E-39 wrecked

Sven

Sven

Seglare
That is so sad but also so hard to understand.

Charts, GPS, depth sounder alarm ... nothing was used to warn them that close to shore ?!




-Sven
 
R

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
People do stupid things everyday, this is yet another example. And she's gonna keep cruising! Great. Another idiot on the water. RT
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Some obvious things come to mind:

- No one on watch
- No warning system of any kind(set depth alarm, or anchor drag). They should have at least done a very conservative estimate of possible drift and set an alarm clock.
- Heave to near a lee shore
- Not being able to change an impellor quickly. I wonder when the last time was she changed it.
- And most important, trying to keep to a schedule(possibly in the face of bad weather)

She is very lucky to be alive. Hopefully she learns a few things from this.
 
Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
"After many hours of hand-steering, Sarah decided she needed a nap, so hove-to. At around midnight, however, she and Peter were awoken by the horrible sound of fiberglass crunching into a hard object, and Gabrielle began taking on water."

Who's watch was it??:confused:
 
Sven

Sven

Seglare
treilley said:
anchor drag
Click to expand...

I had that thought too (if I understand you correctly). Why not let out a couple of hundred feet of anchor rode and a dangling anchor ? Maybe the drag would unbalance the heaving to ?

I really don't like picking apart someone's huge misfortune but this seems so tragically preventable.



-Sven
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
I would not have put out an ancor Sven. In rough seas, it could tear the boat apart. I was merely referring to activating an anchor drag alarm that will monitor your movement. I believe my Garmin Chartplotter lets me make it infinitely large. Set it a reasonable distance from shore so it wakes you in time to keep the boat off the hard.

Above all was not having an active(human) watch.
 
Sven

Sven

Seglare
treilley said:
I would not have put out an ancor Sven. In rough seas, it could tear the boat apart.
Click to expand...

I wonder if that is really likely if you have a few 100 feet of rode out and the anchor is dangling in mid-column until it gets too shallow. IOW, use the anchor to both alert you to the depth change and to possibly slow you down or even stop you before you end up on shore. You would first be alerted when the scope is about 1:1 so the holding power would be essentially zilch. If you can't get control over the boat to keep it from going into shallower water the scope would start increasing to the point where maybe it did stop you from ending up on the rocks.

I've never read any description of someone using the above tactic, but I don't see why it wouldn't work (except where the bottom is too steep to give you any warning).

Time to search ...


-Sven
 
Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Sven said:
I really don't like picking apart someone's huge misfortune but this seems so tragically preventable.
-Sven
Click to expand...

Your absolutely right Sven. At least She was out there trying to live the dream. Shouldn't kick a Gal when She's down. We probably don't have the whole story.

It's easy for coastal / day / arm chair sailor's to point out the mistakes but every situation and individual is different and you just don't know until your in the thick of it. Hopefully she has good Mexican and American insurance.

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." "What these men/women can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of security. And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone."

-Sterling Hayden
 
R

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
I disagree entirely. Call a spade a spade and be done with it. While yes, I may be an armchair sailor, coastal cruiser, etc. but I know stupid when I see it. This is definitely a closed case on stupid. Poor seamanship reflects on all of us. What if next time this poor decision making threatens your boat or your life? Feel good sentiments don't do a darned thing to fix the problem.

This winter here in RI some yahoo left the dock, heading South directly into the worst storm of the season in a 50+ft yacht, directly got into trouble, lost the boat and had to be rescued. The storm was well forecast. Anyone with a clue standing on the dock looking at that black sky wouldn't have even considered it. The week before and after the storm were both beautiful but this moron left 12hrs before the storm peaked. Who does this? An idiot.

Sorry, it may be harsh, but call 'em like you see 'em.

RT
 
Jeff Asbury

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
I agree that there are a lot of stupid people out there and I have to dodge them every time I go through LA Harbor and even offshore. I just think there may be some holes in the reporting of this story.

So Innocent until proven guilty. Right? I can imagine She's already getting a lot of flak about this experience and hopefully She has learned a major lesson. From what I understand Baja can be treacherous and there are long passages to be made between anchorages.

"If you've never run aground, You've never been anywhere."
 
G

gareth harris

Sustaining Member
rwthomas1 said:
.

This winter here in RI some yahoo left the dock, heading South directly into the worst storm of the season in a 50+ft yacht, directly got into trouble, lost the boat and had to be rescued. The storm was well forecast. Anyone with a clue standing on the dock looking at that black sky wouldn't have even considered it. The week before and after the storm were both beautiful but this moron left 12hrs before the storm peaked. Who does this? An idiot.

RT
Click to expand...

I have friends who fly search and rescue, and they risk their lives to save such people. While I would never trust the media to give a full run down of the facts, I agree that this case sounds the way you are calling it, and a sad loss of an Ericson.

The flip side is that the sea is so powerful that even those with their heads screwed on can get into trouble - those friends can tell some powerful stories.
 
treilley

treilley

Sustaining Partner
I take the media with a grain of salt but this is a sailing rag that reported it that knows which questions to ask.

I agree with Rob. Tough love is the way to go. I feel bad for the loss and thank God that no one was hurt but our society today is too easy on folks. If speaking harshly makes one sailor think twice about going out than that is good.

I am a member of another sailing forum(non brand specific) and it reminds me of people that come on that site and say "I am getting ready to buy my first boat. It is a 40ft catalina/Hunter/Beneteau/other. What is the best way to learn how to sail?"
 
S

Seth

Sustaining Partner
I'm with Tim

Start with: "Learn to sail first"!

Yeah, it is hard, especially when you are dealing with someone's dream. And while there are some notable exceptions where folks have started with a big boat and done very well, they were all folks who knew their limitations, and hired a pro to stay with them for a year or so.
The sad truth is that most of these folks who start with a big Hunter, Catalina, or whatever will come to trouble very soon.

The wise move of learning to sail correctly, in a managable boat, is the route "smart" folks usually take..

Oh well. All we do is help them as best we can-right?

:egrin:
 
Sven

Sven

Seglare
None of you are disagreeing with me:

I really don't like picking apart someone's huge misfortune but this seems so tragically preventable.
Click to expand...

It just seems too careless to make any sense. Maybe they were just so totally exhausted that they shut down but they don't look that beat in the pictures. Maybe they don't take it as seriously as one would expect. It just doesn't compute.



-Sven
 
Martin King

Martin King

Sustaining Member
Blogs Author
Well, you guys have already said it all, pretty much. I would only add
that her "habit of heaving-to" when she was tired was questionable. I question whether that particular boat can really heave-to, as I tried that tactic more than once in that boat and no matter what sail combination I tried, the boat mostly wanted to lay beam on to the seas. I damn sure wouldn't try it on a lee shore off baja and go to sleep! Dumb... really dumb...

Martin..

..shaking his head.
 
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