www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/3647338/search-for-sailor-lost-off-yacht-near-broughton-island/

A bit of drama down way that a yacht returning from Coffs M3 tp52 has a guy stuck up the mast for the past couple of hours ,rough seas.
Not sure why he is stuck perhaps unconscious stuck in the spreaders, halyard lock not releasing .
One of the clipper fleet yachts has been diverted
The man overboard details are sketchy both incidents .
Sure we will hear more .
How do get a guy down from a yachts a mast at sea in a blow

Scary stuff,just when you think you have heard it all.

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spiggie said..
A bit of drama down way that a yacht returning from Coffs M3 tp52 has a guy stuck up the mast for the past couple of hours ,rough seas.
Not sure why he is stuck perhaps unconscious stuck in the spreaders, halyard lock not releasing .
One of the clipper fleet yachts has been diverted
The man overboard details are sketchy both incidents .
Sure we will hear more .
How do get a guy down from a yachts a mast at sea in a blow

Scary stuff,just when you think you have heard it all.

Not good. Wonder why he was up there in this weather? I can't think of anything that would warrant it.

Reports are that Coffs is full, with race boats still arriving. They are being turned back.

Heights scare me beyond what is normally rational, I have no idea why. Being stuck up a mast at sea would be close to my worst nightmare. I hope he is OK.

Yet again. Why be out there in such weather?

Just hope they find them.

Coffs has a few cruising boats at anchor, only race boats arriving are those that turned back from delivery. Amante left y'day with 2reefs in main andinto 8kn s.e.
Forecast was not good.

Amante sydney 36 is in the area with marine rescue.
Havent heard much more regarding person up mast ,a May Day was put out and vessel under tow
Racing yachts delivery crew have a different mindset ,the yacht has to get back to a time schedule.
I know it's wrong but that is what happens, been there done that !!!!!! Never again

As for going up the mast ,well he wasn't looking for wind perhaps looking for a calm patch !!!

Most modern large racing yachts (not sure if shaggy has them fitted) have halyard locks at the top of the mast and reefing points rather than locking the halyard in the cockpit Sometimes these locks get stuck and you have to send someone up the mast
After the Coffs race they all left this-last night morning ,the forecast wasn't good but now has turned nasty
they have turned around back to Coffs for shelter

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spiggie said..
Amante sydney 36 is in the area with marine rescue.
Havent heard much more regarding person up mast ,a May Day was put out and vessel under tow
Racing yachts delivery crew have a different mindset ,the yacht has to get back to a time schedule.
I know it's wrong but that is what happens, been there done that !!!!!! Never again

As for going up the mast ,well he wasn't looking for wind perhaps looking for a calm patch !!!

Most modern large racing yachts (not sure if shaggy has them fitted) have halyard locks at the top of the mast and reefing points rather than locking the halyard in the cockpit Sometimes these locks get stuck and you have to send someone up the mast
After the Coffs race they all left this-last night morning ,the forecast wasn't good but now has turned nasty
they have turned around back to Coffs for shelter

I reckon I would leave the halyard stuck and motor or use the headsail. Is there a reason you have to release it?

I have had to go up while at sea in our case it was a spinnaker halyard stuck the pulley at the mast head disintergated and the halyard got stuck with the kite up. While this would not be a spinnaker ut may be a Genoa or mainsail and only one way to get the sail down.

Hi M.B.
to drop the main put a reef in ,I think wild oats had the problem in the last Hobart ,Volvo boats also ,Vendee globe ,big tri .
practically every serious racing yacht .

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spiggie said..
Hi M.B.
to drop the main put a reef in ,I think wild oats had the problem in the last Hobart ,Volvo boats also ,Vendee globe ,big tri .
practically every serious racing yacht .

Thanks for that info. Having control of your sails from the deck I would have thought was a compulsory requirement for offshore racing yachts. It appears to be a racing design feature that ignores good seamanship.

M3 Just off port Stephens doing .05 kts draws 4 m how is the depth there ?
it has been 17 hours since THE CALL hopefully they got him/her down.

No not compulsory just normal practice now pain in the arse as delivery crew terrific when it works !!!!!!
You have to remember it reducing weight aloft (heavy halyard) mast compression ,slipping.

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spiggie said..
Amante sydney 36 is in the area with marine rescue.
Havent heard much more regarding person up mast ,a May Day was put out and vessel under tow
Racing yachts delivery crew have a different mindset ,the yacht has to get back to a time schedule.
I know it's wrong but that is what happens, been there done that !!!!!! Never again

As for going up the mast ,well he wasn't looking for wind perhaps looking for a calm patch !!!

Most modern large racing yachts (not sure if shaggy has them fitted) have halyard locks at the top of the mast and reefing points rather than locking the halyard in the cockpit Sometimes these locks get stuck and you have to send someone up the mast
After the Coffs race they all left this-last night morning ,the forecast wasn't good but now has turned nasty
they have turned around back to Coffs for shelter

Hi spiggie , why do they not have halyard locks in a convenient place ? I don't understand . ? What is the advantage of having them at the top of the mast ?

