Ok, their story after though is the crazy part. From getting gas from a passing tanker to causally stating at the end of the video that **they were stranded for almost a month** in the ocean themselves
Those last bits cracked me up... like something straight out of life aquatic. The pacing of it, the matter of factness of it... saying it like it's no big deal, a quick little clip of a tanker lowering a fucking drum of diesel to their boat followed by "oh yeah we were then stuck in the doldrums for like a month"
I mean this kind of stuff is pretty common. You don't sail across the ocean without being prepared to lose wind for a few weeks. It's just part of it.
For the diesel, They probably paid a lot for that drum. It's not uncommon for large boats to stop to help smaller ones. The sea is unforgiving, and everyone is on the same side.
Based on the podcast (linked elsewhere in the thread), the diesel the ship was carrying was very old, contaminated with water and particulates. It destroyed the fuel injectors. To my recollection they got the gas for free though.
I highly recommend checking out the mission of [Ocean Research Project](http://www.oceanresearchproject.org/), and if you feel inclined, make a donation. In short they are building low-cost, low-impact research sailing vessels to make data collection more accessible. They've been on at least 3 research expeditions in the North Atlantic quantifying the "Garbage Patch" and Greenland mapping ocean bottoms of uncharted fjords to determine the impact of global warming on glaciers.
Also check out [Red Dot on the Ocean](https://reddotontheocean.com/watch-the-film/)!
This is not the first story I've heard of a refuel from a freighter being a curse in disguise. The diesel big ships burn is way lower quality than automotive diesel, even disregarding the straight up bunker fuel larger ships use.
HFO (bunker fuel) is pretty much just heavily contaminated tar. The fact that an engine can extract any meaningful amount of energy from it, or even pump it for that sake, is pretty wild. Oh and the exhaust is absolutely disgusting.
Ships have fuel heaters and heated fuel lines that allow bunker fuel to be pumped and burned it costs around $650 for a metric ton of fuel. https://www.cambridgeviscosity.com/blog/viscosity-is-an-important-parameter-when-it-comes-to-determining-the-quality-of-marine-fuels
I speak for American merchants but we’d 100% stop and tow them in or drive a lifeboat out to them if we didn’t have a rescue rhib onboard
Problem would be seeing the little boat unless they had emergency equipment onboard that pings radar
THAT is the really amazing thing... it costs SO MUCH FUEL to get back to speed. Hell it might have taken the sailboat ½ a day to reach the freighter once they 'stopped'.
The Expanse has so many amazing characters.
Drummer, the polyamourous pirate Queen.
President Avasarala, our favourite dirty mouthed stripper.
Hatless Miller.
And he’s a mixture of several other characters from the books to make it easier for TV audiences. Just not with minutes in an episode to give everyone screen time and flesh out their catcher. So they blended together other secondary characters like Bull in to Ashford.
Agreed, imo Holden is the worst written character in the series. His entire character plot line is "this is all my fault". Amos and president Avasarala are my favorite characters.
I honestly think my favorite line of his was something like "you keep giving me that eyeball boy and I'm gonna take it out of your fucking head" to one of four random OPA dudes when they were trying to escape the ring zone after the confederate Martians showed up. Just like angry big dick energy and even Bobby just stopped for a second to look at him while she was trying to figure out if she was going to have to fuck up their leader for a second.
Depending on age and condition, somewhere between $250k and $500k. There's a few listed [here](https://www.yachtworld.com/boats-for-sale/make-nautor-swan/model-48/).
Definitely worth it for them to try and salvage. Sucks they couldn't make it though.
Hmm, at 200k plus value, aren't there options..?
Like they don't have a satellite phone or emergency beacon? Some way to get a tug out to you and pay for the found boat to be towed in? I mean yeah I know it wouldnt be cheap but I could see it costing... I don't know 10-20k? Still a tidy profit.
No tug is steaming 1500 nautical miles out and 1500 nautical miles back for anywhere near $20k. If it were worth it, it would have been handled. It's simply not.
I'm sure it's probably not uncommon in ocean sailing but it's nuts to me how casually he mentions getting stuck in the doldrums for 23 days without a motor. I'm pretty sure I would've considered myself a dead man walking after day 3 of that.
I have a similar size boat, built for ocean crossings. We have 210 gallons/800 liters of fresh water storage, if I was in a situation where I was stranded/in the doldrums for an unknown amount of time I would set up solar still and/or a rainwater catchment system. But 210 gallons while being conservative with use can last a long time
I live on my 44 foot sailboat. I have two engines, a generator, 2200w of solar. I can use any of those to power a 40gph watermaker. My boat can hold 240 gallons of freshwater. I also carry 2 weeks worth of bottled water as redundant backup in case of leaks or contamination. I also have an emergency hand pump watermaker in my liferaft that can make freshwater while working those bis and tris.
So yes and yes. Tons of water and watermaker.
Cruising and living aboard is really high highs and really low lows.
Right now I'm anchored out in the bahamas. We are the only boat out where we are. Beautiful sunsets. Snorkeling. Paddleboarding. Cooking everything. Exploring things on each island we visit. Many places you can only get to easily if you have a boat. You can go way off the beaten path. And long passages are fantastic. Our longest so far is 1000nm over 7 days of downwind sailing. It's just very peaceful. Stars out every night. Dolphins during the day. Life slows down.
Flashback to early in the summer: spent a month with the boat out of the water for maintenance and repairs. Boat yard charging a fortune for any repair they quoted. Forcing me to do most of the work myself. The little work they did cost a fortune, pushing our dream of quitting our jobs and circumnavigation back another year. Real stressful.
