Sailboat Sank In St. Augustine Inlet

[forsailbyowner]

Can see why I pass by that inlet. I stick to the class A inlets f I dont know the area.

[David_Old_Jersey]

If cored below the waterline the keel may have peeled off like a banana.

Should have bought a Hunter.....................

[hpeer]

Last summer we had a Jeanneau 36 docked in front of us. Nice guy.

When he hauled the boat I was amazed to see the keel. He said it had 7' draft, I believed him. I just did a quick search for a pic or drawing but could not find one.

Anyway it as an extreme keel, very long and slender with a huge bulb on the end.

I could easily see how that boat would loose it's keel with even a very modest impact.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

If Beneteau built a boat that could survive in the surf on a sandbar in 30 knots nobody would buy it because it would not be fast, sexy or cheap!

The problem was trying to enter St Augustine in anything resembling bad weather. It is one of the most dangerous entries in Florida with shifting shoals and poor markers that have to be moved frequently.

Anyone with any sense of seamanship would have contined south to Jacksonville to get out of the weather.

Hey Phil,

You're holding your chart upside down. Jacksonville is north of St Augustine.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by ljsailing

I agree. I did not think a Ben had that much hull speed! Doesn't say much for Ben construction.

was wondering how long it would take before someone had to start a brand attack

[Surrymark]

This thread started with reports of a rumor, and went to (admittedly enjoyable) critiques of Beneteaus and Hunters. Anybody have any details on the event, if it happened? Google turns up plenty of boats sunk around St. Augustine, but not this one. The last St.Augustine.com report on a sinking was last spring. Did I miss something on the thread?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

If Beneteau built a boat that could survive in the surf on a sandbar in 30 knots nobody would buy it because it would not be fast, sexy or cheap!

The problem was trying to enter St Augustine in anything resembling bad weather. It is one of the most dangerous entries in Florida with shifting shoals and poor markers that have to be moved frequently.

Anyone with any sense of seamanship would have contined south to Jacksonville to get out of the weather.

But anyone who can read a chart would know that Jacksonville is NORTH of St. Augustine! Sorry, couldn't resist!

If they hadn't been planning on going in to St. Augustine, they might not have known it was a treacherous channel, and it certainly sounds treacherous. Many of us have been encouraging people with the dream of buying a boat and then learning to sail as they go. That might have been the case with these people.

I would not have known it was a treacherous channel and would not have known to "hug the red." In that kind of weather, locals might not have been out. Radioing for local knowledge might not have been any help, and ... frankly ... people don't always describe those things well. I really like the dockmaster where I am but although he has lots of local knowledge, he is utterly incapable of putting it into words others will understand. That's just how it is.

If a boat gets caught in a surf and starts pounding hard enough, the keel can come through the bottom of the boat. That's it; stick a fork in her because she's done. It happened to someone I know. I think he had a 30' Catalina.

This is one of the dangers of a lee shore, which is probably what this situation amounted to don't you think?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Surrymark

This thread started with reports of a rumor, and went to (admittedly enjoyable) critiques of Beneteaus and Hunters. Anybody have any details on the event, if it happened? Google turns up plenty of boats sunk around St. Augustine, but not this one. The last St.Augustine.com report on a sinking was last spring. Did I miss something on the thread?

This thread didn't start as a critique of either Benetaus or Hunters. It started as a report of a sailboat sinking in the St. Augustine channel.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

If cored below the waterline the keel may have peeled off like a banana.

Should have bought a Hunter.....................

about time someone admitted the turth!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

about time someone admitted the turth!

But we don't know. We're just guessing.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

But we don't know. We're just guessing.

Sorry, I don't get it.

David said IF the hull was cored it could have peeled - truth!
David said should have bought a Hunter - truth!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Factor

sailing fast? hitting a sandbar at hull speed on a well found boat should not break its keel.

One would hope but while owners of these "modern" designs tout all their advantages, situations like this speak volumes of the vessels integrity.

[clockwork orange]

If she were a Ferro boat the keel wouldnt have come off or better yet a Ferro multihull.
Steve.

[Surrymark]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

This thread didn't start as a critique of either Benetaus or Hunters. It started as a report of a sailboat sinking in the St. Augustine channel.

Right. The thread started like this:
"Heard RUMOR (caps added) about a sailboat that sank while coming in the St. Augustine FL inlet a few days ago . . . . Anyone have any better information about this?"

Rakuflames, you have any info on the actual event, if it happened?

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by Surrymark

This thread started with reports of a rumor, and went to (admittedly enjoyable) critiques of Beneteaus and Hunters. Anybody have any details on the event, if it happened? Google turns up plenty of boats sunk around St. Augustine, but not this one. The last St.Augustine.com report on a sinking was last spring. Did I miss something on the thread?

The link in post #5 is to a report dated 12/11/2011.