The Dangers of Cruising

Throughout our travels you hear tales of disaster and misfortune on yachts but up until this time it has always appeared distant although thoughts can’t be ignored as you set of on another passage or leave the boat. However, since cruising this time the realities of the risk are evident for us to see.

There has been a long list of events in recent weeks. The first occurred here in Fiji. One of the cruising yachts that left New Zealand with our rally struck a reef off Vianni Bay, the yacht was lost but fortunately both husband and wife were alive. Apparently whilst sailing in a narrow passage between reefs the yacht was pushed on to the reef by strong current and waves. The couple survived although at one stage they were separated from each other when their tender was upturned. The yacht was reduced to pieces and local Fijians rescued them and located their grab bag on a nearby beach. Having their passports in it at least allowed them to return to New Zealand with a minimum of hassle. The yacht was their home and is now in the hands of the insurance company. Since this event another yacht has also gone onto the reef in the same vicinity although it was able to get off and survived to tell the tale. In part this is why we chose not to head in this direction when we left Savusavu although it is meant to be very beautiful.

Our first mooring buoy in Savusavu was in front of the remains of a yacht pulled up onto the beach. It was rusty with a collapsed rigging and mast and it appeared to have been in a fire. It turned out to have been destroyed 2 months previously when it suffered from a gas explosion. The Canadian couple were sadly both killed. We are now obsessional about turning off the gas at night and when leaving the boat.

This week the HF radio has been sadly filled with the news of another disaster in which 2 yachtsmen are still missing and their yacht destroyed. Leaving Tonga the yacht ploughed into the side of a volcano / island at night and there has been no sign of the pair. Debris has been sighted across the ocean by an extensive search but there is no sign of the men. Speculation is rife as to the cause. They were only 23nm from Tonga so fatigue should not have been a factor. It was night but conditions were good and it’s a massive island visible in daylight for many miles. Yet another cautionary story.

The final story comes from New Caledonia where a yacht was lost when it hit a submerged container. The sailors were able to get into their life raft but again there are ever present risks many outside of the yachtsman’s control.

So I guess what I’m saying is that we love the cruising but in the back of our minds we are always looking for ways to manage the risk and hoping that nothing happens to us or those we know. I hope this is the last story of disaster that we hear of but when they tell you that 8 yachts are lost each cruising season in Fiji it makes one very cautious!