Two Boats Stranded on the Same Day

[JRM]

Rescuers assist 2 disabled boats in less than a day » Ventura County Star

The second one, a 2007 Hunter 36, was run aground at 2: am while under full power. I spoke with the two folks aboard, and the boat had a full suite of electronics (chart plotter, depth, radar) and all were operating properly at the time. The pair were out diving for lobster, and departed Santa Cruz Island at about 10: pm headed for Channel Islands Harbor. They had no idea they were about to hit the beach until the boat got stuck.

The "captain" said that he was tired, so he went down to have a nap and left his crew, who was unfamiliar with the boat and sailing in general, with the watch. He woke up when they plowed full speed into the sand. The boat was towed off by vessel assist, and taken into CI harbor succesfully. They did have to fire up an additional dewatering pump, as the onboard pump was unable to keep up.

The first was a Bayliner that lost power heading back in. A quick thinking Harbor Patrol officer had them drop an anchor, which saved their boat.

JRM

[Jens1]

That is what I call bad seamanship.
How can he left his (not experienced) crew alone when making landfall? One can take that as very good example about what not to do.

[JRM]

Originally Posted by Jens1

That is what I call bad seamanship.
How can he left his (not experienced) crew alone when making landfall? One can take that as very good example about what not to do.

I can't say much more before I fall afoul of my work's posting policy, but it goes ***way*** beyond just poor seamanship. That trip is only about 3 hours under power in its entirety, so you can draw your own conclusion as to what required a nap.

JRM

[Jens1]

@JRM: That it needs only 3 hrs makes it more worse.

[SabreKai]

Wonder what his insurance people will have to say. Not anything good I imagine.

Sabre

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

Wonder what his insurance people will have to say. Not anything good I imagine.

Sabre

Why, they'll say ok, lets raise everyone's rates!

Jim

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

Wonder what his insurance people will have to say. Not anything good I imagine.

Sabre

They'll probably say "You're not insured because......"

[kenny chaos]

Originally Posted by RohitMudgil74

Nothing is before it is.

The journey is 100% of the journey.

[marshmat]

Originally Posted by JRM

The boat was towed off by vessel assist, and taken into CI harbor succesfully. They did have to fire up an additional dewatering pump, as the onboard pump was unable to keep up.

Didn't they hit sand? And isn't grounding on sand at cruising speed a pretty standard load case that any properly built sailboat should be able to withstand without damage? So why was the boat's own bilge pump (and why "pump" singular?) overwhelmed? I'd bet the insurance company will be asking that, too...

The first was a Bayliner that lost power heading back in. A quick thinking Harbor Patrol officer had them drop an anchor, which saved their boat.

Well, that's a familiar scenario... I know they're common, but even so, I think I see more Bayliners in trouble (dead engines, stuck in sand, drifting onto the rocks, etc.) than any other make.

[John A]

The Hunter has a winged keel. Hitting the sandy bottom.at speed would have the same characteristics as setting a Bruce anchor.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Jens1

That is what I call bad seamanship.
How can he left his (not experienced) crew alone when making landfall? One can take that as very good example about what not to do.

There are great skippers who use a lot of electronics, but I have a growing pile of stories of people smashing into jetties, beaches, and reefs with full electronics.

People T-boning other vessels while staring into their laptops, unable to make simple harbor entrances because a chart plotter wouldn't load a data card, forgetting that GPS datum sets aren't the same around the world and then blaming bad charts/data when they smash into a reef.

You rely on the chart plotter, so you never need to go down to a chart and update your position, which gives you a wide angle view of where you are. You never take visual fixes, so you remain unaware of your environment. You don't have proper lookouts because you don't need them because you have all your electronics.

I'd bet $20 that if you interview this skipper he'll blame something other than himself.