We spoke with Abby early this morning and learned that she had had a very rough day with winds up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. She had been knocked down several times but was handling things well. The wind had subsided to around 35 knots which she and Wild Eyes are quite comfortable with.
We were helping her troubleshoot her engine that she was trying to start to charge her systems. Satellite phone reception was patchy. She was able to get the water out of the engine and start her up. We were waiting to hear back from her when American Search & Rescue authorities called to report having received a signal from her emergency beacon (EPIRB). We initially thought that the signal was sent automatically from her water-activated EPIRB and that it had been activated during one of her knockdowns. As we pulled the paperwork from her EPIRB registration, we learned that the signal had come from her manually activated EPIRB.
We were referred to Australian Search & Rescue and while we were on the phone with them another signal came in from her handheld PLB (Personal Locator Beacon). Her water-activated EPIRB has not been activated so we are hopeful that the boat is still upright.
We are working closely with American, French and Australian Search & Rescue authorities to coordinate several ships in the area to divert to her location. There are several ships in her area, the earliest possible contact is 40 hours. We are actively seeking out some sort of air rescue but this is difficult due to the remoteness of her location. Australian Search & Rescue have arranged to have a Quantas Airbus fly over her location at first light (she is 11 hours later). They will not be able to help her other than to talk via marine radio if they are able to get close enough. Hopefully, they will be able to assess her situation and report back to us.
Abby has all of the equipment on board to survive a crisis situation like this. She has a dry suit, survival suit, life raft, and ditch bag with emergency supplies. If she can keep warm and hang on, help will be there as soon as possible. Wild Eyes is designed for travel in the Southern Ocean and is equipped with 5 air-tight bulkheads to keep her buoyant in the event of major hull damage. It is built to Category 0 standards and is designed to self-right in the event of capsize.
Thank you for all of your kind emails and calls. We appreciate your prayers and support.
We will update as soon as there is some news.
Laurence, Marianne and Team Abby
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A Rough Few Days
The last few days have pretty busy out here. I've been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts. With that front passing, the conditions were lighter today. It was a nice day today with some lighter winds which gave me a chance to patch everything up. Wild Eyes was great through everything but after a day with over 50 knots at times, I had quite a bit of work to do.
For most of the day today I had about 20 knots. I had been hoping to get some lighter winds so I could patch up one of my sails. It was still a bit windy out but with more rough weather tomorrow I wasn't sure when my next chance to fix it would be. I managed to take it down, take care of the tear and get it back up in a couple of hours. It wasn't the most fun job I have done out here. With the seas still huge, Wild Eyes was rolling around like crazy. Of course not even half and hour after I got the sail back up the wind dropped from 20 to 10 knots!
My Thrane & Thrane (Internet) system is down again so I am not able to send in my blog. The problem seems a bit more serious than the last few times I have had trouble with it. There is something wrong with the terminal at the back. It is possible that water got inside of it because it has a rough ride back there the past few days with waves crashing right over it. Unfortunately, if that is the problem I probably won't be able to fix it. At least I still have my Iridium phones so I can still call in to my mom and read her my bog for her to post.
The wind is beginning to pick up. It is back up to 20 knots and I am expecting that by midnight tonight I could have 35-50 knots with gusts to 60 so I am off to sleep before it really picks up.
For most of the day today I had about 20 knots. I had been hoping to get some lighter winds so I could patch up one of my sails. It was still a bit windy out but with more rough weather tomorrow I wasn't sure when my next chance to fix it would be. I managed to take it down, take care of the tear and get it back up in a couple of hours. It wasn't the most fun job I have done out here. With the seas still huge, Wild Eyes was rolling around like crazy. Of course not even half and hour after I got the sail back up the wind dropped from 20 to 10 knots!
My Thrane & Thrane (Internet) system is down again so I am not able to send in my blog. The problem seems a bit more serious than the last few times I have had trouble with it. There is something wrong with the terminal at the back. It is possible that water got inside of it because it has a rough ride back there the past few days with waves crashing right over it. Unfortunately, if that is the problem I probably won't be able to fix it. At least I still have my Iridium phones so I can still call in to my mom and read her my bog for her to post.
