15 July 2008 NCI Newhaven Deputy Chairman Nick Barham successfully completed the 2008 Jester Challenge from Plymouth to the Azores only to meet with disaster on the return journey. At around dawn on Tuesday 1 July, Nick’s 28 ft trimaran “Tahiti Belle” was hit by a giant wave in gale force winds, critically damaging the yacht. A quarter of the starboard float had been sheared off with the port float also damaged and taking in water at an alarming rate.
Still some 400 nautical miles from land, Nick took the decision to set off his EPIRB and prepare to abandon ship. Following Mayday calls throughout the morning, at 1450 UTC one of Nick’s calls was answered by the 36,000 tonnes motor vessel “Omega Princess” which eventually reached his position at 1620 UTC. In what Nick described as an extraordinary feat of ship handling by the Captain in atrocious weather conditions, the “Omega Princess” came right alongside the waterlogged “Tahiti Belle” and threw safety lines down to him.
To complete the transfer rescue plan, Nick had to abandon ship and jump into the water. The crew of the 184m LOA “Omega Princess” eventually managed to haul an exhausted Nick up the side of the vessel once she had pulled clear of the “Tahiti Belle” but not before he had unavoidably swallowed a lot of seawater.
Following his dramatic rescue, Nick was extremely well looked after by the crew of the “Omega Princess” as she completed her journey arriving in Falmouth three days later. He also had great praise for HM Coastguard, MRCC Falmouth who co-ordinated the rescue and made a point of visiting them to thank them for all they had done.
Looking back on his experience, Nick said: “In many ways I have benefited from the experience - I know first hand how the SAR system operates, I have lost weight which was one of my key targets, I have re-tested my nerve which one needs to do from time to time in life, and I have met some extraordinary and highly professional people who in their turn might have gained some benefit from the incident.”
A full account of Nick’s rescue can be seen in the September issue of Yachting Monthly.
Still some 400 nautical miles from land, Nick took the decision to set off his EPIRB and prepare to abandon ship. Following Mayday calls throughout the morning, at 1450 UTC one of Nick’s calls was answered by the 36,000 tonnes motor vessel “Omega Princess” which eventually reached his position at 1620 UTC. In what Nick described as an extraordinary feat of ship handling by the Captain in atrocious weather conditions, the “Omega Princess” came right alongside the waterlogged “Tahiti Belle” and threw safety lines down to him.
To complete the transfer rescue plan, Nick had to abandon ship and jump into the water. The crew of the 184m LOA “Omega Princess” eventually managed to haul an exhausted Nick up the side of the vessel once she had pulled clear of the “Tahiti Belle” but not before he had unavoidably swallowed a lot of seawater.
Following his dramatic rescue, Nick was extremely well looked after by the crew of the “Omega Princess” as she completed her journey arriving in Falmouth three days later. He also had great praise for HM Coastguard, MRCC Falmouth who co-ordinated the rescue and made a point of visiting them to thank them for all they had done.
Looking back on his experience, Nick said: “In many ways I have benefited from the experience - I know first hand how the SAR system operates, I have lost weight which was one of my key targets, I have re-tested my nerve which one needs to do from time to time in life, and I have met some extraordinary and highly professional people who in their turn might have gained some benefit from the incident.”
A full account of Nick’s rescue can be seen in the September issue of Yachting Monthly.