Crash gybe

Graham Dalton describes his dismasting

Earlier today, in 35 knots of wind, my autopilot crash gybed Hexagon and the force of the manoeuvre caused my mast to come down.

What followed was a frantic few hours of dreadful conditions and concerning times.

I knew immediately that I was in trouble when the boat crash gybed. The mast broke into three pieces and fell over the side of the boat. As all of this happened, the wind suddenly increased to 50 knots, and the mast broke further into four pieces.

There was white water all around. The ocean surrounding Hexagon was covered in breaking waves and lying right next to her was the mast, still attached to the boat by its rigging and banging against the hull. Initially, my thought was to save the rig. With a piece of the mast I could make a small jury rig and sail to the coast of Argentina.

I winched the largest piece of the mast on deck and tied it down with the sheets I use to hold my headsails in. These are very strong pieces of rope. When this was finished I went below to inform the Around Alone Race HQ and a massive wave broke over Hexagon. The force of this wave picked up the mast and snapped the sheets like they were pieces of cotton. The rig was once again in the water, and was now a potential danger to me.

I called the Race HQ and informed them of my situation and the conditions. I had to cut the mast free from the boat, as the longer it was left attached the more risk there would be that it would bash against Hexagon’s hull and make a hole. The conditions remained bad and waves were breaking over the deck. To go up and cut the rig free would have been foolhardy, so I had to sit below and listen to the noise, waiting for the wind to abate. I closed all the hatches and each of Hexagon’s watertight compartments, so if the boat was holed, only one section would flood and this could stop her from sinking. I also got all of my safety equipment out so it would be ready to deploy should the worst happen.

At the time of the incident, Brad van Liew was the closest skipper to me in sailing time. After I had spoken with them, the Race HQ called him and he altered course so that he would be near to me should the worst happen and Hexagon was to be holed by the mast.

Eventually the wind eased. I was able to go on deck and cut the pieces of the rig free. I could see the damage that the mast had made to the deck, and hull. I was glad to be doing this job. Brad was called off and went back to his racing course.

Now I am just sitting in the hull of Hexagon. Once the weather has abated and when I have enough light I will go on deck and do a thorough check of the boat and its conditions. I will need to make sure that there is nothing trailing underneath the boat before I start the engines, as if I foul the propeller I will have no way of powering myself at all.

One thing is for sure; I am not giving up. Even if I have to float to the finish I will never give up. The plan is to try and make Mare del Plata in Argentina which is 650 miles away. I do not think I have enough diesel to get me all that way by motor, so will organise for a vessel to come and meet me and tow me the rest of the way. My shore crew are at the moment investigating the different options that I have for replacing Hexagon’s mast and rigging.

I am more than disappointed and it is very hard to have a positive outlook when something like this happens. I need to dig deep and fight back. I am determined to carry on with the race. It was my dream to race single-handed around the world and I am not going to allow circumstance to stop me from achieving this ambition. I may not end up with a result as good as I had wished for in the race, but I will be able to hold my head up in the knowledge that I have always done the best I can.

The race is not over and I am still competing.

Fair winds

Graham