The wind is beginning to pick up. It is back up to 20 knots and I am expecting that by midnight tonight I could have 35-50 knots with gusts to 60 so I am off to sleep before it really picks up.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Update from the Middle of the Indian Ocean
I meant to blog yesterday, but I was having some problems with my Thrane & Thrane again. As you can tell from this blog, I was able to play around with it and get it going again.
Everything has been going well out here. I have been enjoying some nice moderate 20-25 knot winds out of the SW. Surfing down 20 foot waves has been very nice really. The wind is beginning to die down tonight, it will probably be pretty uncomfortable for a little while. After the wind dies, the waves stay pretty big for awhile and without the wind you end up just rolling gunwal to gunwal. It definitely makes for a bad night of sleep, but the wind won't be down for long.
I'm almost half way across the Indian Ocean! It really doesn't feel like it. I keep looking at my charts and there never seems to be a big difference from the last time I checked, but I am ticking off the miles slowly but surely. The weather looks like it could pick up a lot in the next few days. I could have winds up to 60 knots, so I'm getting things all tied down and ready for some big winds.
Well, it's getting late over here so I should go, but I'll try and write again tomorrow.
Everything has been going well out here. I have been enjoying some nice moderate 20-25 knot winds out of the SW. Surfing down 20 foot waves has been very nice really. The wind is beginning to die down tonight, it will probably be pretty uncomfortable for a little while. After the wind dies, the waves stay pretty big for awhile and without the wind you end up just rolling gunwal to gunwal. It definitely makes for a bad night of sleep, but the wind won't be down for long.
I'm almost half way across the Indian Ocean! It really doesn't feel like it. I keep looking at my charts and there never seems to be a big difference from the last time I checked, but I am ticking off the miles slowly but surely. The weather looks like it could pick up a lot in the next few days. I could have winds up to 60 knots, so I'm getting things all tied down and ready for some big winds.
Well, it's getting late over here so I should go, but I'll try and write again tomorrow.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Repairs Going Well and the Heater!
The calm before the stormI've had another quiet day out here with no more then 12 knots all day. I'm still managing to make decent speeds, around 6-7 knots. I've been able to get my heater working today and though I haven't gotten very far, I'm beginning to sort out everything in the back that got wet.
The wind should be picking up over the night and I am looking forward to another biggish blow soon. Wild Eyes is doing very well and I am finally getting ahead with all the repairs. My two auto pilots seem to be working well - it's such a relief to have reliable pilots.
I am having a little trouble writing my book. It's so hard to start a story when so much has already happened. But now that things are working better I will have a lot more time to work on it. Well, today's blog inst much of a thriller, but that's all that's going on aboard the good ship Wild Eyes at the moment.
I meant to get some new pictures today but got kinda busy working on things so I'll try and get some more up soon.
A little bit of the sun
Friday, June 4, 2010
Drying Out
Things have been going pretty well out here recently. I've had some lighter weather lately and though moving slowly can be a pain, I have quite a bit of work to do so having some calm weather is a big help. Everything down below is wet. It's hard enough to dry things soaked in salt water at the best of times, but when it's cold, grey and windy it's pretty much impossible.
It's been a little warmer now that I am out of the last cold front and it looks like I will be able to get my heater working again. The condensation is really bad down below, so bad that it's like it's raining down here. I keep drying off the walls and cabin roof but it comes back up pretty fast.
At the moment almost all of my equipment is working. Things have been a little dryer outside, other then the occasional shower so I have been able to repair the leak under the throttle. The weather should be picking up again soon so I'll see how well it works! I love lots of wind and big seas, but it is very nice to have a day every now and then to get things all back together.
There will be a short story on ABC tonight on the 2020 show. ABC has been great to work with both with Good Morning America and now 20/20. It is scheduled to be on at 10pm Eastern time.
Also, we should have a link up on the homepage of my web site tonight to buy a commemorative T-shirt of my trip. We are trying to raise some money to cover my communication costs. Sat West has been great by offering us my Iridium sat phone minutes at a lower rate and GMPCS has given us a partial sponsorship of my Inmarsat minutes but it is still adding up fast!
Abby
It's been a little warmer now that I am out of the last cold front and it looks like I will be able to get my heater working again. The condensation is really bad down below, so bad that it's like it's raining down here. I keep drying off the walls and cabin roof but it comes back up pretty fast.
