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T
he skipper of the American
yacht Nora, who faced
national condemnation for
multiple encounters with British
rescue services, says reports of
‘nine rescues in seven months’
is ‘grossly exaggerated’.
Steve Shapiro, aged 71, says
only three were emergency
call-outs, and the rest were just
friendly assistances by lifeboat
volunteers passing by. Steve is
on a voyage from Scandinavia to
North America in the 12m (40ft)
Colin Archer gaff cutter with crew
Bob Weise, a retired lieutenant
colonel army pilot – also in his
70s. They have prompted lifeboat
assistances in Norway, Scotland,
Ireland and England since setting
sail last July.
Nora’s latest assistance, on 26
January, occurred when the boat
tipped over in low water at Hayle
Harbour’s East Quay and an
unattended candle reignited and
set a pile of clothing alight. The
blaze, which was extinguished by
the fi re service, caused ‘cosmetic
damage’ to the boat. A week
earlier, Nora had been towed into
Hayle by St Ives RNLI lifeboat when
‘the power suddenly stopped’
while leaving St Ives.
Steve, who has been sailing
since he was nine, said: ‘Only
three of the rescues were really
distress calls, and those were
at the beginning of the journey,
then we had things under
control. Even if the boat
was broken we
could’ve fi xed it, it’s
very seaworthy.’
Steve added: ‘I don’t
fault my seamanship,
and there’s no way
anyone else could.
We were advised
‘Nine’ lifeboat rescues is ‘grossly
exaggerated’ says Nora skipper
to keep in touch with the
coastguard and to call for
assistance. The rescuers are
there for anybody without
prejudice. They weren’t dangerous
call-outs except for one in the
North Sea: all the others didn’t
demand anything more than
routine training. I don’t make
light of it, we’re very grateful
for them being there, and I’m
very appreciative.’
The rescues occurred off Norway
when the boat began to leak in
strong seas after it ran over fi shing
lines and the propeller shaft got
caught, creating a hole; when
approaching Wick, northern
Scotland as they still had a ‘pretty
bad leak’; and in the middle of
the Moray Firth when the engine
transmission failed. Lifeboat
assistances took place when
they ran aground going into
Helmsdale, Scotland and at
Red Bay, Northern Ireland,
although in both cases
they had to wait for
the rising tide to
fl oat free.‘A bad rap’
At Wicklow, meanwhile, they ran
‘aground for a couple of seconds’
and a lifeboat assisted them
alongside: and upon leaving
Kilmore Quay en route for Land’s
End, Nora struck a sandbar and a
nearby lifeboat pulled her free, then
‘happily escorted’ them out of the
harbour. In St Ives, Cornwall, lifeboat
volunteers assisted by tying Nora
to a RNLI buoy. When leaving for
Hayle, the yacht lost propulsion and
was taken under tow. Steve said:
‘Some articles have counted those
as rescues. I think that’s a bad rap.’
In total, Steve says he and Bob
had spent fi ve months of their
seven-month voyage enjoying ‘very
pleasant sailing’. He admitted a lack
of familiarity from buying a new boat
didn’t help, and said Nora was ‘more
worn than advertised. We’ve brought
it up to date and made repairs.’
At the time of going to press,
Steve and Bob were ‘waiting for
clear weather’ to leave Hayle and
continue their voyage to Maine,
USA. Steve said: ‘I’m not trying to
set records or have an adventure,
I’m just sailing my boat home.’‘Should be detained’
Peter Haddock, harbour master
in Hayle where Nora is currently
situated, believes the boat should
be detained by the UK Coastguard.
He said: ‘I’d be very surprised if
they made it across the Atlantic, it’s
been a disaster ever since they left
Scandinavia. They’re oblivious to
danger and to the problems they’ve
created: it’s really frightening.’
A spokeswoman for the Maritime
and Coastguard Agency said: ‘We
have not been made aware of any
grounds that would lead to
detaining this vessel.’Ocean
Cruising
Club award
winners
announced
T
he Ocean Cruising Club
(OCC) has named the
2015 winners of its awards,
recognising outstanding
achievements of blue
water sailors.
The top award, the Barton
Cup, went to Michael Johnson,
s/v Gitana, for his successful
two-year transit of the
Northwest Passage. Sailing
from Chesapeake Bay,
Virginia to Nome, Alaska,
the passage took place in
a particularly challenging
period due to icy conditions.The OCC Award of Merit
was shared among multiple
members and the OCC Port
Offi cer Representative, who
contributed exceptional efforts
to assist the people of Vanuatu
after the devastation caused
by Hurricane Pam. The OCC
Award went to Tom and Vicky
Jackson, s/v Sunstone, for
their many cruising and racing
achievements, amounting to
34 years and almost 200,000NM
aboard their 12m (40ft),
Sparkman & Stephens-
designed, 50-year-old sloop.
Australian doctor John
Vallentine, s/v Tainui, scooped
the Vasey Vase for interesting
and challenging voyages over
a 10-year period, during which
he devoted half of each year
providing medical services to
remote Aboriginal outstations
in the western Australian
deserts, and the other half
sailing mostly to cold climates
and isolated locations.
The OCC Seamanship Award
recognized Bob and Mona
Jankowski, s/v Continuum, for
the heroic rescue of Randy and
Dawn Ortiz from s/v Nirvana.Fire services attend to a clothing blaze on Nora in Hayle HarbourMichael Johnson, winner of the
OCC’s top award, the Barton CupAPEXTel: 01202 440832 email: [email protected]