Heavy weather encounter - The Satori

A U.S. Coast Guard HH-3F Pelican 

In my post Parametric Rolling of a Car Carrier in Head Sea. I wrote that hidden  flaws are more  likely to be revealed in heavy weather. An example is the car ship Figaro - Inadvertent Release of CO 2 - in that case heavy weather was the trigger that caused the unintended release of CO2.

Another, less obvious example is the case of the Sailing vessel Satori  which was the sailing vessel in both the book and movie The Perfect Storm.

The Satori is: 

a short masted, heavy displacement rig. She weighs 11 tons and is designed for heavy seas. Eleven stays keep the forty foot mast secure. When the boat was built Ray requested heavy rigging to be certain that Satori could handle more severe storms.

When the owner and captain of the Satori, Ray Leonard, hove to in 40 kt winds and 30 ft seas he felt confident that his vessel was well within its limits but was unexpectedly  forced to abandon his vessel. Leonard's confidence in his vessel was not misplaced, the Satori was later recovered with little damage.   The path of failure  was not the vessel but the crew: From the story: He (the captain)  was unable to convince the crew that this motion was uncomfortable but not dangerous.

This second knockdown put the crew into a heightened state of panic. They began to insist that they call the Coast Guard for a rescue. Karen believed that the boat was going to break up any minute. The captain explained that there was no need for a rescue and that Satori had been through this before and would ride out this storm. At this point, Susan and Karen were not listening and kept insisting that they wanted to call. Ray agreed to let them call,

The Coast Guard required Capt Leonard to abandon his vessel and sent a HH-3F helicopter from Elizabeth City, N.C.  Rescue swimmer   Dave Moore went into the 30 ft seas and pulled the captain and two crew out of the water.

It is not only the vessel that encounters heavy weather, it is the vessel, crew and cargo. Operating vessels, and their crews, near limits increases risks and chances of failure, - but the path of failure may not be the one  expected.

K.C.
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The  son of Ray Leonard, posted a rebuttal to the book The Perfect Storm.

Sea Shepherd flips a RIB boat

Here is a how-NOT-to video from "Whale Wars"

At 34 seconds into the video below the RIB boat can be seen turning perpendicular to the ship's course then flipping over. I can't tell if the hoisting wire parted or not.

I don't see any sign of a sea painter.



A sea painter is a line that leads from the bow of the boat to the a point on the ship well forward of the boat.

A sea painter is a line led from the bow of the boat fwd to the ship - Drawing by K.C.

Gibson's Seamanship and Navigation warns to keep the slack out of the sea painter and says about the boat: "if she tows from the whip or the falls she may then broach to."

I caught a few minutes of the show. I wonder how much experience or training the crew has. I going to try to see the whole thing next week.

K.C.
PS gcaptain forum has some interesting discussion