Rescue was the furthest thing from Tom Collins’ and Colleen Wilson’s minds on a fine spring evening last year. As skippers of the Catalina 38 sloop Mokisha, Collins and Wilson were into the final night of a passage from Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico, to the port city of Manzanillo on the Mexican mainland. At about 2000, the crew had just tucked a second reef in the main as the wind built to 27 knots from the northwest, with seas running 4 to 8 feet. Due to autopilot problems, they were alternating two-hour shifts of hand-steering. “I had just taken over the helm from Colleen and was about 15 minutes into my watch when I saw the biggest meteor I had ever seen. It glided across the sky and broke into multiple pieces, lighting the sky and ocean froth with a green-white glow,” Collins said. “I said to myself, ‘Now that could be a good omen or a bad omen.’” The collision came only a few minutes later. “There was a loud boom, and the boat turned hard to starboard. The seas rolled Mokisha almost to a knockdown, and she kept going right up into the wind. At this point, I realized the helm was spinning freely with no effort, and I had no steerage,” he said. Wilson quickly joined Collins in the cockpit, and the couple dropped all sail. For the next several hours, with the boat rocking violently, they assessed the situation and attempted to regain steerage. “We could see that both cables on the steering quadrant had broken, but fortunately, we were not taking on water from the rudderpost,” Collins said. “We tried the emergency tiller, but the boat would not steer to port. I considered and immediately ruled out going overboard on a tether to get a good look at the rudder, but Mokisha’s stern was rising and falling as much as 7 feet with a substantial roll. It seemed like a quick way to be killed.” After several hours working in an engine access compartment “the size of a coffin,” Collins was able to repair the steering cables — but the rudder was clearly jammed, and the boat still would not steer to port. Wilson and Collins rode out the rest of the night in Mokisha’s cabin, where they considered their options and waited for the morning nets to come on. An earlier attempt to contact the Manzanillo port authority via VHF had proven fruitless. Meanwhile, the wind had increased to 30 knots, gusting to 34, with occasional 10-foot seas that almost put Mokisha on its ear. “We were moving to the southwest at a couple of knots and making continuous roundings into the wind and back down,” Collins said. “We thought through materials onboard that we might be able to use to improvise a rudder, or even something to use as a drogue off the port stern — anything to keep the boat on some sort of course.” Early the next morning, Wilson was able to make contact with the Maritime Mobile Net, a large network of mostly U.S.-based ham operators working on 14,300 MHz, upper sideband. “The net controller was extremely committed to helping us out and stopped all other traffic. He eventually handed us off to the Amigo Net, which was in a more immediate position to help us,” she said. The Amigo Net is a marine single-sideband net of cruisers in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and along the Pacific coast. The Amigo Net meets every morning at 1400 UTC, operating on 8,116 MHz, upper sideband. Meanwhile, cruisers anchored in Chamela were putting together a plan to bring Mokisha in. They decided first to contact the Mexican navy to see if it could provide any assistance; as a contingency, the catamaran Dolce Vita made ready to head out to Mokisha and attempt to tow them in. The Mexican navy finally responded on the Amigo frequency, and Ed Marill, skipper of the sailing vessel Siesta, stepped in. A native Cuban and fluent Spanish speaker, Marill was able to communicate the situation — and by 1030, the Navy announced that a fast boat would be dispatched from Puerto Vallarta to intercept Mokisha. “We were told to expect the boat in three hours, which didn’t seem possible, as we were at least 100 miles from Puerto Vallarta at that point,” Collins said. “But three hours later we spotted a huge rooster tail that seemed at least 30 feet high.” The rooster tail turned out to be Petrulla Interceptora, a 35-foot patrol boat used for drug interdiction and capable of traveling at 40 knots. Interceptora had a diver and tools aboard and was under orders to attempt to repair the rudder rather than tow Mokisha, but the rough seas soon ruled out that option. After some negotiations, including a harrowing moment when Interceptora slammed into Mokisha’s hull, Interceptora took Mokisha under tow to Chamela. Only 27 hours after the accident, Mokisha arrived in Chamela to a welcome committee composed of the cruising boats that had arranged the rescue. “Even though it was 2230, all the boats were brightly lit, and The Great Escape pulled up anchor and came out to escort us in,” Wilson said. “They even had hot food waiting for us and the navy personnel.” The next morning, a navy diver confirmed what the Mokisha crew already suspected: that a collision with some large object, probably a whale, had bent the rudderpost and caused it to jam in the hull molding just above the rudder. Another larger, slower ship arrived to tow Mokisha to Puerto Vallarta, where the boat could be hauled out and repaired. “As soon as we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I was asked to come up and pay the towing fee — not even $400 for more than 200 miles of towing!” Collins related. “Our single-sideband radio and the cruisers’ nets have soundly proven their worth to Colleen and me,” he remarked. “Though we have gone cruising to experience self-sufficiency and to get away from it all, the nets provide a means of mutual support for those who wander the seas.” Susan Pazera For more information on cruiser nets and for a selection of nets available around the world, visit www.OceanNavigator.com and click the Web Extras button.
