..and a little help from friends

Yachting

By Sally Andrew

“Mayday...Mayday...Mayday.

This Is The Yacht Windsong.

We Have Been Rolled Over And

Have Shipped A Lot Of Water.

My Wife Is Seriously Injured

And Has Several Deep Cuts To

Her Face. Our Position Is

Fhree Five Degrees Two Four

South, One Six Eight Degrees,

Four Five West...”

It was Easter Sunday. Moments earlier 'fancy had been lying in her bunk, trying o rest and looking forward to a morning adio sked with some amateur radio riends. Conditions at sea had been real incomfortable during the night. Then uddenly, a roaring wave was heard over he din of the wind. It lifted Windsong until he toppled over backwards, throwing fancy out of her bunk. Life aboard Vindsong stopped as she rested upside own, 900 miles from anywhere.

After what seemed like an eternity, Vindsong righted herself. Full of water and pparently sinking, Doug and Jim checked ic boat for holes, got the bilge pumps orking, and put out their emergency call.

After being dismasted, lying ahull be )mes even more uncomfortable. That’s hen many of the real bruises come. But 'oug and Jim had clean-up work to do mast to cut loose, a prop to free up, an igine to keep running. Doug was almost ashed overboard by green water when a ave broke over the top of the deck. The ress of “hanging on for dear life” broke a

me in Doug’s wrist.

The magic of high frequency radio is that allows the exchange of information and eetings between people at sea and in mote islands and outposts of the world, ver the past five years Doug and Nancy ive enjoyed keeping track of their friends SSB and ham radio. They never

expected that they would have to put out a Mayday or M’aidez. When Doug put out his call for help, dozens of ham operators from around the Pacific stood by to listen and help with relays. As is customary, the first operator to communicate with a distressed yacht becomes the control oper ator, unless the skipper requests otherwise or until communications are handed over to the Coast Guard or a rescue ship. In this instance Harry (ML7MZ/ZL), a fellow cruiser and “weather guru” from the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, took over control of the emergency. Radio contacts were established with Wellington Rescue Coordination Center and with Dr John ea (ZLIAZR). Several NZ ham oper ators maintained radio watch during the nights, and over the next few days information and ideas were exchanged as various problems cropped up. The help from friends around the Pacific was over whelming. As Doug stated, “If you could measure a person’s wealth by his friends we reckon we’d be pretty rich”.

Radio contacts helped keep spirits high, When Nancy came on the radio one day, with her broken nose, black eyes, ripped lip and lacerated cheeks, Harry (KL7MZ/ZL) told her, “You sound great and you look just fine. But don’t look in the mirror.”

And the worst part was the need for immediate medical attention. The danger of infections, a cracked skull, loss of consciousness 900 miles from New Zealand, Tonga or Tahiti is a scary prospect. “I’ve seen a lot of messy things in my life, but watching my wife bleed ...”

The real hero of the day was warship Southland, a New Zealand naval vessel that was called in to effect a rescue at sea.

Because of the distance involved, the state of the sea, and the difficulties involved in taking Nancy off a bucking boat, a helicopter rescue was impossible. Instead, the Southland departed Auckland with materials and personnel to make Windsong shipshape again, and extra fuel so that she could motor back to port. Divers freed up Windsong’s fouled prop and checked the keel and rudder were okay. Aboard the Southland, Nancy was taken to sick bay and showered with attention. Doug appreciated the fact that Commander Gary Collier and the crew of the Southland showed “friendli ness and camaraderie while maintaining a very high level of professionalism.”

After Nancy was rescued, Windsong limped back to Auckland with her jury rig and tired crew.

What had started out as a job, had turned into a real adventure with a happy ending, thanks to a little help from friends. r-i