I don't know if any of you have been following the Cynthia Woods story or not but I think it's a fascinating tale.
The Cynthia Woods was a 2004 Cape Fear 38 raced by a sailing team at Texas A&M University. The boat capsized during an race from Galveston to Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico when the keel fell off. Right ... fell off. One crew member died inside the cabin, 5 others spent 26 hours floating in the gulf with 4 lifejackets before they were rescued. Conditions were rough in the 6 to 8 foot seas and 20knots of wind category but the boat was racing under full main and partially furled genoa.
The crew reported that they never felt the boat hit anything. They noticed water on the cabin sole and attempted to plug water gushing in but the boat capsized within a minute or so of the crew's first awareness of a problem; Apparently a very sudden and catastrophic failure.
Roger Stone was the safety officer and the man that died. According to crew reports he pushed two crew members out of the cabin but never managed to get out himself. He is considered the hero of this story although there are other heroes too.
All of the facts aren't in yet but the hull has been recovered and the lead/bulb keel has also been recovered (probably an interesting story line in itself). It is likely that forensic engineering study will find the reason(s) for the keel failure. It is likely that prior groundings contributed to the failure but the main villain seems to be in the design/build area. The boat is a Marek design.
After reading all this on the Sailing Anarchy website, I am thankful that I sail an old Ericson. Thank-you Bruce King and Ericson Yachts for giving us a fast AND safe boat.
If you're interested in following the story, the following link will get you to the forum on SA that has the first pictures of the recovered boat and keel. http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=73804
The Cynthia Woods was a 2004 Cape Fear 38 raced by a sailing team at Texas A&M University. The boat capsized during an race from Galveston to Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico when the keel fell off. Right ... fell off. One crew member died inside the cabin, 5 others spent 26 hours floating in the gulf with 4 lifejackets before they were rescued. Conditions were rough in the 6 to 8 foot seas and 20knots of wind category but the boat was racing under full main and partially furled genoa.
The crew reported that they never felt the boat hit anything. They noticed water on the cabin sole and attempted to plug water gushing in but the boat capsized within a minute or so of the crew's first awareness of a problem; Apparently a very sudden and catastrophic failure.
Roger Stone was the safety officer and the man that died. According to crew reports he pushed two crew members out of the cabin but never managed to get out himself. He is considered the hero of this story although there are other heroes too.
All of the facts aren't in yet but the hull has been recovered and the lead/bulb keel has also been recovered (probably an interesting story line in itself). It is likely that forensic engineering study will find the reason(s) for the keel failure. It is likely that prior groundings contributed to the failure but the main villain seems to be in the design/build area. The boat is a Marek design.
After reading all this on the Sailing Anarchy website, I am thankful that I sail an old Ericson. Thank-you Bruce King and Ericson Yachts for giving us a fast AND safe boat.
If you're interested in following the story, the following link will get you to the forum on SA that has the first pictures of the recovered boat and keel. http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=73804
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