Report on the loss of Finnish yacht "Pegasos" in Red Sea

Created by webmaster. Last modified on 2002-08-19 00:50:46
Contributors: Antti Louhija
Countries: Egypt, Sudan

Report of the shipwreck of the yacht PEGASOS, homeport HELSINKI, FINLAND

Time: 14.04.2001, at 2300 hours Place: Barra Musa Kebir at Sudan coast

The course of events:

1. 04.2001 at 1345 hours we started from Massawa, Eritrea, our last port. We sailed and motorsailed without incidents in light northerly winds for the next two days and nights heading for Port Sudan, where we estimated to arrive on Sunday, 15.04 2001.

2. 04. 2001 at 1000 we passed Ras Asis at a distance of 28 miles taking a course of 331° in order to pass mainly outside the Suakin Group. We left Sha'ab Loka reef to starboard and everything there agreed with our chart (BA 138). The north-north-easterly wind increased to force 5 in the afternoon, and dropped down to force 3 again in the evening, backing a bit. We dropped other sails except the mizzen, which we kept as a steadying sail. We motored ahead, keeping exactly on our track, as visualized by our GPS navigator. Our course should take us at least two miles east of Barra Musa Kebir. Still10 miles further we had planned to turn to port towards Port Sudan the remaining 50 miles. The night was moonless and very dark. Everything was in good shape and working perfectly on board PEGASOS. The boat was steered by the Autohelm, but a constant watch kept all the time. No other vessels were seen.

Almost exactly at 2300 hours the boat struck the reef. Our exact position according to the GPS was at that moment 19°13.04 N and 38°11.55 E. I understood that we must have hit the Barra Musa Kebir inspite the fact, that according to our chart we should have been 2 miles off. Nothing could be seen in the darkness at our actual place, but further ahead one could hear and see the luminecence of the breakers. I tried to steer to starboard, but it was already too late. The keel was pounding constantly to the bottom, and we lost all steerway although the engine was still running faultlessly. In half an hour it was clear, that we could not get loose. We were constantly driven by the wind and the seas to more shallow water, and the boat was heeling ever more. Gradually we distinguished in the almost total darkness the contour of an island before us, finally not more than 50 meters ahead. We were not moving any more in the very shallow water, but the waves caused incessable pounding against the bottom.

At 2330 hours I started a Mayday call using both Ch 16 on the VHF-radio and MF 2182 kHz on the SSB-radio. After some minutes I, unexpectedly, got an answer from Port Sudan Port Control on VHF in spite of the long distance (60 miles!). I reported our position several times and made clear that our boat porbably already was a wreck, but so far the three crew members were sound and relatively safe, as the boat could not sink totally in the shallow water. Also some other stations were relayng my distress call using Arabic, where I could only distinguish the words "Pegasos" and "Barra Musa Kebir". Port control promised to send a pilot boat to our rescue at 0600 hours next morning, but later on they specified, that the rescue boat would be launched in the morning, and would reach us at 1430 hours. We all three heard this message loud and clear, and there cannot possibly be any misunderstanding.

1. 4.2001 We spent a very uncofortable night in the boat, which was heeling 40°, and the water level inside was rising all the time. Under the floorboards we could see, that the bottom was broken beside the keel. In the morning I tried several times to raise Port Sudan Port control using VHF -channels 16, 14 and 10 and MF-frequency 2182 kHz, but I got no answer. We inflated our dinghy and began to move our personal belongings to the island from the more and more waterfilled boat. The surf made the operation difficult. In the afternoon three fishing boats appeared, and anchored on the lee side of the island. The people came to greet us and asked whether we needed help, and we said we were waiting for the pilot boa to come. Communication was difficult because none of us knows a word of Arabic and the fishermen on their part did not speak anything else. We waited for all the day and finally spent the night on the island while the wreck of PEGASOS was all the time loudly pounded by the incessant breakers.

2. 4.2001. In the morning I went back to the boat and found, that the radios were still functioning inspite the fact, that water had already invaded the battery compartment. Calling again, mostly on VHF 16 and MF 2182 kHz I could not get an answer whatsoever from anywhere. We began to realize, that the rescue boat is probabaly not coming at all, and our radios will soon be dead, so we began to negotiate with the fishermen about our transportation to Port Sudan. Finally it was agreed (mostly using signs and drawings in the sand) with one of the captains, Muhammad Nur Ahmed, that we give away to them our rubber dinghy with outboard engine, liferaft, 300 liters of diesel fuel, ropes, sails and all loose objects still inside PEGASOS including radios, safety equipment, canned food etc, but excluding our personal belongings, if they bring us the 60 miles to Port Sudan. As by midday, 36 hours since the Mayday call, there was still nothing heard of any official rescue boat, we went at noon onboard the fishing vessel of the above mentioned captain and eight crew. They weighed anchor at 1215 hours. The wind was rather strong and the sea was rough, so after a couple of hours the captain decided to seek lee behind a reef, and there we stayed at anchor the rest of the day and the following night. We were very kindly met and taken care of by everybody on board.

3. 4.2001. At 0600 hours a course towards Port Sudan was taken again. After four hours we met an Italian charterboat, USCOCCO, from Port Suakin. Her captain promised to report us to Port Sudan with his radio, but was unwilling, of course, to take us on board his boat, which was full of paying tourist guests. We proceeded then on board Muhammad's boat to Port Sudan harbour, which was reached by 1430 hours. The situation was explained to security officers. We summoned Mr. Abdel Moniem Elsamkary to act as our agent in order to obtain transit visas and flight tickets. Thereafter we settled in Baasher Palace Hotel.

Port Sudan, 18.4.2001.

Antti Louhija,

Owner and master of PEGASOS.

Noonsite received the following information from Erick A. Reickert of S/V Escapade:

I read the Report on the loss of "Pegasos" with interest as I intend to go up the Red Sea. Mr. Louhija states that he was using British Admiralty chart #138 and that he thought he was 2 miles off the reef Barra Musa Kebir when he hit it.

I was unable to get BA #138 in electronic form, but I do have BA #82, Outer Approaches to Port Sudan. Plotting his position (19 deg 13.04 N; 38 deg 11.55 E) on the ARCS chart results in the exact actual position of the reef as shown on the chart. The plot is exactly at the edge of the land, inside of the outer edge of the reef by a few hundred feet. Thus it would appear that his position agrees with the location of the reef on BA chart #82. The position is slightly off on BA #81, but it is very close on BA #4704.