Emergency crews puzzled by yacht find Yacht Lead

[Mikado]

Very weird, almost like a Bermuda Triangle story! Nothing makes sense……sails up and motor running should eliminate swimming, food and utensils on the table should eliminate sudden gale. I agree with Prflyer1, boarding makes the most sense. But if were a hostile takeover, why put fenders out and why was nothing stolen like the laptop right on the table?

[SkiprJohn]

As far as table being set for dining and a bit of a squall coming through, every catamaran sailor I've met always says they are very stable and flat sailers. Do they pitch, yaw and roll in a little squall like a monohull? Just a temporary gust would bring them on deck to furl the genny. If the roller jambed someone would go forward. My theory fits. Anyway, I'd like to make it fit. Supports my wearing a harness when at sea safety rule.
JohnL

[Rangiroo]

This from The Sydney Morning Herald today.....

"Superintendent Roy Wall from Queensland police said a Global Positioning System on board showed the vessel suddenly changed course last Sunday, not long after setting out.
The change in direction appears to have coincided with heavy weather, including strong winds and choppy seas, which might have tossed the three men overboard."

Sounds like they were on deck in bad weather and all 3 got tossed.....sad sad indeed......

[Boracay]

... could have turned this tragedy into an amusing but embarassing paragraph in the local paper.

[cooper]

Search called off.....................three men lost believed drowned................accidentaly fell over board shortly after leaving.........police do not think that anymore information will come to hand........

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by cooper

Search called off.....................three men lost believed drowned................accidentaly fell over board shortly after leaving.........police do not think that anymore information will come to hand........

IF this is the correct explanation, it is a lesson for us all. Thousands of dollars of electronic emergency equipment aboard (EPIRB, etc.), humming away, and a simple jackline was all it would have taken to save three lives.

(as i see chris and others have also noted above)

[44'cruisingcat]

I find the "fallen overboard" explaination a bit hard to swallow. For a start - THREE men overboard at the same time? There were reportedly items of clothing up on deck - surely if the boat moved violently enough, or a wave broke over the boat and washed 3 men over, the clothes would have gone too. Also there was food on the table, and dishes etc, you would expect at least some of that to have ended up on the floor.

I also wonder why there were fenders out. Maybe they had just been left out from the marina, but I know we have ours stowed by the time we clear the breakwall. They hadnt been left on deck, then washed overboard, because their lines were tied to the top lifeline and they didn't go under the bottom one, which they would if the fenders were washed out.

I'm inclined to think there was another vessel involved, but exactly how has me puzzled.

[cooper]

If you venture into the "foul play scenario" then it is only the imagination of several million fiction writers that would come close to the possibilities. Due to the fact that the fenders where still out and the known change in direction (as recorded by the GPS) only a short time after the boat left harbour, the sad, accidental overboard seems the most likely. The weather at the time was not good but moderated shortly afterwards, and stayed that way until the boat was picked up. Cats are by nature stable platforms, l could see how in some conditions this could lead to an unwarented confidence when moving around the vessel. It is a serious lesson to both cats and us monos. A now sadly deceased circumnavigator, (smoking) told me that the only way to move around a boat in any kind of sea was "on your bum" He managed to run a 60 footer solo for years, so l guess there is probably wisdom in his words. Condolences to the families.

[hellosailor]

The fenders left out and the "but all three?" actually kinda reinforce each other. Fenders left out could be seen as lubberly or sloppy, not the kind of thing experienced sailors fully awake would do. And similarly--folks in that same frame of mind or inexperience would be more likely to respond improperly to a man overboard, i.e. by trying to jump in after them or otherwise not staying on the boat. It is a common mistake in water rescue to try grabbing the victim--and getting pulled in by them. Anyone who has taken a SCUBA or water rescue course probably remembers being told not to let that happen, and how to prevent it, but anyone without training--is likely to get pulled in.

Misfortunate, yes. Sad, yes. Great Mystery? Not really, this is the kind of thing we can do to ourselves without any help from aliens or pirates.

[Seaquesta1]

Nearly three pages of speculation and nobody seems to have mentioned the obvious possible cause of this tragedy....


A giant squid attack!!


If the accounts are to be believed, they've been dining on mariners for centuries.

[Sandero]

If there were fenders out it is likely that another vessels was along side and maybe this was not a friendly raft up?

[slomotion]

On our boat the rules are that when you are on deck you are always tethered: when underway at night, when under way in bad weather, or whenever you go forward while underway - even if you're just puttering around looking to anchor. Of course, this means that while underway in daylight in what we perceive to be and expect to remain as "good" conditions, we are not tethered in the cockpit. But people screw up - There have been more than a few times when conditions deteriorated suddenly and I went forward to reef the main without a tether, so ........

But, that doesn't seem to be what happened here. What rules do others use for tether/harnesses?

[Boracay]

The images that I have seen of the boat (they have been low resolution) suggest that there was no toerail (cabin to the edge of hull?) and no lifelines/railings.

Does anyone know what design or manufacture the boat is?

[Latitude9.5]

If it changed course, then there was obviously no auto pilot and no steering lock locked in, which indicates someone was at the wheel. How do 3 people go overboard when one in behind the wheel? Seems to me you would see some circling on the gps, you aren't going to jump overboard in an attempt to save your friends unless you have a life jacket or something. I am sure there are other scenarios. I remember reading an FAA report on a 727 that went down because all 3 crew members in the cockpit were looking for a light bulb that fell on the floor (landing gear indicator) instead of one flying, one looking for the bulb and one getting a visual on the landing gear. Stranger things have happened. The fenders could have easily rolled over in rough seas, I'll buy that as it's happened to me before. Stil doesn't make any sense that the guy behind the wheel dissappeared.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Chris31415

The images that I have seen of the boat (they have been low resolution) suggest that there was no toerail (cabin to the edge of hull?) and no lifelines/railings.

Does anyone know what design or manufacture the boat is?

I would hazard a guess that she look's like a stretched and modified Cloud 10, which was an early Simpson design specifically aimed at the charter market.

solid build and shortish rig.

Never liked toerail's, something to leak, kick your toe's on and fall over, not to mention heavy.

Same with lifelines/rail's, almost guaranteed to not stop you going over, and in most instances not strong enough for the job, but make a nice clothesline.

If playing on deck on a wild day or at night, a harness to a central spectra jackline for me thank's.

Dave