Lianas Ransom abandoned at sea

You may have read about Lianas Ransom which was abandoned at sea maybe a week ago. Today is was towed into Gloucester, obviously still afloat. I just happened to look up and see it. Somebody's going to get a good salvage fee.

For those interested here's a quote from the Liana's Ransom Facebook page:

"Schooner Liana's Ransom departed Nova Scotia Friday evening, 27 March 2015 bound for the Caribbean. Enroute she suffered a full power failure, and yesterday, approximately 34 miles east of Gloucester, Massachusetts, Captain Ryan Tilley, in consultation with the US Coast Guard, made the decision to evacuate the crew for their safety.

One crew member suffered a concussion during the evacuation. Arrangements have been made with Towboat USA to have the vessel towed into the nearest harbour.

My thanks to the professionalism and promp response of the US Coast Guard who had been montoring the situation for some time. Captain Ryan Tilley made the the right call in the best interests of his crew, and as a father I am very proud of the way he and his crew handled the situation.

As befits a Captain he was the last crew to depart the vessel, ensuring all water tight doors and hatches were closed before he disembarked.
Thank you to everyone for your concern! At this time we can happily report that everyone is safe and secure ashore! We are hopeful that the tow operation goes well!"

Looks like Mike Goodrich, towing it.

Why does an electrical failure warrant abandoning ship? Don't sailboats still work without electricity?

FlyWright said:

Why does an electrical failure warrant abandoning ship? Don't sailboats still work without electricity?

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If this is the same vessel, it appears to be missing a mast, bowsprit and a bunch of rigging.

I took a drive by Rose Marine in Gloucester yesterday to see if Liana's Ransom was there. Sure enough, it was. Here are some more pictures.

A few observations:

- It's a steel hulled boat with no signs of compromise.

- The aft mast is missing, but the forward mast and boom are in place and intact. Both are steel.

- The Kayaks are still on deck

- There is a bicycle on deck too.

- The railing all around the deck is steel tubing, but is planked over, presumably to keep small children from falling overboard. Some of the planking has been knocked out, but no more than 10%.

- The bow sprit has been knocked off and the chain is hanging down in the water.

that boat looks like a good candidate to become an artificial reef

Hollywood

So what's "the rest of the story"?


Storm? Medical? Underwater obstructions?
What prompted he decision to abandon ship?

Definitely not questioning the Captains decision, just curious.
Any links?


Bottom line, glad everyone is ok.


Thanks

See post #2 for a brief statement, but keep in mind that it's from the boat's owner. Otherwise I think you'll have to google for articles. I think the bottom line is that everyone was sea sick and wanted to get off. Clearly the boat wasn't in danger of sinking.

This had hundreds of posts on cruiser forum

This was, in no way, a sailboat.


Playing Pirate Does Not a Sailor Make - gCaptain Maritime & Offshore News

Wxx3 said:

This had hundreds of posts on cruiser forum

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Are you allowed to drop a link here?

If so, would you mind please?

Twisted: that's kind of what I was thinking. DIW and tired of hanging around. If the vessel wasn't in danger and the crew was safe, why abandon ship? Seems the only injury occurred during the abandoning process!

Then again, I know nothing about the weather or sea conditions and would be guessing. And I hate guessing lol.

You can drop any links you wish here, especially cruiser forum as they are owned by the same person.

Liana's Ransom Abandoned at Sea - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

This was not a sailboat, yes it had sails, but they were decorative. See post #11

As many noted, that was not really a sailboat. It sounds to me like they had a fuel problem. One engine stalls, generator dies, and the other engine has issues. 24 year old captain. Probably an inexperienced crew. I will bet the boat was kept up on a tight budget, probably needed maintenance on all engines. Five bucks says either no spare fuel filters on board, or no one knew how to change them.

Sitting in my armchair... ?

CPseudonym said:

You can drop any links you wish here, especially cruiser forum as they are owned by the same person.

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Thank you.

dhmeissner said:

Liana's Ransom Abandoned at Sea - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

This was not a sailboat, yes it had sails, but they were decorative. See post #11

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Thanks for the link

Here is CF and a cbs interview with capt, who is the son of the owner.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143854

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/canada/nov...ecounts-rescue-near-gloucester-mass-1.3015943

Robster_in_edmonds said:

As many noted, that was not really a sailboat. It sounds to me like they had a fuel problem. One engine stalls, generator dies, and the other engine has issues. 24 year old captain. Probably an inexperienced crew. I will bet the boat was kept up on a tight budget, probably needed maintenance on all engines. Five bucks says either no spare fuel filters on board, or no one knew how to change them.

Sitting in my armchair... ?de0e

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They had a problem with the nut behind the wheel

I think the bigger question here is about people who are rescued at sea, yet the boat doesn't end up on the bottom or on the rocks somewhere. Did they bail out just because they were uncomfortable or scared, or was there really a threat of sinking? Was anyone on board seriously injured requiring evac to save their life? When none of that appears to be the case, It certainly calls the skippers judgement into question, especially since a call for rescue places a whole bunch of additional people in danger in addition to those on your boat.

Note to self: Before abandoning ship, open a thruhull and cut the hose.

Wxx3 said:

They had a problem with the nut behind the wheel

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twistedtree said:

Note to self: Before abandoning ship, open a thruhull and cut the hose.

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That's been in my unwritten plan since day one.

This whole thing sounds like Rebel Heart part 2

CPseudonym said:

That's been in my unwritten plan since day one.

This whole thing sounds like Rebel Heart part 2

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Why I get so irritated about these events is that while everyone assumes the taxpayer will keep paying the bill, eventually there will be one too many "rescues" of a non sinking boat and then the world will change.

We will then all suffer, solely because of a very few, unprepared for anything, fools.

From the guy at the rescue end of the microphone....it is a tough call.

When my home, the vessel my family, my love, and friends are on...and that vessel is filling with smoke or water....most people will call for assistance.

If at all a possibility that the rescue resource senses further danger or might have to leave without on scene relief....there is a lot of pressure to get the captain to make the call whether it is safe to continue or take people away from harm.

I wasn't one to pressure people to leave their boats because I had a lot of practical experience on small vessels. But often everyone from the rescue unit to their commander to the regional commander may not have that kind of experience and put on that unnecessary pressure to leave...even to the point of using phraseology to imply the crew must leave the vessel.

So while I agree it seems to be a lot of vessels being abandoned that in fact survive probably better without the crew on them...I would guess that some were duped into it.