Old School EPIRB:

Message in the sand saves sailors

There are good ships and wood ships, and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.

In today’s letter

Old School EPIRB: Message in the sand saves sailors.
Race Updates: OGR finish line, 51st BVI Spring Regatta.
Sailing Snippets: Seattle to High Seas, Dancing Beam, and E-Cup Sofa Sailing.

Old School EPIRB

Message in the sand saves sailors.

Pikelot Atoll

In a very “Castaway” moment, three sailors were rescued off a deserted island after writing a message in the sand. The men were fishing in a 20’ open skiff, and after losing their outboard, landed on Pikelot Atoll in Micronesia. They survived on coconuts for almost a week before the Coast Guard spotted their giant H E L P message in written in the sand using palm fronds.

Interestingly, four years ago some Australian sailors washed up on the exact same Atoll, and were also rescued after their SOS message in the sand was spotted.

The Coast Guard announced that everyone is safe, and also asked people to please just carry a darn EPIRB. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but those things do save lives. Here’s the full USCG report with pictures.

Race Updates

Ocean Globe Race: Pen Duick VI FR looks set to take line honors, with an expected finish today. However, Triana FR holds a two-day lead overall for the IRC Outright Winners position for all four legs of the OGR. The dramatic end to the race awaits!

51st BVI Spring Regatta: Sailors from beginners to Olympians turned out for the BVI Spring Regatta, representing everything from dinghies to mega-multi hulls. Light winds started off the week before the typical trade winds picked back up. Each year the Guy Eldridge Spirit of Enthusiasm Award, is presented to an individual or individuals who shine in the spirit of the sport and who has stepped out and gone beyond, and this year it went to Bad Decisions, the J/30 from St Croix skippered by Fuzzy Stoddard.

Sailing Snippets

The best clips & clips from 'round the web.

🌊 Seattle To High Seas: This music teacher from Seattle quit his job, sold everything, bought a sailboat, and is planning to sail around the world. Luke Hartley got bit by the sailing bug on Youtube, and is now in Mexico prepping his boat for a Pacific passage to French Polynesia.

💃 Dancing Beam: Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the Swiss challenger in the upcoming 37th Americas’s Cup, revealed the hull of their AC75 with pomp, circumstance, and a Catalan theatre troupe doing a high wire human interpretation of sails. However, the designs of the foils and mechatronics were shrouded in secrecy (literally), remaining hidden during the ceremony.

🕹️ E-Cup: Speaking of America’s Cup… There’s a new virtual sailing game and virtual racing league. The game is built on the same simulator used to train sailors on the AC40’s, and has mechanics and handling true to the real boats. The virtual races will be streamed on Twitch.

For those ol’ Salts who aren’t familiar with Twitch, it’s a platform where people watch other people play video games. So, now you can watch a virtual sailor sail a virtual sailboat from your couch. I mean, who even needs the ocean anymore?

That’s it for today, stay safe out there and we’ll ketch ya’ next week.

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