woody with a view
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Northern Calif. man rescued after whale collides with sailboat during solo voyage off Mexico
06-18-2012 06:43 AM PDT |By JOHN S. MARSHALL, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) --
A Northern California man was rescued after his 50-foot boat was struck by a whale while he sailed alone about 40 miles off the western coast of
Mexico, authorities said.
The impact from the collision knocked out the sailboat's steering and the vessel began taking on water late Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer
2nd Class Pamela Boehland said.
Max Young of Sacramento stuffed a mattress into the hole caused by the whale, turned on four bilge pumps and was "trying to bail out water as fast as
he could, because he didn't know how long it would take to be rescued," his wife, Debra Young, told The Associated Press.
He also activated an emergency beacon, which alerted the Coast Guard.
"His EPIRB delivered an exact position to us, contact information that allowed us to quickly discern the sail plan of and number of persons on the
vessel, and really took a lot of the search out of the search and rescue," said Lt. Charles Kelly, of the Coast Guard's command center in Alameda,
Calif.
With that information, officials at the command center were able to immediately direct a merchant ship, which was about 60 miles away, to the sinking
craft.
Meanwhile, as the rescue efforts were just beginning, Young was initially unaware that the boat was taking on water, his wife said.
"He was steering the boat and trying to get it back on course," Debra Young said. "It took him a while to realize he didn't have any steerage at all.
It took him a bit longer to realize he was taking on water."
When the freighter arrived at around 4 a.m. Wednesday, Young scrambled off his boat by a rope ladder thrown by the ship's crew.
Young had been on the final leg of a trip from the East Coast to a marina in Emeryville, Calif., when the collision took place. The 67-year-old has
been sailing for at least 30 years, but having worked on boats with his father, who was a commercial fisherman, he's been on the ocean most of his
life, his wife said.
Debra Young said she has been able to talk to her husband while he's on board the merchant ship. He's not expected to make it back to Sacramento for
another week or so.
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Ateo
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All in all, a good outcome. EPIRB to the rescue!!!!
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: | Originally posted by woody with a view
06-18-2012 06:43 AM PDT |By JOHN S. MARSHALL, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (Associated Press) --
A Northern California man was rescued after his 50-foot boat was struck by a whale while he sailed alone about 40 miles off the western coast of
Mexico, authorities said.
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it takes two to tango,... perhaps the boat struck the whale,... or perhaps both mariners were equally at fault! 
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BajaBruno
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It sounds like Mr. Young did everything right considering the circumstances. There is a much higher probability of a good outcome when you know what
you are doing out there on the merciless ocean.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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Cypress
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I'd say Mr. Young did what he had to do. His other options?
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sancho
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Reminds me of an account yrs. back off
n. Baja, a sailboat was approached by
a whale, I remember the occupants reported
flukes so I'm guessing it may have been
a Humpback, this whale apparently mistook
the hull of the boat as another whale. At first
the sailors thought it funny but after some
12 hrs. of having this whale attached to the
bottom of their boat, by all accounts attempting
to mate with the boat, it lost interest and
swam off
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captkw
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OUCH !!
Another reason we recommend a EPRIB over the spot or other units...The EPRIB calls the rescue centers..not your MAMA !! and cell phones are not in the marine comm. link as a VHF and SSB is..nuff
said...K&T  ...OUT
[Edited on 6-19-2012 by captkw]
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captkw
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EPRIBS
a very good reason we promote EPRIBE and not SPOT and some of the newer knokeoffs..with a real EPRIBE the rescue centers get the info...not your MAMA
!! and
cell phones are no link in the marine comm. system..VHF & SSB and A real EPIRB are priceless.in the marine area..K&T
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redhilltown
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Glad he is ok!!! But as to the headline, my guess is that the boat nailed the whale instead of the other way around?
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ncampion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by redhilltown
Glad he is ok!!! But as to the headline, my guess is that the boat nailed the whale instead of the other way around? |
If the boat hit the whale, not sure how that would have knocked out the steering, the rudder is usually in the back of the boat.
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captkw
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WHALES VS BOATS
THIS HAPPENS WITH SAIL BOATS MORE THAN YOU WOULD THINK !! SAIL BOATS ARE NOT LOUD AND THE RUDDER IS EASY TO GET DAMAGED AS ITS OUT IN THE OPEN...
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Pompano
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MANY COLLISIONS BETWEEN SHIPS AND WHALES
Whale and ship collisions are on the increase since the late 1800's.
All those collisions between whales and boats? Vengeful Moby Dicks, maybe? I would like to think it was justifiable retaliation as in the above
movie, but doubt that is the truth.
The following information is from this source:
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 17(1):35–75 (January 2001); 2001 by the Society for Marine Mammalogy
Historical records suggest that ship strikes fatal to whales occurred late in the 1800s as ships began to reach speeds of 13–15 knots, remained
infrequent until about 1950, and then
increased during the 1950s–1970s as the number and speed of ships increased.
Of 11 species known to be hit by ships, fin whales are struck most frequently; right whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, and gray whales are hit
commonly.
In some areas, one-third of all fin whale and right whale strandings appear to involve ship strikes.
To assess contributing factors, this study compiled descriptions of 58 collisions. They indicate that all sizes and types of vessels can hit
whales;most lethal or severe injuries are caused by ships 80 m or longer; whales usually are not seen beforehand or are seen too late to be avoided;
and most lethal or severe injuries involve ships travelling 14 kn or faster.
Ship strikes can significantly affect small populations of whales, such as northern right whales in the western North Atlantic. In areas where special
caution is needed to avoid such events, measures to reduce the vessel speed below 14 kn may
be beneficial.
(Time = money. Sure..like that 14knots limit is going to happen.)
Some of the conclusions reached from this group's research suggest that studies also should be undertaken to better identify habitat-use patterns of
whales and correlations between environmental parameters and whale distribution to improve advice to mariners on when and where whales are most
likely to occur.
Research on alternative management actions also should be considered. Potential studies include periodic review of the feasibility of evolving
technologies to provide vessel operators with real-time data on the presence and location of whales along navigation routes.
Possible options might include bottom-mounted sonobuoys along established vessel traffic lanes through important whale habitats to relay information
on whale locations to ships, and further research on the possible use of sound to alert whales to approaching ships.
Till Then, I am finishing my coffee ...and saying...Ser Cuidado y Buena Suerte, Ballenas
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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ncampion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by captkw
THIS HAPPENS WITH SAIL BOATS MORE THAN YOU WOULD THINK !! SAIL BOATS ARE NOT LOUD AND THE RUDDER IS EASY TO GET DAMAGED AS ITS OUT IN THE OPEN...
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Very true. When my wife and I were crusing 30 years ago (1979 - 1982) in our 38' sailboat, we would track any whales that we saw to be sure they
weren't going to cross our course as they have been known to breech right under quiet sailboats, often with fatal results - to the sailboat that is!!
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