Ken's Epirb @ 5pm PST

[Trim50]

Jan 02, 2007

At Approximately 5 PM PST, an EPIRB signal from Kens ship was received by the US Coast Guard. His position is Lat 54.55.06 Long 86.17.00.

We will post any updates as soon as we know more....

Hope all is well.

[Spike_dawg]

For those who don't know....

His website http://www.kensolo.com/

The topic

http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/top...?TOPIC_ID=2703

I wish the best of luck to him and hope for his safe recovery.

PLEASE keep us posted here. I almost feel that I know him.

[Trim50]

The latest info:

Jan 03, 7:00 AM PST

Ken continues to ride out the storm with disabled Privateer. A Chilean P3 (C130) fixed wing aircraft is within hours of his position. Once located, it will drop commication and support equipment to him. The Chilean Naval vessel is 32-38 hours from reaching him and a 570' Merchant Vessel out of Malta is steaming his way. The Chilean Naval asset carries a helicopter and can make a rescue attempt once his position is known and confirmed by the P3. The weather low should begin to pass this afternoon PST and give way to smoother seas and reduced winds. His cuurent position is Lat 54.45 Long 86.11...

Jan 02, 2007 9:15 PM PST

The US Coast Guard has contacted Chilean authorities, the Chilean Navy Search and Rescue is being dispatched. A Chilean Naval vessel with a helicopter is within a day of Kens position as well as a fishing trawler. What we know so far is that Ken has been dismasted, lost steering and is has a hatch that is broken and leaking. His EPIRB is transmitting his location, he has a survival suit and a life raft. According to authorities, he is properly equiped for this situation.

Wow!! Thanks for the update. Please post more news as it may come to hand.

[Trim50]

There are pictures of his damaged vessel posted on his web site now. Looks like he rolled since the hard dodger, wind generators and solar panels are all completely torn away. His missen mast is also complete torn away.

[Jim Wasko]

Donna Lange's website, donnalange.com , confirms the capsizing and she also reported having seen and talked to the Polar Pesca 1 enroute.

Poor Ken, he must be bruised in more ways than one.

[Yachtmaster81]

Chile, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007. A fishing trawler was sailing to rescue Barnes, whose round-the-world solo trip was interrupted a week ago when his 44-foot ketch hit a storm that broke both its masts and soaked Barnes' supplies and food. A Chilean navy officer said rescuers will probably reach him early Friday.

I hope he isn't injured!

[Yachtmaster81]

Ken was rescued!!!

News from ken's site:

"At approximately 3:00 AM PST, the Polar Pesca 1 rescued Ken from Privateer. A special thanks to the Chilean Navy, US Coast Guard, US Embassy in Chile, Donna Lange and all others who have assisted in this effort."

[johnnyonspot]

In an interview posted on his website Ken confirms that he was having trouble rounding up while trailing a 300 foot drogue in 45 knot winds. He ended up going sideways and his boat rolled over. I am sure there are lessons in this for every one.

[dnelson]

Is there a transcript of the interview anywhere?

would be very interesting to know the wave hieghts. Also would be good to know what sail he had up - did he have a trysail?

[Trim50]

If you look closely at the photos, you can see that his main was nicely flaked and tied to the boom. Probably meaning that he was using his ginny and missen sail.

[Trim50]

The question that many of us are asking at the dock is why did he lose his engine and steering????

I've had my engine 50% submerged and it was still running.[?]

[JCFARER]

Holy mackerel...

Thank God they rescued him. Very sad about his boat and plans.

I own a Kenner Privateer 26. I know he designed a 35. I thought they said his is a 44 designed by Maurice Griffiths, but it didn't say the design is a Privateer...can anyone shed some light on this? The lines look Privateer. Both can be sloop or ketch.

I would really like to know what happened since I have one also... although my mizzen is only big enough to keep good balance and assist in steering, I believe it can still catch a beam wave and hold it until you roll. How deep was he reefed? Did they say what his masts were wearing? I can't tell very well from the pictures...anybody see a storm sail? Both sticks were demasted? Gotta be wave impact or rollover doesn't it?

Anybody think that a sea anchor might have been a better choice to point her up with all that sea room instead of a drogue to maintain way? I'm not being critical and believe that his decision was right to him...I just don't know about these actual occurrences and have zero knots experience in using either device and would like to hear opinions to compare to written word. This horrible incident strikes a nerve for us since we have just posted a question regarding weather windows and bam...here it is. Every sailors nightmare come true.

