LAST WORDS: “This Is Getting Worse…” | The Cheeki Rafiki Disaster

In May 2014, four British sailors were bringing the Beneteau First 40.7 Cheeky Rafiki home from Antigua Sailing Week. Halfway across the North Atlantic, she started taking on water. Then her keel came off, she rolled over, and all four men were gone. The search was called off within days. Their families fought to get it started again, and when a US Navy ship finally found her floating upside down, the life raft was still on board.

The investigation traced the failure back years before that crossing: groundings, repairs, and a keel bolt that wasn't there. I delivered her bigger sister, a Beneteau 47.7, from the Exumas to Cartagena, and on that trip I found out what that kind of hidden damage looks like. This is the full story, from the first leak to the trial.

In memory of Andrew Bridge, James Male, Steve Warren and Paul Goslin.

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⏱ CHAPTERS
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0:00 — Cheeki Rafiki: The Last Phone Call
1:36 — Antigua to Southampton: The Route Home
2:20 — Beneteau First 40.7 vs 47.7: Sister Ships
2:34 — How the Keel Is Attached: The Glued-In Grid
3:48 — The Crew of Cheeki Rafiki
5:25 — Crossing the North Atlantic: Azores High and the Westerlies
6:53 — Water in the Bilge: The First Red Flag
7:51 — Keel Grounding Damage and Grid Repairs (2007–2014)
12:56 — The Safety Inspection That Never Happened
13:59 — Beneteau 40.7 Keel Failures: Barracuda and Five More Boats
15:39 — May 15: Taking On Water Offshore
16:42 — Leak or Water Tank? How to Find the Source
17:55 — The Emails and Calls to Stormforce
19:25 — My Own Keel Leak on the 47.7
20:47 — When Should You Call a Mayday?
22:52 — The Last Call: "This Is Getting Worse"
23:11 — What the PLB and EPIRB Signals Tell Us
24:07 — The Search and the Families' Petition
26:25 — The US Navy Finds the Hull: Liferaft Still On Board
28:04 — The MAIB Investigation
28:29 — How Production Sailboats Are Built
30:09 — Grid Separation and Keel Bolt Leaks on the 47.7
31:30 — How a Grid Repair Should Be Done
33:02 — The Missing Keel Bolt
34:27 — Is Beneteau Responsible?
35:48 — The Stormforce Trial and Verdict
36:45 — What a Marine Survey Won't Find
37:48 — How to Check Your Keel and Grid
38:26 — EPIRB With a Hydrostatic Release
39:07 — Remembering the Crew

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📖 THE TRUE STORY — FURTHER READING
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MAIB Report 8/2015: Loss of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki (Marine Accident Investigation Branch)

Be The Captain by James Allan Evenson — Winner of the 2026 Eric Hoffer Award. A definitive field manual on offshore seamanship, survival, and command.

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📷 Archival photographs courtesy of the US Navy, press and public archives. If you hold the rights to any image used here and would like credit or removal, please contact [email protected]

✂️ Edited by Alex Sennett

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#CheekiRafiki #KeelFailure #Beneteau #SailingDisaster #MAIB #OffshoreSailing #LifeRaft #EPIRB #Shipwreck #TrueStory #MaritimeHistory #BeTheCaptain