NEWPORT, Rhode Island (July 28, 2008) – As reported by Captain Tony Arrow, at approximately 3:00 PM on Sunday, July 27, the Spirit of South Carolina was off the east coast of Block Island when a strong line of squalls approached. The ship was struck by lightning, disabling most of the electronics onboard and the engine power which is controlled by electronic components. There were no injuries to passengers or crew. At the time of the bright blast the ship was operating in heavy weather mode with passengers down below and everything battened down while keeping a close eye on traffic. Other vessels in the same area were also struck by lightning. The Spirit of South Carolina is equipped with substantial lightning protection as well as surge protection in the electrical system. Coincidentally the ship was preparing to return to Newport, Rhode Island following this adult education voyage and begin a scheduled maintenance period in August, which will now include a thorough investigation to assess any and all repercussions of the lightning strike to the vessel.
The ship was conducting an open enrollment program out of Newport, Rhode Island at the time of this incident, with twelve passengers onboard, primarily from South Carolina, plus its regular crew of nine.
“We had lightning all around us and all of a sudden there was a big, bright blast and I knew it had hit the ship,” said Captain Arrow. “We lost radios, GPS, and engines but thankfully were well prepared for the situation with a handheld GPS, handheld VHF radio and mobile phones.”
Following the intense blow, Captain Arrow and his crew assessed the situation and found that although the ship’s huge wooden hull appeared to be uncompromised, they immediately called a PAN-PAN message to the U.S. Coast Guard, making them aware of the ship’s location and the current state of lost electronics and engine power. A Coast Guard vessel came to the ship to standby for temporary assistance and kept in close communication with the vessel overnight. The ship is currently awaiting a tow to the Newport Shipyard in Newport, Rhode Island. All of the passengers onboard have been transferred off the vessel as today was the planned return of the voyage.
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The old “dark and stormy day” cliché applied perfectly to the opener for the second-half of New York Yacht Club’s (NYYC) sixth biennial Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. Sent to race courses in northern Narragansett Bay to better hide from ocean swells, classes for two IRC, two PHRF and four one-design classes began their four-day racing series but not until after a raging storm had passed them on the water. The weather cell whipped up 30-knot winds, two-foot seas and even a short bout of hail before settling to 18-25 knots for today’s two races. (more…)
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For the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week these top teams will be joined by two new boats, both from America’s Cup challengers BMW ORACLE Racing, with a squad that includes the America’s Cup and Olympic gold medal winning Russell Coutts, offshore multihull champion Franck Cammas, top match racer James Spithill, and the hugely experienced round the world sailor John Kostecki. (more…)
For Chris Welsh a victory, for Doug Baker a record, and both accomplished what they set out to do in the Transpacific Yacht Club’s 13th Tahiti Race. (more…)
Following are the 2008 Tartan 10 results.
Thank you to YachtScoring.com.
You will need to click the thumbnail, and click again on the following page to make it come up in a readable size.
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Following are the 2008 Cruising Section 2 Preliminary results.
Following are the 2008 Multihull Section 2 Preliminary results.
Following are the 2008 Cruising Section 1 Preliminary results.
Following are the 2008 Beneteau 36.7 Preliminary results.
Don’t miss the complete video archives at chicagomackinac.com/2008/video/
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