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American Promise poised for new chapter

By Dodge Morgan

The sloop American Promise has been retired after 25 years of service as the flagship of the United States Naval Academy sail training fleet. She is the vessel I sailed around the world solo and nonstop in 1985-86.

The purpose of the academy sailing program is to engage midshipmen in an intimate and individually challenging relationship with the sea. There is no more effective teaching tool for these lessons than a sailboat, and Promise filled the role admirably. An estimated 300 midshipmen served extended tours aboard her. The boat competed in a dozen ocean races, made four Atlantic crossings, and showed the flag in dozens of foreign ports. She carried a crew of 10 to 12 middies and a sailing master.

On my watch, Promise completed the singlehanded, nonstop circumnavigation in 150 days, one hour and seven minutes, setting 13 solo-sailing records, including the fastest singlehanded circumnavigation under sail, nine days faster than Phillippe Jeantot’s 1983 record in Credit Agricole and 142 days faster than Chay Blyth’s nonstop record in British Steel. All of Promise’s records have now been obliterated, but she will always be the first American sailed vessel to round the world solo and non-stop.

Promise was designed by the inimitable Ted Hood, and built in 11 months in Marblehead, Mass. She is 60 feet overall, 56 feet on the waterline, and 17 feet on the beam. Her hull is glass and Kevlar over a core, and with eight inches of solid glass on the bow, as I specified, she should survive a collision with a container while sailing at eight knots.

Three men have been her major champions during her naval academy career. First was Commander John Bonds, who headed up the academy sailing program when she arrived and defined her eventual role. Next was Jack Reynolds, head of the academy small-boat service yard who refitted her after she was sunk in a collision with a loaded coal barge on Chesapeake Bay in August 1991. She was not holed in the collision, but was driven under the barge and hung up by her rig, then sinking in 45 feet of water 10 minutes later.

Reynolds, who surveyed the boat for the donation, has fallen in love with her almost incomparable strength. Her refit was a two-year project with bureaucratic delays adding another three years. The refit changes amounted to rig and interior layout. She was recommissioned in 1995, and took her shakedown to Bermuda in 1996.

At this time, she entered her most enduring and perhaps her second most intimate relationship (I must claim first there). Dan Rugg became her Sailing Master and served aboard as coach, disciplinarian, cheerleader, teacher to the teams of midshipmen assigned to her, and became her keeper and alter ego. I believe Dan and I are the two men who have found frustration by not figuring out how to consummate our relationship with her.

American Promise’s retirement from the United States Naval Academy closes her second life, a long and celebrated one, certainly. Her first life was with me, a short, intense, highly noted one for sure (she provided my “15 minutes of fame”). She has one more life coming to her I know. And I wonder who and where that will be?

After a two-issue hiatus, Dodge is back in action for Points East. Katy, bar the door.

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American Promise

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Specifications

Homeport of american promise.

• Rig: Cutter
• LOA: 60′
• LWL: 60′
• Draft: 10′
• Rig Height: 89′
• Freeboard: 6′
• Hull: Airex foam core and fiberglass

American Promise was designed by Ted Hood, made famous by Dodge Morgan’s solo round the world voyage, and then used as an offshore sail training vessel for the United States Naval Academy. American Promise acts as the Rozalia Project’s mothership during our work addressing issues that affect ocean health in New England’s coastal waters and beyond.

• USCG Certification: Oceanographic Research Vessel (Subchapter U)
• Who Sails: Adults
• Program Type: Marine Science
• Normal Cruising Waters – Winter: Gulf of Maine
• Sailing Season: May-October
• Year Launched: 1985
• Number of Crew: 3
• Name of Contact: Ashley Sullivan, Executive Director
• Phone: 7862131685
• Website: http://www.rozaliaproject.org

Marblehead Ocean Week features American Promise, the world-sailing boat turned to research

In the 1960s, Dodge Morgan, a sailor and businessman from Malden, made a promise: He would one day sail around the world.

