Appreciating the force of nature

When the 184-foot Bayesian sank at anchor as it endured a storm off the Sicilian coast, seven of 22 people on board perished. It remains under investigation for how this Perini Navi luxury superyacht could fail so tragically, with the windage from Bayesian’s significant spars and rigging considered a factor.

In this report by Alan Blunt, a recent experience on his 49-foot yacht during Cyclone Gabriel in New Zealand has heightened his appreciation for the force of nature:

This was a significant storm, but we had ample warning and took shelter in a well-protected cove in Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier Island. The anchorage had a steep hill to the east, the expected wind direction and a headland extending to the south.

We found that the wind would wrap around this headland and we usually lay pointing south, but on two occasions massive gusts rolled right down this hill and hit us beam on.

Cheyenne is a well-founded Paul Whitting design with lots of open ocean sea miles. She also has a relatively light carbon fiber mast and good stability, but these gusts laid her on her side with the rail in the water, creating havoc in the galley.

I could visualize a similar gust hitting Bayesian, but with her lower stability and down flooding angle, the consequences were much more severe.