Crew Blog

A watch leader’s reflection

17 March 2008

A number of accounts have been recorded of the events of late afternoon on 12 March, over 3 days ago now. I wanted to take the opportunity to give my personal account. I was watch leader of B watch on deck when the rig failure occurred. B watch is made up of 5 people, myself Keith Howard RTW, John Gray RTW, Mandy Brown RTW, Janet Flynn Australia to Santa Cruz and Wijbrand Tuinstra also Australia to Santa Cruz. I had sailed many legs with John, sailed from Singapore with Wijbrand and from Qingdao with Janet and Mandy. We have varying degrees of sailing knowledge and experience between us, likewise with helming ability. John, Janet and I have broad experience in varying conditions, helming both before the race on other boats and extensively since being on Durban 2010 and Beyond. Wijbrand joined the crew having never sailed before his training but his thirst for knowledge, his quick learning and eagerness to want to be involved have allowed him to develop his helming skills very quickly. Prior to joining my watch Mandy preferred to only helm occasionally usually in fair weather conditions and for a limited time. Over the weeks since leaving Qingdao we had worked well as a watch, carrying out many evolutions in a safe, efficient and competent manner. We had experienced all weather conditions, from being almost becalmed in a snow storm to powering ahead in Force 10 gales, we had dealt with varying sea states and I believe felt comfortable with all the conditions we had faced.

On the afternoon of the 12th March we were on a 14:00 to 18:00 watch, as was usual we did a fixed rotation around the helm, I normally took the first stint, followed by Janet, John, Mandy and Wijbrand, nominally we did 50 minutes each, though usually and as in this case Mandy did a shorter period. The wind was a little variable, ranging from an average 20 knots up 23 maybe 25 knots on occasions, the wind direction was generally steady though was bent on occasions by rain clouds overhead or the occasional front coming through. The sea state was moderate with the occasional big and sometimes awkward wave, I recall I soaked everybody on deck a couple of times whilst I was on the helm as random waves broke over the bow and sent gallons of water cascading down the deck. However the sea as was the wind were nothing more than we experienced many times before, we were certainly well within our comfort zone with the prevailing conditions especially given the conservative sail plan we had; two reefs, No 2 Yankee an staysail. On many other occasions in similar conditions we may have had just one reef and possibly still the No 1 Yankee.

It was just after 5 pm we had made the final helm change at 10 past; Wijbrand was about 10 minutes in to his stint when … it happened…

John, Janet and Mandy were sitting in the cockpit, I was standing in front of the helm, just off to the port side, a position I quite liked, being close the helm, mainsheet, traveller and in earshot of instructions from below. All was well, I recall looking up at the mainsail when suddenly it moved and carried on moving, its hard to put in to words but one minute you are looking at a fully rigged boat, in the next moment that rig is falling, almost silently in a uniform somehow choreographed way away from you. The rig fell to starboard, we were obviously on a port tack, the mast fell at 90 degrees to the boat ending up lying across the deck and out in to the water, there was rigging and sail everywhere, the mast had broken at deck level, and there were was debris, bent, twisted and broken metal all over the deck.

We have all obviously discussed that moment when the rig fell and each of us on watch agree it was as if it fell in slow motion and without sound until it hit the deck; there was no snapping or twang or crack or bang just before it fell; it just fell! Once the noise of the collapse ceased there was once more silence but also the boat was almost motionless, the waves being curtailed by this big metal bar and sail lying across the water it didn’t seem right; no sound, very little movement, I suppose it’s not the way you would imagine a major failure on this scale to be.

I know there is speculation about a failed bottle screw, certainly it appears to have broken but as to whether it broke before or after the mast I wouldn’t like to say, especially as I have slept next to the mast since leaving Liverpool and on many occasions have heard noises very much like aluminium flexing; is there a possibility that the point where the mast broke had become work hardened and brittle? I’m sure detailed examination by Clipper engineers possibly assisted by ultrasonic NDT inspections will provide us with a clear answer to a question which must be on all our minds, why did the rig fall over so suddenly and in relatively benign conditions?