About two decades later, in 1985, he finally embarked, venturing from Bermuda on a 60-foot sailing vessel built in Marblehead aptly named American Promise. As promised, Morgan successfully sailed around the globe — a record-breaking, non-stop trip completed in 150 days, one hour, six minutes.

On June 4, the intrepid American Promise -- touted as the world's "greenest" sailing vessel -- is returning from her base of operations in the Gulf of Maine to her home port for Marblehead Ocean Week. She is a fitting highlight for the event, having spent the last 12 years in pursuit of a new promise: To clean and protect the oceans.

Marblehead Ocean Week, co-sponsored by Sustainable Marblehead and the Rozalia Project , is inspired by the internationally celebrated World Oceans Day, observed June 8. 

The Rozalia Project, said Rozalia's Visual Arts and Media Director Gigi Veve, is "a non-profit that tackles marine debris in our lakes, rivers, streams, ocean, and overall waterways," working to clean and protect the ocean through scientific research, outreach, education, and cleanups.

The Vermont-based organization uses Morgan's tried and true sailboat, turned oceanographic research vessel, to pursue its mission.

On Saturday, American Promise sails into Marblehead Harbor ahead of several Ocean Week programs sponsored by the Rozalia Project and Sustainable Marblehead, a community organization that, according to its website, is "working to reduce waste and pollution and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040."

Marblehead Ocean Week programs "will highlight issues affecting the waters and offer solutions and activities that raise awareness and inspire action."

It is not yet determined what time American Promise will arrive, but when she does she'll moor at Tucker's Wharf for most of her stay, apart from shifting over to the Pleon Yacht Club dock, 42 Foster St., for an open boat event later in the week.

Marblehead Ocean Week promotes ocean conservation and appreciation

Ocean Week in Marblehead kicked off on June 2 with a presentation by Rich Wilson, Vendee Globe Around the World Sailor, at the Old Town House.

After American Promise's arrival Saturday, Ocean Week activities will continue, first with an outdoor screening of "Around Alone." The film, which follows Morgan on his storied sail around the world, will be shown on the lawn at Lee Mansion/Marblehead Museum , 161 Washington St., starting at 8 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and snacks.

Schedule for Ocean Week in Marblehead

Other programs and events planned for Ocean Week include the following:

SUNDAY, JUNE 5: Community beach clean up at Devereux , Riverhead and other beaches, followed by trash sorting at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School , 17 Lime St., from 9-12 a.m.

Also on Sunday, visitors can check out American Promise up close at Tucker's Wharf during public tours being held 2-5 p.m. A harbor fair is planned as well.

TUESDAY, JUNE 7: American Promise open boat, 4:30-6 p.m. at Pleon Dock, then a cocktail reception, 5:30-7 p.m., at the Eastern Yacht Club Sailing Center , 47 Foster St., followed by a presentation by the crew of the American Promise at 7.

Registration is required; call EYC at 781-631-1400.

American Promise will be part of Boston's World Ocean Weekend, too

Those who are unable to check out American Promise, or to participate in Marblehead Ocean Week events, will still have a chance to tour the sailing vessel out and participate in cleanup activities during Boston's World Ocean Weekend.

Plans in Boston include the following:

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

9 a.m. – Cleanup along the Charles River at Community Boating Inc., 21 David G. Mugar Way, Boston. Got to www.rozaliaproject.org/events and scan the QR code to register for Ocean Day Cleanup along the Charles River.

11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Public trash sort at Patagonia Boston, 346 Newbury St., Boston.

6 p.m. – An evening with Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean and local community partners at Patagonia Cambridge, 39 Brattle St., Cambridge.

SUNDAY, JUNE 12

10 a.m.-12 p.m. American Promise open boat at Courageous sailing, Charlestown Navy Yard near Pier 3.

More about the Rozalia Project's work

Founded by National Geographic Explorer and Explorers' Club Fellow Rachael Miller, the Rozalia Project is described as being "at the leading edge of marine debris and microplastic research, solution development, and solution implementation using a combination of expedition science and innovation to make an impact."

