S/V One Ocean
Anatomy of a knockdown
North Atlantic Passage
Halifax/Lockport to Bermuda
0930 hrs, October 17, 2025
37d31m N/66d44m W
Seas 15 - 30'
Barometer 1002 falling
Wind 25 - 35kts
Main triple reef, mizzen down, jib 1/4
Apparent wind angle 160 - 180d
Boat speed 5.5 - 8+ (all good, seas/swell building)
Gulf Stream effects noticeable, short period swell
1400 hrs October 17, 2025
36d43m/66d52m
Seas (slightly smaller) 10 - 25'+, cresting and breaking
Barometer 1000 falling
Wind 40 - 55kts
AWA 160 - 170
Boat Speed 10kts+ surfs16+
Current (same direction) +/- 4kts!
1610 hrs October 17, 2025
36d31m/66m52d
Trouble!
Seas - -breaking wave starboard aft, swamped cockpit, damage on deck, broached
Mark washed/thrown down port side cockpit/deck
Barometer 998 falling
Wind 45 - 60
Note: Big cresting wave knockdown. Wave starboard, different direction!??
Cabin complete mess, port stern pulpit and rails damaged/gone, solar panels port aft gone, dinghy dragging as a drogue, Watt and sea broken/dragging by electrical cable, cockpit dodger ripped/collapsed, Mark washed off deck into coaming/lifelines concussion!? Hull/deck/windows/hatches damage assessment, all ok. Bilges ok. Doors and drawers open!
Crew, concerned/shocked/mostly ok - all still onboard!
18:30+ hrs October 17
Helm change, Mark steering, autopilot still overpowered during surfs
Jennifer on aft deck cleaning up various lines and broken debris and suddenly/ violently swept off into port mizzen rigging, harness tether kept her onboard. Badly bruised (arms, legs, head), re-injured tailbone - nothing appeared broken but not sure of severity, in significant pain.
Broken portside solar panels cut away
Dodger canvas temporarily secured
Port lifelines rigged, broken stanchions temp secured
Liferaft (on broken stern rail) resecured
Dinghy secured and hauled aboard by bridle to end of mizzen boom with lashings to cleats/etc.
Outboard lashed to strong point on bent dinghy winch.
Following breaking waves boarding stern quarter, stress on everything and everyone!
Gear, cans, containers, food, clothes, books, papers, computers, drawers, tools, etc. gathered and temporarily secured/stored below. All cushions/bedding/pillows/upholstery soaking wet (cockpit wave entered main companionway, dorades and vents) - major force!
2030 hrs October 17, 2025
Autopilot reengaged - able to handle seas and 45 - 50kts with staysail sheeted amidships running downwind (170 - 190 apparent) Boat surfing 6 - 12 knots, engine running in gear for better directional stability at bottom of waves. Crew: Ok, exhausted, anxious and ready for some relief.
Bilges dry, engine, electronics, nav instruments all operating
General Recovery/Recall Notes:
Mark - remembers seeing the breaking wave above Oo seconds before it slammed into the aft port quarter then being swept underwater and thinking that 'at least it was warm water' while being completely submerged, then hearing voices with Jenn pulling me back into the cockpit, face up and floating. Chaos was happening, I was moving and thinking at a very slow speed. Apparently my head and the primary port cockpit winch connected and for a short period I wasn't functioning very well.
The cockpit dodger top collapse made it impossible for Jenn to see anything forward, steering became nearly impossible but absolutely necessary - autopilot couldn't manage surfing at double-digit speeds. Tess and I secured the flapping canvas while Jenn was able to keep Oo under some control.
The dinghy was unhinged and twisted from its mounting on the swimstep. The front half was acting like a drogue, back half twisted but still attached. During the surfing it created a huge drag. When waves boarded us from behind the whole mess tried to climb on the back deck. I stood looking at the mess for a few minutes and then tried to secure everything - trouble was I was more confused than I realized (Jenn and crew were more aware of my injuries than I was).
Standing on the swimstep, underwater half the time, dingy flailing around and trying to disconnect itself from the boat, outboard tearing itself away from the whole thing and crashing against the stern (and me), I found myself unable to secure a line or tie a knot. Everytime I thought I had a good one it dissolved into nothing - frustrating and confusing. A dozen tries and a dozen useless pieces of line attached to nothing.* Yes, conditions were difficult but I'm very good with knots. Apparently not so much after banging my head on a winch. More about that down a few paragraphs.
