing up occurred, the boom and three sails were saved after heroic efforts, although with some damage on them. Ricky was calm and collected giving specific orders and the task was carried out efficiently and without panic. All the action has been caught on camera by our resident ‘Francis Ford Coppola’ Neil Withers. Any tension and stress were diffused by humour, and the jokes were flying by the time we all gathered for dinner around 9pm.
The race has been called by Clipper at the identified sailing positions. On Durban 2010 and Beyond currently the shift system continues as we are now motoring to a rendezvous point with Uniquetly Singapore and Qingdao who will transfer fuel to us, so we can continue to Hawaii. Downstairs the boat looks exactly the same, but on deck we have more or less nothing left, it looks like a pontoon with a wheel and some bent railings!. Steering is not easy either, with no mast to limit the rolling we have moved from a high end fully equipped 4 x 4, to a 1960;’s long sleek open top convertible with limited traction. This morning we had a crew photo taken on deck in our Durban shirts just to show that we are all alive and well, and in good humour. We are starting a competition, much like the spot the ball photos, you can mark with an X where you think the mast, boom, rigging, sails, forestays and running backstays should be. We are devising a creative prize.
Finally morale is high, we have food, although not the steaks and red wine we wish to devour when we get to Hawaii, and life without a mast has quickly become the norm. We look forward to seeing our support vessels in the near future - but timing has never been our strong point. We have just learnt that the factory that makes the masts burnt down a week ago – c’est la vie. A backup plan is in operation for a Hawaii fix. I will close with the quote of the day, as we looked out on the carnage on deck an hour after collapse, Ian had an optimistic moment - ‘Oh well at least my water bottle didn’t go overboard’.
Mandy and crew - Durban 2010 and hopefully beyond Hawaii
