This is something every offshore skipper has contemplated. Losing the rudder far from land is often a reason to abandon ship. But, in some cases in which the boat is not leaking and you have a competent and capable crew, there can be a chance to save the boat and sail her to land.
That’s what happened to British skipper Peter Rutter, who is a former commodore o the Royal Ocean Racing Club, while delivering his 43-foot sloop from England to Malta in the Mediterranean. Two hundred miles off the coast of France, the rudder snapped off in big seas.
With Peter were three highly experienced crew. They got the sails down, called a May Day and then assessed the problem. The rudder post was not leaking so at present they were not in imminent danger.
Conferring with the French Coast Guard, it was decided to reduce the May Day to a Pan Pan and to set about building a jury-rigged rudder and tiller.
