South Atlantic: Lessons learned after rigging fail
- Tom
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
Skyfall came close to losing her mast on her passage to St Helena (see previous blog post). With everything fixed, I decided to summarise what I believe I have learned from the experience. Warning: this post may not appeal to non-sailors.
Satellite communication
Today, nearly every sailor who crosses oceans has some form of satellite communication.
The most basic of these is a Garmin Inreach which is portable (can go into a life-raft), will regularly update your position and can be used for text messaging. With a battery capable of transmitting position for 30 days without charging, an inexpensive subscription, such a device is highly recommended. However, it cannot really give weather forecasting or routing.
Skyfall used to use an Iridium Go to download weather forecasts and routing. You can also make calls and send text emails. The device is very slow but it is also portable. It is a low power device and can be left on all the time. Given that it fulfils all essential functions, always connects reliably and that the subscription is relatively cheap, this was my preferred device. Unfortunately (or fortunately!), my device died last year on the way to Rodriguez.
Many cruisers extol the virtues of Starlink. Fast internet in the middle of the ocean. I set up Starlink in Rodriguez to replace the Iridium Go. I was not impressed. On a monohull, with Indian Ocean waves, the rolling prevented Starlink from finding satellites. On some days it just would not connect. On others it took up to two hours. Another mono-hull, SY Marisol had similar issues and Inge referred to the system as 'No Link'. To be fair to Starlink, the standard dish is not supposed to be able to cope with a rolling boat. They have a different system (where the fast sweep, phase array antenna is larger and covers a bigger angle), but this consumes almost double the power of the already power hungry standard antenna. In conclusion, Starlink on a monohull in the Indian ocean, would not reliably connect, could not be left on because of power consumption and could not be taken into a life-raft. Add to that the high cost of the subscription models on offer to new subscribers outside their home region and I cancelled my subscription in South Africa. I bought a pre-owned Iridium Go (Exec, which is x40 faster) and intended to use that to cross the South Atlantic. For a variety of reasons, (I forgot to get a SIM card in time), I ended up restarting the Starlink subscription.
And I am so glad I had it! In the South Atlantic, where the seas are much calmer, connection has not been an issue. And when disaster struck, the ability to use social media groups and have a video call with a rigger to help stabilise the mast, was invaluable. If I think of the cost saved not losing the mast, that will pay the Starlink subscription for the rest of my life!
Use of sailing social media groups
There are social media groups (on Whatsapp or Facebook) where cruisers share information about different sailing areas. I first started using them going through the Panama Canal. Once clear of an area, you can leave the group, etc. I am currently a member of 'Sail South Africa' and 'Sail South Atlantic'. As well as sending my PAN PAN call to the emergency numbers, I also posted on these groups.
I was overwhelmed with the response. Apart from general messages of support, I got good information on:
boats directly behind me (if I needed diesel)
Contact number for a really good rigger in Cape Town (Marcello)
more tips on stabilising the rig
In addition, Jenny (OSASA) also contacted the emergency services for me.
I would recommend anyone sailing new waters to join the relevant group.
Emergency service contact
This is the first time I have had to contact emergency services. I sent the PAN PAN issued to my emergency contact on shore (my sister in UK), the South Africa NSRI direct, and via the social media groups. I was also sent Whatsapp contacts for St Helena Sea Rescue. Chatting with them, they were informed of our situation from FOUR different sources. All methods worked.
Still, building redundancy into your emergency procedures is always a good thing.
Rigging checks and replacement
I had all new standing rigging fitted in New Zealand, in preparation for the Indian Ocean which has a bit of a (well earned) reputation. I thought the rigger was really good and knew his stuff. Doing the work, he asked me, "Do you want me to do the spreaders too?"
To me, spreaders are aluminium and they still looked like new. This was not like stainless steel wire where cracks can form and are difficult to see. That is why they should be changed preventatively based on age. But the spreaders? So I told him no.
What I did not do was ask him what he meant and why he suggested changing them. Big mistake.
The spreaders are attached to the mast using three stainless steel machined parts: two on either side of the mast and one in the middle to prevent the mast compressing when the bolts going from one side to the other are tightened. I am sure that my NZ rigger was asking if he should replace the stainless steel bolts.
