The Capsize and Recovery of Shadow

July 27, 2010

Peter Stoneberg, the owner of the Prosail 40 catamaran Shadow, sent us this report:

Sunday afternoon at 1300 after the YRA race in San Francisco Bay we capsized the Shadow catamaran. Everyone on board is fine and in good spirits which is most important. The boat sustained some damage that can be fixed, but the carbon sails were destroyed.

It was a pretty typical SF summer day; wind out of the west in the 20's, moderate chop in the Circle and we were heading northwest on port tack from Treasure Island towards Angel Island. The capsize occurred as we were bearing away, got hit with a puff, the rudders stalled and the boat gently and slowly went over until our 68-ft mast hit the mud 35 feet down.

Shadow's tall rig. ©2010 Erik Simonson/www.pressure-drop.us

Craig Healy gallantly swam a line out to Sue Hoeschler, who had become separated from the boat, and Patrick Whitmarsh (Whitey) gave us a bit of a fright as we could not see him, but he was still warm, dry and safe 20 feet in the air perched in the upper hull. Fortunately we were crewed by a group of experienced and talented sailors who were well prepared. The crew included Andy McCormick, Craig Healy, Lowell Freeman, Sue Hoeschler, Lori Dennis and Whitey Whitmarsh. Everyone was well prepared, wearing PFDs and most of us had knives, whistles and handheld VHFs in our foulie pockets.

Shadow and her crew just before their finish on Sunday. ©2010 Fred Fago

Fortunately we were in a fairly busy part of the Bay, so boats were quickly upon us to stand by and lend support. Two 40+ foot power boats were upon us within five minutes, followed closely by the Encinal YC race committee Whaler, a Sydney 38 (Encore), the Coast Guard, Marin Sheriff and a SF Police boat. Everyone was safe and calm, we knew how to right the boat, but we just needed two big anchors (ours were underwater/inaccessible) and a Protector to pull us upright.

First some helpful soul called the StFYC Race Office, where John Craig (Race Manager) jumped into action and Melanie Roberts (Race Coordinator) and their Protector were dispatched to the scene. She arrived at the same time as Steve Stroub's Tiburon Protector and the Shadow Protector coming from Paradise Cay. We borrowed a couple of anchors, tied a righting line to the main beam, Steve and Will goosed the Protector engines and after a couple of tries the Shadow came upright as gently as she went over.

It gave us great comfort to know that there are so many capable people and assets ready, willing and able to be deployed to assist boats and crews in need. Specifically the EYC mark-set boat was very helpful, taking a couple of our sailors off the catamaran and lending assistance and assets where possible. The Encore guys (owners Wayne and Susie Koide, Pete McCormick of North Sails, Will, Nick and several others) were very, very helpful providing lines, anchors and skilled personnel.

Shadow and Encore. ©2010 norcalsailing.com

Steve Stroub (Tiburon) did a masterful job positioning and driving his Protector to bring the boat upright. Most of the Encore sailing team stayed with us helping sort all the issues until the boat was safely tied up at SFYC. The Coast Guard and SF Police all stood by dutifully until we righted the boat and were under tow. There were probably 50 people and 10 vessels that helped or were available to help and to them we are exceedingly grateful.

Ours was a pretty benign incident, but from a safety standpoint we learned and re-learned some important lessons. The life you save might be your own.
First, always, always, always wear a PFD. The water is cold, waves that look small when on a boat are huge when in the water and even the strongest swimmers find it nearly impossible to swim for very long in foul weather gear.
Carry a waterproof handheld VHF in your foulie pocket. Communications is key to safety and the wind makes it impossible to hear voices and very hard to see swimmers from more than 20 feet away.

Stay with the boat. Swimmers and boats move at dramatically different speeds, so catching a boat once separated is very difficult. Hang on 'for your life'.

Don't wear cotton. One of our strongest guys went hypothermic very quickly because he had jeans and a cotton T-shirt under his foulies. Quality, high tech synthetic gear is worth its weight in gold when wet and cold.

Carry a fixed blade knife, whistle and light where it can be easily reached. A line wrapped around my foot and I never could have gotten my Leatherman open and useful to cut away if the boat had gone under. Strap a fixed blade knife several places around the boat where they can be easily reached.
Carry an EPIRB and consider the new personal EPIRBS for all crew. They are cheap life insurance.

Next time you see the Coast Guard, the Police boats or a volunteer race committee boat give them a friendly wave. Some people may not like their policies prohibiting assistance to try to save personal property (i.e. boats), but they are a MOST welcome sight when needed - and they are more than willing to risk their lives to save yours. I'd rather lose my boat than have the Coasties busy saving my replaceable boat while someone else's irreplaceable life was in danger.

That's it. Thanks again to everyone involved. If we ever meet in a yacht club or on the waterfront please tap me on the shoulder so I can shake your hand and buy you a beer. We hope we did not inconvenience anyone too much on a Sunday afternoon and we look forward to seeing you back on the water again very soon!

Sincerely,
Peter Stoneberg and the Crew of the Shadow Prosail 40