FL FL - Isabella Hellmann, 41, catamaran off Cay Sal, SE of the FL Keys, 14 May 2017 #1 *GUILTY*

[JerseyGirl]

Going to Key West from Varadero is NorthWest. If those were the correct take off and landing points then they were way too far east if they ended up near Cay Sal.

I suppose other factors like wind and other things come into play but something seems a little strange to me if they were heading to Key West. I dont think they should have been that far eastward if that was their destination.

I mentioned that way in the beginning but no one seemed bothered by it but me. Their track from Cuba seems very odd. I thought the fact that they seemed way off course from Cuba to Key West and the fact that LB was found pretty close too Cay Sal, I wondered if Cay Sal had any significance.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I also read that, as a night watch person, or any watch person, she should have been tethered to the boat.

Would that be true in this situation and why wasn't she tethered (and wearing THE personal locator beacon).

 

[Jersey*Girl]

I also read that, as a night watch person, or any watch person, she should have been tethered to the boat.

Would that be true in this situation and why wasn't she tethered (and wearing THE personal locator beacon).

I was readinon a sailing forum this morning that there are flashing lights attached to clothing that may be worn for nighttime sailing. Impact with water triggers the lights on. This can be ised with the personal locator beacon. Thought that was a neat idea.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

My typos are off the hook...sorry for infinity.

 

[Hatfield]

Is it possible that if Isabella fell overboard before the collision then the catamaran could've veered off course due to the gulf stream crossing the Florida Straights? Wondring if so bc that could explain why Lewis said to Isabella's sister that he was just trying to stay on course. Maybe he said that bc he'd already veered so far off course. Maybe?

Adding to ask where does the actual Gulf Stream start? Could they have made it close using sails and motor or no?

I suppose that is possible too. I could see something like that happening. It could explain how they ended up where they were and hitting something.

It would be sad to think if that happened that they could have been looking in wrong place. She did have a life jacket on and its a scary thought to think she may have been a long ways away from the searching.

So many possibilities in this case.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I was readinon a sailing forum this morning that there are flashing lights attached to clothing that may be worn for nighttime sailing. Impact with water triggers the lights on. This can be ised with the personal locator beacon. Thought that was a neat idea.

Yup, it's nice. LB had a personal locator beacon, he also had a satellite phone handy and a EPIRB as well as a life raft. he was well-equipped for a guy snoozing on the deck below.

Hellman had nothing on her. Make sense? No.

 

[Satchie]

I don't understand this either. This may be a stupid question, but it doesn't seem like the boat could've ended up there in the 4/5 hours from the call to rescue?

I don't know, but the gulf stream flows east in that area. This link relates to crossing in the opposite direction, Key West to Havana, but the chart is good. http://www.cruisingincuba.com/crossing-the-gulf-stream/

I agree that it seems they doubled back from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands, which may have caused the delay in the trip schedule.

It occurs to me, the ultimate test of a relationship would be sailing/cruising a 37' boat this distance, with just the two of you, in such a relatively short amount of time. I know a couple who bought a boat and moved down there, but found crossing open water from one place to another very stressful, you are indeed risking your boat and life, and are trapped together in your tiny home for the duration, and the captain can get quite bossy and annoyed at an incompetent crew. They just stayed in the British Virgin Islands where it's easy to island hop, and she went to live elsewhere when it got too hot/hurricane season.

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[JerseyGirl]

I know, a relatively small boat in an open ocean is not a good scenario for couples who are bickering/fighting over where to live the rest of your life.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Don't know if this could be relevant but now my interest is peaked as to how the catamaran veered so close to Cay Sal. One can only wonder if the current played a factor if Isabella wasn't in control of the boat.

https://marine.coastal.edu/gulfstream/p2.htm

Under the Trade Winds the broad, slow North Equatorial Current flows to the west. As the current approaches the Caribbean Sea, water is funneled through the many channels of the Antilles and Caribbean Islands, and through the Yucatan Channel - where it narrows and gains strength - and then loops into the Gulf of Mexico. This is where we can first observe an organized flow on satellite images. This flow enters the Gulf of Mexico at the Yucatan Channel and exits the Gulf at the Straits of Florida. The current is commonly referred to as the Loop Current while it's in the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Current when it leaves the Gulf between Florida and Cuba.