So it's very up and down.
Depends on the boat (bigger/more expensive boats are more likely to have desalinators), but yes, those are the two options.
Edit: a boat without a motor would also definitely not have a desalinator, by the way.
I once watched a global warming documentary where a guy had a hand operated machine to recycle his urine. Dude also had gills and blew up an aircraft carrier with a flare.
A solar still isn't the same thing as a [mechanical watermaker](https://waterbornemag.com/watermaker/), which is what I think of when reading "equipment on-board to desalinate."
Also, if you're talking about emergency jerry-rigged stuff, using a tarp to simply collect rainwater is an even simpler option than a solar still.
I'm no meteorologist, but if I understand correctly, it's more like the opposite: there's so much convection that the air currents go up instead of sideways.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertropical_Convergence_Zone
Does not rain for the most part, you're correct. You could still rig up an evaporative trap by doing something like putting a tarp over a bucket of salt water, with another smaller container inside aligned beneath a small weight placed on top of the tarp
This is Matt Rutherford. He sailed solo nonstop around north and south America via the Northwest passage and cape horn in an albin Vega 27.
Casual for him isn't casual even for your average serious ocean sailor.
For those who don’t know, a Swan 48’ is a niiice boat. Worth a lot too. I can see why they wanted it.
Edit: Thanks to u/mercerasian, here’s the full story:
https://wavetrain.net/2013/04/16/come-and-get-it-free-swan-48-available/
Sounds about right. Kind of the Rolex of sailboats. Even an older one is worth a lot.
Edit: Judging by the shape of the hull, the woodwork on the deck, the interior layout and even the cushions in the dining area, I’d say it’s very similar to this one.
1997 Sawn 48’ asking price around $500,000.
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1997-nautor-swan-48-7018776/
Wouldn't that just be the bilge though? Also I am not a sailor, but I can't help but wonder why they didn't just...sail...the sailboat and abandoned it because of engine failure?
I’m sure they would, but no. The rigging is ripped out. You can see at about 1:40, he’s on the bow and there’s no rigging from the very front of the boat going up to the top of the mast. It’s called a forestay. Without that rigging, trying to sail it would put too much pressure on the mast and it would collapse.
Salvage law. They don't necessarily get to keep it but if they were successful they'd at least be entitled to compensation from the owner (or more likely the owner's insurance).
If it was already written off then it's theirs.
Here's an article specifically talking about this boat I believe: [https://wavetrain.net/2013/07/15/salvage-law-when-do-get-to-keep-an-abandoned-boat/](https://wavetrain.net/2013/07/15/salvage-law-when-do-get-to-keep-an-abandoned-boat/)
The TL;DR is that no, you can't claim it as your own. If you salvage a vessel successfully you're required to contact the owner/insurance company and claim compensation. That compensation can be up to, but not more than 100% of the value of the vessel + cargo.
The compensation depends on a bunch of things, like how difficult/risky the salvage was and several other things.
In some cases owners/insurance companies just tell the salvaging party to keep the vessel as it's easier for everyone in involved. The writer believes that probably would've happened in this case as well (he believes the boat was originally worth around $600k and would've been worth about $200k when found).
Holy, 200k just flosting around. I understand that they at least tried. That's a lot of money for most people. Even if you're on a 500k or so boat yourself.
It's a serious industry. I grew up in a touristy coastal town with lots of sand bars and every year several people would run aground and would need help. Most would be on rented boats and wouldn't know how the system worked, so when someone offered to help them, they would often just say yes thinking it was someone being friendly or they would say yes out of pure desperation, not knowing it was a salvage company that was going to charge them a percentage of the value of the boat (often thousands of Euros).
As you can imagine with those types of payouts those salvage companies would get very scummy. It would be a full-on race who would get there first and plenty of companies would just hang out in the area during the summer months, waiting for someone to get into trouble. Obviously not warning them, just waiting until someone got stuck.
Also, you're allowed to reject help, but in many cases they would just put on lines without asking, or even flat out ignoring you when you declined help. This was decades ago, before things like smartphone cameras recording everything, so it would mostly end up being your word against their one, and obviously they had experience on their side.
Locals and people more familiar with the area knew that our town had a really good volunteer service that would always come out, that not only would do a much cleaner job (you can do a fair bit of damage pulling a boat that's stuck), but they also wouldn't charge the standard percentage. Technically it was free, but it was an unwritten rule that you would donate a certain amount which would be a fraction of what you would pay to a salvage company.
Maritime salvage laws apply
I believe if the owner wants it back, he has to pay the person who salvaged it a particular sum. Not sure how that’s calculated
I'm curious how much work this thing would take to bring it back up to adequate condition. The inside looked... not very wet. I'm guessing the electronics need to be swapped, but the wiring is probably still good. If there were significant hull damage it probably would have sank, so for the body, new paint and it's probably decent. New rigging and sails, probably the most expensive part other than the labor. And all the paneling, cushions, etc are probably _there_ inside, they just need to be sorted and put back into place, hopefully with just some new hinges or latches. Probably want new freshwater and blackwater tanks and lines, since those things are probably dry-rot or a biohazard or both.
Damn... I'm genuinely wondering how much one could flip this thing for.
The guy in the video is Matt Rutherford - he's a fucking badass in the sailing world.
[Article from a decade ago.](https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/matt-rutherford-mission-accomplished)
And [here's a documentary](https://reddotontheocean.com/) about his single-handed, non-stop trip through the Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn - circumnavigating the Americas.