The silence that led up to the rig failure was only broken by the noise made as the rig hit the deck and water surface, the deck was a site of total carnage and destruction; the quote of the whole event must be from a private thought Janet had as she watched the event unfold, Janet John and Mandy were looking out to starboard so the first thing that changed in their eye line was the boom, Janet apparently looked at the boom and thought to herself ‘oooo that’s unusual, I’ve never seen the boom do that before’ as the boom crashed to the deck in front of her, laying neatly along the length of the boat, that thought was quickly followed by Janets shriek of ‘the mast, its gone, the mast its gone’ apparently it was at such a volume it woke those below who hitherto had been in a deep sleep. Ricky was quickly at the cuddy calling us to get below so that he could carry out a damage assessment and assess the risks associated with trying to make the boat safe.

The crew on Durban 2010 and Beyond rallied and all assisted under Ricky’s guidance to severe those parts of the rigging that were not recoverable, similarly to recover in what were quite dangerous conditions those parts of the rigging and sails that could be repaired or re-used. As was reported previously by WA the hydraulic cutters were the star of the show at this stage of the events making short work of cutting the shrouds, forestays, backstays etc. Once again difficult in just a few words to explain what was happening on deck suffice it to say adrenaline was running, determination was high, the commitment on getting the job done was obvious. Crew above and below decks worked hard for over two hours eventually recovering a large section of the mainsail, plus a not too badly damaged Yankee and staysail. The boom was disconnected from the mast as was the vang; they were secured safely along the cockpit line. All other lines running through or on the mast were systematically cut, each cut being made conscious of the fact that that could be the line holding everything in place. By this time the mast had broken about 2 metres higher up enabling the section still on deck to be recovered along with the valuable fittings attached to it. In the end the initial clearing exercise was complete, with no one seriously hurt a few strains and cuts were a small price to pay for what had the potential to be a very dangerous process. I think thanks must go Ricky for the calm and professional way he managed the clear up operation, also the way the crew collectively responded must in some part be down to the training they received from Clipper and their effectiveness as a team. Sailing a boat this size has to be a team event, no room for individual sailors.

I went in to myself a little after the initial making safe was complete, it had been my watch on deck when this happened, and did we do anything to cause the collapse? I went over what happened time and again, reassuring myself that we could have done nothing about what happened. I was obviously really thankful that no-one was injured, many of us stand on the rear deck holding on to the backstay for support, how lucky we were that none of us were doing that at the time of the collapse; the injuries could have been hideous. How lucky were we nothing fell on us, things maybe whizzed by at tremendous speeds and with terrific power but we escaped unscathed. Did we each have a guardian angel watching out for us at that moment!

I felt for my crewmates, we had all been working hard for the past three weeks to secure a podium position and never more than in the past few days with the end of the race in sight, everyone to a man/woman was committed to doing their best for the boat we all knew it was necessary to get on the podium to maintain overall lead. Any hope of points were now lost for this race and what of the future, will Durban be re-fitted in time to continue racing with the rest of the fleet. A number of anxieties were on my mind for probably twenty-four hours or so.

On talking with the guys on board it was clear (apart from the normal windups, demolition watch etc. J) that no one held me or us responsible for the catastrophe that had occurred. I also thought of my fellow watch members and how they were feeling especially Wijbrand who was helming when it happened, as I’ve said a determined guy, maybe an older head on young shoulders, It was important to me he was ok and not personally affected by the events that unfolded before him. I spoke to him privately that evening and unsurprisingly he was controlled and pragmatic about what happened.

We are now motoring towards Hawaii at a slow and frustrating pace, with no mainsail the boat rolls and pitches wildly at times, its slams in to the on coming waves shaking the boat to its bones, there are concerns the boom etc that are lashed to the deck may break free and puncture the deck or be lost over the side.

As I type this Liverpool 08 is alongside transferring fuel, Uniquely Singapore are standing off waiting to assist with more fuel and supplies, New York, Qingdao and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper are en route to us; we still have 308 miles to go which we estimate will take around another 100 hours.

There is now every reason to look forward positively, the sun is shining, we have our friends on the other Clipper boats supporting us, friends and family at home are sending waves or support and encouragement, we are making way to Hawaii and we will get there. We know following recent email correspondence from Joff and Sir Robin that everything that is possible to be done is being done to get both Durban 2010 and Beyond and westernaustralia2011.com sailing again, the crew on Durban 2010 and Beyond will, I am sure, do everything to assist in facilitating that process once we get to Hawaii, we are all really keen to get the boat fixed and get ‘Durban 2010 and beyond’ back racing and show our stern to those other boats in the fleet.

Keith Howard

Sail Safe, Sail Happy, Sail Fast…