Rudderless Cruiser Approaches Pago Pago

Those sailors lucky enough to experience the cruising lifestyle, quickly realize that they have become members of a vast international community of like-minded travelers who assist each other whenever the need arises. 

The current illustration of this boat-to-boat goodwill concerns the 37-ft Swiss sailboat Avatar. Not long after heading west from Bora Bora about a month ago, owners Beat and Lola experienced one of every sailor’s worst nightmares. Their rudder sheared off, leaving them no way to steer other than by trimming sail, with hundreds of miles to go before reaching a safe haven — in this case American Samoa, which lay directly downwind.

Fellow cruisers Patrick and Rebecca Childress of the Rhode Island-based Valiant 40 Brick House executed a mid-ocean rendezvous with the disabled boat, transfering materials to make a jury-rigged rudder, but the crew’s many attempts at improvization proved unsuccessful.

So, for the past two weeks, Avatar has been inching along at roughly 1.5 knots toward Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. As of Saturday she was expected to arrive within a few days. There are U.S. Coast Guard personnel stationed at American Samoa, but they apparently do not have rescue boats available to facilitate a tow into the harbor. However, cruisers Wayne Wilson and Susan Leader of the B.C.-based Seletra 50 Daydream and the Malone family aboard the Seattle-based Tartan 37 Whisper have been scrambling to find alternatives. Thanks to their efforts, U.S. Fish and Wildlife staffers are now standing by to bring the wounded vessel to safely.

Reports indicate that the Swiss owners of Avatar have remained cool and calm throughout their painfully slow transit. And they’ve undoubtedly had plenty of time to contemplate the fabrication of a new rudder, as well as a workable backup system — something no boat should ever set sail without.