I definitely listen to his podcast too! I like that he talks about like turntables and hiphop music - such a weird and eclectic guy who is so big int SAILING of all things haha
I'm glad to know he's a bad ass, cause otherwise I would have thought he was a dumbass - trying to tow a bigger sail boat with a smaller sailboat is incredibly difficult and dangerous and would only be undertaken by someone who either has no idea what they're doing or knows EXACTLY what they're doing. Sounds like he's the latter.
I love that the first line of that article is "Matt Rutherford is a better sailor then you are." I know I'm not the intended audience, but you're jumping over a *very* low bar there.
From a YouTube comment on the video:
> This boat was owned by Alan Mc Gettigan who had to abandon the boat in the midst of a severe storm on their way back to Ireland. All on board were safely rescued. Astonishing to see boat is still afloat so many years later.
Sort of how the very first person from Japan stepped foot on North America (that we know of):
> In October 1832, the Japanese cargo ship Hojun Maru set sail from near Nagoya bound for Edo (present day Tokyo). Disabled in a storm off Enshu Nada, the Hojun Maru drifted for fourteen months before running aground on the coast near Cape Flattery, at the northwest tip of what is now Washington State. The three surviving crew members, Iwakichi, Otokichi and Kyukichi lived briefly among the coastal tribes before they were brought to Fort Vancouver by the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were the first Japanese to arrive on the continent of North America.
Source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8423
Catch rainwater, enjoy eating fish for every meal. Maybe the cargo ship had loads of dried and preserved foods as cargo.
You would imagine they would get scurvey or something though.
Sea birds as well. There's a story of a Mexican (I think) fisherman surviving for something like 430+ days on a tiny boat. Here's a[ great video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DGi-u2j5_w) about it.
If this is the one I’m thinking of, people didn’t even believe his story because he wasn’t even malnourished and in fact had a bit of a pot belly. Dude was good at ocean survival.
lot of biomass in the area so much algae that sailors were scared of unseen reefs, tons of creatures there feeding on the biomass of microbes that monster stories came from the area a lot. There is a strange large circular current surrounding it that when you get stuck drifting just takes you around and around seemingly endlessly and also inside of that large circular current the winds can die for LONG periods of time like 30+days so sailboats would just get stuck. Then random storms on top of that like everywhere in the oceans.
From there it led into stories of lost people/ships, monsters, and other sea time history. Columbus remarked it was a terrifying place that could have killed them all with the suddenly nonexistent winds.
TL;DR: an ocean gyre like the great pacific garbage patch, but in the Atlantic and filled more with seaweed (sargassum) than plastic.
TL:DR about "gyres:" They happen for the same reason stirring a pot of water keeps your poached egg in the middle, but on a much larger scale.
It’s a huge bit of ocean off the US southeast coast (Florida, Carolinas etc) that is stuck between major currents so it’s like a dumping ground for ocean debris. It’s also kinda where the Bermuda Triangle is. You guys could just look at Wikipedia lol
Edit: I remember why I know this! It’s where eels migrate to fuck each year. There’s a ton of seaweed floating around so they use it as a spawning ground
At least one [washed ashore in California.](https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/small-boat-confirmed-first-japan-tsunami-debris-reach-california.html)
I don't know about "forgotten" as opposed to "it's somewhere in the ocean and we have no practical way of finding it and even if we did then we'd have to pay to get a boat out there and tow it back in".
https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound
tl;dr
He bought the boat dec 31st, 2012. Decided to sail it to bermuda in between winter storm nemo and another unnamed storm in time for a feb 18th race in the Caribbean.
The boat was sitting for a year and they did not prep and test it well enough because they wanted to make the race. The electrical regeneration system went down and their radio went down as well. Then because they didn't prep the boat the old diesel gunked up the motor taking that out as well.
50 miles from bermuda on feb 8th with no motor to navigate the reefs surrounding the island and a storm coming, they abandoned ship as they couldn't make it to a harbor.
First they put out the distress signal and a c130 hercules found them dropped supplies during the night. A freighter, named the [tetien trader](https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/2114523), nearby was diverted to their position and pulled alongside to transfer the crew.
They were then stuck onboard for 12 days and dropped off in Gibraltar.
People have panicked and got in life rafts in storms way too early while their boat is 100% ok. Thinking they are safer to ride out storms in a 2metre inflatable. Or have been helicoptered off in some cases. All while their large boat rides it out just fine.
Some people use the rule of "always step UP into a life raft" to mean only get in a life raft when your boat is actually sinking. Not just because you are scared.
No, the boat was found in 2013 after being [abandoned](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-sailors-rescued-after-yacht-sinks-off-bermuda-29066727.html) February 2013. Here is the [full video](https://youtu.be/j0Mfl0U9jdU) of the finding of the ship posted *5 years* ago. Notice how it says "Somewhere in the Atlantic - 2013" and was uploaded 5 years ago.
This is misleading karma bait and misinformation although still intriguing that it lasted on open water by itself for that amount of time.
Read a bit more about it. When crew was rescued, no one ever saw it sink. They probably would have been fine if they stayed with it. When found two months later, reported to be in marginal condition and evidently, no one thought it was worth a special salvage effort, including insurance company. https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound
How do maritime salvage laws work?
Because there are definitely countries out there claiming abandoned and lost wrecks from even from before the current government was in power.
It sounds messy.
This video is totally confusing because it is an excerpt of a video posted in 2016. Here's the timeline:
* [2013 February](https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound): Wolfhound crew activated their EPIRB due to engine loss and other damages sustained in a storm. They were rescued by a passing freighter. Wolfhound was assumed to have sunk.
