Elsi in Albany

After I was taken off Elsi in December 2006 she drifted around for over seven weeks in the Great Australian Bight south of Australia before being spotted by an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) spotter plane. They were on their way out to fly over an American sailor James Burwick who was trying to sail from South Africa to New Zealand in his Open 40 yacht. He suffered a rigging failure and was coming in to Albany to make repairs. On the way out they spotted a small green yacht which appeared to be derelict and took a photo of it which ended up getting sent back to Shetland Coastguard and on to us.

We called up a local fisherman, Robin Greene who was the owner / skipper of Kiama, who we had spoken to in Albany. He and his crew set off, found Elsi and towed her back in to harbour. A video of the rescue can be seen here.

Click on any image to enlarge.

: The photo I received of Elsi after she was spotted again in Feb 2007.

: The fishing boat Kiama which rescued Elsi.

: Lowrie and me getting ready to fly down to Albany.

: Kay and me just after we had heard the news that Kiama had definitely found Elsi. She and her husband Barry were a great help to us during our time in Albany.

: Kiama coming in to Albany towing

: Kiama coming in to Albany towing

: Kiama coming in to Albany towing

: Elsi coming alongside at Emu Point.

: Back on board again.

: Assessing the damage.

: Assessing the damage.

: Assessing the damage.

: Down below everything was much the same as when I left.

: The crew who took Elsi back in. The skipper Robin Greene

: his son Darren

: Darrens girlfriend Leeann

: her dog

: and the Finnish Viking Johan who took the video of the rescue

: Phil Dyer was our shore contact with Kiama

: Lowrie and Phil help to get Elsi alongside

: The boom had sheared off and had been swinging around wildly before getting stuck forward of the mast.

: Back down below on Elsi

: Barry was as delighted as we were to have Elsi back aga

: It was obvious a lot of damage had been done.

: The deck had been scraped bare where the boom had been digging in to it.

: The mainsheet horse had broken off

: The compass had been knocked off but was still in the cockpit.

: The rubbing strake was flattened where she had been bashing against the hull of the Elegant Star.

: She was battered and bashed but would repair.

: That night we had a wee dram to celebrate.

: The following day we lifted Elsi out of the water.

: The coverage of goose barnacles was very patchy. Very thick in places and none on some parts of the hull.

: There’s a propeller under there somewhere!

: The keel had a fair covering.

: The rudder loops seemed to be a favourite spot for them as well.

: Some of the goose barnacles were over 100mm long.

: Lowrie gets going with the power washer

: and rips off some of the barnacles behind the slings

: On the travel lift

: Darren and Mike who ran the boat yard

: Lowrie trying to figure out the complexities of the parking system

: There was a bush fire while we were there

: James Burwick, who sparked off the rescue, comes down for a look.

: Darren arranged for me to buy an old boat cradle which I converted to ship Elsi home on.

: Robin and Lowrie with the chart he used to find Elsi. It didn’t go far enough south so he had added on some bits to the bottom of it.

: The following day we lifted Elsi ashore

: Elsi onboard the Georg Mitchell coming into Lerwick

: Getting offloaded at Lerwick

: Lowrie and me were there to see her coming ashore.

: Back at the aald rock again

: Alyson and Barry