 

[Hatfield]

I don't know, but the gulf stream flows east in that area. This link relates to crossing in the opposite direction, Key West to Havana, but the chart is good. http://www.cruisingincuba.com/crossing-the-gulf-stream/

I agree that it seems they doubled back from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands, which may have caused the delay in the trip schedule.

It occurs to me, the ultimate test of a relationship would be sailing/cruising a 37' boat this distance, with just the two of you, in such a relatively short amount of time. I know a couple who bought a boat and moved down there, but found crossing open water from one place to another very stressful, you are indeed risking your boat and life, and are trapped together in your tiny home for the duration, and the captain can get quite bossy and annoyed at an incompetent crew. They just stayed in the British Virgin Islands where it's easy to island hop, and she went to live elsewhere when it got too hot/hurricane season.

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It takes a special type of person to be able to handle the open seas.

The movies make it look glamorous but when bad weather strikes it can be down right terrifying. I have a small boat for inland lake fishing and only went deep sea fishing a couple times on those party head boats where you pay a fee to board.

When I was younger I did not think too much about the dangers of being out in the ocean fishing with others on a party boat. The last time I went I found myself thinking of things that could go wrong and looking to where his life boats and safety gear were being kept. LOL

I still would go again but I am convinced I could never do what some couples do and take long trips at sea.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Yup, it's nice. LB had a personal locator beacon, he also had a satellite phone handy and a EPIRB as well as a life raft. he was well-equipped for a guy snoozing on the deck below.

Hellman had nothing on her. Make sense? No.

Wait, she didn't have an EPIRB? I thought I read somewhere that she did but the signal wasn't found?

 

[Hiandmighty]

Yup, it's nice. LB had a personal locator beacon, he also had a satellite phone handy and a EPIRB as well as a life raft. he was well-equipped for a guy snoozing on the deck below.

Hellman had nothing on her. Make sense? No.

Yes, it makes sense because she seems to have fallen off the boat and he didn't. If she had been down below also they both would have had access to all the things he had access to.

Also, maybe she took the life jacket and a PLB off because she got hot or itchy or it was bulky or she felt it was unnecessary. We just don't know.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Maybe the FBI crime tape is on his door to keep her family out since they already took things (electronics) that maybe could have been evidence?

That very well may be the case.

Or maybe the yellow FBI evidence tape is on the door was to keep everyone out of the condo because the FBI considers it a possible crime scene (whether due to the family possibly taking things or something else):

May 23 - 8:30 p.m. - neighbor said she saw “official-looking” men with latex gloves and Bennett out by his car (BBM)

May 24 - another neighbor was walking his dog and saw Bennett “bringing stuff out. He had someone helping him. They were throwing stuff in the dumpster.”

May 26 or 27 - CBS 12 visited the apartment. No one was home, but two boxes marked evidence were left on the front stoop-- one was open at the top, and they could see inside. The item looked like a piece of inflatable marine equipment, possibly a life-vest. (BBM)

We don't know for sure who the "'official-looking' men with latex gloves" were. Besides, this is third-party information coming from a neighbor.

However, for the sake of this post, let's say they were from the FBI.

The next day, another neighbor observes Bennett and another individual "throwing stuff in the dumpster." Again, a third-party account. Also, Bennett might have decided by then that he would be out of the country for an extended period of time, so perhaps he was simply clearing his refrigerator? I don't know.

The following day, a MSM source observes evidence boxes outside the condo. Maybe the FBI had gotten a warrant to search the residence, or Bennett had agreed to have it searched voluntarily. Either way, it sounds like to me the authorities were gathering evidence as part of their investigation into Isabella's disappearance, and/or the purported break-in and theft on the part of her family.

We do not know the entire scope of the joint investigation by the FBI and the USCG, and that is what makes it difficult for me personally to decide what the tape on the door is for. My best guess, however, is it wasn't just for the alleged break-in and theft by Isabella's family, and that the FBI does not want anybody going inside, whether for the duration of their investigation, or at least for the time-being.

 

[Hiandmighty]

An EPIRB is like a gun-- you only take it out if you are going to push the button. It's not a radio or a communicator. You don't even know if anything happened when you push the button.

You ONLY use it for life and death situation/rescue needed.

It is a third line of defense.

VHF/Marine radio is the first line for help.

You are basically on your own when you are out on a boat. It is up to you to give yourself help to get out of sticky situations.

Sailing and boating ain't for sissies. Boaters (as a group) are not emotional people.