At the moment almost all of my equipment is working. Things have been a little dryer outside, other then the occasional shower so I have been able to repair the leak under the throttle. The weather should be picking up again soon so I'll see how well it works! I love lots of wind and big seas, but it is very nice to have a day every now and then to get things all back together.
There will be a short story on ABC tonight on the 2020 show. ABC has been great to work with both with Good Morning America and now 20/20. It is scheduled to be on at 10pm Eastern time.
Also, we should have a link up on the homepage of my web site tonight to buy a commemorative T-shirt of my trip. We are trying to raise some money to cover my communication costs. Sat West has been great by offering us my Iridium sat phone minutes at a lower rate and GMPCS has given us a partial sponsorship of my Inmarsat minutes but it is still adding up fast!
Abby
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A Drastic Change
It's amazing what a drastic change has taken place in such a short time out here. By night time the same day I posted all the pictures of flat seas and sun, I had 20 knots and was racing along. By the next morning I had 25-30 knots and some pretty big seas. By last night I had 35 knots gusting up to 45knots, some pretty gnarly squalls, and 25 foot seas.
It's been a great ride out here, though not all fun and easy. Last night I had quite a bit of sail up (triple reefed main and full genoa), the auto pilot was handling it very well and I was pretty happy with how things were going. Wild Eyes was heeled over pretty far but the wind seemed steady and so I finished up my work and went to bed. I could feel the wind building a little, but as the auto pilot was still doing very well I didn't get overly worried about it.
Well, I got into my first squall of the night not long after I went to bed. The pilot went into standby and I went to jump out the companionway, but right as I was at the door I heard rushing water. Not water rushing along the hull but water rushing into the boat. I had water pouring into the back compartment and I had no idea where it was coming from. I grabbed a flash light and dived into the back getting soaked in the icy water. It was pouring in from the cock pit, but I still couldn't tell where exactly.
I climbed over to where it seemed the main stream was coming from and got a closer look. It was coming through at the throttle mounting - the throttle that is mounted on the wall of the cockpit was under water because of how heeled over I was when I gybed. Having found the leak, I shut off the hatches to the back compartment. I was extremely relieved to have found that the leak was above the water line and as long as I could get the boat back under control I could sort it out.
I think when things like this happen you go into mild shock. After the initial horror of seeing water pouring into your boat, your mind just goes into a survival mode and you don't give fear or any new problems a thought. It's so important to be focused on dealing with the problem at hand that fear becomes dangerous, it makes you hesitant to deal with things and knocks your confidence.
Back outside, it was pouring buckets of rain. I hadn't bothered to get my foul weather gear on. I didn't have time to. I didn't notice the cold. Wild Eyes was nearly flat on her side and the running back stay was stuck the wrong side of the boom. I clipped onto the boom and climbed onto the end. I would rather not have done that, but under the circumstances there was no other choice. I just hoped that things would stay stable enough while I was out there. At the end of the boom I was holding on as the big swells rolled the boat all over the place. It was steady for a minute and I let go and grabbed the back stay and worked it loose. I got off the boom as quickly as possible and hurried to get things sorted out.
Once I was back on track with less sail up, things seemed to be going better. I had the boat under control and didn't hear the water in the back any more. I was still dreading going back there to see what damage had been done, but extremely glad to have it stopped temporarily.
There was quite a bit of water back there and in a hurry to get it all out before it reached any electronics higher up I got back there with a bucket to give my little bilge pump a hand. My diesel heater was soaked, the water had been spraying almost directly on it. Luckily nothing else seemed to be damaged and I have plenty of warm clothes!
I must say I wasn't the happiest person in the world at that moment. I was soaked and beginning to really feel cold, in fact, I couldn't stop shivering. I made my way up front and pulled out some dry clothes. Still shivering pretty badly I came back out and gave everything a good look over. Pretty much every thing down below is wet. I was thinking of going back to bed, but the sun was just beginning to come up and I was able to get my first glimpse of the swells that had been building over night - they were amazing!
Forgetting about the cold, I went back outside with my foul weather gear on this time. It's really an amazing sight these walls of water that look like they're just going to dump on you and then all of a sudden you pick up some speed and you go racing down at thrilling speeds.
