How has the weather been in that area?
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-28/search-for-two-men-missing-catamaran-mangrove-jack/105828064
Reasonably benign by the look of the BOM observations for Yamba
www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN60801/IDN60801.94589.shtml
Honking northerly yesterday arvo and last night, crazy to head north into that, especially in that boat.
www.bom.gov.au/products/IDN60801/IDN60801.94599.shtml
Around Yamba NNE 15kts in the gust, had an excellent sail on a folk boat. Not the most favourable winds to sail to the Gold Coast though
Not sure think flat battery, phones turned off to save power ? Didn't activate epirb, because didn't think it was warranted ? Towed in this morning sea sick but otherwise fine
Trying to use an outboard to motor into a seaway on a small cat is pretty dumb - outboard powered cats have to sail when there is wind. So you need a boat that sails nicely to windward and have a well found rig and safety gear. It aint rocket science.
The police boss gave the cat sailors a serve. Can't say I disagree at all with his sentiments. www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1154773436528376
Big call to cover 120nm in 9 hrs, without a headwind. Maritime have a bit of a hand in these episodes, the mooring allocation process is being stalled, the 28 day anchoring gets policed, commercial mooring fees are exorbitant as its supply & demand commerce, so boaters loose interest & sell them cheap, cheap boat buyers generally don't have the funds to bring the vessel up to standard & in the end try to go to QLD where is seems to be a bit easier
One upshot from this is that with all the assets that the Police official rolled off they actually didn't find the vessel until they phoned in.
It is a big ocean out there.
4kn s#*box goes offshore and gets into trouble. Who woulda thunk it?
If you go offshore, buy a bloody sat phone, or a Spot or something. Or rent one, it's like 10 bucks a day.
A good mate is conmodore of a marine rescue station, yachties haven't the best track record with them in showing responsibility and good seamanship. Heading offshore in dirty weather is smart, but they blew those brownie points through a lack of comms.
Hi Woko.
From the report it looks like they did sail in.
At least to mobile phone reception range.
As an aside. I was thinking about the resources that went into the search and wondered if AI was used.
it seems like if you input currents, drift speedwind velocity, AI would give a pretty good indication of where you should search.
I realize the the search and rescue teams had no idea if they had been run down, holed and sunk or were foundering.
gary
Select to expand quote
I'm glad it all ended well, but I fould this comment in the article interesting "Conditions were challenging offshore, with a 1.5-metre swell and wind chop" I would consider that fairly normal. The first time I sailed on a cat up to Qld we departed Pitwater into a 3m sea. I guess catamarans can't heave-to?
Select to expand quotegarymalmgren said..
Hi Woko.
From the report it looks like they did sail in.
At least to mobile phone reception range.
As an aside. I was thinking about the resources that went into the search and wondered if AI was used.
it seems like if you input currents, drift speedwind velocity, AI would give a pretty good indication of where you should search.
I realize the the search and rescue teams had no idea if they had been run down, holed and sunk or were foundering.
gary
Some years ago I was a Search and Rescue Coordinator, it was one of my roles as the Naval Air Station Air Operations Officer. I did the course and coordinated a few searches/rescues on the south coast over a couple of years. A few years later I was on the helicopter squadron doing the rescues.
In the days before computers and epirbs we could establish a search datum very accurately if we knew the location of the distress just using the known currents and wind conditions.
In this circumstance they had no distress just a departure time and planned passage north. I would have planned a search on those knowns. I doubt they would have found the vessel at all until the crew made the phone call.
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..
4kn s#*box goes offshore
28 foot daggerboard cat = 4kn sbox? Well, perhaps in some hands.
Select to expand quotesparau said..shaggybaxter said..
4kn s#*box goes offshore
28 foot daggerboard cat = 4kn sbox? Well, perhaps in some hands.
Term of endearment Sparau!
Lemme see....forward tramp ripped....air vent lying loose in the cockpit...battery poorly lashed in the cockpit... rubbish dump style pallet as a floor...'washed the navigation lights off' (!!!) ....anchor hanging loose...shroud flapping in the wind...had to get towed in....no boat name , numbers or port on the transom... filthy bottom..do we need to go on?
I'll give em a pass on the apparent mould, maybe that's just paint chips.
So yes...4kn s#*box seems appropriate.
Select to expand quoteshaggybaxter said..
So yes...4kn s#*box seems appropriate.
I see your point, I was just thinking it's more like an 8kn or 12 kn ****box perhaps ?
I think perhaps I am missing the point, it isn't about the speed, it's a state of mind, of preparation.
Select to expand quotesparau said..shaggybaxter said..
So yes...4kn s#*box seems appropriate.
I see your point, I was just thinking it's more like an 8kn or 12 kn ****box perhaps ?
I think perhaps I am missing the point, it isn't about the speed, it's a state of mind, of preparation.
Is that Captain Jack Sparau?
