August 1, 2001

We’ve only just received word that Bonaire,
the 1977 Moody 66 ketch owned by Orange Coast College’s School
of Sailing and Seamanship, was abandoned in two stages 800 miles
from Hawaii during a return trip to California after the mast
step failed. Although the mast didn’t fall, the suddenly loose
rigging allowed it to swing around with little control. There
were no injuries and none of the eight aboard were ever in danger.
All of the crew are currently aboard ships headed to Panama.
The abandoned ketch is slowly drifting in the general direction
of Hawaii.

The 24-year-old ketch – which had been donated to the sailing
program last November – had finished fourth of nine boats in
the Aloha (cruising) division of July’s TransPac race from Long
Beach to Honolulu. Gil Jones of Newport Beach, who had chartered
the boat for the race, said they’d had no problems. We’d been
tied up next to Bonaire earlier this year in Newport Beach,
and had looked her over. She reminded us very much of our old
Ocean 71 Big O: brick shithouse construction with heavy-duty
spars. Bonaire, built to Lloyds of London specs, is not
some piece of junk that somebody foisted off on Orange Coast
– which rejects about six out of every seven boats it is offered.
Bonaire’s hull and rigging looked to be in very fine condition,
and we would have sailed her across an ocean without any fears
about our safety.

Brad Avery, director of the sailing program
at Orange Coast College, tells us that Captain Marcus Mackenzie
and the crew heard a loud bang at 0500 on July 23 while sailing
in normal return trip weather conditions. It was the sound of
the mast step matrix – details unknown at this time – failing
beneath the heavy 80-ft main mast. As a result, the mast slipped
down and forward about one foot, coming to rest on the bilge.
Naturally, the rigging all went slack, allowing the mast to swing
around and begin tearing up the deck. The big danger was that,
despite the exceptionally robust nature of the hull, the mast
would eventually ram through the bottom of the boat. So it was
decided to remove the crew.

Bonaire
wasn’t alone out there. In addition to making contact with the
Coast Guard right away and having a C-130 fly over, she frequently
talked with other TransPac entries headed home, including J-Bird,
Pyewacket, Taxi Dancer, and Grand Illusion. At only
125 miles away, Grand Illusion was the closest and ready
to render assistance. Thanks to the AMVER system, the Coast Guard
knew of all the ships in the area that could take the crew off.
Had it been an immediate emergency, the crew could have boarded
a ship bound to Singapore or several others. As it was, they
waited two days for a westbound ship – a German freighter bound
for Panama. Five crew and one staffer got on this ship.

Ryan Pauley, who will enter U.C. Berkeley
next year, was one of the students aboard Bonaire. According
to the L.A. Times, he told his mother that he not only
had never been in danger, but was “having the time of his
life.”

Captain Marcus Mackenzie and Robert White,
both of Newport Beach, remained with the insured boat, hoping
they could save her. Several people suggested they cut the mast
down, but apparently that wasn’t possible. On Sunday the 29th,
with the mast tearing up more of the deck, they also abandoned
the ketch, getting on a Japanese car carrier headed to Panama.

What will happen to Bonaire is unclear.
At the specific instructions of the Coast Guard, a functioning
EPIRB was not left aboard. The Coasties said EPIRBs are solely
to save human lives and are not to be used to track private property.
Many believe that it’s only a matter of time before the mast
rams through the bottom and the boat sinks. Given the beefy construction,
we’re not convinced this will happen. Once the rigging gets loose
enough, the mast may snap, and the big ketch might just keep
drifting. She is valued at $500,000; the insurance company may
or may not send a plane and salvage vessel to look for her.

Bonaire

The Orange Coast Sailing Program is self-supporting
and open to the public. It has 6,000 students in its annual 250
classes a year. In addition, the school’s 65-ft sloop Alaska
Eagle frequently makes trips all around the world with students,
including to places such as Antarctica. We’re familiar with a
number of Orange Coast’s staff and boats, and hold them in the
highest regard. If our 20-year-old daughter wanted to cross an
ocean on a sailboat, we’d put Orange Coast’s program at the very
top of her list.

From the Lone Star State to
Cabo San Lucas

August 1 – Dallas, TX

You may notice on the above list, that Texan listed their
homeport as Dallas, TX. As you can see from the photos at right,
there’s no question about the town from which this Mariner 36
hails. She is sailed by Gary Kaczmarek and Lois Bonsall (they’re
married, but she didn’t like his last name). Joining them on
the Ha-Ha will be the Graab family, consisting of husband Eric
and wife Cindy – and possibly the youngest member of a Ha-Ha
crew so far this year, 4-year-old ‘Young Mate’ Rio Graab (Gary
and Lois are Rio’s Godparents). Rounding out the crew in the
position of ‘King’ is shih tzu Sabastian (in photo below with
his loyal subjects). The boat’s toughest ride of all has been
from “Texas to California on the back of a tractor-trailer.”
To quote Gary, “If you see the Longhorn steer on the bow
of Texan, you’ll know she’s headed in for the next hoe-down.
. . Y’all.”

For more on the Baja Ha-Ha, see their Web
site at www.baja-haha.com.