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Author Topic:   Boater Rescued After 12-days at Sea

jimh posted 12-10-2014 01:46 PM ET (US)
The usual news sources are filled today with stories of the rescue of a man who spent the last 12-days adrift in his 25-foot sailboat in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Real details are slim. It appears that on Thanksgiving this boater transmitted a MAYDAY message, resulting in an extensive search effort. The search failed to located the vessel in distress. Then, unexplained in the news accounts, 12-days later the boater transmits a very brief MAYDAY message. The Coast Guard radio watch apparently receives the message and gets a good radio direction finding fix on the transmitter, and the man is rescued one hour later, about 65-miles offshore.
To read any of the dozens of accounts of this, try:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Coast+Guard+Navy+rescue+Ron+Ingraham& hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&oq=&gs_l=
I hope there is some further information on what went on for 12-days between the first MAYDAY and the second one. Perhaps he was too busy bailing the boat to get to the radio.
I also wonder if his boat had a modern DSC radio with integration with GNSS. A few button pushes and a DSC radio begins sending distress alert messages with very accurate position reports. And if sailing single-handed on the open ocean, maybe an investment in an EPIRB would be prudent. Well, good outcome, but 12-days adrift at sea is not exactly the best way to spend Thanksgiving.
The local Hawaii news website has better information:
http://bigislandnow.com/2014/12/09/missing-mariner-rescued-alive/
The USCG website has good info, to:
http://coastguardnews.com/ mariner-en-route-molokai-after-being-lost-at-sea/2014/12/10/

jimh posted 12-10-2014 01:55 PM ET (US)
Radio coverage map for USCG RESCUE21 in Hawaii at:
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/images/marcomms/cgcomms/Rescue21/D14-Hono.jpg
The calculated radio range maps show coverage to about 80-miles at sea in the general direction the boater was initially sailing. His final MAYDAY position was 64-miles south of Oahu. That looks like it was at the fringe of coverage.
andygere posted 12-11-2014 12:02 AM ET (US)
None of the news reports say what the problem with his vessel was. It seems to be floating well in the photos, and one even shows the sails seemingly intact. It makes me wonder if his steering gear failed.
jimh posted 12-11-2014 12:52 AM ET (US)
Once his initial MAYDAY radio call did not result in any further contact or rescue, perhaps the fellow figured he would just have to drift in the current and wind, waiting until he drifted into radio range of another island's Coast Guard radio towers. He might have been saving his battery for when he thought it most probable that someone might hear him.
I hope more details come out. This is an interesting case to study.
Jefecinco posted 12-11-2014 08:06 AM ET (US)
NBC TV News last night indicated the sailor's mast had broken near the top. He survived rather happily on fish for nutrition and hydration. Reportedly he jury rigged a VHF antenna from a coat hanger and got out a single eight second Mayday Call. He was very lucky the USCG was successful in receiving the call and determining the direction from which it came. It was also reported that he had been "knocked down" which caused the damage to his mast.
Perhaps we need to add a coat hanger to our emergency equipment bag.
Butch
hmaz1 posted 12-11-2014 11:48 AM ET (US)
Butch, I have a coat hanger in each of my repair kits in each of my cars and truck, and in the boat and camper before I sold them. And always one or two in my work/tool bench area. Just amazing how often I 'fix' something with hanger wire. I rate it right behind duct tape on the kit list.
jimh posted 12-11-2014 12:58 PM ET (US)
You can make an effective VHF Marine Band antenna from the coaxial transmission line. Cut off the outer insulation. Measure back one-quarter wavelength. Push back the outer insulation braid. Pull out the center conductor. Stretch the braid back to its original length. Hoist antenna into rigging. You have a halfwave vertical dipole antenna.
How long is a quarterwave? Marine Band is 156-Mhz. Wavelength is equal to C (speed of light) divided by F (frequency)
Wavelength at 156-MHz = (3 x 10^8-meters/sec) / (1.56 x 10^8-cycles/sec)
Wavelength at 156-MHz = 3/1.56-meters/1-cycle
Wavelength at 156-MHz = 1.923-meters
A quarter-wavelength is 0.481-meters or 18.93-inches
(1-meter = 39.37-inches approximately)
EJO posted 12-11-2014 04:12 PM ET (US)
A rogue wave and high winds caused his boat to knock down, the mast to hit the water, and his antenna on top to break. [Some sources] said [the knockdown] broke his masts. His boat was a cutter with one mast and two forestays. The knockdown probably disabled his engine.
