The story of the ghost yacht that sank in the ice and then resurfaced
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
“Mar Sem Fim,” also called “Endless Sea,” was a Brazilian yacht that sank in Maxwell Bay of Ardley Cove, Antarctica, about 850 kilometers south of Cape Horn in April 7 years ago. Since then it has remained a ghost boat for over a year, half sunk.
Similar articles
Ghost yacht, was engaged in a documentary
Owned by a well-known Brazilian journalist and businessman, João Lara Mesquita, the yacht had four people on board when it sank. The crew was busy filming a documentary off the Antarctic coast when a strong wind of more than 100 kilometers per hour caught the boat pushing it against the ice. Trapped in freezing weather, the crewmen radioed a mayday that was received by the Chilean navy at Bahia Fildes base in Antarctica.
All four researchers were rescued, but bad weather delayed the process by a couple of days. The waves were very high and the wind kept blowing relentlessly. “Our evacuation was extremely risky. Waves of nearly two meters and 40-knot winds made operations really arduous.” A member of the Endless Sea crew tells. When the Chilean navy boat was finally able to approach, the documentary filmmakers immediately jumped aboard, finally to safety. Everything went well for the people, but not for Mar Sem Fim who, at the time, could not be recovered in any way.
Image source: charismaticplanet.com
Ghost yacht sunk and trapped in ice
The icy water that entered the hull then froze, expanding and causing the Mar Sem Fim yacht to sink to the bottom of the shallow bay, just 10 meters. For one year it was possible to observe the boat from above in early 2013. Owner João Lara Mesquita was then able to return to that position, and when weather conditions allowed, he sent down divers who wrapped the hull with suspenders attached to some inflated buoys on either side.
The buoys were inflated by gradually raising the yacht that had been underwater for nearly a year. Once the boat resurfaced, towing operations began to the shore where researchers retrieved their equipment. The maximum insurance coverage, however, was “only” $700,000. Too few to repair all the damage the ship sustained in the year underwater.
Image source: charismaticplanet.com
SUBSCRIBE AND SUPPORT US!
The journalists of the Sailing Newspaper, strive every day to ensure quality, up-to-date and correct information about the boating world free of charge through their websites. If you appreciate our work, support us by subscribing to the magazine. The annual subscription costs only 49 euros and we give you a nice gift
DISCOVER THE SAILING NEWSPAPER YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Daily interviews, boat trials, webinars. The whole sail, minute by minute. But on video! CLICK HERE To sign up, it’s free!
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
To stay up-to-date on all the news from the world of sailing, selected by our editorial staff, sign up for the Sailing Newspaper newsletter! It’s super easy, just enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “Sign Me Up” button. You will then receive on your email, twice a week, the best sailing news! It’s a free service and you can unsubscribe at any time, with no obligation!
Share:
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
Backstay, what it is used for and why it is important for it to be adjustable
The shape of the sails changes with the tension of the halyards, the point of sheet, the trolleys, and then there is the good old backstay, a maneuver that even today, despite the fact that on some cruisers it is
Farewell to the Aga Khan, the prince who made Italians fall in love with sailing with Azzurra
Karim Aga Khan, the Ismaili prince, entrepreneur and philanthropist, founder of, among other things, the Costa Smeralda, the eponymous Yacht Club and, above all, promoter of the Italian challenge of “Azzurra” to the America’s Cup, passed away in Lisbon, Portugal,
They sell and rent berths: here are 5 bargains for you
If you are looking for a new berth, we have selected for you 5 free berths at the mooring: guarantees the Sailing Newspaper. Our marketplace is periodically updated with new offers and is a reference point for those who are
He was my father: Tommaso Romanelli’s tribute to his father Andrea. Here’s how No More Trouble was born
Night, Atlantic Ocean, April 3, 1998, 2:40 a.m., 380 miles west of Lizard Point, Cornwall. There is an Italian boat, theOpen 60 Fila, which is crumbling the Atlantic crossing record from west to east and is about 24 hours from