Around the World of Sailing

14 August 2002

Event News: Capsizing of the Caliente:
A View from the Water by Mark Muehler

Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ag/0814/ms.htm

Now that the excitement of one of the Chicago to Mackinac's
fastest races and accompanying storm has subsided, it would
seem necessary to clarify the events that led to the 44 foot
trimaran Caliente's capsizing and rescue of her crew. For
the record the boat's owner is Michael Steck, Winfield, Il.
Crewmembers were Trey Ritter, Libertyville, Il., Bruce
Warthen, Libertyville, Il., Tim Doran, Grays Lake, Il.,
Patrick Tierney, Evanston, Il., and Mark Muehler, Homer
Glen, Il.

At about 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time the Caliente
rounded Shoal Buoy #3 into the Straits of Mackinac some 30
miles from the finish. Wind direction was from the
southwest and boat speed 10-12 knots. No other racing boats
were in view. The only vessel was a freighter approaching
from behind and to the west.

A starboard jibe removed the Caliente from the freighters
course. The western sky began looking ominous. After a
brief discussion, sail reduction was commenced by first
furling the screacher. In less than a minute the storm was
upon the multihull with wind speeds later reported as high
as 90 m.p.h. Whether a microburst was involved is
inconclusive, however, the force of the wind that flattened
her fully eased mainsail seemed consistent with such a
meteorological phenomena.

Upon releasing the mainsheet, Muehler turned to see the
screacher half furled and the remaining portion of the sail
flying unsheeted in the wind. The bow was digging into the
water much like a submerging submarine. Within a few brief
seconds the Caliente sounded what appeared to be a soft
groan and rolled to port. When the trimaran's heel
approached 90 degrees, three crewmembers (Doran, Tierney,
and Muehler) fell into the water. Steck retreated to the
boat's main cabin where he later exited through an escape
hatch purposely designed for a capsizing. Something from
the over turning boat caught Warthen's inflatable life vest
or attached tether and pulled him under. Rather than
attempting to untangle, he unclipped the vest and after
surfacing, swam to the boat. Ritter stayed close to the
boat and quickly returned aboard the overturned vessel.

Of the three on the port side, Tierney made it back to the
boat and climbed aboard utilizing the bow sprint. Doran had
a Musto life vest that was inadequate to keep him afloat.
He called to Muehler who swam to his rescue. By the time
the two men were joined, the Caliente had drifted about
30-40 feet and was being pushed by the wind faster than the
two could close ground. At that point, the drifting sailors
realized their rescue depended on the Coast Guard receiving
a signal from one of the two 406 EPIRBs which Steck deployed
upon capsizing.

Muehler was wearing a self-inflating Mustang life vest that
seemed to keep the two buoyant, although with 5-7 foot waves
crashing on top of them they swallowed considerable amounts
of lake water. After 15-20 minutes the wind subsided and
the waves calmed to 2-4 feet, but the men were still taking
in water and somewhat terrified by the thought that drowning
is possible even in a life preserver! Fast approaching
darkness added to Muehler and Doran's concern over their
peril. After a half hour of drifting, the separation
between them and the boat exceeded ¼ mile and the two lost
sight of the overturned craft.

Aboard the Caliente, Tierney was able to cut the netting and
retrieve a calamity bag carried for just such a situation.
A flare was fired and a may day call broadcasted over a
waterproof hand held VHF radio. Doran and Muehler's spirits
were revived when they saw the flare. They hoped other
vessels would soon respond to the distress signal. By now
it was dark enough for them to use their strobe light.
Within a short time, the two could see lights approaching,
which they mistakenly perceived to be the Coast Guard.
Actually, it was a Canadian freighter illuminating the night
with a powerful search beacon. The sailors were perplexed
at the distance the vessel maintained from them. After the
rescue, the two learned they had drifted into shallower
water beyond reach of the freighter. The crewmen on the
Caliente had seen Muehler's strobe light and notified the
freighter of the drifting men's position.

When the freighter directed its search beam on the Caliente,
Muehler and Doran were amazed to see the capsized vessel
only a few hundred yards away. The Caliente's mast had
lodged on the shallow bottom preventing her from further
drifting. Soon after, the crew of the freighter sighted the
two in the water and steadied a beam to aid the racing
vessel Kokomo, a Schock 55, with the recovery.

