It is 23 years since Jack Coote published the first edition of Total Loss, a collection of first-hand accounts of yachts lost at sea - a gripping read full of hard-won lessons, which may well have protected readers from making similar mistakes themselves.
Now in its third edition, the book has been updated by Yachting Monthly editor Paul Gelder, who has included accounts of more recent tragedies, including the loss of the yacht Ouzo and the lives of her three crew members. The book distils the 174 page Marine Accident Investigation report of the incident into potentially life-saving lessons.
There's also a dramatic eye-witness account of how the racing yacht Hooligan V lost her keel and one of her crew died in the English Channel last year. Again there are obvious lessons to be learned.
In all the stories of 38 yachts are told, lost in all parts of the globe. They are classified according to “seven deadly causes”: collision, gear failure, stress of weather, faulty navigation, fire or explosion, failure of ground tackle or mooring line, and, last but not least, being towed.
They include high profile incidents, like the loss of Pete Goss' Team Philips, and the 1979 Fastnet, and less well known, but no less heartbreaking sinkings of treasured family yachts. Each chapter concludes with a vital summary of the lessons learned.
For more than 99 per cent of sailors, the chances of having to abandon ship are as remote as the odds for being involved in a plane or train crash. Reading this book, and benefiting from the painful and disastrous experiences of others, should reduce those odds even further.
Total Loss is described by the publisher as “ a tribute to the courage and resourcefulness of sailors who suffered the heartbreaking loss of their yacht after a life or death struggle.” Read it, and you can be sure your sailing will be made safer, they add.
There's an element of morbid fascination, and this “required bunkside reading” may just keep you awake at night. But it could also be a lifesaver. It certainly makes compelling reading.
