June 4, 2003

• Turn Turtle
  
  I like reading stories about boat disasters, probably because I feel I can learn something from them. It’s the same feeling I had reading the obituaries section of a skydiving magazine before I did my first jump.
  
  Many people think there are no places to sail in America aside from the East Coast or the West Coast. However, the Great Lakes can prove to be very dangerous, especially as winds near shorelines can be surprisingly strong and shifty. Here’s a capsize story about a trimaran competing in the Mackinac Race.
  
  
  

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  TO: Chicago Yacht Club FROM: Mark Muehler RE: Capsizing of the Caliente: A View from the Water Now that the excitement of one of the Chicago to Mackinac’s fastest races and accompanying storm has subsided, it would seem necessary to clarify the events that led to the 44 foot trimaran Caliente’s capsizing and rescue of her crew. For the record the boat’s owner is Michael Steck, Winfield, Il. Crewmembers were Trey Ritter, Libertyville, Il., Bruce Warthen, Libertyville, Il., Tim Doran, Grays Lake, Il., Patrick Tierney, Evanston, Il., and Mark Muehler, Homer Glen, Il. At about 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time the Caliente rounded Shoal Buoy #3 into the Straits of Mackinac some 30 miles from the finish. Wind direction was from the southwest and boat speed 10-12 knots. No other racing boats were in view. The only vessel was a freighter approaching from behind and to the west. A starboard jibe removed the Caliente from the freighters course. The western sky began looking ominous. After a brief discussion, sail reduction was commenced by first furling the screacher. In less than a minute the storm was upon the multihull with wind speeds later reported as high as 90 m.p.h. Whether a microburst was involved is inconclusive, however, the force of the wind that flattened her fully eased mainsail seemed consistent with such a metrological phenomena. Upon releasing the mainsheet, Muehler turned to see the screacher half furled and the remaining portion of the sail flying unsheeted in the wind. The bow was digging into the water much like a submerging submarine. Within a few brief seconds the Caliente sounded what appeared to be a soft groan and rolled to port. When the trimaran’s heel approached 90 degrees, three crewmembers (Doran, Tierney, and Muehler) fell into the water. Steck retreated to the boat’s main cabin where he later exited through an escape hatch purposely designed for a capsizing. Something from the over turning boat caught Warthen’s inflatable life vest or attached tether and pulled him under. Rather than attempting to untangle, he unclipped the vest and after surfacing, swam to the boat. Ritter stayed close to the boat and quickly returned aboard the overturned vessel. Of the three on the port side, Tierney made it back to the boat and climbed aboard utilizing the bow sprint. Doran had a Musto life vest that was inadequate to keep him afloat. He called to Muehler who swam to his rescue. By the time the two men were joined, the Caliente had drifted about 30-40 feet and was being pushed by the wind faster than the two could close ground. At that point, the drifting sailors realized their rescue depended on the Coast Guard receiving a signal from one of the two 406 EPIRBs which Steck deployed upon capsizing. Muehler was wearing a self-inflating Mustang life vest that seemed to keep the two buoyant, although with 5-7 foot waves crashing on top of them they swallowed considerable amounts of lake water. After 15-20 minutes the wind subsided and the waves calmed to 2-4 feet, but the men were still taking in water and somewhat terrified by the thought that drowning is possible even in a life preserver! Fast approaching darkness added to Muehler and Doran’s concern over their peril. After a half hour of drifting, the separation between them and the boat exceeded ¼ mile and the two lost sight of the overturned craft. Aboard the Caliente, Tierney was able to cut the netting and retrieve a calamity bag carried for just such a situation. A flare was fired and a may day call broadcasted over a waterproof hand held VHF radio. Doran and Muehler’s spirits were revived when they saw the flare. They hoped other vessels would soon respond to the distress signal. By now it was dark enough for them to use their strobe light. Within a short time, the two could see lights approaching, which they mistakenly perceived to be the Coast Guard. Actually, it was a Canadian freighter illuminating the night with a powerful search beacon. The sailors were perplexed at the distance the vessel maintained from them. After the rescue, the two learned they had drifted into shallower water beyond reach of the freighter. The crewmen on the Caliente had seen Muehler’s strobe light and notified the freighter of the drifting men’s position. When the freighter directed its search beam on the Caliente, Muehler and Doran were amazed to see the capsized vessel only a few hundred yards away. The Caliente’s mast had lodged on the shallow bottom preventing her from further drifting. Soon after, the crew of the freighter sighted the two in the water and steadied a beam to aid the racing vessel Kokomo, a Schock 55, with the recovery. Doran and Muehler spent 90 minutes in the water. Fortunately, the lake water was uncommonly warm (nearly 70 degrees). Neither man felt hypothermia to be a significant danger up to that point. Doran’s strength was sapped clinging to Muehler and the two were taking in perilous amounts of water right up to their rescue. The Kokomo then proceeded to recover the remainder of the crew aboard the capsized Caliente. All were united below with dry sleeping bags and hot food. The superb effort of Kokomo’s crew has since been appropriately recognized. In retrospect, much that was done in compliance with the Chicago Yacht Club’s safety requirements avoided what could have been a tragic loss of life. The EPIRBs, and especially the calamity bag with flares and radio, as well as knives carried by each crewmember, were critical in the successful recovery.

  
  
  

  • 2:19 am
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