Posted at 12:46 p.m., Monday, January 20, 2003
Loss of power blamed in yacht's loss in Pacific
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
All three crewmen aboard the yacht Enchantment were rescued Friday by the cruise ship Statendam, which arrived in Honolulu today. Jim Bartch, owner of the 45-foot yacht, said the alternator malfunctioned and the yacht continued to drain power for several days.
"They ran the power down and lost their steering at sea and the boat went sideways to the waves," Bartch said. "There were 25-foot seas. It swamped the boat. When they abandoned the vessel, it was half full of water."
The Statendam found the crew about 1,000 miles northwest of Hawai'i.
Bartch, 49, and his wife are from Portland, Ore. He had retired from an engineering job. The couple planned to live on the boat in Hawai'i. He doesn't know now if the couple will stay in Hawai'i.
He said the boat was insured.
"The reality is we lost our boat and we don't have a place to reside," Bartch said. "And we are going to have the loss of some $20,000 in expenses for the delivery and insurance and inspection fees."