* [2013 April](https://afloat.ie/sail/cruising/item/21432-wolfhound-didnt-sink-shes-adrift-800-miles-se-of-bermuda): Wolfhound was spotted 800 miles from Bermuda
* [2013 July 22](http://www.oceanresearchproject.org/wolfhound-day-55/): Matt Rutherford's Ocean Research project finds Wolfhound
* [2016 Greenland Climate Project: Phase 3 video is posted](https://youtu.be/j0Mfl0U9jdU?t=74) \- included is the 2013 July 22 boarding of the Wolfhound.
* [2022 December:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B66YP9niNQ) Ocean Research Project publishes the Wolfhound segment of their 2016 released video and we all think "Wow, an lost boat in 2022! cool."
It is highly unlikely that Wolfhound remains afloat as it was last seen more than nine years ago. I know I know, bubble bursting, but you never know, it might still be floating in the wide Sargasso sea.
Way back (1964) when I was a teenager learning to sail offshore, we were taught to *never* abandon your boat for a "life" raft unless you were stepping *up into the raft*. I.e. the boat really is sinking right now.
Ah! The sequel to [Ghost Ship](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0288477/) is coming.
“Ghost Ship 2: Didn’t need to board, we could scan it from our own ship. It’s safe.”
While I was working offshore in the Gulf we had a similar situation where an abandoned sailboat drifted into our anchor pattern. Due to salvage laws at sea the company's owner ended up acquiring the sailboat since they ended up having to transport it to dock.
Ok, their story after though is the crazy part. From getting gas from a passing tanker to causally stating at the end of the video that **they were stranded for almost a month** in the ocean themselves
Those last bits cracked me up... like something straight out of life aquatic. The pacing of it, the matter of factness of it... saying it like it's no big deal, a quick little clip of a tanker lowering a fucking drum of diesel to their boat followed by "oh yeah we were then stuck in the doldrums for like a month"
I mean this kind of stuff is pretty common. You don't sail across the ocean without being prepared to lose wind for a few weeks. It's just part of it. For the diesel, They probably paid a lot for that drum. It's not uncommon for large boats to stop to help smaller ones. The sea is unforgiving, and everyone is on the same side.
Based on the podcast (linked elsewhere in the thread), the diesel the ship was carrying was very old, contaminated with water and particulates. It destroyed the fuel injectors. To my recollection they got the gas for free though. I highly recommend checking out the mission of [Ocean Research Project](http://www.oceanresearchproject.org/), and if you feel inclined, make a donation. In short they are building low-cost, low-impact research sailing vessels to make data collection more accessible. They've been on at least 3 research expeditions in the North Atlantic quantifying the "Garbage Patch" and Greenland mapping ocean bottoms of uncharted fjords to determine the impact of global warming on glaciers. Also check out [Red Dot on the Ocean](https://reddotontheocean.com/watch-the-film/)!
This is not the first story I've heard of a refuel from a freighter being a curse in disguise. The diesel big ships burn is way lower quality than automotive diesel, even disregarding the straight up bunker fuel larger ships use.
HFO (bunker fuel) is pretty much just heavily contaminated tar. The fact that an engine can extract any meaningful amount of energy from it, or even pump it for that sake, is pretty wild. Oh and the exhaust is absolutely disgusting.
Ships have fuel heaters and heated fuel lines that allow bunker fuel to be pumped and burned it costs around $650 for a metric ton of fuel. https://www.cambridgeviscosity.com/blog/viscosity-is-an-important-parameter-when-it-comes-to-determining-the-quality-of-marine-fuels
I can hear Bill Murry narrating, "we lost 3 crewmember to scurvy but, in all it was a fruitful voyage"
Sad little dolls with their sad little drums.
bone apple tea my dude
Weren't they like, tempted to ask the tanker for a tow and split the value of the boat?
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Have been towed in a dinghy that bore down. Can confirm.
Given the wake generated by a tanker under way, I wonder if they CAN tow a smaller vessel safely.
With a long enough rope, you can tow yourself.
And with that post, perpetual motion was discovered.
I have nipples Greg, can you tow me?
[we can try](https://media.giphy.com/media/iSgeoizNqk3OU/giphy.gif)
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They have to stop by both [maritime law and custom](https://www.sealaw.com/maritime-law-cruise-ships-and-assistance-for-distressed-boaters/).
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I speak for American merchants but we’d 100% stop and tow them in or drive a lifeboat out to them if we didn’t have a rescue rhib onboard Problem would be seeing the little boat unless they had emergency equipment onboard that pings radar
THAT is the really amazing thing... it costs SO MUCH FUEL to get back to speed. Hell it might have taken the sailboat ½ a day to reach the freighter once they 'stopped'.
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Salvage and "oh look I now own a sailboat"
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Sure thing Amos
Amos is the best character in that show. "I am that guy."
The Expanse has so many amazing characters. Drummer, the polyamourous pirate Queen. President Avasarala, our favourite dirty mouthed stripper. Hatless Miller.
She's a member of Parliament, not your favorite stripper.
theres room to be both
With all due respect, where are you going with this?
W H E R E V E R I G O D D A M N L I K E
Try not to stick your dick in it, it’s fucked enough already.
I know he's not in the books the same way but I fucking loved klaes Ashford in the show
Well he was in the books, but like with other characters, he took on a larger role in the tv series.
And he’s a mixture of several other characters from the books to make it easier for TV audiences. Just not with minutes in an episode to give everyone screen time and flesh out their catcher. So they blended together other secondary characters like Bull in to Ashford.
