This page contains the accumulated information regarding the loss of Lucifero and the safe recovery of her crew.

The following articles appear on this page :
South Pacific Rescue for Blue Water Rally crew
A situation report from the rescuing yacht Akwaaba, received on the morning of 25th May plus a message from Peter Seymour
Extracts from a fax from NZ Search and Rescue to Rally Control

PRESS RELEASE

1800 hours BST  24 May 1999

SOUTH PACIFIC RESCUE FOR BLUE WATER RALLY CREW

A SatCom message received by Blue Water Rally Control in UK at 1500 local time Monday 24 May announced the successful pick-up of the two crew of the Blue Water Rally yacht, "Lucifero", some 100 miles from the Pacific island of Niue. Some 12 hours previously the two crew, Patricia Landamore (age 71), and young Canadian crew member, Will Flack (22), had sent out a Mayday announcing their yacht was sinking and had set off their EPIRB satellite rescue beacon, alerting the UK and New Zealand rescue authorities and other members of the Blue Water Rally fleet.

As the drama unfolded close coordination by Blue Water sailors, the New Zealand rescue authorities (MRCC Wellington) and ham radio resulted in the launching of a RNZAF Orion maritime patrol aircraft to the scene some 4 hours’ flying time away. In the meantime the nearest Blue Water Rally yacht, "Akwaaba", skippered by Mike Smither and crewed by his wife (Chris) and son (Jez), headed for "Lucifero’s" last known position about 55 miles distant from them. Conditions were not good, with strong ESE winds of 28-30 knots, rain and heavy seas and, to make matters worse, the onset of darkness. At home Blue Water Rally Control was keeping next-of-kin in the UK and Canada closely informed of the progress of the rescue.

Messages from the NZ MRCC to Rally Control indicated that the EPIRB was working successfully and was guiding the Orion to the liferaft now occupied by "Lucifero’s" crew. Despite very difficult conditions, superb coordination between the Orion and Mike Smither resulted in the announcement by 1505 UK time that the liferaft had been found, that the crew were in communication by radio and that they were both well. To the relief of everyone, "Akwaaba" reported that she would be alongside the liferaft 10-15 minutes later. At 1600 UK local time Mike Smither announced the successful pick-up of Patricia and Will asking that thanks be passed to the MRCCs, 5 Squadron RNZAF, the Blue Water Rally yachts and ham radio operators, who had contributed so much to the successful rescue.

"Akwaaba" (and her new crew) are now completing their journey to Tonga, the next official stopover of the Blue Water Rally.

Webmaster's comments : The Mayday signal was initially transmitted to and picked up by yachts in the fleet operating their Safety Reporting Net on High Frequency (aka Short Wave) Radio. The EPIRB (Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon) operated independently using satellite communications. Both communications methods are a requirement for participation in the Rally. Situation reports have been received from other yachts in the fleet operating on INMARSAT, which is not a mandatory requirement.

On a personal note, I've been there, done that, and would like to send warmest good wishes to all involved.

Situation Report from Akwaaba

The following report was received from the yacht Akwaaba, skipper Mike Smither, and addressed to UK Rally Control, Peter Seymour.

The report contains some technical terms and particular usages which may not be readily understood, so we have edited it and included technical explanations which we hope will clarify the text. [Detailed explanations are provided for the words which look like this - simply click on the word and you will be taken to the explanation - then click on 'Back' to return to the same place in the text]

"As requested, this is a brief summary of events. At about 1730 leg time last night, Chris was called by Moonslipper to discuss the weather situation, when Lucifero interrupted with a Mayday as she was sinking. She had already made calls on 2182 and VHF but had no response. We did a fleet check and quick plot and found we were the nearest yacht, and so we set off towards the North as quickly as possible.

We retained 4A as the contact frequency with Lucifero and asked Rhythm to net on 4D. We gave Lucifero an estimated time of arrival of 7 hours, and at 1800 received an updated position from them. At 1825 we had our last message from them saying that they were abandoning the yacht. At 1835 we sent a situation report to you.

Meanwhile Rhythm had contacted the ham net and a Honolulu ham WH6DQ had alerted USCG (the US Coastguard service) and thence MRCC Wellington (New Zealand). A New Zealand ham LL1AZR on the net called MRCC as well, plus a yacht in the Tuamotu Islands, Summer Passage.

We continued North trying to reach Lucifero :  Tudor Rose in Niue alerted the locals (who prepared to divert a commercial flight), as well as telling us that the RCC wanted to call us. After chatting to them we decided on 4A/16 as the working frequency so that the rest of the rally could stay in contact.

Magic Dragon, the next nearest yacht also headed North in case we needed to set up a search, which would be helped by the boats en route from Suvarov. We heard that a P3 (Orion) arcraft was leaving New Zealand and told RCC about the Niue plan, which they then cancelled. We sent our next message to you at 2210 and then briefed Tudor Rose and Magic Dragon.

We arrived at Lucifero's last known position at 0115 and set out along the drift path. The P3 arrived at the same time, and vectored us towards the last EPIRB position. The aircraft set up a search pattern and after about 1 hour Lucifero heard them and fired a rocket, which we saw and directed the aircraft to them. The aircraft then directed us towards the liferaft. At 0330 we were close and asked them for a red flare, which didn’t work and at 0400 we were alongside and picked them up. The P3 had offered to stay till first light, but I decided to get them aboard as soon as possible as the wind which had been 30-35 got up to 40 knots. It subsequently dropped to 35! At 0500 we told you of the pickup and set course for Tonga. Patricia and Will are OK, with no ill effects.

