Hopeful news about sailor

As Newport Beach resident Ken Barnes struggled late Wednesday to keep his crippled sailboat, the Privateer, afloat off the coast of Chile, word came in that help may have reached him.

Barnes’ girlfriend, Cathy Chambers, said she had received word from Chilean authorities that a plane sent to drop supplies for Barnes spotted him on his boat. She said Barnes waved back, but as of 5 p.m. he had not called her to confirm receipt of the supplies.

“We don’t know if his satellite phone’s batteries have recharged yet or not,” Chambers said by phone. Their last conversation was a minute-long call at 12:36 p.m. Wednesday; they had spoken a few times since Tuesday afternoon, when he first reported trouble. Chambers kept a vigil in their Newport home along with Barnes’ family, as the Chilean navy’s rescue efforts were underway.

Chambers said that first plane had to turn back, but another was expected to reach him later Wednesday evening.

Barnes, 47, ran into rough weather west of Chile during his attempt to sail around the world. He began his trip from Long Beach on Oct. 28, sailing south down the Pacific. According to his Website, he intended to continue around Cape Horn at the tip of South America, sail north and east past Africa, round New Zealand then sail north to the Hawaiian Islands, finally going east and back to Long Beach.

Chambers said Barnes had told her on a satellite telephone call Tuesday that he lost both masts, had no steering, and that a broken hatch was allowing the boat to take on water.

“He’s upset, he’s panicked, but he’s warm and he’s wearing his life [protective] suit,” she said.

Barnes is 500 miles off the Chilean coast, said Petty Officer Jonathan Cilley, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard 11th District in Alameda. Cilley said the Coast Guard has been a liaison among Barnes, his loved ones in the United States and the Chilean navy.

Cilley said that a Chilean naval ship was on the way. It is expected to reach Barnes’ coordinates at about 4 p.m. today.

Help may also come from another solo sailor, Donna Lange, who is about 150 nautical miles away — a day’s sail — from Barnes’ position, Chambers said.

Lange wrote on her website that she was in the same storm that capsized Barnes’ vessel, though she rode it out without damage. She said Barnes had sufficient life gear and was not sinking. Lange may have her own problems, however. A hastily-written dispatch on her Website reads, “I am available to help, but [have] the slowest and least-efficient boat, and there is a large storm approaching that I need to get off the sea for myself.”

Barnes contacted Chambers on his satellite phone when his boat first had problems Tuesday, Cilley said. Chambers then called the Coast Guard. Barnes had also put out an emergency radio beacon indicating his position, which was picked up by the Chilean navy, Cilley said.

The region of the Pacific that Barnes was navigating is extremely treacherous, said Newport sailing enthusiast Tom Billings.

“South of about 30 or 35 [degrees] latitude, you get into the westerlies [winds],” Billings said. “They call them the roaring 40s — it gets nasty because those winds just blow unobstructed around the world. And it’s worse down from there: the roaring 40s, the furious 50s, the screaming 60s.”

According to Barnes’ Website, the damaged ship is at about 54 degrees latitude, 86 degrees longitude.

Billings said the high winds and huge waves common in the region can easily flip a boat over or turn it on its side, then snap off its masts.

On his Website, Barnes wrote about why he wanted to take the trip. He said it was something deeper than “because I want to.”

“When talking to people, I can see in their eyes many of them have dreams and desires that they never attempt because of stuff. Stuff like kids, wife, obligations, debts, responsibilities and career tracks. But mostly fear — not of what they want to do, but of what the consequences in their lives will be if they attempt it. About 12 years ago, I faced the same question and started to direct my life to a point where on October 28, 2006, I would hopefully be ready.”