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 13-06-2013, 07:57   #1
Registered User
 
Celestialsailor's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,466
Images: 5
Reef Decimated

Interesting article about a superyacht in total disregard for how fragile a reef system is.

"One of the Caribbean's most pristine environments has been badly damaged by a rampaging superyacht. The superyacht Captain, when spoken to, told nearby divers, "I have a cruising license and I can do what I want!" It was the volunteers - and then a passing group of scientists - who were the first to respond to the reports that the superyacht had badly damaged the coral reef in the Turks and Caicos Islands". Read More



Reef in the Turks and Caicos Islands Rampaged by Superyacht | Cruising Compass
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
Celestialsailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 10:16   #2
Registered User
 
rognvald's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Now based on Florida's West coast
Boat: Pearson 34-II
Posts: 2,523
Images: 5
Re: Reef decimated

Not surprising. Humans are not born with ethics. Most people are not ethical unless it is a benefit to them to be so. Ethics must be taught by family or society/culture since humans always will do what serves THEM best, regardless of the situation. I do not like to stereotype, but I have met countless superyacht captains who worked for corporate yachts or individual owners throughout South Florida and the Caribbean and do not have a very high opinion of their attitude or character. Most have a very low opinion/regard for sailors and it is very evident when you encounter them. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. He should be fined accordingly, as he would in the US, for the damage he has done. This is just another example in a long list of offenses against the natural world by a "don't blame me" mentality. Good luck and good sailing.
rognvald is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 10:26   #3
Senior Cruiser
 
boatman61's Avatar

Community Sponsor
Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
Images: 2
pirate Re: Reef decimated

Quote:
Originally Posted by rognvald View Post
Not surprising. Humans are not born with ethics. Most people are not ethical unless it is a benefit to them to be so. Ethics must be taught by family or society/culture since humans always will do what serves THEM best, regardless of the situation. I do not like to stereotype, but I have met countless superyacht captains who worked for corporate yachts or individual owners throughout South Florida and the Caribbean and do not have a very high opinion of their attitude or character. Most have a very low opinion/regard for sailors and it is very evident when you encounter them. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. He should be fined accordingly, as he would in the US, for the damage he has done. This is just another example in a long list of offenses against the natural world by a "don't blame me" mentality. Good luck and good sailing.
A fines no good... strip him of his captains ticket as well... and impound the vessel until suitable recompense has been paid by the owners...
__________________

It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
boatman61 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 10:50   #4
Registered User
 
S/V_Surya's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Sasafra river,MD
Boat: gulfstar ketch 41 Surya
Posts: 674
Re: Reef decimated

Here is a link to the boat Superaycht White Cloud | Features | The Crew Report
S/V_Surya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 11:33   #5
Sponsoring Vendor
 
Tellie's Avatar

Community Sponsor

Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Hollywood, Fl.
Boat: FP Athena 38' Poerava
Posts: 3,984
Re: Reef decimated

Suitable recompense would be a new 220' artificial reef.
Tellie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 11:40   #6
Registered User
 
Captain Bill's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Punta Gorda, Fl
Boat: Endeavourcat Sailcat 44
Posts: 3,168
Re: Reef decimated

The crew report says she recently got a new captain..... Duh
Captain Bill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 11:41   #7
Registered User
 
europaflyer's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 385
Re: Reef decimated

I have no problem whatsoever with people having silly amounts of money, what annoys me is when they think it gives them a right to consume resources and damage the environment in a way that ordinary people don't.

Seeing his stinkpot drydocked and cut up for scrap should deter the owner from any further transgressions...
europaflyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 11:45   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SW Florida
Boat: FP Belize, 43' - Dot Dun
Posts: 3,823
Re: Reef decimated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Bill View Post
The crew report says she recently got a new captain..... Duh
The new captain is the culprit.
DotDun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 11:58   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 2,951
Re: Reef decimated

Seems like a big fine would be appropriate, along with publicizing the information so that the rest of the community can pay their respects.
letsgetsailing3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 12:08   #10
Long Range Cruiser
 
MarkJ's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australian living on "Sea Life" currently in England.
Boat: Beneteau 393 "Sea Life"
Posts: 12,822
Images: 25
Re: Reef decimated

Quote:
CHARGES against the chief engineer of the M.Y. White Cloud, David Brown, 34, were dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), JoAnn Meloche.


