sv Ultimate - Yacht Missing in the Atlantic Ocean

[Jan]

Information needed:

See Navtex-message below, yacht is still missing.

Yotrep gives just a little more information.

Does anybody any information?

I'm not connected, just concerned. Any information will help. I can pass it on.

Jan

IN FORCE

NAVIGATIONAL WARNING

RL65

MONSANTORADIO

011345 UTC FEB 09

NAV. WARNING NR 176/09

ATLANTIC OCEAN

1. S/V ULTIMATE UNREPORTED

SINCE 221500UTC JAN09

2. LAST POSITION:4300N 02000W?

3. CALL SIGN: KG6FUZ

4. GREY HULL WITH A DARK BLUE

BAND A MAST W/ WHITE SAILS

GREEN/WHITE SUPERSTRUCTURE

5. DUTCH FLAG

6. TWO PERSONS ON BOARD

7. REQUEST ALL SHIPS TO REPORT

ANY SIGHTS TO MRCCDELGADA.

TEL: +351 296 281 777

FAX: +351 296 205 239

E-MAIL: (LOWERCASE)MRCC.

DELGADA(AT)MARINHA.PT

NAVIGATIONAL WARNING 171/09

CANCELLED.

NNNN

[BJSmith]

Has anyone more information on Ultimate? Are the crew named Tom and Theckla?

Brian Smith

[hans]

Crew on Ultimate are Tom Bouter and Theckla Franssen, sailing from Azores to Breskens in the Netherlands.

[BJSmith]

Originally Posted by hans

Crew on Ultimate are Tom Bouter and Theckla Franssen, sailing from Azores to Breskens in the Netherlands.

Hopefully they sailed into the port of San Sebastion on the north coast of Spain?

[hans]

I hereby post the latest email I received from Lex Bouter, brother of Tom

>>>>

Dear friends of Tom and Thecla,

On February 14th I informed you that the Ultimate was missing since January

22nd, when they were three days underway from Horta (Azores) to Breskens

(the Netherlands). That message led to reactions of unbelief and concern. It

matters that you care. Unfortunately still nothing has been heard about ship

or crew. Time is destructing our hopes day by day. That's difficult to

accept.

In my earlier message I assumed that the Ultimate met hurricane Klaus on

January 23rd (at 44N 16W) and subsequently drifted in westerly direction

towards the Atlantic coast of Spain. The passing of time made this scenario

unlikely. We now fear that the Ultimate was wrecked in the hurricane.

We learned which weather charts (grip files) were received by Tom and

Thecla. It's very likely that they did not realize that a hurricane (70 -

120 knots of wind) was approaching. Consequently no attempt was made to

avoid its path. It concerned a storm depression that deepened quickly and

traveled with unusual velocity. That brought the Ultimate in extreme

circumstances, against which neither a strong ship nor an experienced crew

can do much. During the days after January 23rd it was storming (40+ knots)

from south- to northwest. An out of control hull should have crossed the

very busy traffic lanes near the Portuguese and Spanish coasts around

January 30th. But the Ultimate was not sighted, notwithstanding the frequent

requests from the coast guards to maintain a sharp lookout for the ship.

Subsequently the hull should have arrived near the coast in the first week

of February. Because this didn't happen, we fear that the Ultimate sank on

January 23rd of shortly after.

This black interpretation of the facts is shared by the authorities and all

consulted experts. It's difficult to understand that definite proof is still

missing and will probably never materialize. This hinders acceptance

seriously. The only certainty is that the passing of time will reduce our

last doubts further. The families of Tom and Thecla will now enter a phase

of mourning, without the normal rituals. The same holds for their friends.

Possibly later on a memorial meeting will be organized. But not very soon.

Also the production of a document with memories is an option we will

consider. But first all involved must try to come to terms with the awful

events. And also the formal procedures should be fully completed. Let us

allow enough time for that. Please be assured that I will inform you

immediately about news on the fate of Tom and Thecla. For now, thanks for

your support and consideration.

Lex Bouter

>>>

We send both families our condolences and wish them strenght in these days.

[Lighthouse]

Thank you for posting the update Lex.

Our thoughts are with the loved ones at this time.

PLEASE keep us updated.

[watterich]

Originally Posted by Lighthouse

Thank you for posting the update Lex.