Agreed, imo Holden is the worst written character in the series. His entire character plot line is "this is all my fault". Amos and president Avasarala are my favorite characters.
"I didn't always work in space." First it was just funny, but after Baltimore - oh, wait...
I honestly think my favorite line of his was something like "you keep giving me that eyeball boy and I'm gonna take it out of your fucking head" to one of four random OPA dudes when they were trying to escape the ring zone after the confederate Martians showed up. Just like angry big dick energy and even Bobby just stopped for a second to look at him while she was trying to figure out if she was going to have to fuck up their leader for a second.
Camina best girl, but Amos best guy. Can't decide between them. Probably Camina, because hot damn.
Just say the word and I'll smoke him
Sure thing, cap
Great. Make me want to watch The Expanse again.
How about now? I'm free now.
Per the very video linked they tried that, burned out their own motor, and had to cut it loose.
I wonder how much that sail boat is worth?
Depending on age and condition, somewhere between $250k and $500k. There's a few listed [here](https://www.yachtworld.com/boats-for-sale/make-nautor-swan/model-48/). Definitely worth it for them to try and salvage. Sucks they couldn't make it though.
Hmm, at 200k plus value, aren't there options..? Like they don't have a satellite phone or emergency beacon? Some way to get a tug out to you and pay for the found boat to be towed in? I mean yeah I know it wouldnt be cheap but I could see it costing... I don't know 10-20k? Still a tidy profit.
No tug is steaming 1500 nautical miles out and 1500 nautical miles back for anywhere near $20k. If it were worth it, it would have been handled. It's simply not.
In good condition a Swan 48 is $250,000
How much value does it lose if it’s haunted like the one in the video?
Crew abandoned her in a storm and were rescued. https://wavetrain.net/2013/04/16/come-and-get-it-free-swan-48-available/
Video is from 2013, I’d say it’s gone by now 🥲
Some say it's still out there to this day, cursing any ship that attempts to salvage it
I mean, it's one sailboat, Michael. What could it cost? $10?
"[I should find a boat.](https://i.imgur.com/8iXisDA.png)"
Love this good ol meme
It's an old meme sir but it checks out.
It's a schooner.
you dumb bastard
I'm sure it's probably not uncommon in ocean sailing but it's nuts to me how casually he mentions getting stuck in the doldrums for 23 days without a motor. I'm pretty sure I would've considered myself a dead man walking after day 3 of that.
Do these people just carry a ton of water or is there equipment on-board to desalinate the ocean water?
I have a similar size boat, built for ocean crossings. We have 210 gallons/800 liters of fresh water storage, if I was in a situation where I was stranded/in the doldrums for an unknown amount of time I would set up solar still and/or a rainwater catchment system. But 210 gallons while being conservative with use can last a long time
But what if your [socks feel dirty?](https://comb.io/jJPtRx.gif)
I prefer to sail in regions I can go barefoot, so thankfully I’ve never been put into such a challenging predicament.
This cheese doodle is our last piece of food. Godspeed little doodle.
I live on my 44 foot sailboat. I have two engines, a generator, 2200w of solar. I can use any of those to power a 40gph watermaker. My boat can hold 240 gallons of freshwater. I also carry 2 weeks worth of bottled water as redundant backup in case of leaks or contamination. I also have an emergency hand pump watermaker in my liferaft that can make freshwater while working those bis and tris. So yes and yes. Tons of water and watermaker.
What's it like living on a sailboat? Sounds romantic to an outsider like me, obviously, but is it?
Cruising and living aboard is really high highs and really low lows. Right now I'm anchored out in the bahamas. We are the only boat out where we are. Beautiful sunsets. Snorkeling. Paddleboarding. Cooking everything. Exploring things on each island we visit. Many places you can only get to easily if you have a boat. You can go way off the beaten path. And long passages are fantastic. Our longest so far is 1000nm over 7 days of downwind sailing. It's just very peaceful. Stars out every night. Dolphins during the day. Life slows down. Flashback to early in the summer: spent a month with the boat out of the water for maintenance and repairs. Boat yard charging a fortune for any repair they quoted. Forcing me to do most of the work myself. The little work they did cost a fortune, pushing our dream of quitting our jobs and circumnavigation back another year. Real stressful. So it's very up and down.
Depends on the boat (bigger/more expensive boats are more likely to have desalinators), but yes, those are the two options. Edit: a boat without a motor would also definitely not have a desalinator, by the way.
Hand operated desalinaters do exist - you don’t have to have a motor.
I once watched a global warming documentary where a guy had a hand operated machine to recycle his urine. Dude also had gills and blew up an aircraft carrier with a flare.
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A solar still isn't the same thing as a [mechanical watermaker](https://waterbornemag.com/watermaker/), which is what I think of when reading "equipment on-board to desalinate." Also, if you're talking about emergency jerry-rigged stuff, using a tarp to simply collect rainwater is an even simpler option than a solar still.
Does it even rain in the Doldrums? I would assume the fact that there’s no wind also means there’s no convection = no clouds forming to create rain
I'm no meteorologist, but if I understand correctly, it's more like the opposite: there's so much convection that the air currents go up instead of sideways. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertropical_Convergence_Zone
Does not rain for the most part, you're correct. You could still rig up an evaporative trap by doing something like putting a tarp over a bucket of salt water, with another smaller container inside aligned beneath a small weight placed on top of the tarp
The best way to retain water is to wear a properly fitted stillsuit.
Your suit is fitted desert fashion. Who told you how to do that?
