'The storm that sent us back to Haiti'- Survival Story

by Nicki Cruickshank, Barrie Examiner/Sail-World on 30 Jan 2009 Fighting for survival at sea was not how professional skipper Capt. Rick Moore planned to spend his Christmas after delivering gifts to Haiti.

What began as a simple mission to bring Christmas to a poor Haitian village ended with him and his crew being slammed by a ferocious storm at sea, and forced back to Haiti.

Making the best of the incident, and unable to leave, they have now made a DVD of the islands to raise money for the islanders.

'I was supposed to be home for Christmas, but I took this job thinking I could still be home a few days after and see my kids,' said Moore, a charter sailor in the British Virgin Islands. 'I wanted my boys to understand that dad was giving other kids a Christmas, something they were lucky enough to have each year.'

For years, Moore has spent his winters running Wind In My Sails Inc., chartering guests aboard his 50-foot luxury yacht, Sophisticated Lady, in the British Virgin Islands. He spends his summers close to home.

In December, Moore was asked by the Good Samaritan Foundation in BVI to take a collection of donated toys, food, clothing, school and hygiene supplies to Ile Vache, Haiti.

Moore and a small crew left on Dec. 15, intending to return in 10 days. But Mother Nature had other plans.

'We made the delivery, and those people weren't expecting the gifts,' Moore said. 'They were so appreciative, and they threw us a big celebration to thank us.'

But no one was celebrating during the sail home on Dec. 23.

'When we were coming around the Cape on the south side of Haiti, the winds and currents picked up and held us right there in the water,' Moore said. 'Within three hours, we had a lot of damage done to the boat. We had 40 to 50 knot winds slamming into the ship, and the engine went down, so we had difficulty making way into the storm.'

'The force of the gale, and the erratic sea conditions below the Cape were enough to spin the boat around and blow out both our sails,' Moore wrote in one of his online blogs. 'We were then adrift at sea for about 15 hours, getting slammed repeatedly by huge waves slapping the side of the boat with such force that several more things were broken on the boat.'

The ship's dinghy was blown right off the boat, dangling by ropes and constantly smacking into the boat, black smoke from the engine had filled the cabin and the sails were torn to shreds. Moore said he was more frustrated than scared about how to get back to land.

'It was the first time I'd been completely incapacitated and the engine was a real problem,' he said. 'I started taking apart the shower to use its parts, and strung up four soup cans to use as a muffler.'

A distress call was made using a ham radio, and their signal was patched through to Southbound II, a radio call-in station in Toronto. But the crew was told no other ships were in the area to help them. The coast guard offered a helicopter to rescue them, but Moore wasn't about to abandon his boat.

Not being able to make way to windward, there was no choice but to turn back to Haiti, and, on Christmas Eve, the ship docked there once more.

'The locals were great, and they offered to hand-stitch our sails,' Moore said. 'The Rotary Club there helped us order engine parts, and the Rotary Club in BVI shipped them to us.'

Moore and his crew were stuck in Haiti more than 17 days, with $20,000 in ship damage and no money.

'We decided to make the best of it, visiting with local villagers and we filmed a documentary on their lifestyles there,' Moore said. 'We'll create a DVD of it and it will be our next fundraiser for Good Samaritan Foundation.

'Part of the sales will go toward the foundation's commitment to building a school in Haiti worth $60,000,' he added. 'The other half will go toward helping us fix the ship.'

The Sophisticated Lady finally made it back to the Virgin Islands on Jan. 12, after a three-day stop in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for proper sail repairs. Moore's 10-day trip had become almost a month, and he has yet to get home to see his family in Barrie, Ontario in Canada.

That reunion is what his parents, Jack and Mary Moore, have been waiting patiently for.

'We're so proud of him for making that trip to help those people, but we can't wait for him to come home,' Mary said, from the couple's Barrie home this week. 'It's not the first time he's been in storms, but for me, a mom, it's something I take very seriously. Since he ran into trouble on the way back from Haiti, I've been glued to my computer ever since.'

Moore says the second he has arrangements made to fix his yacht, he'll be on the first flight home.

'I'm definitely ready to come home. I can't wait to see my kids,' he said. 'I can't come home until after Feb. 7, because the Rotary Club in BVI is throwing us a welcome back party and a benefit concert to raise money for our repairs.'

For those who think this ordeal of danger and adventure will stop Moore from making more trips to help the Haitian people, think again.

'I've asked everyone on board and they all said they'd go back,' he said. 'It was an amazing, life-changing experience and I will do it again.'

Sail-World wishes to thank the author and Barrie Examiner for this tale of survival, seamanship and goodwill. To read more stories in the Barrie Examiner, click here