59° North Sailingvideo
Matt Rutherford // A Near-Sinking En Route to Bermuda
4 March 2025 · 1h 17m · 515 views
What this video covers
During a delivery from the U.S. East Coast to Bermuda in early December, a J/40 racer-cruiser developed a severe rudder-post leak that nearly caused the vessel to sink.18:27 The leak originated from a stainless steel component that shifted up the rudder shaft, breaking the watertight seal and allowing the rudder post to clunk violently against the hull in heavy seas.0:08 As the boat pitched in gale-force winds, water surged through the opening at a rate that overwhelmed the primary 2,000-gallon-per-hour bilge pumps.30:16 The crew hove to for several days to reduce the force of water entering the hull while waiting for a low-pressure system to pass.31:07 They maintained communication with Bermuda Radio and the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the nine-day transit.46:13 The crew eventually stabilized the leak by securing screws at the top of the rudder assembly and maintained enough battery power to run the bilge pumps by managing fuel consumption for the alternator.43:42 They successfully reached Bermuda despite the worsening structural damage.59:54 Heaving to in heavy weather significantly reduces the volume of water forced through hull breaches during a structural failure.
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