Simpson Dismasts as Tsunami Approaches
Only a few days after safely arriving at Hilo, Hawaii’s Radio Bay at the end of a 20-day solo crossing from San Diego, well-known singlehander Ronnie Simpson found himself in a perilous situation yesterday, which ultimately left his engineless Cal 2-27 Mongo dismasted off the coast of Maui.
As Simpson apparently wrote to his buddy Erik Simonson of Pressure-Drop, Simpson — who’s done five previous solo crossings to Hawaii — was en route from Kahului, Maui to Lahaina, sailing in about 18-20 knots with a big swell running, when the lower starboard shroud gave way, leaving the unsupported mast to hinge in half and fall to the deck.
Although he was in 50 feet of water on a lee shore, Simpson’s only option was to try to set an anchor and call for help. The anchor bit on the second attempt, and the Coast Guard arrived within an hour. "They took me under tow back to Kahului," he told Pressure-Drop, "and we were almost in the harbor when a big wave rolled through and ripped the entire mast, the running rigging and most of the lifelines off the port side." In a phone call this morning, Simpson explained that he hadn’t been quite ready when the Coasties arrived, as his mainsail and rig were still tied alongside — not yet brought aboard and lashed on deck. All of it is now lost.
As if all that weren’t enough to deal with, a tsunami warning was broadcast early this morning as a result of the magnitude 8.2 earthquake that rocked northern Chile Tuesday night. Luckily, that threat has passed, having had little effect.
Simpson’s Hawaii stopover was meant to be merely a pit stop on his engineless solo sail to Australia. He is taking it all in stride, however. He told us this morning that he plans to go to Home Depot and pick up some supplies for a jury rig, then borrow a small outboard and reposition to Oahu, accompanied by a buddyboat. There, he hopes to re-rig — with a brand new mast, if he can raise the funds — before pushing on to the west. "I knew from the beginning that the spars were the weak links of this boat," he explains.