A Near Thing. The Gulf Of the Farallones nearly claimed one of our own Saturday afternoon, 8/5/23, on the way to Drakes Bay. The episode began days if not weeks earlier when the Drakes Bay Sailing Instructions failed to take into account a building flood tide shortly after the start. And copied from the previous year's SI's that the bigger, faster boats would start first at 9:45 am and the smaller, slower boats last, 20 minutes later.
This time frame left 3 boats, H10, WR, and SL battling drifting conditions and increasing flood that at times caused them to go backwards outside Pt. Bonita in the Potato Patch. Not good to watch at my end. My location was 70 miles south in Capitola observing the slow motion track on AIS as 10 boats beat upwind on my laptop screen. As planned, I then attempted to relay to Milly and her 5 member finish committee from Inverness Yacht Club when to expect racers to sail into Drakes Bay. Milly, David, Caroline, Lucas, and Jim were 150 feet up on a bluff just off the Chimney Rock trail and overlooking Drakes Bay including the old, abandoned Coast Guard station below their cliff eyrie. Coms were intermittent. No phone, internet, or power on Pt. Reyes. Texting was our only semi-reliable means. Milly had a 1,000 amp battery to charge their devices, a problem in the past.
4 hours after the Drakes Bay start off St.FYC I texted Milly that H10, WR, and SL were not yet passed half way at Duxbury Reef, sailing 1-3 knots at right angles to course, and unlikely to make the finish deadline of 10 pm. I was concerned it was going to be a late night for these three boats as well as for the five IYC crew on Pt. Reyes, who had generously obligated themselves to remain on their exposed perch until dark for both visual and VHF radio finish relays, Then at sunset they planned to hike downhill and assume a less exposed position near the decrepit fish dock, the west end of the finish line.
Only half the 17 boat fleet had AIS, so I didn't know such experienced heavies as OUTSIDER and ARCADIA had bailed on the race as the 20-25 knot NW windline hit the fleet early afternoon. However, I could see this windline, orange/red on the Windy HRRR model. HRRR was the only near real time weather report available for the course. There is no weather station at Pt. Reyes lighthouse or in the vicinity. At 6 pm Milly texted me the wind was now raking their exposed position and they were cold and about to seek more shelter lower down. One of her crew's mitten had even blown away.
The fresh breeze, normal for these waters, slingshot the three leaders toward an early afternoon finish of shortly after 4 pm. I noted on AIS the big tri, ROUND MIDNIGHT making 10 knots up the breeze in the smoother waters east of Pt. Reyes. And the J-112 JUBILANT was only 3-4 lengths ahead of the SC-37 WILDCARD in a close race for first-to-finish monohull.
15 miles further back, things were not going so smoothly. The trailing three, H10, WR, and SL, were caught by surprise by the quick increase in breeze and found themselves overpowered with their big sails. SL especially, sailing the smallest boat in the race and solo, did not have time to adequately make sail reduction. This was about to take a dangerous turn.
Though I do not have details, and this is second hand, "He very nearly fell overboard, his phone got soaked and no longer worked, the cabin had a major fuel leak making it untenable, and he became hypothermic."
The only thing that worked for SL was AIS, so at least I could see his boat's track which seemed erratic but generally heading south in the direction of SF Bay 14 miles downwind. My initial thought was SL had lost his transom hung rudder. At another point I feared SL was sailing in dangerous proximity to Duxbury Reef, only to watch him jibe at the last minute. I had no means of coms with SL and did not know his predicament. I do know he had not communicated his retirement to race authorities as required. I tried to get SL's phone number from the OYRA race headquarters to call him, but was told it was unavailable as SL "was SSS."
As it turned out, even if I had been able to obtain Sl's phone number, SL's water soaked phone wasn't working, nor apparently did he have access to either of his two required VHF radios (one permanent 25 watt, one handheld). In hindsight, it seemed somebody needed to be standing by SL, if not for rescue, at least for encouragement that he was heading the right way and to communicate to the finish committee on his behalf..
This alarming story had a happy ending. Despite all safety and communication precautions taken by OYRA, SSS, and IYC, nothing much worked for SL except his own endurance. On AIS, SL sailed under the Golden Gate at 0122 a.m Sunday, cold, wet, and hungry after 17 hours on the tiller. And the RC reported "all racers accounted for" to VTS authorities.
Welcome Home Good Sir, we would have profoundly missed you...TBC If any readers of the forum were on the course Saturday and/or have first hand info or weather observations relating to this event, I would appreciate hearing from you so that we may further learn what went wrong/right.
Or was it?
