Carpe Diem Update

We’ve received a bit more information about a rescue at sea off Cabo a week ago. According to several ‘earwitness’ accounts (heard on VHF and/or SSB), Carpe Diem was a Lancer 44 motorsailor heading south off Cabo when there was some kind of trouble. She was being singlehanded by her owner, Don, who according to one email, “seemed competent and the boat seemed well found.”

On Monday, January 19, in 25+ knot winds, one boat overheard a one-sided conversation between the cruise ship Norwegian Star and Carpe Diem. “We could only hear the Norwegian Star,” report Pat and Carol on Espiritu. They were answering a distress call from Carpe Diem. We don’t know the nature of the distress, but it was apparent that a singlehander aboard Carpe Diem was abandoning ship and being taken aboard the Norwegian Star.” The Coast Guard and Mexican Navy were both notified and a securite call later went out noting the sailboat had been abandoned. The ports from which Carpe Diem left and was bound for are not known for sure. The position given in the securite reports placed her 65 miles south of Cabo, although another source estimated it was more like 120 miles. So again, there is still much that is not known. We will keep on this story and hopefully bring you the full report in a future issue of Latitude.