Well that just about made up for the trouble during the night. Later when I was talking to my mom, I was told I did 237 miles is one day! Okay, so I am shooting for 250 miles but 237 is close enough for now and I can safely say that after hearing that, my day went from ranking pretty low with some of the least pleasant times I have had at sea, to one of the better times of my trip!
It's been a great ride out here, though not all fun and easy. Last night I had quite a bit of sail up (triple reefed main and full genoa), the auto pilot was handling it very well and I was pretty happy with how things were going. Wild Eyes was heeled over pretty far but the wind seemed steady and so I finished up my work and went to bed. I could feel the wind building a little, but as the auto pilot was still doing very well I didn't get overly worried about it.
Well, I got into my first squall of the night not long after I went to bed. The pilot went into standby and I went to jump out the companionway, but right as I was at the door I heard rushing water. Not water rushing along the hull but water rushing into the boat. I had water pouring into the back compartment and I had no idea where it was coming from. I grabbed a flash light and dived into the back getting soaked in the icy water. It was pouring in from the cock pit, but I still couldn't tell where exactly.
I climbed over to where it seemed the main stream was coming from and got a closer look. It was coming through at the throttle mounting - the throttle that is mounted on the wall of the cockpit was under water because of how heeled over I was when I gybed. Having found the leak, I shut off the hatches to the back compartment. I was extremely relieved to have found that the leak was above the water line and as long as I could get the boat back under control I could sort it out.
I think when things like this happen you go into mild shock. After the initial horror of seeing water pouring into your boat, your mind just goes into a survival mode and you don't give fear or any new problems a thought. It's so important to be focused on dealing with the problem at hand that fear becomes dangerous, it makes you hesitant to deal with things and knocks your confidence.
Back outside, it was pouring buckets of rain. I hadn't bothered to get my foul weather gear on. I didn't have time to. I didn't notice the cold. Wild Eyes was nearly flat on her side and the running back stay was stuck the wrong side of the boom. I clipped onto the boom and climbed onto the end. I would rather not have done that, but under the circumstances there was no other choice. I just hoped that things would stay stable enough while I was out there. At the end of the boom I was holding on as the big swells rolled the boat all over the place. It was steady for a minute and I let go and grabbed the back stay and worked it loose. I got off the boom as quickly as possible and hurried to get things sorted out.
Once I was back on track with less sail up, things seemed to be going better. I had the boat under control and didn't hear the water in the back any more. I was still dreading going back there to see what damage had been done, but extremely glad to have it stopped temporarily.
There was quite a bit of water back there and in a hurry to get it all out before it reached any electronics higher up I got back there with a bucket to give my little bilge pump a hand. My diesel heater was soaked, the water had been spraying almost directly on it. Luckily nothing else seemed to be damaged and I have plenty of warm clothes!
I must say I wasn't the happiest person in the world at that moment. I was soaked and beginning to really feel cold, in fact, I couldn't stop shivering. I made my way up front and pulled out some dry clothes. Still shivering pretty badly I came back out and gave everything a good look over. Pretty much every thing down below is wet. I was thinking of going back to bed, but the sun was just beginning to come up and I was able to get my first glimpse of the swells that had been building over night - they were amazing!
Forgetting about the cold, I went back outside with my foul weather gear on this time. It's really an amazing sight these walls of water that look like they're just going to dump on you and then all of a sudden you pick up some speed and you go racing down at thrilling speeds.
Well that just about made up for the trouble during the night. Later when I was talking to my mom, I was told I did 237 miles is one day! Okay, so I am shooting for 250 miles but 237 is close enough for now and I can safely say that after hearing that, my day went from ranking pretty low with some of the least pleasant times I have had at sea, to one of the better times of my trip!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Photos from the Indian Ocean
Today was a very quiet day windless day. It has been a long time since I've jumped up and down over a 5 knot gust! It should be picking up soon though and in a few days I'll have 30-40 knots. Really looking forward to that! For now it is rest and prepare...
No wind - but sun!
The sun!
My gigantic main sail is a real pain getting that thing all the way up but I love it in light wind
I don't get to see the sun very often down here so it is quite a big deal when there is a clear day
Thrane & Thrane: the wonderful people that make it possible for me to send blogs and photos from sea!
A nice night, not much wind but good weather for getting some deck work done
Me at the nav station
Sunrise - first morning out of Cape Town
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