Posted on: Tuesday, January 21, 2003

Oregon man loses yacht, future home to high seas

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The owner of a private yacht lost at sea said the crew sailing the boat to Honolulu for him was forced to abandon the vessel after losing power and steering in huge seas.

All three crewmen aboard the Enchantment were rescued Friday by the cruise ship Statendam, which arrived in Honolulu yesterday.

Jim Bartch, owner of the 45-foot yacht, said the alternator malfunctioned and the yacht continued to drain power for 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, had retired from an engineering job and planned to live with his wife on the boat in Hawai'i. They are from Portland, Ore.

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."