After 13 years, and en route to St Helena, the three bolts on one side had sheared and the bracket came away from the mast. I have no idea why it happened, broad reaching in benign conditions (17 knots). Was it just time? Had they been weakened across the Indian Ocean? I did not pick anything up doing a rigging check before I set off (the bolts sheared inside the mast flush with the inner machined part so I would not have seen cracks).
So my lesson from this: Make sure you always understand what an expert is telling you and do not make assumptions!
Order everything you need to repair, but also to cover all eventualities
In principle, all my rig needed was three replacement bolts. However the bolts were sheared off, leaving the remaining bit in machined pieces. (The base on each side has three bolts holding it on. Two go all the way from the starboard side and screw into the port machined base. The third bolt, on either side, screws into the centre casting).
Selden pointed out that, if there was a problem drilling out the pieces, then the repair would have to wait for new parts. Also, the spreaders have to come off both sides to access the bolts. Would I want to leave the mast without D1's or lower spreaders for the time to get the parts to a machine shop, drill out the broken bolts etc? Instead, I could order replacement machined parts, and then swap out the parts so that the repair could be done with one trip up the mast, minimising the time the mast was standing without lower spreaders and D1's.
In addition, if the bolts on the lower spreader failed, I worried if the bolts on the upper spreader could also fail. Again, they looked fine, but.... Having decided to replace them, Seldon presented the same argument. Suppose, removing a bolt, one would snap. Then you again have a mast without spreaders and (in this case) D2's until the broken bolt could be drilled out. So again I ordered the bolts and three replacement machined parts for the upper spreaders.
This obviously adds to the expense. Particularly at the exorbitant prices that Seldon charges for parts. But I realised that, even then, my total repair cost with riggers salary and flights would be only 5-10% of the cost of losing the mast, rigging and sails (if I had had to cut them loose). With this reasoning ordering more parts to cover all eventualities seemed like a good thing to do.
How to stabilise a mast
Arriving in St Helena, I was worried about how 'rolly' the anchorage was. Would I need to haul out to provide a stable platform for the rigger? After all, the spreaders and D1's had to come off with a 95kg rigger up the mast. Could the mast really be stabilised enough? I enquired about hauling out but I hated the idea. Apart from the expense, the chance of damage during the lift in or out seemed huge because of the swell. But could we stabilise the mast enough to make the repair in a rolly anchorage?
En passage I had made a 'replacement D1' by throwing a line over the starboard spreader and taking the two ends to the port D1 chain plate, then tightening with a tourniquet. As this spreader had to be taken off to effect the repair, the first stage was to fit two rope 'D1's slightly higher up. Each side had a rope wrapped around the mast with a clove hitch at the midpoint of the rope, just above the top of the spinnaker pole track so it could not slide down. The two ends went to the middle cleat and were tightened with a tourniquet. Once these two new 'temporary D1's' were in place, the previous rope solution and the actual starboard D1 could be safely removed (after the starboard spreader had come off)
Before going up the mast to remove the starboard spreader and effect the repair, Marchello, revisited the 'Imoca technique' mentioned above and tightened things up. The technique worked so well. We did wait for a day with less swell (there is only one flight a week so I had Marchello for 6 days) and we were allowed to anchor behind the new breakwater in Rupert Bay. But still, I was unsure, particularly taking off the upper spreaders and D2's. But Marchello knew what he was doing and with both spreaders popped, the mast remained locked in position despite the rolling..
Choose the right expert
I am eternally grateful for the recommendation to use Marchello, Cape Yacht Rigging Service (first from Bodil and then two other cruisers). It really does matter who you sign up to help you.
Marchello entered into discussions with Seldon to determine required parts and (with my agrreement) had them on order just before we got to St Helena. He chased the production, calling in favours to have them work a weekend, had them shipped to SA on the Monday arriving in SA on Wednesday, chased them to clear customs by Friday evening 20.00, drove to DHL depot to collect, was on the flight to St Helena on Saturday morning hand carrying the parts and managed to fit them in a rolly anchorage within two weeks of our arrival.
If that is not service, I do not know what is!
8 Tuning and 'shakedown' sail
After any major boat job, but particularly rigging, it is necessary to go for a sail to check things. In this case I was surprised how much Marcello 'powered up' the boat to really load the rigging. Skyfall has not heeled so much for a long time. Of course, this shows if the rigging is not tight enough (lee rigging goes slack) and we did add three more turns to either side during the sail.
It was great to get a clean bill of health and be free to continue our RTW adventure. My South Atlantic disaster had been averted.