Doran and Muehler spent 90 minutes in the water.
Fortunately, the lake water was uncommonly warm (nearly 70
degrees). Neither man felt hypothermia to be a significant
danger up to that point. Doran's strength was sapped
clinging to Muehler and the two were taking in perilous
amounts of water right up to their rescue. The Kokomo then
proceeded to recover the remainder of the crew aboard the
capsized Caliente. All were united below with dry sleeping
bags and hot food. The superb effort of Kokomo's crew has
since been appropriately recognized.

In retrospect, much that was done in compliance with the
Chicago Yacht Club's safety requirements avoided what could
have been a tragic loss of life. The EPIRBs, and especially
the calamity bag with flares and radio, as well as knives
carried by each crewmember, were critical in the successful
recovery.

The second sailing education option of this theme series is
training provided by US Sailing. US Sailing is the official
governing body of competitive sailing such as Olympic classes
within the US.

They offer a full range of sail training beginning with
dinghies and moving up in size and skill. US Sailing
training is offered by yacht clubs (such as Spring Lake YC
in Michigan, community sailing groups such as in Traverse
City MI)

Sailors begin with the basics with the Start Sailing Right
small boat certification. Often times classes use boats such
as Optimist Prams.

US Sailing also offers certification in larger keelboats
comparable to the ASA offerings discussed last week. Basic
Keelboat Certification covers everything from docking to man
overboard drills. Groups offering US Sailing keelboat
certification in the Midwest include: Milwaukee Community
Sailing Center, Chicago Sailing Club and Offshore Sailing
School's Chicago location.

US Sailing's program is a little more comprehensive than
ASA's. It tends to be implemented more by private clubs or
community groups than private business.

Links:
US Sailing
http://www.ussailing.org
Small Boat Program
http://www.ussailing.org/training/corinthian/index.htm
Milwaukee Community Sailing Center
http://www.sailingcenter.org/
US Sailing Keelboat Program
http://www.ussailing.org/commercial/basickeelboat.htm
The Optimist
http://www.torresen.com/optimist/

Event News: More Records for Orange?
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ag/0814/ms.htm

The current Jules Verne record holder Orange, soon to become
Kingfisher 2 is currently on the track of several sailing
records in and around Britain. First up is the world
record for sailing around Great Britain and Ireland. The
Race Class cat will also attempt, weather permitting, the
Cowes - St Malo record. Then in October Orange becomes
Ellen Macarthur's Kingfisher 2 and gets ready to lap the
planet again.

Bruno Peyron has shipped an interesting multi
national/discipline crew. Neal Mcdonald is serving as
co-skipper, Roger Nilsson as navigator, Andrew Henderson
from Kingfisher is on board, as well as the multi faceted
Damian Foxall and Jason Carrington.

Orange began the Round Britain attempt Monday morning
needing to return to the Isle of Wight in 5 days 21 hours or
less. On Tuesday Orange was 3 hours ahead of record pace.
Then Tuesday while off Ireland Orange parked up for 12
hours. This dropped them 70 miles off the needed pace.

Recent reports Orange is back up to speed-26 to 28 knots.
As the maxi cat heads towards the north-west coast of
Scotland and the Shetland Isles winds of up to 45 knots are
forecast.

Links:
Neal Mcdonald
http://www.orange-today.co.uk/news/story/sm_643192.html
Reports
http://www.orange-today.co.uk/assets/orangeracestats.zip

News: Boat Smart
Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/news/atwos/2002/ag/0814/ms.htm

Boat Smart is a weekly column written by Chief Tom Rau,
Group Grand Haven, U.S. Coast Guard and appears in a number
of newspapers. Chief Rau has been writing and promoting safe
boating since 1986. Many of his columns are taken from real
life experiences from Station St. Joseph/South Haven, where
Chief Rau is currently serving.

Authorities express mid season concerns

By Senior Chief Tom Rau, Coast Guard Group Grand Haven, Mi

Authorities have much to be concerned about regarding the
2002 boating season on Lake Michigan waters. Already this
year there have been 33 fatalities in Lake Michigan waters
and coastal lakes. Alcohol incidents are up two-fold from
last season. There have been an unusual number of boaters
colliding with seawalls: six since May. And Lake Michigan
beach drownings continue to take their toll- eight so far
this year.

From March 31, 2002 to date there have been 22 fatalities
alone between Chicago and Manistee Michigan. Last season,
there were only seven Coast Guard fatalities during the
entire season along Lake Michigan's eastern shore. So why
the surge in fatalities? There are a number of reasons
most, however, stem from a common root- human error.