Just returned from Coffs race
To be honest the weather up there only really deteriorated badly yesterday afternoon
The low seemed to be centred around Hunter region I guess these yachts may have left 2 days ago when weather was looking OK and people were talking about a quick dash to port stephens and then leave boats there as they are a lot closer to Sydney.
I also think it is a bit unreasonable of people on this forum to start disrespecting delivery crew or owners, particularly without the full facts.
These people make decisions based on the information that exists at the time. We decided that with the 3.5 knots of south going current and the likely hood of a bad southerly would not make for a fast or comfortable passage we did not see the weather window being open enough for our boat, how ever a TP 52 should have made it in 15 - 20 hours. That window was there on monday/tuesday.
Our boat is still sitting in Coffs and will be until the weekend but yes we did seriously consider making a run for port stephens but on balance decided a few more drinks and a warm bed was the better option
The guys who own M3 are good blokes lets just focus on hoping the outcome of this Sh#tfight is a successful entry to port and a rescue of the poor bloke in the water.

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spiggie said..
M3 Just off port Stephens doing .05 kts draws 4 m how is the depth there ?
it has been 17 hours since THE CALL hopefully they got him/her down.

No not compulsory just normal practice now pain in the arse as delivery crew terrific when it works !!!!!!
You have to remember it reducing weight aloft (heavy halyard) mast compression ,slipping.

Gee this sounds strange. If the racing Category rules don't require the halyards to be controlled from the deck I would be tempted to sue the organisers for having unsafe rules (although this might have not been a race yacht and if it was it was a return delivery and not in the race). If they have a rule about where your medical kits have to be placed on a 33 ft long yacht you would expect there would be a rule on halyard control points. The saving of weight aloft etc is nothing compared to the safety issues.

I do agree though Spiggie. I hope they got him down a while ago. I doubt I would survive 17 hours up there in these conditions.

Marine Rescue is going out through the heads again. Looks like they are going towards M3

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MorningBird said..

spiggie said..
M3 Just off port Stephens doing .05 kts draws 4 m how is the depth there ?
it has been 17 hours since THE CALL hopefully they got him/her down.

No not compulsory just normal practice now pain in the arse as delivery crew terrific when it works !!!!!!
You have to remember it reducing weight aloft (heavy halyard) mast compression ,slipping.

Gee this sounds strange. If the racing Category rules don't require the halyards to be controlled from the deck I would be tempted to sue the organisers for having unsafe rules (although this might have not been a race yacht and if it was it was a return delivery and not in the race). If they have a rule about where your medical kits have to be placed on a 33 ft long yacht you would expect there would be a rule on halyard control points. The saving of weight aloft etc is nothing compared to the safety issues.

I do agree though Spiggie. I hope they got him down a while ago. I doubt I would survive 17 hours up there in these conditions.

They are controlled from the deck, it's a failure that causes them to get stuck, no different to a failure in your sheave box that jams a halyard.

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FreeRadical said...

MorningBird said..

spiggie said..
M3 Just off port Stephens doing .05 kts draws 4 m how is the depth there ?
it has been 17 hours since THE CALL hopefully they got him/her down.

No not compulsory just normal practice now pain in the arse as delivery crew terrific when it works !!!!!!
You have to remember it reducing weight aloft (heavy halyard) mast compression ,slipping.

Gee this sounds strange. If the racing Category rules don't require the halyards to be controlled from the deck I would be tempted to sue the organisers for having unsafe rules (although this might have not been a race yacht and if it was it was a return delivery and not in the race). If they have a rule about where your medical kits have to be placed on a 33 ft long yacht you would expect there would be a rule on halyard control points. The saving of weight aloft etc is nothing compared to the safety issues.

I do agree though Spiggie. I hope they got him down a while ago. I doubt I would survive 17 hours up there in these conditions.

They are controlled from the deck, it's a failure that causes them to get stuck, no different to a failure in your sheave box that jams a halyard.

Thank you FreeRadical. I would have been surprised if they weren't able to be controlled. I had a jammed main halyard in 2009. We managed to free it but I was going to sacrifice the sail but cutting it along the foot so it flapped freely. Not sure that would work on a bigger boat.
I do hope they got this crew person down ok.

Not sure where M3 is headed, at least they are moving at reasonable speed! which is hopefully a good sign. Marine rescue also on way out again.

Good news
Clipper yacht assisted the person from mast yacht M3 incident, they had a doctor onboard ,not sure of the facts
Not sure about M.O.B on yacht Amante apologies if it was the wrong yacht
Sure story will unfold any sea breezes please enlighten

MOBS make me sad everytime. Not nice

Just sending my thoughts of support for those just like us in difficulty.

I hope everyone found safe

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Sectorsteve said...
MOBS make me sad everytime. Not nice

Agree. There but for the grace of ....! Always a risk in heavy weather, even if well prepared and careful.

