CHARLOTTE JANE III

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ARC yacht abandoned

The five crew members of the'Charlotte Jane III' were evacuated onto another ARC yacht on Dec 1, 2021, after a catastrophic steering failure left the vessel disabled. Skipper Paul Hutley had raised concerns in the the night of Nov 30 after the yacht's starboard side steering on the twin-wheel Hanse 588 broke. The mechanical linkage failed, and the steering quadrant came adrift from the baseplate shearing the fixing screws. With difficulty steering in the weather and sea conditions overnight, the crew deployed a drogue to slow the yacht down and stabilise the position. The ARC yacht 'Polygala' went on standby during the night to assist if needed. On Dec 1 at 9 a.m. UTC a Mayday call was issued after the port steering control also failed, causing damage to the emergency steering, and leaving the yacht unable to steer. Winds were reported as gusting Force 7 with swells around four meters height. The ARC yachts 'Magic Dragon', 'JK Sail' and 'Polygala' diverted to assist, and due to the local conditions, it was agreed to transfer the crew members from the 'Charlotte Jane III' onto the 'Magic Dragon', using the liferaft. The transfer was successfully completed by 11:30 a.m. The abandoned yacht was left adrift in pos. 17 49.26 N 036 12.24 W. All five castaways were now on the 'Magic Dragon' for the passage to Saint Lucia. The 'JK Sail's attempt to transfer extra water to the 'Magic Dragon' was abandoned due to the prevailing weather conditions in the area at the time. The 'Charlotte Jane III' continues to be tracked via the on-board YB tracker with positions relayed to other ARC yachts in the area and to the MRCC Ponta Delgada.