Here's where human error took its greatest toll.

Alcohol:
I was kidding someone the other day about the sudden surge
in alcohol related boating incidents. I suggested it had
something to do with the stock market. As it drops alcohol
boating incidents seem to rise. As of 12 August Coast
Guard crews around Lake Michigan have cited 24 boaters for
operating a boat while intoxicated up sharply from last
year.

In the six cases involving seawall collisions, four involved
alcohol. Two alcoholic related cases found the operators
rocketing 22-foot boats over the seawall at Manistee. In
Muskegon harbor, boaters were less fortunate: a 32-foot boat
ended up on the seawall, and a 22-foot boat collided with
the seawall. A 19-year-old girl aboard had her lower teeth
knocked out. Some uninformed folks in Muskegon suggested that
the seawalls should be lined with lights to mark their
presence.

Nonsense

The existing lights have well served countless mariners over
decades. An elaborate lighting system to mark the
breakwater would diminish the current navigational lights,
place a huge maintenance burden on the responsible agencies,
and invite legal woes if not properly maintained. In short,
it shifts responsibility away from the careless boater to
authorities and taxpayers. If anything, greater
responsibility must be placed on the boater.

State Bill 5097 now before Michigan's legislator and
sponsored by Rep. Callahan intends on doing just that. The
pending bill proposes that if a boater is convicted of
operating a boat while intoxicated, the offense will apply
to their motor vehicle record. And well it should, nearly
27-percent of boating fatalities are alcohol related.

Beach drownings:
The eight beach drownings this year happened alongside or
near piers and seawalls. Waves pounding against structures
create backlash and under tows that suck swimmers out into
open water. Marcus Gardiner, who helped rescue two swimmers
off Holland State Park in July, compared the wave action to
riptides he recently experienced in Australia. Waves can
also drive swimmers onto jagged seawall rocks, resulting in
lacerations, broken bones, and head injuries.

It behooves swimmers to stay within marked swim areas, pay
heed to red warning flags, and stay clear of Lake Michigan
piers and breakwaters in high seas.

Hoax calls:
Hoax calls continue to plague the maritime community.
As of August 8th pranksters have made 211 false
Maydays across the Great Lakes. Those found guilty will
face lengthy prison terms. In a recent Texas case, a 37-
year-old male was sentenced to ten years in prison and
billed for the cost of Coast Guard resources in the amount
of $229,295 for making a false Mayday. On local waters, a
juvenile caller in Lake Macatawa, Holland, Michigan has made
a number of false maydays along with two adult callers in
nearby Port Sheldon. Coast Guard officials are offering a
$500 reward for information that will help unearth these
deadly pranksters.

Mayday? Coast Guard radio operators around Lake Michigan
often receive calls from boaters hailing Mayday. Many of
these calls do not merit a Mayday. Maydays announce grave
and imminent danger; anything less like a dead battery or
other mechanical problems compromises its purpose. Calling
"Mayday" instantly sparks the search and rescue system into
full alert and places a great deal of stress on responders.
Also, many boaters are calling for assistance later rather
than sooner. If you call during the early stages of a
mechanical problem, we will monitor the case and take action
if required.

Follow-up:
Should you no longer require assistance after correcting
the problem please advise us so to avoid a lengthy search.
Also, if you help another boater, keep the Coast Guard
informed of the situation. In a recent case off Milwaukee,
a boater reported a capsized canoe with four people in the
water but failed to call the Coast Guard after retrieving
them from the lake. In another case off Milwaukee, a
boater fired off a flare. Fortunately boaters nearby
called the Coast Guard and reported the flare sighting
after the boater took off. By the way, should you
for real fire off a flare and no longer require assistance-
call the Coast Guard

Life Jackets:
Of the 33 fatalities to date on Lake Michigan and
surrounding waters, all but six may have been avoided had
the victims worn lifejackets. In a recent life-saving
rescue in Holland Michigan, several Good Sams aboard a jet
ski tossed their lifejackets to swimmers struggling in high
surf, saving two swimmers.

Too often when the need to wear a lifejacket calls it can
happen so unexpectedly and suddenly that the moment often
seals off the opportunity. It's unfortunate enough then that
boaters fail to wear lifejackets, but it's even more
unfortunate when they fail to see the need to wear one.

Boat Smart, give yourself a fighting chance- wear a
lifejacket,

Links:
Boat Smart
http://www.boatsmart.net/