Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
Yesterday I shared details of a devastating storm in the Pacific in 1994 which devastated a fleet of cruising yachts. Two years later there was a follow-up to that feature which described how ‘Sofia’ was salvaged.
In that storm ‘Sofia’ had been dismasted and then rolled through 360 degrees. The engine, which had been running, stopped suddenly. Although Keith had injured his back in the roll he had been able to cut away the rig, which was the right thing to do at the time, but which also cut away the means to build a jury rig. They were afloat, the boat was tight, but the prudent choice was to activate their EPIRB and seek rescue. The ‘’Jacques Cartier en route from New Caledonia to New Zealand, was diverted to their aid.
The captain of the warship was ordered to sink the Sofia’‘ so that she would not be a hazard to navigation, but Keith prevailed upon him and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre to allow the yacht another chance.
READ THIS REMARKABLE SALVAGE STORY HERE: Pages from 1996 02 – SA Yachting – OCR