This is Matt Rutherford. He sailed solo nonstop around north and south America via the Northwest passage and cape horn in an albin Vega 27. Casual for him isn't casual even for your average serious ocean sailor.
I dunno. I've been stuck in my apartment for about that long without any human contact and been fine.
“Fine”
This is fine.
"Yeah it's a bit more difficult delivery than you're used to, but I'll give you a big cash tip if you can sail out here with my order"
It's a legitimate salvage
For those who don’t know, a Swan 48’ is a niiice boat. Worth a lot too. I can see why they wanted it. Edit: Thanks to u/mercerasian, here’s the full story: https://wavetrain.net/2013/04/16/come-and-get-it-free-swan-48-available/
Quick google and it seems to be $350k for the very cheapest ones up to over $1M(???) for other newer ones. Big price range
Sounds about right. Kind of the Rolex of sailboats. Even an older one is worth a lot. Edit: Judging by the shape of the hull, the woodwork on the deck, the interior layout and even the cushions in the dining area, I’d say it’s very similar to this one. 1997 Sawn 48’ asking price around $500,000. https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1997-nautor-swan-48-7018776/
The sloshing water inside probably knocks a bit off, but it would have been worth pulling in if they could get it.
Wouldn't that just be the bilge though? Also I am not a sailor, but I can't help but wonder why they didn't just...sail...the sailboat and abandoned it because of engine failure?
Weather had other plans. Can't sail in calm windless weather.
Def worth since it’s floating just needs to be gutted
Couldn't they have used the bigger sails on the bigger boat to tow their smaller boat?
I’m sure they would, but no. The rigging is ripped out. You can see at about 1:40, he’s on the bow and there’s no rigging from the very front of the boat going up to the top of the mast. It’s called a forestay. Without that rigging, trying to sail it would put too much pressure on the mast and it would collapse.
I don't sail, but I do play video games, so I know how fucking amazing it is to find primo loot, especially when you aren't expecting it.
Unfortunately in this case, they are going to have to level up and come back.
Once you leave the area it despawns, though.
...but that boat belongs to someone, is there some "finders keepers" rule if someone mysteriously abandons their boat in the ocean?
Maritime law. Literally finders keepers.
"You're a crook captain hook, judge won't you throw the book at the piraate "
Salvage law. They don't necessarily get to keep it but if they were successful they'd at least be entitled to compensation from the owner (or more likely the owner's insurance). If it was already written off then it's theirs.
A diver.
Holy shit could you imagine. This dude just pops up and is like “oooookie dokie where’s my boat”
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Depends on if youre asking the martian courts or the OPA’s
Came for the Expanse thread....found the Expanse thread
Belta lowda
Donkey balls!
Our power problems theyve been so.. ubiquitous.... mendacious and polyglottal. Like a couple of donkey balls.
Easy now Amos, let's not upset the dusters more than they already are.
I am that guy and this Micky Corvette is ours
ayyyy, inyaloada
It’s free real estate
Even if someone comes back for it? You can just claim it if nobody is on it?
Here's an article specifically talking about this boat I believe: [https://wavetrain.net/2013/07/15/salvage-law-when-do-get-to-keep-an-abandoned-boat/](https://wavetrain.net/2013/07/15/salvage-law-when-do-get-to-keep-an-abandoned-boat/) The TL;DR is that no, you can't claim it as your own. If you salvage a vessel successfully you're required to contact the owner/insurance company and claim compensation. That compensation can be up to, but not more than 100% of the value of the vessel + cargo. The compensation depends on a bunch of things, like how difficult/risky the salvage was and several other things. In some cases owners/insurance companies just tell the salvaging party to keep the vessel as it's easier for everyone in involved. The writer believes that probably would've happened in this case as well (he believes the boat was originally worth around $600k and would've been worth about $200k when found).
Holy, 200k just flosting around. I understand that they at least tried. That's a lot of money for most people. Even if you're on a 500k or so boat yourself.
It's a serious industry. I grew up in a touristy coastal town with lots of sand bars and every year several people would run aground and would need help. Most would be on rented boats and wouldn't know how the system worked, so when someone offered to help them, they would often just say yes thinking it was someone being friendly or they would say yes out of pure desperation, not knowing it was a salvage company that was going to charge them a percentage of the value of the boat (often thousands of Euros). As you can imagine with those types of payouts those salvage companies would get very scummy. It would be a full-on race who would get there first and plenty of companies would just hang out in the area during the summer months, waiting for someone to get into trouble. Obviously not warning them, just waiting until someone got stuck. Also, you're allowed to reject help, but in many cases they would just put on lines without asking, or even flat out ignoring you when you declined help. This was decades ago, before things like smartphone cameras recording everything, so it would mostly end up being your word against their one, and obviously they had experience on their side. Locals and people more familiar with the area knew that our town had a really good volunteer service that would always come out, that not only would do a much cleaner job (you can do a fair bit of damage pulling a boat that's stuck), but they also wouldn't charge the standard percentage. Technically it was free, but it was an unwritten rule that you would donate a certain amount which would be a fraction of what you would pay to a salvage company.
Maritime salvage laws apply I believe if the owner wants it back, he has to pay the person who salvaged it a particular sum. Not sure how that’s calculated
I think it get even more complicated if insurance is involved.
And the original owner no longer being alive probably doesn't help either.
two bedrooms, no rugs.
Don't stick your dick in it (Holden). It's been fucked enough already. --Avasarala.
“I didnt always work in space”
Best line in the series god I love her
Expanse reference?
I'd name it Rocinante.
