BREAKING: Golden Globe Race skipper activates EPIRB in 80-knot storm
British solo skipper Ian Herbert-Jones has activated his EPIRB while in a serious storm in the South Atlantic whilst sailing in the Golden Globe Race
Golden Globe Race organisers have issued a ‘Code Red’ update after British solo skipper Ian Herbert-Jones activated his EPIRB while in a serious storm in the South Atlantic.
Winds are understood to be over 50 knots, with estimated gusts of 70-88 knots, and the sea state is believed to be around 6.5-7.5m
A post on the Golden Globe Race Facebook page by the organisers has the following update:
“SITUATION : PUFFIN has activated his EPIRB….GGR TRACKING now set at 15 minutes. At 1540UTC Ian Herbert Jones SKIPPER PUFFIN rang GGR on Iridium phone to advise that he was in extreme weather with no sail up trying to hand steer downwind , the yacht was laid over often …There was a small amount of water down below. It was a bad connection and I lost contact.
“At 1550UTC IAN called again…he had activated his EPIRB , could not launch his drogue as the cockpit hatch was underwater, was under bare poles, had been washed out of the cockpit twice and was struggling to keep the boat sailing down wind.
“He explained he activated the EPIRB as he could not initially make Iridium phone contact and wanted someone to know his situation. I advised him he must launch his drogue if possible to assist down wind control…and that the extreme weather will last at least another five hours. He is trying to do that.
“There is only 8 inches of water over the cabin sole. He thinks this is leakage through the cockpit…the manual bilge pump is working so he is not sinking. The mast is secure. All safety equipment onboard is secure. His electrical system is low in power.
Ian Herbert Jones (52) is sailing a Tradewind 35 Puffin, here pictured at the race’s Lanzarote Film Drop. Photo: Nora Havel / GGR2022
“I asked him to call again in one hour. Approx 1700UTC. He is using the iridium phone in the cockpit. MRCC may have trouble trying to ring him because of the noise and he may switch off the phone between contacts. I advised him to leave the EPIRB on. The activated EPIRB is listed as coming from his abandoned ship GRAB bag…this is unusual and I believe a mistake. He is on the boat and it would be the EPIRB from in the Yachts cabin….he has NOT abandoned the ship.
“I made Ian aware that he needs to manage this extreme weather best possible until it starts to drop in five hours.
“SITUATION : ALERT BUTTON ON YB3 Manually Pressed. ACTIVATED! At 1725UTC Message received at GGR from PUFFIN YELLOW-BRICK YB3 satellite tracking and texting unit advising ” Button ALERT…. 46., 57.250S 037, 12.382W ” This means that Ian has manually gone to the YB3 unit and manually lifted a safety cover and pressed the distress alert button of the YB3 Satellite texting unit.
“This is recognised by GGR as a distress protocol for all GGR entrants. This would suggest he is definitely in a distress situation. He had not called GGR at the requested 1 hour update time. He was 25 Minutes overdue from that requested Phone Update. At the time of the ALERT BUTTON activation the Windy forecast weather was SW40Kt Gusting 88Kt and 7.7mtr SEA.
“MRCC Argentina is now managing the Rescue operation. Further updates as they come available.”
Ian Herbert-Jones is currently approximately 1,200 miles east of Argentina. He is the last competitor in the solo ‘retro’ Golden Globe Race, which set off in September 2022. Herbert-Jones was sailing in ‘Chichester’ division after previously making a stop in Tierra de Fuego to repair his steering gear. On the approach to Cape Horn last month, he experienced some of the worst conditions of any competitor in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, with several days of intense storms as he approached Cape Horn including 60-knot gusts and 7 metres seas.
As the last competitor in the race, Herbert-Jones was later to round Cape Horn. Speaking to our sister title Yachting Monthly in February ahead of the rounding he said: ‘I do not mind admitting at all that I am very apprehensive [about rounding Cape Horn so late in the season]. I know it can get serious very quickly down there.’
Ian Herbert-Jones leaving the anchorage off Cape Horn where he had made repairs to Puffin before resuming the solo Golden Globe Race in ‘Chichester’ division. Photo: GGR
Having made repairs he restarted from southernmost of Argentina at the end of March. His nearest fellow solo skipper, Jeremy Bagshaw, is over 1600 miles north.
Herbert-Jones, from Shropshire, England, is sailing Puffin, a Tradewind 35 cutter. Puffin had previously finished the 2018 Golden Globe Race in 4th place for skipper Istvan Kopar, despite steering issues and several knockdowns.
Herbert-Jones had previously completed a circumnavigate with the crewed Clipper Round the World Race and was formerly an engineer’s in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in the British Army.
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