November 8, 2012
As we headed back to Legacy one evening (Tuesday), it was quiet and still, almost too quiet. By now, we were starting to nervously watch the sky. Would it get here overnight? Tomorrow? Or Thursday? It may be quiet while you wait for a storm’s arrival, but the undertone of concern is like a small, constant noise in the background. You are more alert and more edgy. You watch the clock, you watch the sky, and you listen anxiously to the radio nets of people out on passage. All you can do is watch and wait, and pray for the safety of your friends at sea.
The next morning (Wednesday), we awoke to a little rain, but for us the system had mostly stalled and would not get here until Thursday. The people at sea, however, were starting to experience it. We listened to the morning net, and boats south of Minerva were starting to see 40-knot-plus winds and big seas. They were not having fun, but they were handling it. One person commented, “Welcome to the southern ocean,” to which another responded, “I don’t like it!”
On Wednesday evening we were starting to see some rain in Neiafu. They were showing the American election coverage in town, and aside from being wet, it was calm enough for us to go in and watch. As we had dinner and watched the results, we got a thunderstorm and some heavy rain. Luckily conditions let up by the time we headed back to our boats, but during the night we continued to see lighting and rain. At least now, though, the thunder was distant.
The system hit Neiafu on Thursday morning. Flags had been taken down, dinghies had been stowed, and people stayed on their boats to watch over them. The winds came up and gusted to 30 knots at least. We had squalls and some rain, but the real drama was taking place on the Drifter’s net. The conditions were rough for everyone at sea, but boats at the back of the pack were seeing the worst of it: 56-knot winds and 11 meter (approximately 35-foot) seas. Windigo, a 38-ft Beneteau, had rolled and sustained enough damage that the couple onboard had called for a rescue.
In this neck of the woods, New Zealand handles the rescue operations. They diverted two boats, a cargo ship and the cruising yacht Adventure Bound, about 20-something miles ahead of Windigo. They also sent an Orion plane to drop a life raft for Windigo in case they needed one. The plan was for the cargo ship to remove the couple from Windigo while Adventure Bound would stand by in case further assistance was needed. The couple would then be transferred to the New Zealand Navy boat as soon as it arrived.
People at sea weren’t the only ones to have rough conditions. The worst winds actually passed over Nuku’alofa, the southernmost island in Tonga. There is a small marina area where a few boats can tie up near town, but most of the boats were anchored off a small island right near town. There is a bar/restaurant/resort there called Big Mama’s, and they provide services for cruisers and ferries to town. It’s a relatively protected anchorage with very good holding, which was a good thing in that the approximately 35 boats waiting there were hit with a 74-knot gust of wind! It happened fast and was over quickly, but it was enough to put our friends Alex and Iris’s boat on it’s side, water pouring into the cockpit! Scary! But they, and everyone else in the anchorage, were thankfully OK.
It was an uneasy day in Neiafu, but not scary. The moorings held as the wind blew, backing pretty much 360 degrees over the course of 24 hours. If you were nervous about getting a little too close to one neighboring boat, you just had to wait a couple of hours and you could worry about a different neighboring boat! Actually, we didn’t get very close to anyone, but some other boats got quite close to each other! Of course we all listened anxiously to the evening Drifter’s Net to hear how our friends and comrades were doing. Adventure Bound and the large ship were still en route to Windigo, who were hanging in there. Everyone else was doing OK.
On Friday morning, the system had passed and the winds had died down. We listened to the net—did everyone make it? Some had a worse time than others, but they were all OK and en route to New Zealand. We heard Adventure Bound was on scene with Windigo, along with the diverted cargo ship. Later that day, the ship managed to rescue the couple from Windigo, and Adventure Bound was cleared to leave and head on to New Zealand. The Windigo couple was later transferred to the navy ship and were brought to New Zealand.
Over the next few weeks, we would catch up to some of our friends and hear more stories of the storm. Some poor folks were outside hand steering and being bashed by huge waves. Others closed up their boats and took refuge below. Some people didn’t see the conditions as that big of a deal; others saw it as a very big deal. It just depends on who you talk to, the boat they have, and where they were. We don’t know anyone who is quitting based on this except, of course, the couple on Windigo.
It’s interesting to talk to people and hear the varying opinions of the Windigo rescue situation. Many people believe that Windigo could not have rolled and kept their rig, which was intact, and did not sustain that much damage—in essence they believe the couple gave up too quickly and easily. Other people who know the couple defend them, saying the damage was bad, someone had a head injury, and there was water in the boat.
Our thoughts are basically this: whether or not their boat rolled or what degree of damage it sustained, if they felt they had to be taken off, then it was good that they were. What we don’t like about the situation is that no one scuttled the boat; it remained out there drifting and a hazard to other boats. It was spotted a week or two before our group made the jump to New Zealand later that month, and it was right in our path. We had enough to think about without having this hazard, invisible in the night, to worry about.
Personally, I am also unhappy New Zealand chose to divert the sailboat Adventure Bound to the scene when they had a large ship en route. Adventure Bound had to backtrack and head upwind in high winds and rough, heavy seas to get to Windigo, only able to make about about 1 knot speed. Of course they sustained damage, and since the Windgio couple lost everything in losing their boat, they will not be able to give Adventure Bound any compensation. I believe the conditions were hazardous enough that there was serious risk of creating another rescue situation by asking Adventure Bound to turn around and go back.
I later talked to the fellow from Adventure Bound as he was writing his opinion of the whole episode to send to a friend of ours to put on her blog. (I keep waiting for the letter to show up there, but it hasn’t yet.) While I didn’t get the details, he did tell me that he wasn’t ordered to go back to Windgo, that it was voluntary. But I will add that he, like many, is not very happy with the way Windigo handled the situation. I’ll leave it at that, but if I find his letter, I’ll post a link.–Cyndi
