Moonduster destroyed and looted on beach

[carl291]

Anyone read this story on Latitude 38 on line?? You have got to feel for this sailor.
What a beautiful yacht, Even destroyed it appears pristine. I am amazed how clean the bottom of this cruising boat appeared in the photo.

[ebb]

That may get you to an eight page lively discussion on the tragedy.
The boat was a 17metricton 47' S&S cold molded hull. Don't know the underbody as I didn't run into a picture. But was obviously a gorgeous yacht.

Wayne is an upfront cruiser, vocal and real.
Obviously his posts on forums had a huge following. The Sailing Anarchy pages show a fine writer and thinker. This was a tragedy, BUT the boat was driven onto a beach and he and his partner literally stepped ashore. One side of the hull was stoved in and in its location a total loss.

His one Delta anchor held throughout the ordeal. His gear parted and is pretty well detailed.
I suggest anybody going cruising read about it and draw your own conclusions.


I know that my preliminary research suggests that a 3 ton Ariel offshore cruiser should have 5/8" square braid nylon line on whatever anchor blows yer skirt up. I believe also that the attachment point should somehow be cleated AT THE RAIL. A chock by definition is a chaffing point, especially every off the shelf crock-a- chock I've ever seen.
The only decent attachment point is a bronze ONE PIECE chock/cleat combo that has the smooth rounded chock on the rail with a cleat below it just inside the rail that you slip the snubber or rode eye over the cleat and lay it in the chock.
Wayne's boat had fathoms of 5/16 G4 link that did fine, as I understand. It was his 5/8" three strand nylon that parted.
For a 17 ton boat that is far too light, imco.
No matter what any authority says: That line, which Wayne says could have been twisted or kinked, didn't hold. His deck set up for anchoring was traditional: the warp cleats, eg, were 12 feet from the rail!
The line parted just outboard of the rail or hawse pipe. That could be because the last few times the boat anchored the rode was in the same position over chafe points. Obviously don't know.
AND in the tropics plastic rope gets fried.

The yacht was lost because of CHAFE. And although Wayne was onboard during the storm there was nothing he could do during the blow to secure his system.

A system that had been completely adequate up until that time.
You can imagine what it was like.


Read about it forensically. and arm your boat accordingly.

[c_amos]

Tragic indeed.

I do like the snubber at the eye, if for no other reason the fact that the rode is still through the roller.... the strain is taken at a point with no chafe, and if it parts the strain transfers to a point with some protection.

What ever the arrangement, the objective to avoid;

http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/img_lectronic_800/2010-01-13_9114_DSC_1062.JPG

Here is the link to the article in Latitude 38 (http://www.latitude38.com/features/moonduster.html)

[carl291]

EBB, I'm in complete agreement on the 5/8 line as a snubber on this vessel. I am impressed with the performance of the one anchor and chain rode. As far the windlass unwinding more rode, if I were to own one, some type of a manual stop for this type situation would have to be installed.
50-70 knot gust, that had to be brutal.
This sailor has more experience navigating around in a hot tub than I do cruising an ocean, but a conclusion I have realized is with all the electronic data retrival , communications, GPS, cruising guides and routes, sailing is as ripe with disaster today as it was for J Slocum armed with a timepiece , sextant, leadline and a barometer.