Maverick
on the Mend
January 20 - Carriacou, Grenada
When we last reported on Tony Johnson and
Terry Shrode, the duo trying to circumnavigate aboard Johnson's
Richmond-based Ericson 39 Maverick, they darn near had
the boat sink from under them while doing the last couple of
miles of their Atlantic crossing. Once hauled at Carriacou, they
discovered major cracks in the bottom of the boat just forward
of the mast.
Here's the latest from Johnson: "Maverick
has a big hole in its hull where the local glass man, George,
has cut out the affected area in preparation for repairs. These
unfortunately await the return of Uwe, another German, whose
specialty is engineering. Uwe was committed to another large
job which couldn't be dropped simply because the legendary Maverick
showed up with a big boo-boo. The damage has been assessed by
George, Uwe, Roy (who manages the yard), and a surveyor named
Alan Hooper. All of these men inspire confidence and all maintain
that the hull can be made seaworthy, which is the reassuring
news. The not-so-reassuring news is that no one has any certainty
about why it happened, and this includes the boat's designer,
Bruce King, who was reluctant to venture an opinion on the phone.
All claim to have never seen anything like it except on boats
at the highest end of competitive racing, e.g., America's Cup.
There are two possible explanations of its rarity, and one is
that in fact it never has happened. The other is more likely
but a little more sinister, and that is that, although it has
happened before, the boats it happened to never made it to a
yard where the damage could be scrutinized.
Photos Courtesy Maverick
"In all sailboats, of course, the
mast is trying to go through the bottom of the boat and the weight
of the keel is pushing in the same direction, while the two ends
of the boat are buoyant, and the stays are trying to pull them
up towards the masthead. So theoretically, all sailboats could
break in half just where Maverick did. But they don't,
and Maverick did, and beyond that bare fact lies speculation.
"Right now, as the Captain channel-surfs
in search of glimpses of Britney at the American Music Awards,
he is biting his nails hoping the repairs can be done in time
to get to Panama in time to get through the Canal in time to
get to San Diego in time to miss the hurricane season off the
Mexican coast. The rest of our planned cruise through the lovely
islands of this area of the world is distressingly out the window
in a manner similar to a substantial chunk of the Captain's savings,
notwithstanding any help that comes from insurance. Assuming
the repairs are done in time, the next worry is whether they
will hold through the big following seas of the western Caribbean,
and the thousands of miles of head seas on the way to home."
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