Our thoughts are with the loved ones at this time.

PLEASE keep us updated.

I am sorry if this post is out of place here! I am new to this.

But what was hurricane KLAUS doing off the NW coast of Spain on 23 Jan, well outside the hurricane season! Are we never safe from these rogues?

How often do we get out of season hurricanes?

Thank you for any reply, and once more apologies if my question is not relevant here.

Ed

[JeanneP]

Here's some more information on Klaus, which was termed an "extratropical storm", or "winter storm". *http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMaste...l?entrynum=1183 *I think that the use of "hurricane" in this post is more a translation issue than a meteorological issue.

Eight or nine years ago there was a severe storm across the Baltic that was called a hurricane, even though to my knowledge hurricanes are unknown in Europe. *Weather is changing, and some of these storms might be called hurricanes just because there is no historical term for this type of storm in the area.

[Nausikaa]

The term hurricane is used in Europe but refers to hurricane force winds and not to a revolving tropical storm. However, revolving tropical storms do reach Europe but not before having been downgraded to a normal depression.

This knowledge does not help the ULTIMATE. Our thoughts are with the family and friends.

Aye // Stephen

[airtoad]

This is a very sad situation. I was hoping that someone could provide particulars of the design and construction of S/V Ultimate. So often we hear reports of vessels surviving extreme conditions I can't help but wonder about those other vessels that don't. I apologise if my seemingly cold, clinical, inquiry seems insensitive.

[BJSmith]

Originally Posted by airtoad

This is a very sad situation. I was hoping that someone could provide particulars of the design and construction of S/V Ultimate. So often we hear reports of vessels surviving extreme conditions I can't help but wonder about those other vessels that don't. I apologise if my seemingly cold, clinical, inquiry seems insensitive.

I was waiting for others with more accurate information than I have. I shared anchorages with Tom and Theckla in Vanuatu, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands from July to December 2004. Ulimate was the most well found yacht I have seen in 20 years of wandering the Pacific. I believe she was about 60 feet of steel construction or more in length. Tom anchored out in many roadstead anchorages such as Port Resolution due to the draft. Tom built Ultimate in his own shipyard in the Netherlands. His skill as a mastershipwright and perfectionist was evident in her fine construction. I can't remember the designer, but Tom had a lot of input as a shipwright. Ultimate was his passion and Theckla his mate. Theckla was a RN (registered nurse) and she and Tom spread much goodwill in the most remote atolls in the Pacific. I was stunned by the full machine shop Tom had on board. milling machine, lathe , drill press and all other tools to keep his boat repaired. Ultimate was their dream yacht and nothing was spared to make her a safe ship. I'm saddened to read the above reports. Also, very pissed off that such a fine yacht and fine people are gone. I held out hopes that perhaps they could have made Spain under jury rig as they were such types. The sea knows no one and could cares less about competent or incompetent sailors, it is impersonal and we just have to not be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I miss them as I"m sure their families do.

[watterich]

Originally Posted by watterich

"In my earlier message I assumed that the Ultimate met hurricane Klaus on

January 23rd (at 44N 16W) " (quote from Hans)

This of couse could NOT have been the case! There was no such named hurricane since 1991.

An entry into Wikipedia with "hurricane Klaus" gives the full history of the 1991 hurricane Klaus.

The article includes the following two quotes:

"Due to the damage caused by the storm, the name Klaus was retired from the list of tropical cyclone names ..."

"Due to its impact on Martinique, the government of France requested the retirement of the name Klaus; the World Meteorological Organization retired the name from the list of tropical cyclone names in the following year ... "

So whatever hit s/v Ultimate, it is in my opinion much more likely to have been a large ship. By three days out of Horta they would have been well inside the heavy shipping approaching the English Channel !

My condolences to Tom and Thecla's relatives and friends.

Ed

[Jan]

Dear all,

Still no news. Official search has been cancelled by end of february.

A dutch meteorologist has explained, in a dutch on-line sailing magazine (www.ziltmagazine.nl), that Ultimate encountered a very strong and unexpected (until the last moment) deepening low on their path that have caused very strong winds (upto 70 kn) that lasted quite a while.

He described the sudden developing low as one of a kind that a proffesional only sees a few times in his career.

BTW: The german weather service named it "Klaus'.

Our thougths are with the family.

Jan