NavList:
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Re: gipsy moth iv
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2006 Jul 15, 08:28 -0500
I can add a bit of information about the grounding of Gypsy Moth IV,
off the North of Rangiroa, in the Tuamotos.
I understand that there was an item in the June Yachting Monthly,
which I haven't seen, but here's a short item in the July Practical
Boat Owner, headed "Gipsy Moth IV skipper sacked".
"The skipper of Gipsy Moth IV, which hit a reef off Tahiti (sic) in
April, told PBO she is saddened by the UKSA's decision to sack her.
'I'm disappointed the company I worked for couldn't support me better'
said Antonia Nicholson, 32.
The famous yacht, which took Sir Francis Chichester around the world
in 1967, had not long undergone a £300,000 refit when she ran aground
with a crew of six on board, including three British teenagers.
When the accident happened Ms Nicholson was in the cabin writing the
log, having just piloted the vessel through a treacherous series of
bommies and shallow spots off the island of Rangiroa in the Tuamoto
group.
'Had I been on deck it certainly wouldn't have happened', said Ms
Nicholson, a Yachtmaster Instructor, "but you can't be on deck all the
time. You have to have trust and confidence in your crew'.
The crew were evacuated and the vessel lay on the reef for almost a
week before marine experts were able to tow her 200 miles to Papeete,
the island's capital. From there she was shipped to Auckland, New
Zealand, where she is currently undergoing repairs.
Head of UKSA, David Green, said it had been an emotional
rollercoaster.
'The news of the incident was one of the most devastating days of my
working life', he said. 'However, when the surveyor told me Gipsy Moth
IV could be rescued I was elated'.
'The 60 cm-squared hole in Gypsy Moth's beam is repairable. If she was
a planked boat it would have pushed the stresses, but because she's
laminated and cold-moulded, you get more of a localised iimpact.'
======================
It's accompanied by a picture of her lying on her starboard beam,
surrounded by a recovery team knee-deep in water. The bucket of what
appears to be a large excavator can be seen in the shot, above the
hull, with a strap from it around the hull, possibly in anticipation
of a lift. Perhaps more likely, from the positioning of the strap,
just to ease the weight on her hull. So the reef must have been
accessible to a vehicle (presumably a tracked one). That assistance
must have arrived very promptly, as a jib is still bundled to the
foredeck rail, and the mainsail is still lashed to the boom. In the
photo, the weather looks benign.
======================
Indeed, the weather must have benign throughout, luckily, to allow all
the crew to escape uninjured, and the vessel to survive with so little
damage. A 60 cm-squared hole (if that's what was really meant)
corresponds to a hole no bigger than about 3 inches by 3 inches; quite
enough to flood her through. But small enough to patch up for a tow to
Tahiti, if that's how it was done. It says a lot for her original
laminated-wood construction, and for the quality of the refit she had
been given.
I can't say any more about the details, as everyone seems rather
tight-lipped about the matter. After leaving Rangiroa, through a
channel at the North of the island, the course to Tahiti would involve
passing round the Northwest corner of the island, with no obvious need
to sail close to the surrounding reef, so it seems a real puzzle why
she should have ended up on it. I understand there is a lighthouse on
the NorthWest corner, but have no chart to show it; only a small inset
in my Times atlas. Does anyone else have better information? Whether a
light was visible or not, in these days of GPS it seems quite
inexcusable that in good weather, with six aboard, such a grounding
could possibly have occurred.
It would be interesting to learn more, and no doubt it will all emerge
in the end, but to my mind it is only right that the skipper should
carry the can. It reinforces my prejudice, that such responsibilities
should be given to grizzled old salts, and not to young ladies, no
matter how many certificates they have collected; incorrect though it
may be to say so or even to think so.
George.
contact George Huxtable at george@huxtable.u-net.com
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2006 Jul 15, 08:28 -0500
I can add a bit of information about the grounding of Gypsy Moth IV,
off the North of Rangiroa, in the Tuamotos.
I understand that there was an item in the June Yachting Monthly,
which I haven't seen, but here's a short item in the July Practical
Boat Owner, headed "Gipsy Moth IV skipper sacked".
"The skipper of Gipsy Moth IV, which hit a reef off Tahiti (sic) in
April, told PBO she is saddened by the UKSA's decision to sack her.
'I'm disappointed the company I worked for couldn't support me better'
said Antonia Nicholson, 32.
The famous yacht, which took Sir Francis Chichester around the world
in 1967, had not long undergone a £300,000 refit when she ran aground
with a crew of six on board, including three British teenagers.
When the accident happened Ms Nicholson was in the cabin writing the
log, having just piloted the vessel through a treacherous series of
bommies and shallow spots off the island of Rangiroa in the Tuamoto
group.
'Had I been on deck it certainly wouldn't have happened', said Ms
Nicholson, a Yachtmaster Instructor, "but you can't be on deck all the
time. You have to have trust and confidence in your crew'.
The crew were evacuated and the vessel lay on the reef for almost a
week before marine experts were able to tow her 200 miles to Papeete,
the island's capital. From there she was shipped to Auckland, New
Zealand, where she is currently undergoing repairs.
Head of UKSA, David Green, said it had been an emotional
rollercoaster.
'The news of the incident was one of the most devastating days of my
working life', he said. 'However, when the surveyor told me Gipsy Moth
IV could be rescued I was elated'.
'The 60 cm-squared hole in Gypsy Moth's beam is repairable. If she was
a planked boat it would have pushed the stresses, but because she's
laminated and cold-moulded, you get more of a localised iimpact.'
======================
It's accompanied by a picture of her lying on her starboard beam,
surrounded by a recovery team knee-deep in water. The bucket of what
appears to be a large excavator can be seen in the shot, above the
hull, with a strap from it around the hull, possibly in anticipation
of a lift. Perhaps more likely, from the positioning of the strap,
just to ease the weight on her hull. So the reef must have been
accessible to a vehicle (presumably a tracked one). That assistance
must have arrived very promptly, as a jib is still bundled to the
foredeck rail, and the mainsail is still lashed to the boom. In the
photo, the weather looks benign.
======================
Indeed, the weather must have benign throughout, luckily, to allow all
the crew to escape uninjured, and the vessel to survive with so little
damage. A 60 cm-squared hole (if that's what was really meant)
corresponds to a hole no bigger than about 3 inches by 3 inches; quite
enough to flood her through. But small enough to patch up for a tow to
Tahiti, if that's how it was done. It says a lot for her original
laminated-wood construction, and for the quality of the refit she had
been given.
I can't say any more about the details, as everyone seems rather
tight-lipped about the matter. After leaving Rangiroa, through a
channel at the North of the island, the course to Tahiti would involve
passing round the Northwest corner of the island, with no obvious need
to sail close to the surrounding reef, so it seems a real puzzle why
she should have ended up on it. I understand there is a lighthouse on
the NorthWest corner, but have no chart to show it; only a small inset
in my Times atlas. Does anyone else have better information? Whether a
light was visible or not, in these days of GPS it seems quite
inexcusable that in good weather, with six aboard, such a grounding
could possibly have occurred.
It would be interesting to learn more, and no doubt it will all emerge
in the end, but to my mind it is only right that the skipper should
carry the can. It reinforces my prejudice, that such responsibilities
should be given to grizzled old salts, and not to young ladies, no
matter how many certificates they have collected; incorrect though it
may be to say so or even to think so.
George.
contact George Huxtable at george@huxtable.u-net.com
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