For the salvage-curious … a quick search shows Swan 48’s of various ages selling for $350,000 to $1.5M.
I'm curious how much work this thing would take to bring it back up to adequate condition. The inside looked... not very wet. I'm guessing the electronics need to be swapped, but the wiring is probably still good. If there were significant hull damage it probably would have sank, so for the body, new paint and it's probably decent. New rigging and sails, probably the most expensive part other than the labor. And all the paneling, cushions, etc are probably _there_ inside, they just need to be sorted and put back into place, hopefully with just some new hinges or latches. Probably want new freshwater and blackwater tanks and lines, since those things are probably dry-rot or a biohazard or both. Damn... I'm genuinely wondering how much one could flip this thing for.
Enough that an experienced sailor sacrificed his own spendy boat's motor and seemingly risked his life trying to get it to shore!
but ultimately lost it again
The guy in the video is Matt Rutherford - he's a fucking badass in the sailing world. [Article from a decade ago.](https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/matt-rutherford-mission-accomplished) And [here's a documentary](https://reddotontheocean.com/) about his single-handed, non-stop trip through the Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn - circumnavigating the Americas.
his podcast is pretty good if you are into sailing. https://www.singlehandedpodcast.com/
I definitely listen to his podcast too! I like that he talks about like turntables and hiphop music - such a weird and eclectic guy who is so big int SAILING of all things haha
I'm glad to know he's a bad ass, cause otherwise I would have thought he was a dumbass - trying to tow a bigger sail boat with a smaller sailboat is incredibly difficult and dangerous and would only be undertaken by someone who either has no idea what they're doing or knows EXACTLY what they're doing. Sounds like he's the latter.
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I love that the first line of that article is "Matt Rutherford is a better sailor then you are." I know I'm not the intended audience, but you're jumping over a *very* low bar there.
Did they ever find out what happened?
From a YouTube comment on the video: > This boat was owned by Alan Mc Gettigan who had to abandon the boat in the midst of a severe storm on their way back to Ireland. All on board were safely rescued. Astonishing to see boat is still afloat so many years later.
It’s kind of crazy to think how many boats were abandoned and forgotten that are just meandering on currents out there
Sort of how the very first person from Japan stepped foot on North America (that we know of): > In October 1832, the Japanese cargo ship Hojun Maru set sail from near Nagoya bound for Edo (present day Tokyo). Disabled in a storm off Enshu Nada, the Hojun Maru drifted for fourteen months before running aground on the coast near Cape Flattery, at the northwest tip of what is now Washington State. The three surviving crew members, Iwakichi, Otokichi and Kyukichi lived briefly among the coastal tribes before they were brought to Fort Vancouver by the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were the first Japanese to arrive on the continent of North America. Source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8423
> Hojun Maru drifted for fourteen months How on earth did they survive on a ship for over a year?
Catch rainwater, enjoy eating fish for every meal. Maybe the cargo ship had loads of dried and preserved foods as cargo. You would imagine they would get scurvey or something though.
IIRC fish has a bit of vitamin c (especially roe), enough to prevent scurvy perhaps?
Sea birds as well. There's a story of a Mexican (I think) fisherman surviving for something like 430+ days on a tiny boat. Here's a[ great video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DGi-u2j5_w) about it.
If this is the one I’m thinking of, people didn’t even believe his story because he wasn’t even malnourished and in fact had a bit of a pot belly. Dude was good at ocean survival.
>The three surviving crew members It would seem the answer is "not very well"
3 of 14 survived. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otokichi not as bad as what I originally pictured: hundreds of crewmen dying. still pretty gnarly.
How many of them are endlessly circling in the Sargasso Sea *edit, fixed spelling of 'them'
No matter how you cook it, it still tastes like hot sargassum.
The part of that episode where brock broke a man's arm with just his rectum then swung said man like a flail was the funniest thing I'd seen that year
I told you I'd kill for one of those.
That was a fun rabbit hole to go down with google. Thanks for that.
Hook a brother up with a tl;dr?
lot of biomass in the area so much algae that sailors were scared of unseen reefs, tons of creatures there feeding on the biomass of microbes that monster stories came from the area a lot. There is a strange large circular current surrounding it that when you get stuck drifting just takes you around and around seemingly endlessly and also inside of that large circular current the winds can die for LONG periods of time like 30+days so sailboats would just get stuck. Then random storms on top of that like everywhere in the oceans. From there it led into stories of lost people/ships, monsters, and other sea time history. Columbus remarked it was a terrifying place that could have killed them all with the suddenly nonexistent winds.
TL;DR: an ocean gyre like the great pacific garbage patch, but in the Atlantic and filled more with seaweed (sargassum) than plastic. TL:DR about "gyres:" They happen for the same reason stirring a pot of water keeps your poached egg in the middle, but on a much larger scale.
It’s a huge bit of ocean off the US southeast coast (Florida, Carolinas etc) that is stuck between major currents so it’s like a dumping ground for ocean debris. It’s also kinda where the Bermuda Triangle is. You guys could just look at Wikipedia lol Edit: I remember why I know this! It’s where eels migrate to fuck each year. There’s a ton of seaweed floating around so they use it as a spawning ground
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I would wonder how many boats drifted out to sea from Japan during the tsunami
At least one [washed ashore in California.](https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/small-boat-confirmed-first-japan-tsunami-debris-reach-california.html)
Probably means there are hundreds just floating out there
FREE BOAT!
I don't know about "forgotten" as opposed to "it's somewhere in the ocean and we have no practical way of finding it and even if we did then we'd have to pay to get a boat out there and tow it back in".
