Rescue of the Crew of SV Epiphany - Ship's (b)log

[chesterh]

Here's a semi-cruise-related (b)log of a sailing trip gone wrong. When asked if they'd attempt such a trip again, the participants said, "Only on a cruise ship."

 

In October, a friend of mine at work, John, left for a 2-week sailing trip on a 42' vessel, SV Epiphany. The plan was to sail from Salem, Ma., to Bermuda, and then on to St. Thomas. We all thought John (and the rest of the crew) were out of their minds. In a brief fit of good sense, John had his will redone, but the rest was madness as far as I was concerned. It was, after all, still hurricane season, and it's a long way from Massachusetts to the Virgin Islands. This is what cruise ships are made for...

 

At work, we watched the boat's progress on a website that used GPS to update its position every couple of hours. The crew made it to Bermuda in about 4 days. After a few days R&R, they departed for St. Thomas. I went in to work one morning and found this image on the tracking site

 

 

It seemed a safe assumption that something had gone wrong, but it would be many days before we found out just what happened.

 

I have created a web page for John and the rest of the crew that includes excerpts from the boat's log book. It describes the events leading up to a rather dramatic rescue. There are some pictures, too, and I have some video that I'm still editing - it'll be up soon.

 

Take a look if you like - it's a scary story:

 

http://www.chesterh.com/epiphany/

 

All the best,

chesterh

[PennyAgain]

Please post any follow up information that you get.