Air Apparent has drifted north over 800nm -
Posted on 10/14/2008 7:44:16 AM PDT by BGHater
Edited on 10/14/2008 7:51:26 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
A yacht which was abandoned seven months ago after its crew mutinied against their experienced skipper has been found, still sailing - 800 miles from where they left it.
The skipper and crew of Air Apparent, a Compass 790, were airlifted from the vessel after its three inexperienced crew members panicked and set off the yacht's EPIRB. The yacht was sailing in 25-30 knot winds and 3m seas 165km west of Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand. The skipper, Bill Heritage, an experienced sailor who had owned Air Apparent for 15 years told his crew the conditions were safe, but they disagreed. 'We were sailing very conservatively and we had an ideal wind direction. There was high winds but that is not dangerous,' he told the Nelson Mail.
'I was sleeping when they woke me up and told me they were going to set off the beacon. I didn't know what they were talking about,' Mr Heritage said. 'I didn't rally them. Another skipper might have done better.'
Mr Heritage initially put in an insurance claim with AMP New Zealand but was declined. After receiving some pressure from an Australian insurance company that said it would cover such an incident, AMP ruled that a mutinous crew was not reasonably foreseen.
AMP then granted Mr Heritage a claim for $23,000, though he had initially claimed $24,000.
'I think we all came to a conclusion which was amicable for both sides,' Mr Heritage said.
Air Apparent was found as a 'ghost ship' floating around the Pacific Ocean, having survived the worst the Tasman Sea could throw at it. The 7.9m yacht was discovered south of Norfolk Island by French Navy patrol ship La Moqueuse on a trip from Noumea to Nelson last week. Its captain, Lieutenant Laurent Saunois, said the yacht was like a 'ghost ship'.
Air Apparent has drifted north over 800nm -
Mutiny on The Air Apparent? Isn’t that usually a crime?...............
Umm....that’s a boat, not a ship.
The skipper was right, the guys freaked out.
Wussies.
Yes it is. And punishable by flogging.
"Allright, rip the shirt. How cliche."
Four people on a 7.9m sailboat?
Asking price for this one is $25,000. As far as salvage - how diffucult is the job if she is a "ghost ship" that sails just fine? I guess the price of a charter to sail her from where she is to where you want her to be?
Keel haul the varmints! The have them hung from the yardarm! Then have them drawn and quartered! Then have them stare at pictures of Helen Thomas!....................
The poor cook he caught the fits and threw away all of my grits. And then he took and ate up all of my corn. Let me go home!
It was close quarters...........;^)
Is that what they are calling it these days...
A 25’ “yacht” ain’t much more than a rowboat on the high seas, IMHO. Of course, I’ve never been there.
Years ago I had a 26’ Excalibur outside of Golden Gate Bridge (single handed)
The Excalibur had a deeper heavier keel that made it ocean rated, but it was still a bear in high winds/seas with tiller steering.
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