[Some] video and pictures of the towed back boat clearly shows that he had a topping lift (line from end of boom to top of mast)this meant that he had enough mast height (all of it) and could have used his main sail which also shows in the picture even if his halyard wasn't working he could have partially hoisted and rigged that sail to help him propel even without steering he could have made way. Being a cutter he could have rigged one of his fore sails if not both. What I'm trying to say is that you have many lines andropes on a sail boat and with a little sail you could rig something even if your steering is disabled.
Time and a more detailed account will tell us why he drifted so long without trying any sails. He McGyvered his radio--good for him--and was able to get out another MAYDAY, but being in the open Pacific he should have had the safety equipment already mentioned and a back-up handheld. Glad he made it alive, but still a strange story for a ocean sailor.
jimh posted 12-12-2014 08:29 AM ET (US)
It is best to give the URL of the sources of information cited. If someone has read a better account of the incident, please point to it with the URL. Thanks.
VHF Marine Band antennas mounted atop sailboat masts are notoriously unreliable. I think a significant percentage of them are probably already broken before the boat leave the dock. But the high mounting location permit the radio to work somewhat, even with no real antenna, and the boater is fooled into thinking his radio works. A radio without any antenna can transmit a few miles.
A sailboat with a properly working VHF Marine Band antenna atop a mast, say 40-feet above the water, should have a radio horizon of 9-miles minimum. Since RESCUE21 coverage is designed for at least 20-miles, such a boat should be in solid radio range of Coast Guard shore stations when 30-miles offshore. Even greater coverage appears to exist around Hawaii, due to the location of the shore stations on tall ground.
Hoosier posted 12-12-2014 09:29 AM ET (US)
To take this thread a wee bit further take some time and watch "All is Lost" on Netflix. It's about a solo ocean sailor (Robert Redford) who has some similar problems in the Southern Ocean. It has only one actor, Redford, and no dialog...
jcdawg83 posted 12-12-2014 02:01 PM ET (US)
EJO makes some good points. There are a lot of unanswered questions here. Anyone who has the skill and courage to do open water sailing should have been able to rig enough sail and some form of rudder to get underway.
I'm thinking there will be more to this story coming out in the future.

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Author	Topic: Boater Rescued After 12-days at Sea
jimh	posted 12-10-2014 01:46 PM ET (US) The usual news sources are filled today with stories of the rescue of a man who spent the last 12-days adrift in his 25-foot sailboat in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Real details are slim. It appears that on Thanksgiving this boater transmitted a MAYDAY message, resulting in an extensive search effort. The search failed to located the vessel in distress. Then, unexplained in the news accounts, 12-days later the boater transmits a very brief MAYDAY message. The Coast Guard radio watch apparently receives the message and gets a good radio direction finding fix on the transmitter, and the man is rescued one hour later, about 65-miles offshore. To read any of the dozens of accounts of this, try: https://www.google.com/search?q=Coast+Guard+Navy+rescue+Ron+Ingraham& hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&oq=&gs_l= I hope there is some further information on what went on for 12-days between the first MAYDAY and the second one. Perhaps he was too busy bailing the boat to get to the radio. I also wonder if his boat had a modern DSC radio with integration with GNSS. A few button pushes and a DSC radio begins sending distress alert messages with very accurate position reports. And if sailing single-handed on the open ocean, maybe an investment in an EPIRB would be prudent. Well, good outcome, but 12-days adrift at sea is not exactly the best way to spend Thanksgiving. The local Hawaii news website has better information: http://bigislandnow.com/2014/12/09/missing-mariner-rescued-alive/ The USCG website has good info, to: http://coastguardnews.com/ mariner-en-route-molokai-after-being-lost-at-sea/2014/12/10/
jimh	posted 12-10-2014 01:55 PM ET (US) Radio coverage map for USCG RESCUE21 in Hawaii at: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/images/marcomms/cgcomms/Rescue21/D14-Hono.jpg The calculated radio range maps show coverage to about 80-miles at sea in the general direction the boater was initially sailing. His final MAYDAY position was 64-miles south of Oahu. That looks like it was at the fringe of coverage.
andygere	posted 12-11-2014 12:02 AM ET (US) None of the news reports say what the problem with his vessel was. It seems to be floating well in the photos, and one even shows the sails seemingly intact. It makes me wonder if his steering gear failed.
jimh	posted 12-11-2014 12:52 AM ET (US) Once his initial MAYDAY radio call did not result in any further contact or rescue, perhaps the fellow figured he would just have to drift in the current and wind, waiting until he drifted into radio range of another island's Coast Guard radio towers. He might have been saving his battery for when he thought it most probable that someone might hear him. I hope more details come out. This is an interesting case to study.
