Lessons learned from my first offshore voyages (1977 – Seattle/LA/Hawaii/Seattle) and my comparison to the 2021 C&C 121 example of how not to do it:
1977 crew: The Seattle to LA delivery was the first offshore passage for all 6 crew. In the 6 months leading up to our departure we participated in 4 or 5 major multi-day PNW races (and deliveries), prepped the boat together, and switched race positions enough that all crew could “hand, reef, and steer”. All crew could perform their duties in the dark being familiar with the deck/running rigging layout. Owing to limited instrumentation and no autopilot most of the crew had the ability to drive by “feel”, telltails/windex, and the compass. (Loss of battery power would not jeopardize the voyage.) The person assigned to lead any first aid responses took training classes. Two people onboard were capable of determining our position using celestial navigation (pre GPS). One of the things we missed was how some of the crew would react to the stress of sailing offshore. Under the stress/pressure of sailing/racing offshore along with lack of sleep and possibly other issues from the late 60’s early 70’s one crew member became difficult to be around with a tendency toward violent outbursts. (Once chased me around the deck with a winch handle, maybe I deserved it but it still lead to some tense times before reaching Hawaii. He did not sail back on the delivery.) 1977 Boat: The C&C 39 “Midnight Special” had already raced to Hawaii (Vic-Maui 1976) and was set up for offshore racing and deliveries. It did not have roller furling that may fail or foul. Simple systems both electrical and plumbing. -What we missed in 1977 boat prep: The spinnaker halyard crane fittings were worn to near failure from the prior Vic-Maui. These failed during the very windy 77 Transpac. -Steering; we missed that the woodruff key between the rudder shaft (SS) and the quadrant had slipped down, almost out of the keyway. On a dark and stormy night, 30 or 40 miles offshore from central California the woodruff key sheared effectively disconnecting the steering wheel from the rudder. After sorting the results from the immediate knockdown we rigged the emergency tiller and sailed very conservatively until dawn. We had the parts and skills onboard to effect repairs. -The 2 40 gallon fresh water tanks had outside vents placed along the shear. In the first few days/nights of Transpac we were close reaching in a TWS range of 15 to 20 knots with a Jib Top and Staysail combo which meant we were healed over +-20 degrees. In order to keep maximum ballast on the high side (stbd) we were drawing fresh water from the leeward tank. The suction through the underwater vent drew in salt water contaminating ½ of our fresh water. Once discovered we limited use of the port tank to cooking and cleaning, the stbd tank for drinking only. We had another 20 gallons in 5 gallon plastic jugs as backup. C&C 121 example difference: Crew: The reports seem to indicate the skipper and crew were not fully familiar with how to use the sail handling equipment. Throw in a dark and stormy night and the boat pitching in rough sea and foredeck related difficulties become very likely. >From the reports I suspect they did not take the time, pre departure, to >review safety equipment/practices, run a MOB drill, or make a practice sail to >get familiar with the boat. Critical decision making skills for when, as it always does, the foo hits the fan. This includes making the hard decision to alter the original voyage plans when conditions change or somebody gets sick/injured. It is difficult to break a voyage and head for an alternate destination/port. Another critical decision skill is to recognize when it is time to bring in an expert AKA a qualified delivery skipper or 1st mate to back up the owner/skipper’s abilities. Boat: -The top down Asym sail roller furling set up may be more suitable offshore with a much more experienced crew. (Think of equipment use when dark and the wind suddenly increases.) For many casual sailors a spinnaker sock like the ATN snuffer may be simpler, more reliable, and user friendly. -Reliance on a water maker with out adequate, separate backup water stowage. -Poor resource management: water (quantity and quality) and battery power. I did not list the refrigeration shut down as this is difficult to back up fully. During a 1979 Hawaii to Seattle delivery our engine driven refer failed spoiling much food just a few days out of Hawaii. We had a lot of our back up food in freeze dried packets. It takes a lot of water to reconstitute freeze dried food. We also had a few days worth of K-rations (bring extra TP) but the canned foods were best. If we had appropriate offshore fishing gear and knew how to use it our culinary experience would have been much improved. During a 1993 Hawaii to Seattle delivery the engine failed and it took us 3 or 4 days to effect repairs. Once again the fresh and frozen food spoiled. This time we had great fishing gear and passionate fishermen on the crew. If you can make a lure look like a flying fish to a Mahi-Mahi or Tuna losing your fresh food is much less inconvenient. Martin DeYoung Calypso (not that Calypso) 1971 C&C 43 Port Ludlow/Seattle From: Shawn Wright via CnC-List<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Saturday, December 4, 2021 12:14 PM To: Stus-List<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Shawn Wright<mailto:shawngwri...@gmail.com> Subject: Stus-List Re: C&C 121 in a pickle Thanks for sharing, Randy. As we are seeking our offshore boat, there are lots of lessons to be learned from this story, but the opening sentences would have had enough red flags to send me running from this boat! "Calypso’s owner and captain is a 75-year old man who’d never been offshore. He found passage crew on findacrew.net<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffindacrew.net%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C6f751bbe816a43371dbd08d9b762a5b3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637742456580513964%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=VLsEWsFHope%2BcjXzCQq%2FmEf7xSRhew2sr8GR82fRtV4%3D&reserved=0>, and they too had never been offshore (and in two cases had little sailing experience)." No offshore experience in a boat not really designed for offshore? What were they thinking? I'm glad there were no serious injuries and hope those involved will learn from the experience, as in my limited experience, it reads like a lesson in what not to do! -- Shawn Wright shawngwri...@gmail.com<mailto:shawngwri...@gmail.com> S/V Callisto, 1974 C&C 35 https://www.facebook.com/SVCallisto<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSVCallisto&data=04%7C01%7C%7C6f751bbe816a43371dbd08d9b762a5b3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637742456580513964%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=XEeoC0weiqsZHD7seNIR2wGyhkwIKRlGLd28rOViscA%3D&reserved=0>
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