Recognition for offshore race rescue

The US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee awarded the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal to the skippers and crew of two sailing vessels, Ceilidh and Banter, who rescued competitors off a life raft from the sailboat Alliance that sank during the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race.

The medals were presented by Jonathan Kabek and Sheila McCurdy, representing the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee, at a ceremony on September 13 at the Newport Yacht Club in Newport, RI. Both are US Sailing certified Safety at Sea moderators, leading hands-on training that incorporates lessons learned from incidents such as these so that others may learn from them.

The incident happened on June 23 when at 0248, the racing yacht Alliance, a 40-foot J/122, hit an unidentified submerged object causing flooding from the vicinity of the rudder and catastrophic steering system damage.

“There was fiberglass everywhere. There was no way to repair it,” explained Alliance co-skipper Mary Martin.

At approximately 0250, two competing yachts responded to a Mayday call from Alliance. These were Ceilidh, a J/121 skippered by Jim Coggesshal, and Banter, a Archambault 40RC skippered by Matt Gimple. Both yachts were on scene at about 0330.

Despite having two electric dewatering pumps, each capable of pumping over 4,000 gallons per hour, the water level on board Alliance continued to rise. With Ceilidh and Banter in close proximity, Alliance made the decision to abandon ship and conduct a life raft transfer.

While transfer to Ceilidh was conducted first, the life raft’s upper ring punctured during the transfer, preventing additional crew transfer to Banter. The transfer was completed at 0406. The last tracker position report of Alliance was at 0530 when she completed sinking.

With 16 aboard Ceilidh, which carried only a 10-person life raft, Banter acted as “buddy boat” for the remainder of the race. This was reassuring to both the crews of Alliance and Ceilidh, since the additional 2000 pounds of weight aboard stressed Ceilidh.

Both Ceilidh and Banter were well organized in their response, understood the situation, and responded without hesitation resulting in a successful life raft transfer in the middle of the Gulf Stream in challenging conditions and most importantly, no injury or loss of life.

The co-skippers of Alliance, Eric Irwin and Mary Martin, nominated their rescuers for these prestigious medals.

“For their situational awareness, watch keeping, superior seamanship and outstanding support of fellow racers in need resulted in the rescue of nine sailors on a sinking vessel. US Sailing is pleased to award the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal to the skippers and crew of both S/V Ceiledh and S/V Banter,” said presenter Jonathan Kabek.

The Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal is awarded to any person who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other perils at sea within the territorial waters of the United States, or as part of a sailboat race or voyage that originated or stopped in the U.S.

The medal was established in 1990 by friends of the late Mr. Hanson, an ocean-racing sailor from the Chesapeake Bay, with the purpose of recognizing significant accomplishments in seamanship and collecting case studies of rescues for analysis by the Safety at Sea Committee of US Sailing for use in educational and training programs. Any individual or organization may submit a nomination for a Hanson Rescue Medal.

Details: https://www.ussailing.org/competition/awards-trophies/the-arthur-b-hanson-rescue-medal/

PHOTO: The crews of the S/V Ceilidh, S/V Alliance, and S/V Banter at the Hansen Medal Ceremony at Newport Yacht Club in Newport, RI. Lexi Pline / US Sailing

Source: US Sailing