Jefecinco	posted 12-11-2014 08:06 AM ET (US) NBC TV News last night indicated the sailor's mast had broken near the top. He survived rather happily on fish for nutrition and hydration. Reportedly he jury rigged a VHF antenna from a coat hanger and got out a single eight second Mayday Call. He was very lucky the USCG was successful in receiving the call and determining the direction from which it came. It was also reported that he had been "knocked down" which caused the damage to his mast. Perhaps we need to add a coat hanger to our emergency equipment bag. Butch
hmaz1	posted 12-11-2014 11:48 AM ET (US) Butch, I have a coat hanger in each of my repair kits in each of my cars and truck, and in the boat and camper before I sold them. And always one or two in my work/tool bench area. Just amazing how often I 'fix' something with hanger wire. I rate it right behind duct tape on the kit list.
jimh	posted 12-11-2014 12:58 PM ET (US) You can make an effective VHF Marine Band antenna from the coaxial transmission line. Cut off the outer insulation. Measure back one-quarter wavelength. Push back the outer insulation braid. Pull out the center conductor. Stretch the braid back to its original length. Hoist antenna into rigging. You have a halfwave vertical dipole antenna. How long is a quarterwave? Marine Band is 156-Mhz. Wavelength is equal to C (speed of light) divided by F (frequency) Wavelength at 156-MHz = (3 x 10^8-meters/sec) / (1.56 x 10^8-cycles/sec) Wavelength at 156-MHz = 3/1.56-meters/1-cycle Wavelength at 156-MHz = 1.923-meters A quarter-wavelength is 0.481-meters or 18.93-inches (1-meter = 39.37-inches approximately)
EJO	posted 12-11-2014 04:12 PM ET (US) A rogue wave and high winds caused his boat to knock down, the mast to hit the water, and his antenna on top to break. [Some sources] said [the knockdown] broke his masts. His boat was a cutter with one mast and two forestays. The knockdown probably disabled his engine. [Some] video and pictures of the towed back boat clearly shows that he had a topping lift (line from end of boom to top of mast)this meant that he had enough mast height (all of it) and could have used his main sail which also shows in the picture even if his halyard wasn't working he could have partially hoisted and rigged that sail to help him propel even without steering he could have made way. Being a cutter he could have rigged one of his fore sails if not both. What I'm trying to say is that you have many lines andropes on a sail boat and with a little sail you could rig something even if your steering is disabled. Time and a more detailed account will tell us why he drifted so long without trying any sails. He McGyvered his radio--good for him--and was able to get out another MAYDAY, but being in the open Pacific he should have had the safety equipment already mentioned and a back-up handheld. Glad he made it alive, but still a strange story for a ocean sailor.
jimh	posted 12-12-2014 08:29 AM ET (US) It is best to give the URL of the sources of information cited. If someone has read a better account of the incident, please point to it with the URL. Thanks. VHF Marine Band antennas mounted atop sailboat masts are notoriously unreliable. I think a significant percentage of them are probably already broken before the boat leave the dock. But the high mounting location permit the radio to work somewhat, even with no real antenna, and the boater is fooled into thinking his radio works. A radio without any antenna can transmit a few miles. A sailboat with a properly working VHF Marine Band antenna atop a mast, say 40-feet above the water, should have a radio horizon of 9-miles minimum. Since RESCUE21 coverage is designed for at least 20-miles, such a boat should be in solid radio range of Coast Guard shore stations when 30-miles offshore. Even greater coverage appears to exist around Hawaii, due to the location of the shore stations on tall ground.
Hoosier	posted 12-12-2014 09:29 AM ET (US) To take this thread a wee bit further take some time and watch "All is Lost" on Netflix. It's about a solo ocean sailor (Robert Redford) who has some similar problems in the Southern Ocean. It has only one actor, Redford, and no dialog...
jcdawg83	posted 12-12-2014 02:01 PM ET (US) EJO makes some good points. There are a lot of unanswered questions here. Anyone who has the skill and courage to do open water sailing should have been able to rig enough sail and some form of rudder to get underway. I'm thinking there will be more to this story coming out in the future.