According to post on the Rozalia Project's Facebook page , each year "an estimated 11 million tons of plastic waste enters the ocean, equivalent to a cargo ship’s worth every day."

"The silver lining is each of us can do our part. When you hear the quote, 'it’s only one straw, said 8 billion people,' it's hard not to acknowledge the power we have as individual consumers," the organization says. "We are lucky to have a variety of alternatives to avoidable plastics, but we as individuals need to adapt our habits to take into account the health of our planet."

Miller and the rest of the Rozalia Project team lead summer expeditions aiming to remove debris from the waters and educating to prevent further pollution.

"We offer opportunities for volunteers, interns, and scientific researchers to come aboard American Promise and help conduct studies with us," the organization says.

All information about getting involved can be found at the project's website: www.rozaliaproject.org

New England Aquarium plans World Ocean Day activities on June 8

World Oceans Day will also be observed at the New England Aquarium , 1 Central Wharf, Boston, with free activities planned on June 8 that focus on the importance of protecting the oceans for future generations.

Highlights outside on the wharf include:

• “Ask a Scientist” booth – Scientists from the aquarium’s research institute, the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, will be on hand to answer questions about their work protecting the ocean and the whales, sharks, and turtles that live in it.
• Interactive ocean banner – Put your thumbprint on an ocean banner, acting as a pledge of support for protecting special places in the ocean.

Inside the aquarium:

• Presentations at the top of the giant ocean tank about 30×30, the global initiative to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.
• Interactive activity on Marine Protected Areas – Educators in the second floor temperate gallery will lead an activity focused on migratory species, tracking where they are in the ocean and the importance of protecting key areas to ensure these animals can thrive.
• Educational signage – Signs throughout the main aquarium building will draw attention to places in the ocean and what makes each special from the viewpoint of various animals.

The aquarium’s summer hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be reserved in advance at neaq.org

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AMERICAN PROMISE: In-Mast Furling Pioneer

Here’s a piece of trivia from the Where Are They Now Department: American Promise , the Ted Hood-designed 60-footer that Dodge Morgan sailed around the world non-stop back in 1985-86, is spending the winter at Kittery Point Yacht Yard, just across the river from where I live. I cycled over during the weekend to pay her a visit and found her nicely buttoned up for the season.

I’ve been thinking a bit about Promise and Morgan ever since he died in September 2010, and the one thing that struck me most when I reviewed the boat’s design and original sail plan is that she had an in-mast mainsail furling system.

These days this wouldn’t be remarkable, even on a long-distance bluewater voyager like American Promise , but back then, over a quarter of a century ago, the technology was still more or less in utero. It surprises me that Morgan, a very cautious mariner who installed multiple back-up systems (e.g., two generators, two watermakers, multiple autopilots, etc.) all over his boat, was willing to take a chance on it.

Certainly he was aware of its potential for failure. In his original design brief for Promise , he mentioned the possibility of using such a system and was characteristically skeptical:

I have summarily looked at a stowaway main and was impressed by how simple to handle it all looked, how difficult it appeared to replace a blown sail, and how hopeless it seemed to consider my making a serious mechanical repair at sea. The only way I would sail with one is if there were tracks on both sides of the slot so that sails could be set the “old way” when the system fails.

Morgan in fact did have a Hood Stoway mast and main fitted on the boat and during trials the system failed spectacularly, with the sail jamming and the furling rod pulling partway out of the mast. In his book about the voyage ( The Voyage of American Promise , Houghton Mifflin, 1989), Morgan makes it clear that resolving the problem was a high priority prior to his departure, but he doesn’t describe exactly how it was resolved. Nor does he mention whether auxiliary sail tracks were in fact installed on the exterior of his Stoway mast, but near as I can tell from inspecting photographs of the boat and its rig they were not.

Having recently reread the book, I find no mention of the Stoway mainsail furler causing any problems during Morgan’s record-breaking 150-day circumnavigation, though it seems he did have persistent problems with his headsail furler.

