Sailboat Sank In St. Augustine Inlet

[Russell7171]

Looks to me like a lot of technical words around a pretty basic problem.
1. When it's rough and stormy - head out to sea. You can only go aground if you are near ground.
2. Regardless wether the owner had loose nuts or not (cough cough - his keel bolts) or if the boat can hold up to a nasty grounding or not, the boat is pretty well stuffed, or munted as they say in ChCh NZ.
Doesn't matter what sort of boat it is, it's next job is as a diving site for scuba divers.

[Kettlewell]

I never recommend St. Augustine inlet. It is only for people who know it and the area well. Do not attempt without up-to-date local knowledge. The last time I did it was when it was flat calm and there was perfect visibility and I knew that if I went aground we were not likely to get into trouble.

[FSMike]

I used to live in St. Augustine but having been gone for some years I usually call SeaTow for the latest local info if I'm going in the inlet. They are very helpful. Sometimes that inlet shifts so quickly the deep channel is on the wrong side of the markers.