suite une brève dans le journal Bateaux, j'ai trouvé sur le site de nos amis Anglais de Tenacious le récit du sauvetage d'un voilier des Glénans en décembre dernier, au milieu de l'Atlantique.
Je me permet de leur adresser un coup de chapeau en passant ..
Hugues
The Jubilee Sailing Trust’s magnificent tall ship S.V. TENACIOUS rescued seven people from the French sailing yacht ‘ZOUK’ in heavy seas after the boat had lost its rudder and had been drifting helplessly in the middle of the Atlantic for nearly a week.
TENACIOUS was sailing on a 30-day transatlantic voyage from Gran Canaria to Antigua, when the ship received the distress call from the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, (MRCC) Fort de France based in Martinique. The MRCC monitors and co-ordinates calls for maritime assistance and rescues.
At around 1530 hours on Saturday, TENACIOUS made direct contact with ZOUK, which had then been drifting for over six days. The 2nd Engineer Steve Garrett and 2nd Mate Steve Higgs using one of the ships inflatable ribs went to lend assistance. They carried with them a mooring warp used in towing vessels and a box of freshly cooked ginger cake for the crew of the ZOUK.
Despite the difficult conditions Steve Garrett boarded the yacht and helped the crew to rig a towing bridle. This was no small task as the combination of the force of wind and sea put huge stresses on the line and the yacht.
Three of the crew from the yacht also transferred to TENACIOUS leaving four, including the yacht’s skipper on board.
Without the rudder the yacht did not respond to the terrible conditions and this put a huge strain on the towing line. During the course of Sunday morning the line snapped and once again the ZOUK was drifting.
Despite repeated attempts made by the crew on board TENACIOUS to tow the French vessel into Antigua, appalling weather conditions meant that Captain Barbara Campbell in consultation with the Skipper of the ZOUK was forced to abandon any attempt to save the yacht as it could not be towed safely. To prevent the ZOUK from becoming a hazard to other shipping it was necessary to sink the yacht.
Having transferred the remaining four crewmembers on to TENACIOUS, the crew sunk the yacht and are now proceeding to Antigua as originally planned.
The Jubilee Sailing Trust owns and operates two beautiful square-riggers STS LORD NELSON and SV TENACIOUS. These magnificent vessels are ground breaking in the world of tall ships as they are the only tall ships in the worlds to have been specifically designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail together as equals.
TENACIOUS is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind in the world. Since commencing voyages in September 2000, TENACIOUS has taken over 5,500 people to sea. Of these around 2,000 people were physically disabled.
The ZOUK is a 43-foot Sun Odyssey French registered yacht owned by the Glenans Association, which is one of France’s biggest sailing schools.
The Glenans Association is one of Europe’s most famous sailing school, which was started in 1947 and each year welcomes around 13,000 trainees to its various centres in France.
Amanda Butcher Chief Executive of the Jubilee Sailing Trust said, “I am delighted that the crew of TENACIOUS upheld the greatest tradition of seafaring and responded so quickly to this call for assistance. The safety of those sailing was the primary concern to both crews and this is why the decision was taken to transfer the crew off the ZOUK and to abandon the yacht.”
“I am extremely proud of everyone who took part in this rescue. They demonstrated their professionalism and expertise and are a credit to the Jubilee Sailing Trust and our work.”
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