 

[Hiandmighty]

Yes, IMHO, it makes sense FBI wants everyone out of the condo.

FWIW! a neighbor in a FB story (my palm beach?!?) posted that she saw LB moving out with large luggage (suggesting a permanent move? Don't know) and she called police to let them know and they didn't even come out. (Neighbor seemed exasperated).

I assume this means LB is free to go where he wants to with the baby as no one tried to stop him.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Isabella is a Colombian. Did she become a US citizen by marriage or did she take a test? I'm asking bc I wonder if that has something to do with why Lewis could only see her every so often, even though they'd seen each other for 4+ years. She had/has her own business. He had the same business. If you own a profitable business in the US, like 150k or more, it's easier to become a citizen. Plus Isabella was married previously to an American, which made her a citizen. Would any of this have helped Lewis to become a citizen, or no?

 

[ninij9]

I have stayed off here mostly because I know next to a whole lot of nothing about sailing. I know I thought it was romantic and read a bunch of books written by people who gave it all up to sail the Caribbean and it cured me very fast. It is hard.

I can't bring myself to blame the husband just yet. Too many innocent accidents could have happened to her including falling off boat way before they hit an object and he was awakened. Heck, I'm still worried why she would want to spend that much time away from her first baby. I was a wreck spending more than an hour from my daughter when she was nine months. I wonder if there was any post partum depression? Could she have jumped off the boat? I'm not saying this is so, only that I have many, many scenarios in my head. What if it was a drug drop gone wrong? I remember how shocked I was with the missing Arizona couple that was so beloved and squeaky clean and it turned out they liked to do meth and were killed.

And then again, perhaps this man is trying to commit the perfect crime. So I am mostly quiet. Some of you really know your boating stuff and I appreciate that. What a mystery. About the only thing I'm pretty sure of is that Isabella is no longer with us and I feel so badly for her baby.

Edited to add: I know this post is all over the place. Sorry, it's how my mind is running with this case. In the beginning I even wondered if she was trying to off him, hobbled the boat, and went off in the night in another boat. Silly I know.
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[inmyhumbleopinion]

Snipped for focus & BBM

These two statements seem contradictory to me. If Isabella had told her she would be back for her graduation, why would she say she expected Isabella to surprise her? If she said she would be there, it's not a surprise. And if she thought Isabella would surprise her by showing up at the graduation, that implies that was at least some uncertainty that she would be there.

Perhaps their schedule and itinerary wasn't really set in stone, or maybe plans changed during the trip.

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Maybe it's just me, but the way I understood this is Dayana still thought Isabella was going to surprise her at the ceremony -on "Saturday," presumably Saturday, May 13th- even though Isabella did not return on May 12th as expected. Dayana might have thought something like, "Isabella isn't even back from the trip yet, and my graduation is tomorrow! Maybe she is back and just hasn't told me yet because she wants to just show up and surprise me at the ceremony tomorrow."

"Isabella told Dayana she would be back by May 12 to attend Dayana’s graduation on Saturday.

[snipped by me]

Then, on either on the 11th or 12th, Dayana received a call from Isabella and said she found it strange that every other time Isabella asked about the baby and asked detailed questions, but not this time.

She just asked if they were getting ready for the graduation.

Dayana still thought Isabella was going to surprise her at the ceremony. But Saturday came and went and no sign of Isabella. (BBM)
http://www.wptv.com/news/region-s-p...ut-trip-questions-what-happened-to-her-sister

 

[JerseyGirl]

Wait, she didn't have an EPIRB? I thought I read somewhere that she did but the signal wasn't found?

The Coast Guard put a signal on the boat so that LB could go back and salvage it.

He never attempted to (surprise, surprise) and now the boat is off floating somewhere sideways/upside down in the Caribbean undetected. The signal has stopped working.

IH could very well still be on that boat today, for all we know.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Wait a minute. Maybe this is confusing

I read one artical that says they left from Varadero and were heading to Key West.

So why werent they going more North to Northwest to Key West?

That part does sound strange. I think they were too far east to be heading to Key West?

I dont know about the timeframe it would have taken them to go that far where they ended up.

I'm not sure about the timeframe, either, but here is a map showing locations of Varadero, Cay Sal, Key West and Boca Raton (I think I remember the USCG spokesperson stating their destination was Boca. I have definitely read Key West, too, however):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ALkZdX8RxkLlIq5nu76Q70Xp4lw&usp=sharing