Cheeki Rafiki

It seems:

US Navy find the hull of the Cheeki Rafiki but NOT its life rafts - and now there are just hours to find its four missing sailors in vast Atlantic search area

K.

---------- Post added at 12:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 AM ----------

A helicopter launched from an American warship spotted the upturned hull of the missing yacht tonight, in the Atlantic 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod. A swimmer sent to inspect it confirmed it was the British vessel and found no sign of life.

Crucially, both its life rafts are missing, leading to hopes the four (above) could still be alive. The hull was the same one spotted last week by a passing cargo vessel, which did not stop to check it. But the clock is now ticking as the US Coast Guard say they will call off the search - which also involves the RAF - at 5am UK time if they do not find the men or their life rafts in the 17,500 square-mile search area.

K.

The US Coastguard have announced that they have found the liferaft stowed below deck , and not deployed , this is a common practice on Racing Yachts .

If the skipper and crew were swimming , I would say their chances of survival are pitifully low , No matter what type of vessel they are sailing , loss of life at sea , is always a sad thought .

May a miracle happen.

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Originally Posted by robpage

Loss of life at sea , is always a sad thought .

May a miracle happen.

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Ditto. K

The family of the Cheeki Rafiki's skipper are 'shocked and deeply saddened' after the search for the four missing sailors was called off.

The U.S. Coastguard dramatically revealed at 2am today that the life raft had been found undeployed inside the upturned hull of the yacht, which was found adrift last night.

The revelation effectively ended any last hopes that the four men on board the boat might have somehow survived.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz32fK4tqHQ

Stowing life rafts is a very common practice on racing yachts to keep deck spaces as clear as possible , maybe after this tragedy there may be more thought given to automatic deployment from deck stowage on transatlantic crossings . Sometimes things are done by tradition or habit , and the invincibility that we all believe we have fails . May a lesson be learned then this loss may contribute to saving others lives

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Originally Posted by Keith at Tregenna

The revelation effectively ended any last hopes that the four men on board the boat might have somehow survived.

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May your god bless.

K.

All they had to do was put the Yacht on a Containor ship and sail home that way.
I would never dream of sailing across the Atlantic on a small boat 39 footer.
I have had many a wave more than twice that length in height, Big ships doing somersaults.
This is the Atlantic Ocean................... sail boats have No Chance. When will they ever learn.
Cheers
Brian

This is a business with delivery crews Brian, and with very good crews and seamen, they sail across many times, smaller yachts than 50ft. These are good seamen, and i doubt if many seamen on this site would contemplate doing this, but that is the spirit of adveture. If you can ever find a book , its on Amazon, but expensive, called *shrimpy*, a very good read, an 18ft plywood sailing boat, sailed round the world , and took 7 years, never had an engine for most of it. I take my hat off to them. The guys name was Shane Acton, an ex Royal Marine.
We wrap people up in too much cotton wool these days, sometimes accidents happen and this was one of those occasions. KT

#37 I could be wrong but I think you'll find Columbus and the Pilgrim Fathers crossed the Atlantic in not much bigger ships.

HI Kieth.
Joshua Slocum sailed around the world in an Indian canoe. I read the book a few years ago he was amazing.
Cheers Des

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