The sailing vessel Sorcery, a C&C 61, was rolled and dismasted by a rogue wave during a storm in the north Pacific Ocean on May 8, 1976. The vessel, with a crew of six, was sailing from Japan to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules from Kodiak, Alaska arrived on scene that afternoon and dropped survival rafts, food and medical supplies to the Sorcery in 50 kn. winds and 35 foot breaking seas. I arrived in the second Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft early that afternoon. We circled for hours until the U. S. Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter "MELLON" arrived to take on board the injured crewmen and place the Sorcery in tow to Victoria. These were some of the photographs I had taken of a much relieved and happy crew. Ben Choate III, the radioman on-board Sorcery, wrote the accompanying letter. Sorcery was refitted with a new mast and sailed on to a successful history of yacht racing. Sorcery is the integral subject of a book titled "From Where We Sail" a memoir by Dianne Lane, published in 2017. A story about her family's six year journey aroung the world aboard Sorcery.
Category:Travel and Places
Subcategory:Travel journals
Subcategory Detail:
Keywords:Ben Choate III, Bob Dickson, C&C 61, Dianne Lane, Sorcery, Ted Rogers, rogue wave
©2022 by John C Karjanis, all rights reserved
