‘Captain Calamities’ still trying to set sail

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Published Jan 28, 2016

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London - For two sailors aged 71, crossing the Atlantic in a rickety old yacht was never going to be plain sailing.

But the amateur yachtsmen have become a laughing stock after having to be rescued nine times – the latest while they were on dry land.

The most recent incident involving the so-called ‘Captain Calamities’ was the most comical yet – with their 40ft boat Nora tipping over at low tide, causing a candle to start a fire on board.

The fire brigade raced to rescue the hapless seadogs, who had moored at the quayside in Hayle, Cornwall. But despite calls for them to be stopped for their own safety, the lifelong American friends continue to be oblivious to the fuss and intend to sail on next week.

Steve Shapiro, a screenwriter, and Bob Weise, a former Army helicopter pilot, remain largely good-humoured and dismissive of the ‘calamity’ tag. The duo were shopping for food on Tuesday when they were alerted to the fire.

The previous day they had been told how to tie up to the quayside to stop the boat tipping over at low tide. But they made a mistake and a fire started when the yacht fell on its side.

After surveying the damage on Wednesday, Mr Shapiro said: ‘It appears a candle had not been blown out properly and a spark relit itself. The fire was under control by the time we arrived and caused considerable but not substantial damage.’

Two fire crews, two water rescue teams, police, coastguard and an ambulance crew all attended the blaze. Mr Shapiro said Nora was ‘absolutely fit to sail’ and that the pair still hoped to leave when they had the right wind, insisting: ‘We’ve not had bad luck the whole trip.’

The pensioners set off from Norway on their ‘last hurrah’ in July, with the goal of sailing to Maine in the US over a 12-month period in a 38-year-old gaff cutter which Mr Shapiro bought from a Norwegian doctor. Since then fire and rescue services have come to their aid off the coasts of Norway, Scotland, Ireland and south-west England.

They were towed back to Norway when Nora started leaking. Their battery died near an oil rig, their engine has failed and they have run aground several times.

The RNLI and its lifeboats cost £415,000 a day to run and Mr Shapiro – who has caused a significant demand on resources – has made a donation to the charity. But locals in Cornwall have accused the men of putting an unfair strain on rescue services. Fisherman Grant Lorris said: ‘They don’t have a clue what they’re doing.’

Hayle harbourmaster Peter Haddock added: ‘If they need assistance again it could be dangerous for all concerned.’ An article on the sail-world.com website even asked: ‘Should they be stopped?’

Unfortunately for British coastguards their next stop is Devon – and they are keen to finish the trip on their ‘resilient’ boat. Barring further disasters the duo hope to begin crossing the Atlantic in March.

Daily Mail

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