Tess to the rescue, literally! She noticed I was having considerable difficulties on the swim step and quickly joined me on the stern. With her help and many tries we were finally able to lift the dingy sideways out of the water and secured it to the swimstep and deck cleats. The next bit of effort involved retrieving the Watt & Sea water generator - held only by the electrical cord and trailing several feet behind the boat. The mounting hardware was completely destroyed but the cord connection held! We wrestled it back aboard and made our way to the cockpit. The motion of the boat improved slightly and the wind decreased a little, allowing the autopilot to actually maintain a course giving Jenn some much needed relief. Boat speed fluctuated between a sedate 7+knots with the occasional 14+
I managed to find a place below to stretch out - still in harness, wet clothes and confused amidst open drawers, piles of clothes and debris on the floor, cans of food rolling around, dishes and tools everywhere and noise, lots of noise. Charley was standing in the middle of it alI probably thinking we should all just get in the liferaft and take up a safer sport. Apparently I found a bit of space and cushion, stretched out and fell asleep for a short nap.
Jenn and Tess kept us upright and pointed in the right direction. I woke up with a stiff neck, slight headache and no memory of hitting my head on anything. I did have a vivid memory of the wave just before being smashed by it, and a strong feeling that I never wanted to see another one like it! My recall was about taking a short nap, the crew reminded me I'd been asleep for almost 8 hours!
Jenn navigated One Ocean on a course toward Bermuda as the wind and seas diminished to more manageable conditions. She suffered severe bruising of her hand, both arms and legs along with a very severe impact to her tailbone (too painful to sit, not much better standing). The bruising and tailbone hit were concerning so we called our emergency medical expert and described the symptoms. Unknown to me at the time was their worry that I may have experienced a severe concussion and/or neck injury (something I didn't remember happening!) All efforts were made to find a safe haven in Bermuda and assess the damage to Oo and crew. After a few days my brain seemed to be working fine with the 'here and now" but not so sharp about recent history. It took weeks before Jenn could sit, stand or walk comfortably. A sense of humor and happiness at being alive made our shore chores and routine reasonably pleasant.
One Ocean damage assessment:
Dodger canvas and zippers torn from the frames, major repair required
Two stanchion bases bent/broken - replacement or welding repair required
Two stainless lifeline rails (port aft) missing, replacement needed
Port stern pulpit (holding liferaft, etc) sheared/bent and broken - extensive repair required
Heavy staysail luff and hanks torn, bent or missing - repair required
Dinghy davit hardware/winch/strong points - stainless bent or broken, welding required
Watt & Sea water generator mounting (stainless and UHMW), bent, broken or missing
Port solar panels (2), one missing, one fractured/broken, parts missing - replacement necessary
All interior upholstery/cushions completely saturated, remove covers/wash all and dry
Drawer and door latches - some damaged, remove or replace
(drawer latches are heavy duty push button metal positive locking devices - an indication of severity/force of the knockdown - ALL of them released, all cabins!)\
Applied Physics Monitor destroyed
Crew injury assessment:
Earlier on this voyage we visited Guysborough, Nova Scotia, and stayed with family friends Annabel, Penny, Keith and Gabe. While there I just happened to open up a book titled "The Perfect Day" written by Annabel's father, Harry Bruce, (my Uncle-in-law). The chapter "Love Letter to the Art of Tying Knots" caught my attention and pretty much covers the importance knots command, all in four short pages. I'm good at knots (usually) and he was great at writing about them. Here's his very astute summary of the importance of it all: "a knot is either right or wrong. If it's wrong, it's an abomination; if it's right, it's a marriage of virtue to perfection. Aboard a small boat, a good knot may save your life and a bad one, always a triumph of chaos over divine order, may kill you.
Standing on a wildly jerking narrow and mostly underwater swimstep while trying over and over to tie a knot to secure a dinghy intent on destroying itself wasn't my smartest move but seemed necessary at the time. However, the knots I was trying to tie were ones that could kill you! Very happy Tess came to my rescue and we managed to complete the work together.
Jenn's tailbone was severely bruised and took weeks for pain to subside to a comfortable level. Her bruises healed a little faster but there were more of them than earlier noted, truly an uncomfortable combination for several weeks.
Tess and Charley came away physically unscathed but emotionally aware of what a significant ordeal we had experienced and survived. Teamwork and preparation helped lead to the eventual and successful outcome. Confidence in our One Ocean and each other kept us moving in the right direction. Thank you Jennifer, Tess, Charley and to all of the volunteers and riggers who understood the enormous stresses the boat and crew might encounter along the way.
A special thanks to One Ocean - strong, capable and once again ready to meet the challenges ahead. So too the crew!