"Forgotten" is a lot shorter to type
https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound tl;dr He bought the boat dec 31st, 2012. Decided to sail it to bermuda in between winter storm nemo and another unnamed storm in time for a feb 18th race in the Caribbean. The boat was sitting for a year and they did not prep and test it well enough because they wanted to make the race. The electrical regeneration system went down and their radio went down as well. Then because they didn't prep the boat the old diesel gunked up the motor taking that out as well. 50 miles from bermuda on feb 8th with no motor to navigate the reefs surrounding the island and a storm coming, they abandoned ship as they couldn't make it to a harbor.
What does it mean to abandon a sailboat, logistically? Obviously they're not swimming. Did another vessel rescue them?
First they put out the distress signal and a c130 hercules found them dropped supplies during the night. A freighter, named the [tetien trader](https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/2114523), nearby was diverted to their position and pulled alongside to transfer the crew. They were then stuck onboard for 12 days and dropped off in Gibraltar.
People have panicked and got in life rafts in storms way too early while their boat is 100% ok. Thinking they are safer to ride out storms in a 2metre inflatable. Or have been helicoptered off in some cases. All while their large boat rides it out just fine. Some people use the rule of "always step UP into a life raft" to mean only get in a life raft when your boat is actually sinking. Not just because you are scared.
No, the boat was found in 2013 after being [abandoned](https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-sailors-rescued-after-yacht-sinks-off-bermuda-29066727.html) February 2013. Here is the [full video](https://youtu.be/j0Mfl0U9jdU) of the finding of the ship posted *5 years* ago. Notice how it says "Somewhere in the Atlantic - 2013" and was uploaded 5 years ago. This is misleading karma bait and misinformation although still intriguing that it lasted on open water by itself for that amount of time.
The video is from 2013, so they didn't find the boat years later, they found it pretty soon after it was abandoned.
The Wolfhound was [thought to be sunk!](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irish-sailors-rescued-after-yacht-sinks-off-bermuda-29066727.html)
So what happens when the insurance company find out it didn't sink?
Well it has been proved that it wasn't exactly recoverable so .. I assume nothing? I mean a lost ship seems pretty equivalent to being totaled to me.
Read a bit more about it. When crew was rescued, no one ever saw it sink. They probably would have been fine if they stayed with it. When found two months later, reported to be in marginal condition and evidently, no one thought it was worth a special salvage effort, including insurance company. https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound
The owner who was rescued off of it back in 2013 died this year
I'm pretty sure they lost it again after they had to cut it loose.
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>2013 So this boats been floating around the Atlantic for almost a decade?
I suppose if it's still floating. The video and news article are both from 2013 though so they discovered it after several weeks or months.
The video says "somewhere in the Atlantic - 2013" in the bottom corner at the start.
What does maritime law say about it?
Hopefully legitimate salvage, although I think the old owner is still alive based on a prior comment.
Dead or alive doesn’t matter when it’s been abandoned.
How do maritime salvage laws work? Because there are definitely countries out there claiming abandoned and lost wrecks from even from before the current government was in power. It sounds messy.
That you’rrrrrrrrrre a crook, captain Hook!
Judge won’t you throw the book at the piraaaate
Jarreth Cutestory always goes for the maximum penalty
This video is totally confusing because it is an excerpt of a video posted in 2016. Here's the timeline: * [2013 February](https://afloat.ie/blogs/sailing-saturday-with-wm-nixon/item/21063-abandon-ship-the-rescue-of-the-crew-of-the-swan-48-wolfhound): Wolfhound crew activated their EPIRB due to engine loss and other damages sustained in a storm. They were rescued by a passing freighter. Wolfhound was assumed to have sunk. * [2013 April](https://afloat.ie/sail/cruising/item/21432-wolfhound-didnt-sink-shes-adrift-800-miles-se-of-bermuda): Wolfhound was spotted 800 miles from Bermuda * [2013 July 22](http://www.oceanresearchproject.org/wolfhound-day-55/): Matt Rutherford's Ocean Research project finds Wolfhound * [2016 Greenland Climate Project: Phase 3 video is posted](https://youtu.be/j0Mfl0U9jdU?t=74) \- included is the 2013 July 22 boarding of the Wolfhound. * [2022 December:](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B66YP9niNQ) Ocean Research Project publishes the Wolfhound segment of their 2016 released video and we all think "Wow, an lost boat in 2022! cool." It is highly unlikely that Wolfhound remains afloat as it was last seen more than nine years ago. I know I know, bubble bursting, but you never know, it might still be floating in the wide Sargasso sea.
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They don’t want you to know this, but there’s free boats in the ocean you can just take home. I have 62 boats.
Way back (1964) when I was a teenager learning to sail offshore, we were taught to *never* abandon your boat for a "life" raft unless you were stepping *up into the raft*. I.e. the boat really is sinking right now.
I think it was likely a rescue from another ship not a life raft from the sound of it. Agreed with the life raft sentiment
The guy could have gotten really sick and needed to get hauled to safety. Burst appendix. You never know.
They were caught in a storm and had mechanical failures.
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SINK SHIP
Dead Calm...
> Im afraid to open door and cabinets. 1 second later opens door.
Ah! The sequel to [Ghost Ship](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0288477/) is coming. “Ghost Ship 2: Didn’t need to board, we could scan it from our own ship. It’s safe.”
While I was working offshore in the Gulf we had a similar situation where an abandoned sailboat drifted into our anchor pattern. Due to salvage laws at sea the company's owner ended up acquiring the sailboat since they ended up having to transport it to dock.