Points of interest (to other sailors) :
1 The Short Wave Calling Channel, 2182 was a waste of time – we all have this little red button on our SSB – put no faith in it!
2. The ham nets are really helpful in a real emergency.
3. Two in-date flares failed.
4. Without the P3 (aircraft) we could have been searching for hours – although the position we picked them up from was close to our plotted drift line.
5. EPIRB’s work, but remember to turn it off on rescue (we did).
6. The liferaft was very comfortable and sea anchors essential -–but get them in before pickup.
7. Chris handled communications leaving Jez & I to work boat – terrific job.
8. The crew of Lucifero believe that they struck a submerged object as the yacht sank in 3 hours.

That’s all for now, but I can give a few practical tips on night pickups!"

Rally Director Peter Seymour comments  " In a true application of Murphy's Law, this situation developed as night was falling and in bad weather. The fact that Akwaaba made such speedy progress towards, and was so successful in predicting, the rescue site is indicative of the very high levels of seamanship of her family crew. The understated tone of this report should not detract from the achievement involved.

Nonetheless, the contribution of other Rally participants, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Rescue Co-Ordinators and the various ham radio operators who all gave of their utmost is also deserving of higher praise than we can award with a simple 'Thank you'. It is a source of considerable pride that the principles by which the Rally operates, namely safe and properly supported cruising in company, have proved to be so effective "

Fax from NZ Search and Rescue

The following is extracted from a fax sent by NZ Search and Rescue to UK Rally Control on 26 May 1999 10:02 NZ Local time.

To : Peter Seymour, Blue Water Rallies Ltd, UK

From : Bill Sommer, SARMC

"Thank you for your cooperation and the excellent flow of information during the SAR operation for LUCIFERO

The whole operation was virtually 'copy-book' and from our point of view, it demonstrated the advantage of working with crews who were well prepared and equipped, and a Rally Director who is truly organised."

Explanations and Definitions

Leg Time : some of the passages on the Rally cross more than one time zone, and it is essential that all yachts in the fleet use the same time standard for their safety calls, etc. At the briefing held in advance of each passage, the date on which clocks are put forward is agreed by all the skippers. Back

MayDay : a call to all seafarers for assistance. Although legally it is the vessel which must be at risk of loss, by international convention a 'Mayday' signal (which is derived from the French m'aidez ) is used when life is at risk. There are internationally agreed radio frequencies on both Short Wave (2182 khz) and Very High Frequency (Channel 16) which all ships are meant to monitor continuously so that there is no delay in receiving and acting upon a Mayday signal. These radio frequencies are supplemented by the satellite network used by EPIRB's (see below)   Back

Plot : The position reports given by each yacht on the safety net or obtained automatically by satellite are transferred onto a chart. These provide a clear idea of the relative locations of each vessel, and whether they can provide assistance or not. Back

Radio Frequencies : To ensure consistent communication over long distances, the Rally defines frequencies for radio communication between yachts in the fleet. These frequencies for Short Wave (or Single Side Band or High Frequency) communications are separated into bands, so that longer and longer distances can be covered, and are referred to by a code which is known to all yachts in the fleet. All 'A' codes are primarily used for safety traffic and position reports. Back

Net : short for 'network'. All yachts in the fleet report in at specific times giving their position and local weather situation, plus any requests for spares or arrangements at the port of arrival. After the essential information, the net then turns into a meeting point for social chat. As only one yacht can broadcast at a time, a group of frequencies (see above) is allocated for these conversations so that more than one discussion can be held at one time. Back

Ham : or 'amateur radio'. Amateur radio offers free worldwide communications and is an absorbing pastime for many thousands of people throughout the world. In most countries, ham radio operators have to pass a strict test and are awarded call signs which normally consist of 6 letters or numbers to identify them to other listeners. At any given time, there may be hundreds of ham operators listening in to the 'nets' (see above) which they use as meeting places and which can be used to contact them in case of emergency. Back

MRCC : Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres are located throughout the world specifically to co-ordinate the efforts of all available resources in the saving of life at sea. As such they can call on Government and Private Agencies, Commercial shipping and aircraft or anyone who has offered assistance. Back

Working Frequency : Although for short range communication VHF (Very High Frequency) radio is the most effective, marine bands are not the same as those used on land or by aircraft. Defining a common frequency on both Short Wave (such as 4A) and VHF (Channel 16) ensures that all participants in rhe rescue can talk to each other. Back

Drift Path : A liferaft (which has no engine) is likely to be swept by winds and current. In mid-ocean, predicting its drift path is a very inexact science, and the level of seamanship involved in predicting an accurate drift path should not be underestimated. Back

EPIRB : Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon. Monitored continuously by geostationary satellites, an EPIRB, once manually triggered or autmatically released, transmits an identification and position report for a vessel in distress. The signal is automatically reported by the monitoring satellites to all MRCC's which can then look up details of the vessel and the safety equipment carried. Back

Flares : Rally yachts are required to carry flares as part of their safety equipment. They are invaluable for marking a position visually at night or in relatively bad visibility. Flares are often made by firework manufacturers, but carried in less than ideal conditions and are known not to be 100% reliable. Back