We have certainly come a long ways since then. Indeed, in the past decade the concept of the in-mast furling mainsail has passed a tipping point of sorts. Where once it was decried as an unreliable abomination and an insult to the art of sailing, it is now becoming the dominant system on mass-production cruising boats. Some builders now even put them on their boats as standard equipment and charge extra to install conventional hoisting mains.

In-mast furlers have certainly been refined over the past several years and are now reasonably reliable. One unresolved problem, however, is that they can only be used with a fundamentally inferior sort of mainsail. Unlike headsail furlers, which demand no changes in the basic architecture of a headsail, in-mast furlers require that the entire concept of the Marconi mainsail be reinvented. Vertical battens, of course, help restore some of the lost area in the roach of a furling mainsail, but in fact I’ve never met a vertical-batten sail that was as efficient as a proper sail with horizontal battens. And most furling mains, of course, still have no battens at all and carry hollow leeches that make them simply atrocious air-foils.

Unfortunately, the nature of the technology involves a fundamental contradiction. The entire purpose of a modern Marconi rig–the reason we put up with all the highly tensioned rigging and extraneous hardware in the first place–is so we can fly very aerodynamic sails that improve performance, most particularly to windward. To take this already complicated performance-oriented rig and further complicate it by installing furling gear with many moving parts inside a mast, just so we can fly a sail that degrades its performance, is only self-defeating.

Leaving aside the question of performance, there are still other issues with in-mast mainsails. For one thing, because the sail track on the furling rod is located inside the mast, it can be difficult to bend on and hoist the sail. Some riggers I know estimate that about half those who own boats with in-mast mains feel compelled to hire a professional just to perform this simple job. This obviously is good news for riggers, but can be a real pain in the butt for owners.

Also, because the sail must feed through a relatively narrow slot in the back of the mast to reach the furling rod, some care is always needed when furling or reefing it. To prevent the sail from jamming in the slot as it rolls up, it is best that it be unloaded with little or no pressure or tension on the leech or clew. This ensures the neatest furl and makes for a flatter, better-shaped sail as it is reefed down, but it means the sail must be feathered into the wind as much as possible before turns are taken on the furler. To do this the boat may need to be turned to windward, at least to some extent, as the sail may otherwise get pressed hard against the edge of the slot as it enters the mast, increasing friction and hampering the furl.

Note too that this will be more of a problem on one tack than the other, as the sail will be folded hard against the leeward edge of the slot whenever it is being rolled on to the leeward side of the furling rod. Unfortunately, it is also most likely to be an issue when sailing off the wind in strong conditions, which is precisely when one would most like to be able to shorten sail without having to round up.

On the other hand, as Dodge Morgan found, there’s no denying these systems can be incredibly convenient and easy to use. Personally, I’d say that for larger boats, starting at about 45 feet, they do make sense. And the larger the boat, the more sense they make. A large boat like American Promise with a long waterline and more inherent speed potential to begin with can better suffer some degradation in performance than a small one. On a large boat with a proportionately larger rig the ability to handle sail more easily is also proportionately more valuable. Finally, being forced to round to weather sometimes to reef or furl a sail is both safer and less intimidating on a large boat than it is on a smaller one.

On smaller boats–certainly on any boat where a conventional mainsail can otherwise be hoisted, handed, and reefed by a single person–I feel strongly it is best to stay away from in-mast mainsails. Here the increase in convenience is relatively slight compared to the loss of performance.

Getting back to the WATN Department: I see from googling around a bit that American Promise is now being used as an environmental tool. As of last year she was the mothership of the Rozalia Project , which is dedicated to finding and removing trash from the marine environment. According to the project’s website, the boat is now “packed full of underwater garbage hunting technology, she has 2 VideoRay ROV’s (remotely operated vehicles) capable of diving down to 1000ft, equipped with a Blueview imaging sonar, manipulator arm, Tritech’s Starfish sidescan sonar for imaging the ocean floor and a Lynn box for making fuzzy images sharp.”

I note, too, however, that she no longer carries an in-mast mainsail.

