Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 26-08-2010, 07:45   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 87
Empty 48' Yacht Washes Up on Florida Beach

Got onto the forum this morning, expecting to find info on this wreck. Searched but couldn't find anything, so I hope I'm not repeating it. If this is a repeat, MODS please remove.

(CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a possible missing boater after an empty yacht mysteriously washed ashore near Madeira Beach in Florida.
The search was suspended Wednesday night, Coast Guard officials said.
The empty 48-foot boat washed up on the beach about 1 p.m. Wednesday, triggering a police investigation and a Coast Guard rescue mission.
The Coast Guard sent out two rescue vessels and a helicopter but was not able to locate anybody.
Adding to the mystery is the fact that the vessel is registered to the federal government, CNN-affiliate WFTS reported.
Also when the ship came ashore the engine was still running and lights were on, witnesses told the affiliate.
Gator81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 07:49   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 87
found pics

Here's a link to a local site with photos of the beached boat.

Mysterious Yacht Runs Ashore On Gulf Coast - Photos - WFTV Orlando
Gator81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 07:51   #3
Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SW Florida
Boat: FP Belize, 43' - Dot Dun
Posts: 3,823
video at:
Tampabay.com – Yacht mysteriously washes ashore on Madeira Beach
DotDun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 07:52   #4
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 87
more details: Sundancer 48 named "Makin Waves"

REDINGTON BEACH, Fla. -- A 48-foot yacht has mysteriously run ashore on Florida's Gulf Coast, west of St. Petersburg. AT THE SCENE: Mysterious Yacht Runs Ashore On Gulf Coast Detectives are still trying to figure out who owns the luxurious 48 Sundancer, which sells for about $1 million new.No one has reported it lost or stolen. The only sign of foul play was the still-churning engine that propelled the ship onto Redington Beach.The Coast Guard launched a search by air and sea Wednesday, but suspended it before dusk after nothing turned up.The yacht, called Makin Waves, was most recently registered in Delaware. A Mexican flag is fixed on the bow, but an American flag flies at the stern.Investigators found a previous owner, but say the ship probably wasn't registered after the sale and may have changed hands again.
Gator81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:06   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 87
After viewing the pics and video, it appears I was premature in calling this a "wreck". That boat looks just fine, sitting on the sand. The blurb I heard on TV earlier made it sound a lot worse.
Gator81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:10   #6
cat herder, extreme blacksheep

Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: furycame alley , tropics, mexico for now
Boat: 1976 FORMOSA yankee clipper 41
Posts: 18,967
Images: 56
"bring lawyers guns and money......"

smuggling of humans and/or drugs comes to mind.....
zeehag is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:12   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 69
10 will get you 20 he washes up on shore with his fly open. why didn't anyone attempt to salvage it?
malovich is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:17   #8
Ram
Registered User
 
Ram's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cruising Greece
Boat: Cat in the med & Trawler in Florida
Posts: 2,323
Images: 27
I guess those engines were a bit hot!
Ram is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:20   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
capngeo's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Key West & Sarasota
Boat: Cal 28 "Happy Days"
Posts: 4,210
Images: 12
Send a message via Yahoo to capngeo Send a message via Skype™ to capngeo
I'll bet the guy set the auto-pilot to run his boat back ashore, put on a few weight belts, and popped a cap in his head while on the dive platform. Widow gets the boat back, no body recovered, hence no suicide which is an accidental death = double indemnity life insurance pay-out...

Poor bugger was probably ruined in the economy and couldn't face the shame of bankruptcy in front of his peeps. Hmmmm I'm thinking that would be a good plot for a book!
__________________
Any fool with a big enough checkbook can BUY a boat; it takes a SPECIAL type of fool to build his own! -Capngeo
capngeo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:38   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Utah
Posts: 87
I'm with Zeehag on this one. Boat was reported as registered to the US Gov't. Is there any probable way for that to come about except that it was in use in some undercover operation? Perhaps seized previously in a bust? Maybe I watched too much "Miami Vice" when I was younger...
Gator81 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:42   #11
Registered User
 
captain465's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL
Boat: 43 ft Selene/Solo
Posts: 688
If you look at the vidio, you can see that the anchor locker is open and there is a winch handle in the windlass. Probably had a failure of the windlass, and the operator went forward to raise tha anchor manually, and somehow fell off.
__________________
Do not go where the path may lead.........
go instead where there is no path........
and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
captain465 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:55   #12
Registered User
 
rebel heart's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,185
Images: 3
power boaters ** cough *** power boaters
rebel heart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 08:55   #13
cruiser

Join Date: May 2010
Location: SF Bay Area; Former Annapolis and MA Liveaboard.
Boat: Looking and saving for my next...mid-atlantic coast
Posts: 6,197
Drugs and illegals - my vote.

"Boat was reported as registered to the US Gov't." yet other report says that it was most recently registered in Delaware. Don't trust the news reports until you get all the facts.
SaltyMonkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 09:06   #14
Registered User
 
svHyLyte's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Tampa Bay area, USA
Boat: Beneteau First 42
Posts: 3,961
Images: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by captain465 View Post
If you look at the vidio, you can see that the anchor locker is open and there is a winch handle in the windlass. Probably had a failure of the windlass, and the operator went forward to raise tha anchor manually, and somehow fell off.
I agree with the above assessment. If whomever had left the engine idling in gear to ease retrieving the anchor and gone over the rail, the boat could easily have gotten away from them. Last night the weather was particularly crappy in this area with qusts in the squalls exceeding 40 knots and rough seas. Whomever might have anchored to wait out the weather and later been preparing to get going. The curves on that boat's deck are very artful but are a disaster in the making to try and negotiate, particularly when wet and with the yacht bouncing around.
__________________
"It is not so much for its beauty that the Sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."
svHyLyte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 26-08-2010, 09:42   #15
Registered User
 
fishwife's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South coast of England, moving around a bit.
Boat: Long range motor cruiser
Posts: 750
Quote:
Originally Posted by rebel heart View Post
power boaters ** cough *** power boaters
You had something you wanted to say?

P.
__________________
The message is the journey, we are sure the answer lies in the destination. But in reality, there is no station, no place to arrive at once and for all. The joy of life is the trip, and the station is a dream that constantly out distances us”. Robert Hastings, The Station
fishwife is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
florida

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Madoff's Yacht Seized in Florida sneuman Cruising News & Events 25 14-04-2021 06:56
Buying a yacht in Florida mercedes 21 Meets & Greets 14 20-10-2011 18:02
Yacht Delivery Florida to BVI Peregrinata Atlantic & the Caribbean 23 22-08-2011 18:12
Sailboat Wreckage Washes Ashore in FL sailing now Cruising News & Events 4 19-08-2009 06:34
Red Neck Yacht Club in SW Florida JF Koplitz Sailor Logs & Cruising Plans 0 14-05-2009 05:05

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:15.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.