Whale Sinks Sailboat

A sperm whale cracked the hull of a yacht sailing in the remote South Pacific, forcing four sailors into a day-and-night fight for survival on the high seas. Crew members on the 52-foot Tai Tam told AFP on Thursday of their weekend encounter with a pod of sperm whales 250 nautical miles north of tiny Norfolk Island. "There was sort of a loud thud. The whole boat was pushed sideways," said Australian Jemma Cooper, who was thrown from the steering wheel by the force of the blow. Not knowing at first what had happened, she noticed a brown discoloration in the water and a sperm whale. "We looked out to our port side, and there were six to eight, a pod, of whales there. So then it became clear that that's what it was," she told AFP. Her husband Jeremy Cooper said he was sleeping below deck when the impact woke him. "It was pretty immediately evident it was very serious," he said. "All the steering gear was smashed on the starboard side, and there was a significant amount of water coming in," Jeremy told AFP. At 1 p.m. New Zealand time on Saturday — about 30 minutes after the whale collision — they activated an emergency beacon. "We declared a full mayday," said New Zealand crew member Terry Hetherington, adding they spent the next few hours bailing out as much water as they could. "Terrible ending" The Royal New Zealand Air Force flew a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane to the area to establish radio communications and coordinate the rescue, the military said in a news release, which included images of the rescue. French crew member Martin Jaffre said the whale collision left several gashes in the hull and cracked the fiberglass structure, as well as breaking the steering. "We could no longer steer the boat, and a boat with no steering quickly becomes a problem," he told AFP. Jaffre battled to slow the incoming water with anything to hand, including expansion foam, and swam below the boat to inspect the hull, his crewmates said. The sailors tried to stay aboard as long as possible, struggling to stop the engine getting clogged and bailing by hand. Late at night, they abandoned the boat and transferred to a life raft in calm seas and under a full moon. In the early hours of Sunday morning, they cut the tether to the yacht, fearing it might drag them down. Soon after, it slipped beneath the waves. A 470-foot container ship, the MV Sofrana Surville, rescued the sailors at 6 a.m. on Sunday, the New Zealand military said — about 18 hours after their encounter with the sperm whale. Even the rescue was scary as the giant ship approached their tiny life raft, recalled Jeremy Cooper. But within half an hour they had scaled a ladder to join their rescuers, have a cup of coffee and chat with the captain, he said, ruing the end of their Pacific holiday voyage. "It was wonderful, wonderful, and just a terrible, terrible ending — but luckily no loss of life." Adult male sperm whales measure between 50 and 60 feet. They are considered a "vulnerable" species by the nonprofit International Union for Conservation of Nature. Sperm whales reproduce once every five to seven years and have experienced significant population decline. The species is under threat from noise pollution, plastic consumption and ship strikes. The incident in New Zealand marks at least the second time in less than two months that a whale has sunk a boat. In July, a whale that surfaced for air slammed into a New Jersey fire department's boat, sinking the ship with firefighters on board. Someone on a personal watercraft nearby and a boater helped rescue the firefighters from the water.

To Haha or not to Haha

The water near the equator is nearing historic highs and the number of hurricanes coming from the south is alarming. Racheal is strengthening and could hit Cabo. There is another yet to be named storm forming. This will be my 10th Baja Haha. I plan to head to San Diego at the end of the month but before I jump on any boat I will access the situation and make the best decision possible. On a previous Haha, we ran into a hurricane and stopped in Turtle Bay for 2 extra days. It eventually turned west and the rally continued. The good news is we have access to the best meteorologists in the world. I pray for a safe Haha for all.