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Many fond memories of working on and sailing AP. I was the 1st person to disassemble AP’s mast after Dodge sailed around the world. That was about a year after USNA got the boat. Also sailed AP to Bermuda, Newport and trans-Atlantic from Annapolis to Brest France over the Flemmish Cap. Great times.

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The 'American Promise'

Rachael Miller's life changed forever when she took a vacation to Matinicus Island.  A nor’easter had washed piles of trash up along shoreline. Repulsed, Miller said she couldn't take it anymore, so her husband suggested she do something about it.

A million pieces of trash later, Miller and her team of scientists and interns scour the coastlines and waterways for marine debris.

In three years, the Rozalia Project has become a nationwide organization dedicated to protecting the environment through action, technology, outreach and research.

The Rozalia Project recently visited Ocean Point Marina in Boothbay to welcome the public aboard the American Promise , a rugged 60-foot sailboat armed with a remote operated vehicle, (ROV), surfboards and two furry Newfoundlands.  

In four days, curious onlookers were treated to a formal presentation, trash hunting demonstrations and even a sea chantey entitled “We're Sick of Seeing Garbage in the Ocean,” sung by the lively crew.

Miller said she acquired the American Promise from the United States Naval Academy, but it was no ordinary sailboat.

The American Promise had belonged to Dodge Morgan. In 1986, Morgan became the first American to sail solo around the world in 150 days without stopping. He broke the previous world record by 142 days.

Miller reconfigured the interior and had the vessel outfitted with an Austrian diesel engine, a clean, energy-efficient system capable of pushing the 75,000-pound vessel at 9 knots through the water with just a gentle purr, said Mark Naud, the project coordinator and a friend of Miller.

“It's just a great platform to do the work they're doing, and it supports the staff and the floating laboratory that (Miller) wants,” Naud said.

On the water the Rozalia Project crew uses nets and hooks to pick up trash on the ocean surface, while relying on sonar imaging, and their underwater robot named “Hector the Collector” to roam the sea floor, send images back to the crew, and collect garbage with its mechanical claw.

Miller said the most common trash collected includes plastic bottles and containers; however, other bizarre items hauled over the railing have included an old ship’s bell, an antique bottle of moonshine, a witch hat, fake buttocks and traffic cones.

Every single piece of trash collected is documented and entered into the Rozalia Project’s databank.  

According to her research, Miller said 80 percent of marine debris comes off the land; and since land people tend to congregate in cities, the Rozalia Project operates mostly in urban and coastal waterways up to 100 miles offshore.

“When we’re near shore we tend to get items that are more intact,” Miller said. “It’s a lot easier to pick up a bucket, while it’s still a bucket.”

Miller said she calculated a five-gallon plastic bucket turns into 10,000 pieces of plastic smaller than 5 mm in diameter, called microplastics that flow into slowly churning garbage patches called ocean gyres.

Rozalia Project’s first mate and scientist Marina Garland said there are five major gyres spread throughout world’s oceans. Garland said last year she visited the North Pacific Gyre, a patch of marine debris which people falsely claim to be a floating island of trash, twice the size of Texas.

“It’s not a floating island, it's actually a lot harder to research, and hopefully not impossible, but at present, it’s impossible to clean up because it’s really spread out,” Garland said. “You can’t take a picture, and you can’t fly over it and see it. It’s more like plastic chowder with lots of chunks and really teeny bits.”

Another gyre exists in the North Atlantic ocean, prompting the Rozalia Project to collect data to better understand how and where trash accumulates off the coastline.  

Miller said her hypothesis for “Mission Atlantic” is pinpointing high concentration areas off the Gulf of Maine where cooler and warmer waters converge with faster and slower moving currents. “That’s where trash accumulates,” Miller said, as she displayed a chart modeling their initial findings.

The Boothbay Sea & Science Center invited the Rozalia Project to the region as part of the center's inaugural program.

Center Director Pauline Dion said Miller and crew plan to return in the fall to work with local teachers to raise environmental awareness and further education in the ocean sciences.

