Phat as wave in the Pacific Ocean

Just passing on some info that reached me through FB and email.

Søren Larsen, the beautiful brigantine who was responsible for me leaving Sweden in the first place, has run into some trouble. She was scheduled to leave New Zealand around mid April for a three week voyage heading for Cook Islands, the first leg of her annual South Pacific itinerary. The ship hit a storm only a few days out from New Zealand and had to return due to severe leaks. Back to refit in the yard in Whangarei, and another month of hard work before the great adventure could start.

She set off again on May 29. This time things went fine for two days, then the weather started to deteriorate. Wind speeds reached gale force, touching a full blown storm. A ship like this is solid, and built to handle this type of conditions. But the sea can be a tricky bastard, it is not to be trusted. In the morning on 1st June, a while before watch handover, an unusually nasty wave hit the starboard side of Søren Larsen. The bulwark is made of solid oak planks, supported by timberheads coming up through the deck, doubled with reinforcing posts. The wave smashed about half of the starboard bulwark down flat on deck, leaving only the parts that are supported by the shrouds and their chainplates. It then proceeded over the deck, thrashing the entire deckhouse to total rubbish. People were in the deckhouse at the time. The galley is in the forward part of it and I was told that one of the cooks was actually washed overboard - and back on the ship again with the next wave! No one was seriously injured, a miracle to anyone who has seen the pictures of the ship after the accident.

After the accident the crew worked hard to cover the damaged parts with storm boards. The ship sent out a mayday message, it was escorted back to New Zealand by a large cargo ship and Coast Guard helicopters dropped down extra pumps. The ship and all the crew returned safely to Whangarei harbor a few days later and now she is scheduled for approximately four more months in refit. Sometimes things end up a bit rough...

For more details, have a look at the ships official web page:

http://news.sorenlarsen.co.nz/pebble/