Hey Brian,

Funny, I was about to post this link in a new thread, but it fits nicely here, as well...

Some may remember the abandonment of the 50 Gulfstar TRIUMPH a couple of months ago, about 700 miles NE of Cape Cod on passage to the Azores... The classic example of a cascading series of failures (beginning with an ENGINE failure, of course), then the loss of the shrouds on the starboard side, and ultimately the inevitable "taking on water" sealed the deal... They called the CG, who diverted a ship in the AMVER program, and the boat was abandoned, rig still standing, rudder still working, etc...

There was a discussion over on Sailnet at the time, and of course yours truly heartily participated in the second-guessing.... (grin) Seemed to me they could have stabilized the rig, and with the prevailing Southwesterlies, laid a course on port tack towards Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, as they were not even yet E of Cape Race...

Well, much to his credit, the captain just showed up on Sailnet, to tell his story with a remarkable degree of candor... It's a pretty compelling read, and certainly highlights the extreme risk of effecting the transfer of crew to a large ship at sea... The guy is extremely lucky to be alive, and he now realizes that calling for help instead of attempting a self-rescue was one of the biggest mistakes he's ever made...

He goes into more detail in subsequent posts, and IMHO winds up blabbing a bit more than perhaps he really should... (grin) Still, a worthwhile read, IMHO...

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/77054-s-v-triumph-lost-atlantic-8.html#post775146

And now, for a REALLY strange rescue story, you couldn't make this one up... Be sure to read the comments after the first link, and then the second:

http://threesheetsnw.com/blog/archives/19165

http://threesheetsnw.com/blog/archives/19375

Sounds like this guy might have been better off going down with the ship... (grin)

best regards,

Jon