Seven rescued from capsized cat off Skye

[Nick]

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Seven people have been rescued by Mallaig lifeboat after their 52ft catamaran capsized off Skye. The French sailors were found clinging to the upturned hull. The vessel's EPIRB raised the alarm at about 21:00 yesterday. None of the crew were injured and they spent the night at the Fishermen's Mission in Mallaig. The vessel was taken under tow.

[wully]

They must have been trying hard to tip one of them over?

[aquaplane]

They must have been trying hard to tip one of them over?

That's what I thought, is it dead windy up there?

[wully]

They must have been trying hard to tip one of them over?

That's what I thought, is it dead windy up there?

It was breezy yesterday. - from the east so they should have had smoother water?

[Nick]

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Cats are funny things in gusts when not sailing downwind.

On my Mojomo trip last year Matt emphasised several times that when overpressed in a cat you must turn downwind, not upwind.

Anyone know what make/model it was?

[claymore]

Manx?
Norwegian Forest Cats are my favourite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Norwe ... utters.jpg

[Nick]

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Manx cats are notoriously less stable into wind due to the lack of tail. However, this was a French cat.

[Nick]

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Looks like it was pretty calm when they were rescued.

Anyone recognise the make of boat from the spiral logo?

[wully]

Looks like a Catanna 52?

[Fingal]

It looks very like a big ugly French cat that was here in Stromness for a couple of days earlier this week. It certainly had a spirally sort of logo on the bow. Timing would be about right too, I think they left here on Tuesday. Lucky no one was injured.

[ubergeekian]

Is that an escape hatch from the further hull to the underside of the bridge deck? Or is it someone dangling a turnip from a stick with a piece of string?

[Nick]

Is that an escape hatch from the further hull to the underside of the bridge deck? Or is it someone dangling a turnip from a stick with a piece of string?

Most big cats have escape hatches for use if inverted. Not so many carry turnips.

A bit more detail here.

[Fingal]

This one, if it was indeed the one we saw in Orkney, had what looked like a liferaft stowed between the hulls for acess when inverted, so it would make perfect sense to have a escape hatch too.

[Rowana]

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On my Mojomo trip last year Matt emphasised several times that when overpressed in a cat you must turn downwind, not upwind.

Why?

If you turn downwind, what's the drill for dropping the main? Bit difficult with the wind up the chuff I would have thought.

I did sail on a cat a couple of times. Once from La Rochelle to the Canaries on a Fountaine Pajot 45. Can't remember any instructions to turn downwind, but it was quite a few years ago.

And once with Snowleopard on TOP from Inverness to Chichester. He has a swinging rig in which you simply let go the one and only sheet, and the whole rig weathercocks.

[cpedw]

As bad luck would have it, we were anchored by Eilean Rarsaidh at the entrance to Loch Hourn on Wednsday night, expecting a fresh E/NE wind. When we anchored around 5pm it was F3 from E. At 10pm it was all of a sudden W 6/7 and the particular spot we had carefully chosen was entirely inappropriate. We moved.

On Thursday morning we saw the upturned hull off Isleornsay, then heard a bit of the background later. It seemed like a wind that had no explanation and came out of nowhere. Meteorologists should return their bonuses

Derek