For more information on the Rozalia Project, visit www.rozaliaproject.org .

For Boothbay Sea & Science Center schedules and course registration, visit www.boothbayseaandsciencecenter.org .

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Engineering:American Promise (yacht)

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American Promise is a yacht used by Dodge Morgan in 1985–1986 for a record-breaking 150-day, 27,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the planet.

American Promise is a 60-foot (18.3 m) Bermuda rigged sloop , boat that was designed by 1974 America's Cup winner Ted Hood for Dodge Morgan's solo round-the-world record attempt. The boat was the last to be built by CW Hood Yachts in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The company relocated to Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1986. Hood recalled it was designed for sturdiness rather than speed: "Everyone said there's no way that boat is going to get around the world in record speed, but it did." [1] It was completed at a cost of $1.5 million.

American Promise departed from Ordnance Island, in St. George's, Bermuda, on November 12, 1985, and returned there on April 11, 1986, completing the journey in 150 days, 1 hour, and 6 minutes. [2] As American Promise sailed into St. George's Harbor, Morgan's project manager, Grant Robinson, noted that the boat looked spit-and-polished. He radioed, "She doesn't look any the worse for wear at all. We see you've still got some paint on her." Morgan replied, "What do you mean 'some paint on her'? She's only been used once."

As Morgan disembarked, his wife, Manny, and his two children handed him a cheeseburger and a bag of popcorn. [3] He told the crowd that had gathered to greet him: "It takes three things to sail around the world alone. A good boat, an iron will and luck. To do so in record time takes a great boat, an iron will and extraordinary luck. And, my friends, here is a great boat." [2]

Morgan was the fourth person and the first American to sail solo around the globe with no stops. [2] [4]

Morgan wrote about his voyage in a book titled The Voyage of American Promise , published by Houghton Mifflin in 1989. [5]

Morgan commissioned The New Film Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts, to produce a film about his journey. Producer Christopher G. Knight placed six film cameras on American Promise , three above deck and three below. One in each set was programmed to come on twice a day during daylight hours and run for 30 seconds, thus enabling Morgan to film himself. He used the cameras as a film log and shot over nine hours of film that was ultimately edited into the 57-minute film, Around Alone . This became the first featured film in the PBS series, Adventure . [3] It first aired in March 1987.

Morgan's voyage was also the focus of a series of psychological papers, including an entire issue of the Journal of Personality devoted to analyzing Morgan's life, his experience of the voyage, and the ways in which it may have affected his personality development. [6]

• ↑ "Dodge Morgan dies at 78; first American to sail solo around the globe with no stops" . Los Angeles Times . September 18, 2010 . http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-dodge-morgan-20100918,0,7143517.story .  
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Swift, E. M. (April 21, 1986). "Feat Of Global Dimensions: Dodge Morgan sailed his 60-foot cutter, American Promise , around the world nonstop in a record-shattering 150 days" . Sports Illustrated . http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064751/index.htm .  
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hevesi, Dennis (September 17, 2010). "Dodge Morgan, Who Sailed Around World, Dies at 78" . The New York Times . https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/18/sports/18morgan.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1284956092-/rejiK6WhLdHemdL5FyQHg .  
• ↑ Fleming, Deirdre. "Salt of the Earth: In 1986, Dodge Morgan became the first American to sail solo, nonstop around the world.".  
• ↑ Beem, Edgar Allen (April 8, 2001). "Sweet Seclusion" . The Boston Globe . http://cache.boston.com/globe/magazine/4-8/featurestory4.shtml .  
• ↑ Nasby, Wm.; Read, Nancy W. (1997). "The life voyage of a solo circumnavigator: Integrating theoretical and methodological perspectives.". Journal of Personality 65 : 785–1068. doi : 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00534.x .  
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Solo Sailor Is Presumed To Be Dead

By Barbara Lloyd

• Nov. 26, 1992

Mike Plant, the 42-year-old solo ocean sailor whose disappearance at sea while en route from New York to France produced an extensive two-week search in the Atlantic Ocean, was declared missing and presumed dead yesterday.

