THEY abandoned ship off the US coast never to see their striken vessel again – or so they thought, until it washed up three years later and more than 3,000 miles away in Scotland.
A catamaran called Be Good Too has been found wrecked on a beach on South Uist, almost three years to the day since it was left crippled at sea 300 miles off the coast of North Carolina.
Crewman Charles Doane said he was astonished when a South Uist resident sent him photos of the wreck covered in seaweed and barnacles.
Sadly, the boat’s owner Gunther Rodatz has died since the dramatic day Be Good Too was abandoned to the waves, and Mr Doane has yet to speak to Mr Rodatz’s widow and fellow crew member Doris to tell her of the amazing discovery.
Mr Doane said: “I couldn’t believe it at first.
“The only similarity I saw was in the reverse destroyer bows. Other than that it was impossible to say if it was the same boat or not.
“We kept slinging e-mails back and forth and eventually he sent me a link to a BBC TV news account, in Gaelic, if you can believe it, that leaves no doubt as to the boat’s identity.”
The photos clearly show the name Be Good Too and the catamaran’s distinctive orange and grey hashmarks.
Mr Doane, the couple and delivery skipper Hank Schmitt abandoned the 42-foot catamaran around 300 miles off Virginia and were rescued by a US coastguard Jayhawk helicopter crew on January 14 2014.
They departed from Liberty Landing Marina, in Jersey City, bound for the US Virgin Islands six days previously, but the catamaran hit heavy weather after entering the gulf stream and the crew found themselves buffeted by 20ft waves and winds of up to 70mph.
When the boat’s power cut out the crew tried sailing with the wind, but they found themselves going round in circles as the pummeling had bent the boat’s rudders.
The crew concluded that the boat was beyond salvage, called the coastguard for assistance and abandoned ship.
Mr Rodatz had told US coastguard: “I can say for certain that was the best helicopter ride of my life.”
Mr Doane added: “The keels are gone. Those bothersome rudders that gave us so much trouble are gone. One saildrive leg is gone.
“And it appears the cabinhouse, not to mention the rig, is gone too.
“It looks like she’s probably been upside down for a long time.
He said that the couple used insurance money to buy a replacement.
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