I found this explanation on a web site

Halyard Locks & Ball Swage Hooks
Racing Boats, especially, use a variety of Ball Swage Hooks or special Main Halyard Locks. Mounted at the Masthead, they have the advantage of reducing the halyard compression load on the Mast by half. On smaller boats they are used closer to the deck for convenience and repeatability of sail hoist height. Once the Lock is engaged the Mainsail is tensioned using a downhaul or Cunningham.

Regards Don

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Donk107 said..
I found this explanation on a web site

Halyard Locks & Ball Swage Hooks
Racing Boats, especially, use a variety of Ball Swage Hooks or special Main Halyard Locks. Mounted at the Masthead, they have the advantage of reducing the halyard compression load on the Mast by half. On smaller boats they are used closer to the deck for convenience and repeatability of sail hoist height. Once the Lock is engaged the Mainsail is tensioned using a downhaul or Cunningham.

Regards Don

If the tension on the main is taken to the same level with both systems . Then i would have thought that the compression on mast was the same ?


I agree with MB its too risky .

Lets hope those affected in these incidents are found OK . Its a terrible situation.

Just looked on Facebook M 3 on beach crew are safe ,still MOB cannot confirm which yacht .
Yacht jem (Farr 46) searching

Copy & pasted from police website.

Media Release Archive

MEDIA ADVISORY: Marine Area Commander to address media regarding search for missing sailor

Thursday, 07 January 2016 08:37:15 AM

The Marine Area Command will update the media on the search for a man who went missing from a yacht near Port Stephens yesterday (Wednesday 6 January 2015).



The search for the man, who was washed overboard around midday, continued late into last night. It will resume again this morning.



Marine police and Marine Rescue NSW received a total of five mayday calls over the course of yesterday (in addition to the call to help search for the missing sailor, police also received calls for assistance from four other vessels).



All of the calls for assistance came from waters off Port Stephens.



WHEN: 10am TODAY (Thursday 7 January 2016)



WHERE: Outside Marine Area Command Headquarters (4 Jubilee Place, Balmain)



WHO: Superintendent Mark Hutchings, Marine Area Command

Copy and pasted from Adventures of a Sailor Girl who received this information from M3 Mulberry Racing:


I have been wondering how to share this news, as it is quite simply awful.
Yesterday an MOB was reported just off Port Stephens on delivery back from the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race. They suspended the search at sundown. M3 Mulberry Racing earlier in the day had a crew member lodged up the mast and a Clipper Round the World Yacht Race assisted with success, and M3 joined the search for the MOB, regardless of their own issues.
Sadly M3, in the early hours of this morning ended up on the rocks - and you can see what they said about a replaceable boat below versus a human life... heart emoticon
To say I didn't sleep very well following what was happening yesterday afternoon and last night would be an understatement.
Heart goes out to the MOB's family xx
Just devastated...

M3 Mulberry Racing WA
Unthinkable news..
M3 is on the Beach after drifting for 15nm.
All crew are safe and awaiting a pickup off the Beach. We have lost a boat, Boats are replaceable, but our thoughts and prayers are with the lost sailor still missing off Port Stephens.


So very sad. So much loss in our sailing community at present :(

Big respect to M3 for their assistance.

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alohahugo said..
Just returned from Coffs race
To be honest the weather up there only really deteriorated badly yesterday afternoon
The low seemed to be centred around Hunter region I guess these yachts may have left 2 days ago when weather was looking OK and people were talking about a quick dash to port stephens and then leave boats there as they are a lot closer to Sydney.
I also think it is a bit unreasonable of people on this forum to start disrespecting delivery crew or owners, particularly without the full facts.
These people make decisions based on the information that exists at the time. We decided that with the 3.5 knots of south going current and the likely hood of a bad southerly would not make for a fast or comfortable passage we did not see the weather window being open enough for our boat, how ever a TP 52 should have made it in 15 - 20 hours. That window was there on monday/tuesday.
Our boat is still sitting in Coffs and will be until the weekend but yes we did seriously consider making a run for port stephens but on balance decided a few more drinks and a warm bed was the better option
The guys who own M3 are good blokes lets just focus on hoping the outcome of this Sh#tfight is a successful entry to port and a rescue of the poor bloke in the water.

Thanks for posting alohahugo with some first hand information on the race. We went south through this fleet near Trail Bay and it was certainly nice conditions for their spinnaker run to Coffs. But the weather forecasts we used to choose the start of our Southerly journey did not turn out as as predicted. We had been waiting for a weather window for a week before we started our journey and it seemed that it was continually changing on every 12hr update. Eventually we got our Easterly and were able to use it and the current to push out speed up to 8knts at times and arrive in Pittwater. But the next weather forecast showed wind strength increasing and didn't really look like the previous days forecast. I can easily see how decisions to return to Sydney may go pear shaped when the winds/direction/strength produced by this current weather pattern is continually changing. Certainly a good decision to leave your boat at Coffs.

Hopefully we get more of the real story as to what happened rather than speculation.