We are so glad that Father Time intervened and decided to interfere with Mother Natures plans long enough for a rescue. We sincerely hope that he can overcome any psychological, physical and financial bruising and keep one eye on the horizon while he keeps the other eye on his projected schedule to set sail.[^]

Fair winds,

J&B

[JeanneP]

Why didn't his engine work? From another forum, a fellow quotes Ken as saying "the batteries that used to be below the floorboards were now above the sink" !?!

The general discussion of his problems focus on his inexperience and the basic errors he made. The problem in this situation is that the Southern Ocean is not the place to be making these mistakes. As one person said, this is not the place one should be going on their first blue water passage.

Knowledge and experience come in increments. The first time we laid our boat on her beam ends; the first time we involuntarily jibed and backed the jib (another time the main); and many other "little" and not so little mistakes were all in relatively safe waters where no matter how traumatic the mistake and/or the damage as a result of the mistake we could get "home". And once the mistake is made, that's a bit of knowledge to prevent it from happening again.

Unfortunately you can't do it all at once. You can't anticipate all the problems. I think that there were just too many things he didn't know that he didn't know, and they all caught up with him in a very, very nasty place.

I wonder - he was trailing a drogue. I wonder what kind, though. A parachute drogue would explain his broaching and rolling. A series drogue should not have allowed the stern to fall off and turn him beam to the wave. I'm curious if my assumption is correct.

Keep in mind that solo sailor Donna Lange, in a 28-foot boat, was only about 150 miles to the east of Ken - she had already gone through the same weather he had experienced - came through it okay. So it's not the weather that did him in.

In fact, 25 to 40 knots isn't that awful, though the seas down there are a lot worse in those winds than in more moderate latitudes.

I think that it's a good thing to second-guess him, to play "what if?" and to try to learn from his mistakes and his experiences. Although his ego is probably a bit bruised, he is still alive.

[johnnyonspot]

Originally Posted by name='Converted Post'

Originally posted by dnelson

Is there a transcript of the interview anywhere?

would be very interesting to know the wave hieghts. Also would be good to know what sail he had up - did he have a trysail?

I seem to recall Ken saying in the interview that the wave height was 25 feet, and that he was under mizzen only. Don't recall if he said whether it was reefed.

I am extreeeemely inexperienced in this stuff, having sailed my 25 foot keel boat on inland waters about five times since buying it last spring. But one thing that struck me in one of Ken's posts is how he was headed for a low pressure zone but assumed it would stay out ahead of him and therefore went to sleep. He woke up to I think 35 knot winds and had to climb his main mast to untangle his downhaul in order to lower his main. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am guessing reducing sail prior to catching Zs, even though it would mean sacrificing speed, or not sleeping at all considering the low pressure zone, may have been more provident. Again, I am a mere neophytey and am really in no position to second guess anyone, but perhaps this first incident represents a pattern. I guess we will only know once Ken fills everyone in. Regardless, he is safe and that is really the only thing that matters. I can only imagine the grief his family would have experienced had he not survived, though I think given his high level of preparation would have prevented such a result anyway.

[dnelson]

Originally Posted by name='Converted Post'

Originally posted by Trim50

The question that many of us are asking at the dock is why did he lose his engine and steering????

I've had my engine 50% submerged and it was still running.[?]

Even moderately choppy waves can stir up the crap in your fuel tank - everything continues to work for a while, and then your fuel filter plugs up, and your engines starve. This can happen even when you have a big Raccor filter, and has surprised more than one unlucky sailor.

I'm not one to ever second guess some one else's judgement (see "SAIL" magazine June 2003) but Jeanne's point is very well taken. Until you have been out there for a while you don't know what you don't know.

It will be very good to analyze exactly what went wrong, so we can all learn from it.

[JeanneP]

Darn, Don, how did I forget that? I can't count the times our fuel filters got clogged by gunk, and each time it was one of those oh-h-h-h right! It's still one of my mental blind spots! Reasonable speculation that that also happened to him. When things start to go wrong, they usually REALLY go wrong.

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by name='Converted Post'

Originally posted by JeanneP

I wonder - he was trailing a drogue. I wonder what kind, though. A parachute drogue would explain his broaching and rolling. A series drogue should not have allowed the stern to fall off and turn him beam to the wave. I'm curious if my assumption is correct.

Ron & Cheryl from Lazy Days said that Ken had his Drogue streched out on the dock a few days before he left. From what they decribed, the thing was several hundred feet long with cones.

[JCFARER]

Originally Posted by name='Converted Post'

I seem to recall Ken saying in the interview that the wave height was 25 feet, and that he was under mizzen only. Don't recall if he said whether it was reefed.

What?

Mizzen only?

Why? Was he trying to steer under bare poles because he lost rudder control? I hope he didn't have it up as his power source...I think that would be a very imbalanced vessel without the jib. Very bad.

JD