The boat on its side in the Solent

[c130king]

Actually RickJ was just online about an hour ago. If he knows any details of this event hopefully he will chime in.

Jim

[kmclemore]

Here's a pic from the factory when they were making 26X's... it shows the centerboard cutout location... it's actually pretty far forward.

[bastonjock]

Jim

ive just had a PM from rick,he is unfamilliar with the boat and has a few guesses as to why the boat may have capsized.

im with Kevin on the "good news" part,the mac has not sunk or turned turtle and looks like a good floating platform to be on if you ever find your self in that situation.

As far as i am aware,as long as you have ballast in,the 26x will self right itself,so the chances are that the guy in the picture may have been playing high speed motor boats and zig zagged to tight and rolled,No ballast = no come back up

[kmclemore]

...the chances are that the guy in the picture may have been playing high speed motor boats and zig zagged to tight and rolled...

I doubt that. The Mac usually only rolls when motored in a high speed turn and with the centerboard down - effectively, it "trips" on it's own board, and in this case the board appears to have been up.

Given the configuration of the boards (rudders down), I suspect the bloke had the main up and forgot to put down the centerboard or load the ballast, and in that configuration the boat will flip quite easily. He may have then subsequently hauled down the main in order to attempt to right the boat without the load of water in the main.

[March]

Looks like the centerboard is retracted--or gone missing. The ballast tank is definitely empty or else the boat wouldn't be sitting on the side the way it does--the center of gravity would have pulled it right back. He must have a lot of weight in the cabin that rolled on the starboard side and keeps the boat down.
It almost looks like the boat is beached on a sand bar or some rocks. Is the man standing on the pulpit rail?

[kmclemore]

No, I doubt it's beached... Mac's really do float that high out of the water. Besides, in the article they said it was drifting.

And yes, it appears he is standing on the pulpit, and trying to fit-up a rescue harness.

For future reference I'll post the article's content here:

A YACHTSMAN was plucked from The Solent after his yacht capsized and started taking on water.

The Wightlink car ferry, St Helen, a Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVYC) launch and Ryde Inshore Rescue went to the aid of the stricken yacht, Mac Magic, which was lying on her side with only the underside of the hull visible, and slowly drifting across the Fishbourne Channel.

Jonathan Dyer, RVYC’s marine and marketing manager, said: "We saw the boat capsize and a man clinging to the upside down boat.

"I went out in our launch with two of our club members, Sam and Amy Prime. When we got there the car ferry had lowered a rope down to him."

The yachtsman boarded St Helen over the forward bulwark while the RVYC rescue boat and Ryde Inshore Rescue attended Mac Magic.

The St Helen continued to Fishbourne, where the man disembarked.

These dramatic pictures were supplied by readers Andrew and Donna Cooke.

[c130king]

It looks like his jib is furled and I think the main is down. Which leads one to think he was motoring.

[kmclemore]

It looks like his jib is furled and I think the main is down. Which leads one to think he was motoring.

As I say, he may have subsequently hauled down the main in order to try and right her - that's tougher to do with a main full of water.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Looks clearly like the under side of an early X, just like mine right down to the ballast tank inlet under the companionway step just aft of the centerboard. Centerboard slot, rudders, bow pulpit, single spreader mast, steaming light, all look MacGregor X.

I'm curious what he is standing on, he looks to be a fair way up the mast, perhaps at the gooseneck or higher. Weight there would certainly keep the boat on it's side.

Sure seems to me that the only way I could get my boat stable in a position like that would be to partially fill the ballast tank then roll it over.

[Highlander]

Scott

Here's the tide going out through a 30ft channel creating a 3ft waterfall
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... a51892.flv

Darren's boat at the slips 9-12ft tides I believe ! see the slip poles how high they are at low tide !
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... 67b15f.flv

This is The Inner Harbour " the Gorge " Victoria BC

J

[c130king]

It looks like his jib is furled and I think the main is down. Which leads one to think he was motoring.

As I say, he may have subsequently hauled down the main in order to try and right her - that's tougher to do with a main full of water.

Seems like it would be a pain to haul down the main...wouldn't most sailors just release the main sheet? But then again maybe this guy didn't know any better.

Hopefully somebody will find the details of what happened.

Jim

[Rick Westlake]

Well, here's some enlarged pics... looks like a 26 to me... check out the rudders - no 'standard sailboats' have those... and appears to have a Honda motor on the back, with the wider 26X transom entry... the bow pulpit looks consistent too. It's not a "D" or "M" because it has a long swing-centerboard trunk.



Click this one to enlarge it:

It looks to me as if most of the centerboard is missing - could it have been levered off by getting swept sideways into some rocks? (After replacing my C/B cable a couple of months ago, I know the 26X centerboard is light and lightly-built.) I don't see any debris hanging out of the slot, but the tone of it makes me wonder ....

Were I in his soggy boots, I would hope I'd have had the presence of mind to make fast a line to the mast tabernacle and have the rescue boat pull me upright. Better yet, I hope I'm never in similar straits - and will do what I can to avoid it.

Poor guy. I hope they righted and rescued his boat.

[SkiDeep2001]

Makes me feel good to see she's laying 75%-80% out of the water. You have to think many other boats would be mostly submerged or in Davey Jones' locker. I don't know if the styrofoam flotation is assisting in keeping her that high in the water but it doesn't look like she's in any danger of sinking. I would think if there was a way to make the hatch cover & companionway door watertight you could last a long time without having the cabin filling up and even then the flotation would keep her from going to the bottom. Anybody that has someone who is leery of sailing or being on the water should show these photos to them. It could at least give them the confidence that in the worst of accidents they would be relatively safe. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside Kudos to Roger MacGregor and all involved in the manufacture of the Mac's. Rob

[Wind Chime]

Anybody that has someone who is leery of sailing or being on the water should show these photos to them. It could at least give them the confidence that in the worst of accidents they would be relatively safe

I don't know about anyone else, but my wife tells me, "if I knew the worst case senario, I would stay home, just tell me the dangers on a need to know basis". So, I will not be showing her these photos.

This was proved on our last trip of 11 days. All things turned out "best case" senario, and she loved it, and is already talking about next year.

She knows that I have done extensive passage planning, taken the proper precautions, and am prepared for the worst case situation. I know it is more prudent to have all crew in the same mindframe, but sometimes this can not be the case.

[Scott]

You dont really need to have a hatch or companionway that is tight sealed. Unless you plan on rolling it over a bunch. Just having the hatch closed and your boards in will usually keep out most of the water. Ive been on a boat that laid over 6 or 8 different times and been in storms with water running over the deck when we speared waves and had next to no water below when it righted.