Montara man's Hawaii voyage ends too early By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review April 13, 2005 When Andrew Urbanczyk sets off on a long journey on the open sea, he isn't inclined to second-guess himself or consider turning back an option. But an ailing crewmember and damaged boat put him in a tight bind last year, he said. A voyage from Half Moon Bay to Hawaii was cut short after one of Urbanczyk's crewmen fell ill and the boat's rudder blade fell into the sea. Urbanczyk and a two-person crew set sail from Half Moon Bay aboard a 30-foot lifeboat on Sept. 10, 2004. Within days, his crew began feeling seasick on the rough, open sea, he said. Things took a turn for the worse when one of the crewmen quickly worsened and began fearing that his life was in danger. Urbanczyk, a 69-year-old Montara resident, said he was hesitant to turn back and wasn't willing to call the U.S. Coast Guard without the crewman's official request on the lifeboat's log book. After the request for a rescue was made official, the Coast Guard was called and help arrived in the night just 10 days after the boat set sail. The crew, which then consisted of Urbanczyk and one other man, was back on track to Hawaii. But not for long. After two days of sailing the open lifeboat, Urbanczyk's last remaining crewman woke him from his sleep to tell him the rudder blade was missing. "It was impossible to see that this happened," Urbanczyk said, adding that the blade was constructed from 2-inch thick laminated plywood. The journey began to look doomed, Urbanczyk said. "It was impossible to steer the boat," he said, adding that two hurricanes were forming off the western shore of Mexico. After a day of debate on the open sea, Urbanczyk made the call he'd always wanted to avoid. "This was my seventh big expedition in my life. I was always successful," he said. A large American cargo ship arrived within 24 hours, pulled him and his crewman aboard and headed back to the mainland. The lifeboat was left behind, as it couldn't be brought on board the container ship, Urbanczyk said. The lifeboat cost him approximately $1,500, so the loss wasn't so much a financial loss as an emotional one. "This is like a sister," he said. "I say we'll do everything to save this boat." Urbanczyk thought that would be the last time he would see the 30-foot Nord VII. But over the next few months the boat continued to bob along in the open Pacific Ocean - sans crew. Urbanczyk began receiving reports from people who said they'd seen the boat and he soon realized it was heading straight for Hawaii. "It was a really big joy to see that the boat was going to Hawaii," he said. "This brave, this amazing little boat, altogether 30-feet long ... the boat still in one piece, still floating, was heading to Hawaii," he said. On Feb. 26, more than five months after first setting sail, Urbanczyk got a call from the Coast Guard informing him that the boat was a couple of miles from Maui. He tried feverishly to get authorities to help salvage the boat. And he hopped on the next flight to Maui. By the time he arrived, the boat was on shore in "perfect condition," Urbanczyk said. "It was not tragic," he said. He cleaned out the boat's remaining contents and offered to pay whatever costs would be required to remove the boat from the shore. Urbanczyk left Maui thinking he would event-ually get the boat back in one piece. That wasn't to be. In fact, he will never see the Nord VII again. He was later told the boat couldn't be saved and he quickly paid the state $3,120 for removing the vessel. Newspaper reports from the islands suggest that was the first check ever from a boat captain whose vessel had run aground there. "It's sad. My heart is crying," But, I always understand that the boat and my adventures is not the first thing in the universe," Urbanczyk said. "My feeling is that this empty boat sailing for five months on the open ocean once again proves the sea worthiness of lifeboats," he said. Urbanczyk made his first long voyage on a lifeboat across the Baltic Sea as a 21-year-old. "I will always return to this boat in my memories," he said. Urbanczyk is planning one final journey across the open sea to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of his maiden voyage. In 2007, he plans to once again cross the Baltic Sea on a lifeboat; this time as a 71-year-old. "This will be my last venture. It will end 50 years of my sailing adventures," he said. "Better it is to end a little too soon than a little too late," he said. Home