When do you abandon ship?

[TooCoys]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Well obviously they are near land, their boat is very salvagable. Sine they are in little danger, leaving the boat means another can claim salvage. No one abandons their home knowing another can take it.

Edit: I did not watch the video

AH HA! I was wondering why they just didn't go sleep at a hotel until first light.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Ain't that the truth. Unfortunately, there are no hard lifecraft you can take on a small sailboat like:

Think I might rather hang on to the outside of an inner tube than hang on to the inside of that.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Think I might rather hang on to the outside of an inner tube than hang on to the inside of that.

Pipes are there to crawl in. Once inside there is a wet bar and a large screen TV.

[Dr. Strangelove]

If you're asking the question in the sense of "the captain always goes down with the ship", then, no, not in modern times.

In the sense of a larger, ship-type vessel, then the captain is ultimately responsible for the safety/lives of the crew and passengers and is expected/duty bound/legally bound to stay on-board as as long as is feasibly possible to lead rescue efforts and to try to save the ship, if possible.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I won't leave mine unless it sinks from under me, I figure it is better equipped to handle whatever than a life raft or dinghy, and you always have that as a last resort.

On edit, it is not all that uncommon to hear of a boat that survived after being abandoned, not as uncommon as I would have thought anyway.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

In terms of a recreational sailboat, you're better off staying with the boat, or "stepping into the life-raft" (meaning the boat is going under and you step up into the life-raft) if the boat itself is truly going down.

As with aircraft, you're better off staying with a failing airframe and getting it closer to shore/friendly lines/whatever than pulling the eject handle as long the aircraft is still flying, because you may well be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. (Not that the AH-64 has that option, if I guess what he flys correctly)

[RaymondR]

There was a disastrous Fastness race where many people were lost but the boats they abandoned were found to have survived. The old adage about stepping up off the deck into the life raft is probably good advice in most sinking's.

[KRANK]

Hello to all.
Do you remember Costa Concordia disaster at the Mediterranean few years ago?
Captain was accused mainly on 2 facts: 1. he caused the accident; 2. he abandoned the ship after the accident. Italian courts ruled against him as you can read hereby:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ter-conviction

So, in a way, according to what is happening to Franchesco Schettino, it seems there is a sort of regulation about it.

When getting my yatching license in Spain, I've always been told:
1. To order the abandon of the ship only when the sea offers more protection than the boat (when boat sinks, for example)
2. Only to abandon the ship AFTER everybody is safe.

I hope I helped to clarify

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Oh wow. This is sad, but quite different than what I expected which was someone in the middle of the atlantic.

This maybe more of what you were thinking?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZvq9sRKvo

The man was quite upset, as I would be, as he watched his yacht slip under.. This video supports the "never leave till stepping up" thought process, to which I totally agree!

[boatman61]

He was lucky there were so many ARC boats around..

[El Pinguino]

Was that an Oyster?

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I won't leave mine unless it sinks from under me, I figure it is better equipped to handle whatever than a life raft or dinghy, and you always have that as a last resort.

On edit, it is not all that uncommon to hear of a boat that survived after being abandoned, not as uncommon as I would have thought anyway.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Exactly !! That $2.5 M catamaran that was abandoned west of Bermuda some time ago, -- it's hulls and deck, still attached, are on a mooring here in Bermuda.
Well picked over before being found adrift, so pirates had been back aboard for some major removal work.

[SaltyMonkey]

This, my friend, proves my most major SaltyMonkey point.

This is why you don't spend ooodles of Money$ on a megaboat and throw piles of accessory crap onboard $$$. One popped cork and your world comes down. Get a cheap used boat that is built for weather, buy consignment, chuck all that new electronic **** and GO. If **** happens you can write another check and GO again.

Very sad.

Wonder what the story is behind this.

Originally Posted by SV Bacchus

This maybe more of what you were thinking?:

The man was quite upset, as I would be, as he watched his yacht slip under.. This video supports the "never leave till stepping up" thought process, to which I totally agree!

[SaltyMonkey]

Another vote for a traditional design. Give me a wineglass or a skeg. Don't try this with your Bennie.

"Srecko and Olga Pust were taking part in the rally and sailing their Sweden Yachts 45 Ciao two-handed and were nearing the end of a long passage from Indonesia to the remote Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The were only 40 miles from landfall. The rudder was all but knocked off in an
impact with the submerged object (possibly a whale?). The first sign of the problem was that the boat was difficult to steer. When Srecko Pust investigated below he saw that the boat had been holed at the rudder stock."

[SV Bacchus]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

This is why you don't spend ooodles of Money$ on a megaboat and throw piles of accessory crap onboard $$$. One popped cork and your world comes down.

Great advice!

[Sea Dreaming]

Originally Posted by TooCoys

AH HA! I was wondering why they just didn't go sleep at a hotel until first light.

You should read up on marine salvage law. Its quite eye opening. The wiki page will do.

[Van Der Beek]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Was that an Oyster?

According to the video description it was a Sweden Yachts 45, apparently the skipper was able to get things under control – was even towed for a while – but eventually it became impossible to keep it under control.

There was another sailboat on its way with a bilge pump which possibly could have saved his boat but it arrived too late.

Ninja edit.
The skipper didn't - as it says in the description - put out a mayday, he put out a pan-pan.


Really sad sight.