Spectacular: The Channel Islands of SoCal

We have just returned from 7 days on the water off the coast of Santa Barbara and LA. We had visited both on our voyage into Mexico in 2019. Santa Cruz Island was one of the highlights of that voyage. Andy and I met Barry and after a quick provision, we headed for Santa Cruz island from Ventura Harbor. I helped Barry purchase his boat in SF and then last September we sailed to his home port in Ventura. She is a beautiful 2003 36' Catalina. We motored most of the way to Yellow Bluff with some sailing late in the day. We had a nice chicken dinner and then some drinks in the cockpit. The next day, Barry was not in a hurry and we lingered thru lunch with swimming and napping. We moved up the far side of the island to an anchorage named Alberts. One other boat and we set two anchors (front and back) and that worked out just fine. A steak dinner saw us hit the hay early. I brought my Starlink and Barry requested an episode of the Twilight Zone before bed. We were very isolated and it was great to have connectivity. The next morning we headed to the beach for a game of bocce. Each of us had the lead and Barry came out on top. Then it was back to Yellow Bluff to set us up for the return home. A spagetti dinner put us into a sleep coma and to the bunks. We had a great sail back to the barn and quickly headed out to Marina Del Ray. After a 2 hour drive we arrived at the hotel. We had an early morning coming up so we went to bed about 9:30. Our next sojourn was to Catalina Island and Avalon. There are 8 islands in the Channel Island chain. We met Jody and his crew at 8 and were on the way by 9am. Jody was my skipper on the last Haha. He invited me down for a sail to the island. This time we were on a Catalina 32'. It was a 7 hour sail to the harbor but it went quick. After a tie up, we headed to shore for a memorable dinner on the beach overlooking all the boats. Avalon is a very European type village with about 7000 residents. And lots of tourists on this September evening. Back at the boat we had a lively conversation about our favorite movies. I had just finished my 25th viewing of North By Northwest (an Alfred Hitchcock thriller and my favorite) and that was our starting point. We hit all the classics and one movie my friend Andy and I will never forget is Blazing Saddles. We laughed so hard we wet our pants back in 1974 (we were 14 at the time). The next day was spent wandering the town and having a nice Mexican lunch. In the evening, Andy and I headed to the Lobster Shack for football and a fine meal. On the way home it was a motor sail in about 10 knots of wind. We made good time and another 7 hour run. We are hanging out at a nice hotel on the beach in Santa Monica and relaxing. We depart Monday for the drive home. Great to see my friends and I love these islands. If you ever have a chance to visit the Channel Islands, donot pass it up.

Big Weekend

Down in the Santa Barbara area for a sojourn to Santa Cruz Island. On our voyage to Mexico in 2019, we stopped in the area for three weeks to enjoy this spectacular island. An ancient volcano, this island has tons of tiny beaches as well as the largest sea cave on the planet. My best friend Andy is here as well as our captain Barry. We all swam together back in high school. I helped Barry buy his boat last year and then we sailed it to Ventura. We will be out there three nights. Should be a blast! And it's my birthday!

Have You Had an Unusual Experience While Swimming?

I have three. I have been a swimmer all my life and was a scholarship swimmer/polo player at a Division 1 college. In my senior year of high school way back in 76′, I was at the championship and needed to place in the top 2 in the 100 yard backstroke to win the high point trophy for my age group. Ready, GO! I hit the first turn perfectly and was swimming fast. As I hit my second turn, I came off the wall and hit another swimmer in the head… with my head! I had swam over the lane line into another lane! I stood up dazed, and was promptly disqualified because I touched bottom. Bummer! My other moment was when we were rafting down the Colorado river. We made a stop at Havasu Creek for a hike to Beaver Falls. We reached this beautiful falls and one of the boatmen asked if I was game for a special treat? Yes. We swam over to the falls and then proceed to dive down 10 feet under water and then 10 feet behind the fall and then up 10 feet. Easy for me and I had googles on and could see perfectly. We ended up in a cave that was about 3 feet high above the water and 6 feet across. It fit 3–4 people. Because the water was so clear, when the light came up from the bottom. the color inside the cave was bright green. It was amazing. They called it the “green room”. I loved it. Lastly, I was on a sailing trip in Mexico. We stopped for a couple days at Santa Maria on the west coast of Baja. I had been at a beach party all day and when I got back to the boat about 9, I needed a swim. I donned my trusty goggles and jumped in the warm water. My whole body lit up with an amazing green color from the bioluminesence. Tiny proto-plankton that light up when agitated. I had seen it before but nothing like this. The faster I swam, the brighter it got. With my goggles on, I could see perfectly. Even tho it was a bit dangerous to be swimming at night, alone in a huge bay, I was too excited to think about it. I swam for about 40 minutes and loved the amazing color these tiny creatures created. Similar to a lighting bug color, however there were millions of them on my body and it was exhilarating!

To Stream Or Not To Stream

In 2000, streaming was at it's infancy. iTunes came along in early 2001 and the streaming world hit it's peak in 2012 with many of the services listed below. Many have come an gone since and Spotify continues to be my go to. Take a look at the list and see how many you remeber.

Radioactive Island in the Bay