The United States Coast Guard called off its search for Plant after divers from a French vessel examined the capsized hull of the sailor's racing yacht, the 60-foot Coyote. There was no sign of Plant in the overturned hull. His life raft, which was partly inflated, was attached to the cockpit.

"We search until there is no longer a reasonable possibility that someone is alive," Coast Guard Petty Officer David Silva said yesterday.

Coyote was discovered adrift by a passing tanker last Sunday in an area about 700 miles southwest of Ireland. Airplanes and ships from four nations were involved in a search that began Nov. 13. A 'Special' Person

Tom Plant, a brother of Mike Plant, said there was great sadness in the family after it was told of the results of the search, and he remembered his brother in the present tense.

"He's on another level," said Tom, of Gaithersburg, Md. "That's what makes him special."

Plant, a highly experienced professional yachtsman, left New York Oct. 16 on his way to Les Sables d'Olonne, France. He had been expected to arrive on Oct. 31 and prepare to take part in the Vendee Globe Challenge, a nonstop round-the-world race that began off the coast of France last Sunday.

When the search began, Plant was nearly two weeks overdue in his 3,200-mile voyage. He sent a message to shore on Oct. 21, saying that his boat's electronics systems had failed and that he was trying to repair it. He was not heard from again, and the search was undertaken only after a weak signal sent from an emergency radio beacon on Oct. 27 was traced to Plant's boat. First Search Found Nothing

The delay in identifying the signal was caused by Plant's apparently inadvertent failure to register the beacon before he left New York. An initial search by airplanes that covered an area of more than 200,000 square miles was suspended last Wednesday without a sighting. After prodding from the family, which was still convinced that Plant was alive, the Coast Guard agreed to resume the search on Saturday in an area of the ocean closer to Europe.

The planes still could find no trace of Plant's boat, but it was encountered on Sunday by a passing tanker. Rough seas prevented divers from examining the hull of the overturned craft until yesterday.

When the drifting boat was first sighted, the Coast Guard reported that the 8,400-pound bulb was missing from the boat's 14-foot keel. The loss of the bulb, a ballast fixture that keeps the boat upright, would have turned the hull over immediately, most likely with a massive jolt. It is possible that Plant could have been thrown from the boat or hit by gear as it crashed on top of him.

Reports from the site yesterday indicated that Coyote's mast showed a crack near the deck level. It remains a mystery as to what might have caused the boat to lose the bulb.

Coyote could have hit a submerged object, such as a sunken container or a whale, or the six stainless steel bolts that fastened the bulb to the keel could have somehow broken loose. A Sailor Since Age 9

Plant lived in Jamestown, R.I., but grew up along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Deephaven, Minn. He began sailing at age 9. By the time he was 12 years old, he was winning races.

A spirit of adventure permeated his life. After high school, Plant attended the Alpine school of Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and later was an instructor at an Outward Bound school in Ely, Minn.

In 1969, he hiked alone for 12,000 miles through South America, a trip that took eight months. He then became a building contractor, but his streak of wanderlust ran unabated. During the late 1970's, Plant bought a cruising yacht of his own and delivered other sailboats in the United States and the Caribbean.

His interest in sailing drew him in 1983 to Newport, R.I., where he saw a film about the 1982-83 BOC Challenge, a yacht race around the world for solo sailors. He was taken in by the allure of long-distance racing. Seeking Greater Challenges

In 1986, Plant was at the starting line of the next BOC race. During his 27,000-mile solo voyage on Airco, a 50-foot sailboat, he won his class, a feat that only pushed him to greater aspirations -- wanting to win a global race in the big-boat class.

Plant competed in two other round-the-world voyages, the nonstop Globe Challenge in 1989-90 and the BOC Challenge of 1990-91, a race that included stops along the way. He survived episodes at sea that would have overcome a lesser man: illness, a collision with another boat in the race and major gear failures.

