Help to find Dove II

Dove II rudderless and being abandoned at sea

I would love to start murmuration (the act of murmuring) throughout the Caribbean with these posts to create a strong lookout for Dove II,,,,as she WILL eventually show up somewhere off the Caribbean or South American shoreline,,,,someone just has to remember or care who she belongs to.

Nearly a month ago I posted a story about the English Family who lost everything in early December 2016 when their Hanse 50ish ft sailboat lost its rudder and they had to abandon it in the Atlantic Ocean, several days east of the Caribbean islands. You can read that story on this link: https://livefree2sailfast.com/2017/02/08/will-you-help-this-sailing-family/. Since then, I started following their WordPress blog,Westerly Adventures and published one of their posts last week with a bit of my own hyperbole attached to it, at this link: https://livefree2sailfast.com/2017/03/08/family-life-continues-despite-past-adversity/. I’ve been touched by their story and the nature of their resiliency as a family. Yesterday I received this reply back from them,,,,which was kind of a jolt because it quickly personalizes a post when you’re actually getting something as personal as this: We’d just like to thank you for making people aware of our situation and our blog. The comment of ‘ obviously they have a lot of money’ couldn’t be any further from the truth. We have only got the money that the lovely caring people from all around the world have donated us on the gofundme page. With that money we were hoping to pay the salvage when our boat turned up, but as we have lost hope that it’ll ever turn up. We are hoping to use that money to buy another boat to carry on cruising.

Whilst searching for a suitable boat, we are trying to make the most of our time in Tortola by doing the things we love that don’t cost any money, like hitchhiking to the nearest beach and surfing. We have met some lovely people in Tortola that have given us accommodation on their boat, and also the use of surfboards at the local beach. When we find a boat to carry on with, we will be cruising on a very tight budget. It’s either that or go home back to the normal life of work and school. Obviously it’s hasn’t worked out as we planned but we are trying to make the most of the situation we are stuck in. If it wasn’t for all the help we’ve received from the caring sailing community, we wouldn’t be here now. 

So a huge thank you for making people aware of our situation and blog.

We’re a family with kids around the same age as Heath and Isla and I’m not sure we would have the same response to losing our boat as this family, which is why I’m writing this particular post, on this particular day.

To Jack Van Ommen on Fleetwood, the Caribbean cruising community, the folks in Antigua & Barbuda, the BVI, Jamaica and the Women who Live on Rocks; please keep an eye out for Dove II, a 50ish foot Hanse floating somewhere off the Caribbean Islands. It belongs to a family mentioned who would love to get it back. Without pouring salt on their wounds and for the purposes of identification only, here’s a photo I have of the boat when she was in the process of starting her drift, taken by the crew of Tilly Mint:

It was and will always be a hard choice to abandon a boat at sea, but I would have done the exact same thing to stay with my family AND not have to endanger others with a probable second rescue attempt. With just the facts I’ve read and seen on the YouTube video, I think the family made the right choice.

I wish this family would stay the course and continue sailing if they find a suitable boat, but I also understand if they can’t or don’t,,,,these are the big boy decisions we all must make. I know this post sounds a bit like cheerleading and it is,,,,cause it’s my blog. If you want to help support this family; you can look for their boat in the Caribbean, follow their blog and keep them in your prayers. If you like my blog, you can follow it too.Pl

http://sailinganarchy.com/tag/dove-ii/