Wilson quickly joined Collins in the cockpit, and the couple dropped all sail. For the next several hours, with the boat rocking violently, they assessed the situation and attempted to regain steerage. "We could see that both cables on the steering quadrant had broken, but fortunately, we were not taking on water from the rudderpost," Collins said. "We tried the emergency tiller, but the boat would not steer to port. I considered and immediately ruled out going overboard on a tether to get a good look at the rudder, but Mokisha's stern was rising and falling as much as 7 feet with a substantial roll. It seemed like a quick way to be killed." After several hours working in an engine access compartment "the size of a coffin," Collins was able to repair the steering cables &mdash but the rudder was clearly jammed, and the boat still would not steer to port.
Wilson and Collins rode out the rest of the night in Mokisha's cabin, where they considered their options and waited for the morning nets to come on. An earlier attempt to contact the Manzanillo port authority via VHF had proven fruitless. Meanwhile, the wind had increased to 30 knots, gusting to 34, with occasional 10-foot seas that almost put Mokisha on its ear. "We were moving to the southwest at a couple of knots and making continuous roundings into the wind and back down," Collins said. "We thought through materials onboard that we might be able to use to improvise a rudder, or even something to use as a drogue off the port stern &mdash anything to keep the boat on some sort of course."
Early the next morning, Wilson was able to make contact with the Maritime Mobile Net, a large network of mostly U.S.-based ham operators working on 14,300 MHz, upper sideband. "The net controller was extremely committed to helping us out and stopped all other traffic. He eventually handed us off to the Amigo Net, which was in a more immediate position to help us," she said. The Amigo Net is a marine single-sideband net of cruisers in Mexico's Sea of Cortez and along the Pacific coast. The Amigo Net meets every morning at 1400 UTC, operating on 8,116 MHz, upper sideband.
By that time, Mokisha was about 50 miles southwest of Bahia Chamela, a popular anchorage about 100 miles south of Puerto Vallarta. The Amigo Net controller immediately cancelled all other Net activities when he learned of Mokisha's situation, and soon Collins and Wilson were deluged with other boaters offering ideas and help.
Meanwhile, cruisers anchored in Chamela were putting together a plan to bring Mokisha in. They decided first to contact the Mexican navy to see if it could provide any assistance; as a contingency, the catamaran Dolce Vita made ready to head out to Mokisha and attempt to tow them in.
The Mexican navy finally responded on the Amigo frequency, and Ed Marill, skipper of the sailing vessel Siesta, stepped in. A native Cuban and fluent Spanish speaker, Marill was able to communicate the situation &mdash and by 1030, the Navy announced that a fast boat would be dispatched from Puerto Vallarta to intercept Mokisha.
"We were told to expect the boat in three hours, which didn't seem possible, as we were at least 100 miles from Puerto Vallarta at that point," Collins said. "But three hours later we spotted a huge rooster tail that seemed at least 30 feet high." The rooster tail turned out to be Petrulla Interceptora, a 35-foot patrol boat used for drug interdiction and capable of traveling at 40 knots.
Interceptora had a diver and tools aboard and was under orders to attempt to repair the rudder rather than tow Mokisha, but the rough seas soon ruled out that option. After some negotiations, including a harrowing moment when Interceptora slammed into Mokisha's hull, Interceptora took Mokisha under tow to Chamela.
Only 27 hours after the accident, Mokisha arrived in Chamela to a welcome committee composed of the cruising boats that had arranged the rescue. "Even though it was 2230, all the boats were brightly lit, and The Great Escape pulled up anchor and came out to escort us in," Wilson said. "They even had hot food waiting for us and the navy personnel."
The next morning, a navy diver confirmed what the Mokisha crew already suspected: that a collision with some large object, probably a whale, had bent the rudderpost and caused it to jam in the hull molding just above the rudder. Another larger, slower ship arrived to tow Mokisha to Puerto Vallarta, where the boat could be hauled out and repaired. "As soon as we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, I was asked to come up and pay the towing fee &mdash not even $400 for more than 200 miles of towing!" Collins related.
"Our single-sideband radio and the cruisers' nets have soundly proven their worth to Colleen and me," he remarked. "Though we have gone cruising to experience self-sufficiency and to get away from it all, the nets provide a means of mutual support for those who wander the seas."
Susan Pazera
For more information on cruiser nets and for a selection of nets available around the world, visit www.OceanNavigator.com and click the Web Extras button.
