E 40 PAG ARIBBEAN COMPAS C H 2010 ss MARC [ @YAMAHA JETS 00590 590 52 24 72 - 00590 690 53 68 68 infos@oceanxperts.com ae ONE OF THE MOST FUEL EFFICIENT PASSENGER VESSELS IN THE WORLD Call Ron Cooper (727)-367-5004 www.coopermarine.com WHAT’S ON MY MIND KEEP A WATCH! by Bernice Rajotte Every sailor is looking for that perfect day to sail. January 7th, 2010 was it for the crew of S/Y Shea-Lena. Blue skies, moderate winds and gentle seas. A light break- fast, anchor up, hoist sails and head to Martinique from St. Lucia. As we rounded Pigeon Island at 0745 we called our friends in Martinique on S/Y Wind Shepherd via VHF and said, “Get ready for lunch guests!” Just past the lee of the island we had 13 to 18 knots of easterly winds, approxi- mately eight-foot seas and minimal wind waves. Engine off, course set to 025 degrees magnetic to make our arrival at the Ste. Anne anchorage. Jim sat on the star- board side, the high side; he usually sits on the low side. I went below to read. The sailing was perfect, Shea-Lena slid through the water with ease and grace. We were making great time. Shea-Lena arriving in Martinique, with one more person aboard than when the boat left St. Lucia — one very lucia person We had been out for about an hour and a half when Jim called out to me to come topside. We were at position 14°12.989N and 060°56.798W. He said, “Come and listen. I hear something and I can’t make out what it is.” We are very aware of sounds and smells aboard. If they are not easily identified the next step is to work together to investigate and locate the source. I heard something. It was very faint and definitely not on the boat. We heard the sound again, coming from the starboard side, and suddenly we saw a man waving his arms about 200 metres away. Then he disappeared. Another wave and we saw him again still waving and yelling “HELLO”. For the second time he disappeared. I yelled, “We see you!” to let him know he had been spotted. Shea-Lena was under full sail and now we were presented with a life-or-death situation. Man overboard exercise, no problem — we've all practiced them, right? Do not lose sight of the vic- tim, stop the boat, drift down and pick up. Okay, now in reality you are under full sail and moving at seven knots plus. You do not have the time to assess the situa- tion, only react. As Jim went on deck to drop the main and mizzen I started the engine and turned the boat into the wind and seas. The headsails came down next. What had been gentle movement became like the inside of a washing machine. To our horror we lost sight of the man. He was not on the starboard side. We called “Where are you?” What was a few seconds felt like an eternity. “HELLO!” — he was on our port side. As he came up on a wave about 25 metres away we could see him hanging onto two gas jerry jugs and next to him was about two feet of the bow of a irogue pointing skyward. Jim spotted as I turned the boat around so we could drop our starboard midship boarding ladder and drift down on him. The man said, “Throw me a line — I can’t swim.” We could see he was not about to let go of those jugs until that line was within reach. This meant we had to get extremely close to all the debris from the swamped pirogue. Once he took hold of the line Jim pulled him to the boat where he grabbed the ladder. Jim put his hands through the man’s lifejacket straps and the next thing we heard was “thank you” as this young man fell into our cockpit. The smell of gas was so strong it made our eyes tear. Jim went below to call MRCC Fort de France to report the incident. As the details were being relayed the young man slipped in and out of consciousness. He said that he was from St. Lucia, he had been in the water for five days and he had been the only person on the pirogue. As we had no sails up I tried to steady the boat by motoring with the waves until Jim was finished with MRCC. I started heading to Martinique and when I looked at the com- ass I realized we were heading back to St. Lucia. With all the maneuvers we had just done we got turned around. One island looks like another. Turn the boat again, check compass, wind direction, sun location, sea waves — now we are going to Martinique. Again we had to turn into the seas to hoist sails. This was quite a feat while in the wash cycle. We kept the engine running to make the best time. The man, in a whis- er of a voice, asked for water. Not knowing his medical state I gave him a small amount. We moved him to the port side (low side) of the cockpit where he rolled onto his stomach. —Continued on next page