Catamaran Flips off Ft. Bragg, Crew Rescued

Bay Area sailor Kristy Lugert and her two male crewmen were rescued by US Coast Guard resources Saturday, after their 32-ft catamaran Catalyst capsized in extreme conditions, roughly 20 miles west of Fort Bragg.

According to the Coast Guard and other sources, the three sailors were in the process delivering the newly-purchased boat from Crescent City to Alameda when conditions built to what they deemed to be life-threatening proportions — 20-ft seas and 40- to 50-knot winds. The small measure of good luck in this story is that the crew activated their EPIRB shortly before the cat flipped and temporarily pinned them beneath its hulls.

All three crew were able to scramble up onto the overturned hulls, however, where they somehow held on for more than an hour before being rescued, with frigid waves washing over them. According to a Coast Guard report, they were wearing neither survival suits nor lifejackets. A 47-ft motor lifeboat out of Station Noyo River (near Fort Bragg) and an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter out of Air Station Humbolt Bay arrived on the scene within minutes of each other. Thanks to the expertise of rescue swimmer Petty Officer 2nd Class David Foreman and his helo team, all three sailors were hoisted into the Dolphin without further incident, then flown to Ukiah, where they received hospital treatment for hypothermia. (See this link for rescue footage.)

Why the crew set sail from Crescent City Marina with gale warnings posted is a question that puzzled marina staffers at the time, as much larger boats were making unplanned stopovers at the facility to avoid the turmoil offshore. However, Catalyst‘s crew was complimented by the rescue helo’s copilot, Lt.j.g. Bernie Garrigan, for having the presence of mind to stay with the vessel even after she flipped. "It is much easier to find a boat, even an overturned boat, in the ocean than an individual person,” said Garrigan. The fact that Lugert had left a float plan with her family also aided in the efficiency of this rescue. “If you ever wanted to hear a story about how important it is to have a registered EPIRB on your vessel and a float plan ashore, look no further than this case," said Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Todd Vorenkamp. "Without that piece of electronic gear aboard the Catalyst, this would be the story of a maritime disaster, not a story with a happy ending.”

At the risk of restating the obvious, we — and the Coast Guard — remind mariners that offshore conditions at this time of year can be extremely treacherous. As we’ve seen time and again, although waiting for calm conditions can be maddening, doing so can sometimes mean the difference between having a safe passage and a disasterous one.