The Loss of Tahiti Belle

Nick Barham's Val 31 Trimaran, Tahiti Belle, broke up mid-Atlantic as he returned home from the Jester Azores Challenge. Read his account of the rescue in September's Yachting Monthly...

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Yachting
• Monthly
• Val
• 31
• Sailing
• Yacht
• Rescue
• Disaster
• ocean
• storm
• rough
• sea
• gale
• Tahiti
• Belle
• Big
• Wave
• Jester
• Azores
• Challenge
• heavy
• weather
• sinking

[tmanisaur]

I'm a sailor - and super creds to the helmsman of the ship...nice piece of work it shitty seas. Everyone is safe.

Long live human adventure!

[aussieskiff]

You must be a powerboat man dirty stinking noisy polluting shite tell me wheres the fun in pushing a throttle forward marinised taxi's

[Sugarsail1]

@Migus29 actually the Val 31 was specifically designed by Newick for solo transatlantic races, the OSTAR, and won 3rd overall in 1976. That design has crossed the Atlantic probably hundreds of times in the last 35 years and while not very comfortable they are typically quite seaworthy. This one was probably quite structurally fatigued due to old age, hence the failure.

[Sugarsail1]

I used to own a boat just like this one and sailed it across the Pacific solo. It would have never sunk. They're built with 8 airtight chambers sometimes more.

[onefodderunit]

@KayakMike1963

If you'd avoid running into objects or aground you wouldn't hole your boat.

[KayakMike1963]

@onefodderunit ... quite true. Monos choose a dignified death by sinking and leaving their crew behind, whereas multihulls have the audacity to float, thus leaving evidence of the capsize, and a nice platform for the crew to survive upon. Yep, monos are much better... if you are too embarrassed to survive, that is.

All flippancy aside, both are safe craft. Pick your style and go for it.

[onefodderunit]

@KayakMike1963

Yes, it's nice he had some debris to float on. This would not have occurred with a monohull. Not to mention, monohulls don't remain inverted when rolled.

[josephdupont]

Tri hulls have some very sad endings. They are not self righting..

and if the ti p goes that's it.. I wonder what he lost in money.

did the freighter charge to save him?

[Migus29]

Trimarans that small are terrible for north Atlantic.

[landis444]

The larger ship is required to give the crew of the wrecked trimaran a shower first before boarding . 0:57.

[KayakMike1963]

A very sad end to a beautiful trimaran... but also proof that it's much better to have a boat that FLOATS after a disaster than to have one that SINKS. I sail multis and monohulls, but for any voyage short of the Antarctic, and maybe even there, I'll stick with a multihull if given the choice.

[teamvmg]

Very sad to see the Belle dying

She has done thousands of miles and served her owners well.