Meanwhile the yacht’s captain, Benjamin Cameron, 39, represented by Martin Green, appeared in court for the trial on Wednesday (May 22) in the case of the massive damage to the coral reef off North West Point.


Brown and Cameron, who last appeared before Magistrate Jolyon Hatmin on May 9 and were successful in securing the return their passports among other bail variations, were slapped with four charges each after the anchor the 220ft yacht was dragged through the reef resulting in significant damages on April 1 and 2.


Presently, Cameron, a French national, faces one charge of anchoring a vessel greater than 60 feet in length outside an approved anchoring zone in the Northwest Point Marine National Park and three charges associated with causing anchor damage to coral reef structures.
Quote:
They said the Captain disregarded warnings that his vessel was wrongly anchored; his claim of engine problems may not completely true; and most importantly the vessel did not have an anchorage permit as previously claimed by Cameron.

M.Y. White Cloud’s captain stands trial for reef damage

Yeah. Would be nice if the owner was charged too.
__________________
Notes on a Circumnavigation.
OurLifeAtSea.com

Somalia Pirates and our Convoy
MarkJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 16:36   #11
Registered User
 
Celestialsailor's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Back in Northern California working on the Ranch
Boat: Pearson 365 Sloop and 9' Fatty Knees.
Posts: 10,466
Images: 5
Re: Reef decimated

It should be interesting to see how this pans out. Hopefully big bucks will not prevail.
__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow - what a ride!"
Celestialsailor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 16:47   #12
Moderator Emeritus
 
Hudson Force's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Lived aboard & cruised for 45 years,- now on a chair in my walk-in closet.
Boat: Morgan OI 413 1973 - Aythya
Posts: 8,453
Images: 1
Re: Reef Decimated

I'm concerned about this abuse and the disregard of the environment, but I'm not in agreement that this is an act more common among the wealthy. I see plenty of little tracks from dinghy size boats and less than 25' outboards with prop scars tearing through the grasses and soft corals causing the same kind of damage or more due to their numbers. It's fine to hold the wealthy to a proportional accountability and they leave a big mark, but they are not among the big numbers of offenders.
__________________
Take care and joy, Aythya crew
Hudson Force is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 17:05   #13
Senior Cruiser
 
boatman61's Avatar

Community Sponsor
Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
Images: 2
pirate Re: Reef Decimated

Biggest motor I use is a 5hp... and a soft bottom dinghy... bet that's at least 1/3rd the size most here would recommend... along with a hard bottomed RIB...
__________________

It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
boatman61 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 17:12   #14
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Oregon
Boat: Seafarer36c
Posts: 5,563
Re: Reef Decimated

You would not get away with this if you were in Belize. They take this kind of thing very seriously.
model 10 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-06-2013, 18:06   #15
Registered User

Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Cruising NC, FL, Bahamas, TCI & VIs
Boat: 1964 Pearson Ariel 'Faith' / Pearson 424, sv Emerald Tide
Posts: 1,531
Re: Reef Decimated

Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy View Post
You would not get away with this if you were in Belize. They take this kind of thing very seriously.
The TCI are desperately poor. Corruption in their government was so bad that the Crown stepped back in. They have some of the most incredible diving in the world, but sadly are largely unable to protect their own shore.

While cruising outbound, I was approached by their patrol boat just east of Provo. I had called radio Provo as per the requirement, but the patrol boat came along side and asked me many of the same questions.

When I tried to hale them on the vhf, they could not hear me. I stopped and they came along side. The captain told me they did not have a functioning VHF onboard.... I called radio Provo and told them their patrol boats radio had gone out, they said they had not had one in some time.

FWIW, I paid $300 for my cruising permit there. How many cheap handhelds can you buy for that?

Very sad indeed.
s/v 'Faith' is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

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
Mahe 36: Rig and Sails kev&jo Fountaine Pajot 414 24-09-2022 22:52
New Plan to Save CT’s Penfield Reef Light Soundbounder Flotsam & Sailing Miscellany 0 29-12-2011 06:50
Exploring the Heiromiti Reef ionianpilot Europe & Mediterranean 0 20-11-2011 05:51
Exploring the Heiromiti Reef ionianpilot The Library 0 20-11-2011 05:13
Third Reef Point with Single-Line Reefing Sabbatical II Deck hardware: Rigging, Sails & Hoisting 11 15-09-2011 23:03

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:09.


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.