For the Vendee Globe Challenge, Plant commissioned the $650,000 Coyote. Dodge Morgan of Portland, Me., who in 1986 became the first American to sail alone and nonstop around the world, was critical yesterday of the Coyote project after he was told of the result of the search.

"Mike had a boat designed close to the edge, and built perhaps a little closer," said Morgan, alluding to the integrity of the boat.

Morgan's round-the-world sailboat, the 60-foot American Promise, encountered no major mishaps during Morgan's voyage. But two years ago, under new ownership, American Promise was hit by a 380-foot coal barge and sank. The boat weighed about 10 times that of Coyote, a 21,000-pound fiberglass yacht.

"I don't think there is anybody to blame," said Morgan about Coyote's demise. "Mike knew what he was doing, and so did the people who worked with him. They wanted to win a race." Designer Cites Strength

Stephen Baker, one of the designers of Coyote, said yesterday that the sailboat was built to be lightweight but strong.

"I don't see how it could have been made stronger," Baker said. "The lightness of the boat has little to do with structure. We went lower tech than we could have to make it more durable. Impact was a big concern."

He said that the interior of the boat was at a bare minimum -- one counter with a sink, a stove burner, shelves and a chart table -- all of which kept the weight down.

"We kept uppermost in our minds that you have to finish to win," Baker said. "Mike's a good friend, and we were not going to see him in a boat he wasn't happy with."

In 1990, Plant spoke of his philosophy regarding the challenge of man against the sea.

"You'd be foolish not to accept many of the risks involved," he said. "But I don't dwell on those. The worst thing that could happen is hitting something. But I really don't think about the boat ever sinking."

Besides his brother Tom, Plant is survived by his fiancee, Helen Davis of Jamestown, R.I.; his father, Frank, and his mother, Mary, of Plymouth, Minn.; another brother, Hugh, of Vail, Colo.; and two sisters, Linda Simmons of Wayzata, Minn., and Julia Plant-Thomas of San Diego.

NAVY SAILBOAT HITS A BARGE AND SINKS; 12 ABOARD…

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NAVY SAILBOAT HITS A BARGE AND SINKS; 12 ABOARD SAFE

A famous Naval Academy sailboat collided with a barge in the Chesapeake Bay early yesterday and sank four hours later.

Officials from the Navy and Coast Guard are investigating the 2 a.m. crash, which occurred about three miles southeast of Cove Point near the mouth of the Patuxent River, said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike John. No one was seriouslyinjured.

Three officers and nine midshipmen were sailing the American Promise during a routine overnight exercise when they collided with a barge en route to the Brandon Shores Power Plant in Baltimore, John said.

Those aboard the American Promise were taken from the water by rescue workers from the Coast Guard, Navy and state Department of Natural Resources police.

They were treated at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station for shock and minor injuries and released.

The Sun Coast barge, about 75 feet long, was hauling coal north on its regularrun from Norfolk to Baltimore. It arrived in Baltimore about 12 hours after the accident.

“The boat was stuck to the barge, and the mast was tangled up on the barge, and when the mast ripped off, the rest of the boat sank right away,” said the Coast Guard duty officer, Petty Officer Kehler, at Group Baltimore Search and Rescue.

The 60-foot American Promise, specially designed by Ted Hood for Dodge Morgan’s record-setting non-stop solo circumnavigation, was donated to the Naval Academy by Morgan in late 1986, after he had halved the previous record by completing his 25,670-mile circumnavigation in 150 days.

Morgan’s experiences aboard American Promise are chronicled in hispopular book “Around Alone.” A video of his sailing adventures has been widely aired on television.

After the Naval Academy received the boat, it was converted for use in the Command and Seamanship Training Squadron (CSTS), training midshipmen on long-distance cruises.

As Hood designed the boat, and Morgan commissioned it, the rig was intended to withstand a 360-degree roll, and the high, flared bow, of five-inch-thick fiberglass, was meant to survive an eight-knot collision.

Winds were northwest at 20 knots and seas were running to four feet at the time of yesterday’s accident, Kehler said.

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