Lagoon wrecked in San Blas

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by svlamorocha

IMHO websites can be misleading, particularly when the readers have no idea of what to look for.

If you were to trust those websites you would conclude that Maratonga (vessel recently lost in the North Atlantic after an earlier incident that required tow by USCG) was in good shape. Maratonga was one of the regular boats in the Cartagena-San Blas backpacker business. Someone who was onboard Maratonga did not agree with the description in the website (safe, well equipped, etc).


Sent from my GT-I9192 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I do agree. Hence my original comment.

[garrobito]

12 + 1 seems to me a lot of people for that route..
I'm very familiar with the area and a lot of boat tried to make some quickly money ferry people between Panama and Colombia..
Anybody know at least the name of the boat??

[boatman61]

Teach him not to play 'Gangdom Style' to keep the punters amused..

[monte]

damn those pesky lagoons shouldn't be allowed to sea...

Shipwrecked Britons survive 11 hours off the Panamanian coast in shark-infested water | Daily Mail Online

Interesting story with some interesting reader comments at the bottom regarding the sharks and fake smiles :P They couldn't have found a worse pic of the angry sleeping skipper, Im sure they tried, but really...and 4 cats? How bad can he be?

[StuM]

So the real reason that "the hulls separated" was because the captain went to sleep with the vessel on autopilot and it ran into a reef.

Puts a slightly different complexion on things.

[TOT]

Just glad l am not the insurance company!!!

Have to ask why would so many people even board such a crowded boat for such a long period??

Thank God all are ok 🙏🏻


SV TOT
Wayne 😃

[GoingWalkabout]

Originally Posted by monte

damn those pesky lagoons shouldn't be allowed to sea...

Shipwrecked Britons survive 11 hours off the Panamanian coast in shark-infested water | Daily Mail Online

Interesting story with some interesting reader comments at the bottom regarding the sharks and fake smiles :P They couldn't have found a worse pic of the angry sleeping skipper, Im sure they tried, but really...and 4 cats? How bad can he be?

Thanks for sharing the link. What I garnered from the report.

1. 14 passengers paying $400 (English pounds) each
2. Cat had only one life raft (usually max 10 people)
3. Boat was carrying 14 passengers plus 4 crew. Total 18. Too many for 1 raft
4. Not sure if Captain was owner. If owner after looking at his photo I would be checking closely the boat ownership papers. Where and from whom did he buy this boat? Just call me suspicious but looking at the captain somehow doesn't fit with a $500K boat
5. Who was tour operator that they said they made the booking with - I would definitely look at suing them along with the boat owner.
6. If the local police didn't check these operators out I would think they were probably in the take.
7. Taking in around $5K for an overnight sail is not bad.

A lot of questions and dig a little and I am sure you will find more than one pair of dirty hands. IMHO

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by monte

damn those pesky lagoons shouldn't be allowed to sea...

Shipwrecked Britons survive 11 hours off the Panamanian coast in shark-infested water | Daily Mail Online

Interesting story with some interesting reader comments at the bottom regarding the sharks and fake smiles :P They couldn't have found a worse pic of the angry sleeping skipper, Im sure they tried, but really...and 4 cats? How bad can he be?

1. Why oh why are "waters" always "shark infested"
2. If the couple was so worried ("angry") about poor safety equipment and overcrowding, why did they get on board and agree to go?
3. Sounds like the operation was crap after all. Caveat emptor. And yes, my surmise about passenger numbers is likely right.
4. Another GPS/Autopilot/plotter assisted shipwreck, it would seem.
5. According to the Mail… "their prayers were heard" and they came to rest on the reef. That's right. Divine intervention, not keel depth and wave action. Don't forget, mariners, prayer is your most important safety procedure

[tuskie]

Originally Posted by Steel sails

Nacar a lagoon 410 wrecked yesterday in San Blas items.
My friend cruising down there heard but did not see, that the hulls separated.
Regards
Paul

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

[StuM]

Doesn't look like the captain was the owner:

Colombia to Panama By Boat | Sailing San Blas by Sailboat

"Juan David has spent the last six years living at sea but he has always been in touch
with the nautical world. He has over 4 years experience captaining charters between
Colombia and Panama on various boats, he’s crossed the Atlantic and navigated
extensively throughout Colombia, Jamaica, Bermuda, Azores, and Cadiz. Juan David
was hired as captain of the Amethyst and with his earnings he is fixing up his own boat Fenicia, hopefully for his own round the world adventure."

Looks like he recently switched from Amethyst to Nacar.

[Dulcesuenos]

At least the captains 4 cats were rescued too. Wait a minute, what type of charter co allows the captains 4 cats on board?

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by GoingWalkabout

Thanks for sharing the link. What I garnered from the report.

1. 14 passengers paying $400 (English pounds) each
2. Cat had only one life raft (usually max 10 people)
3. Boat was carrying 14 passengers plus 4 crew. Total 18. Too many for 1 raft
4. Not sure if Captain was owner. If owner after looking at his photo I would be checking closely the boat ownership papers. Where and from whom did he buy this boat? Just call me suspicious but looking at the captain somehow doesn't fit with a $500K boat
5. Who was tour operator that they said they made the booking with - I would definitely look at suing them along with the boat owner.
6. If the local police didn't check these operators out I would think they were probably in the take.
7. Taking in around $5K for an overnight sail is not bad.

A lot of questions and dig a little and I am sure you will find more than one pair of dirty hands. IMHO

Unfortunately, this is the norm for the backpacker charter trade in the San Blas. This story is almost identical to many that have occurred in the past.

See the thread "San Blas Wrecks" (I would post the link, but mobile app search sux).

Many vessels lost in the past in the San Blas due to drunk/stoned/asleep captains.

Good luck suing someome in Central America, if the vessel is registered in a developed country, or owner based in same, then might have some luck with that venue.

[colemj]

These cattle boats running backpackers pass the Darien Gap are almost all ill-equipped, poorly maintained, and captained/crewed by drunks/druggies.

Several of them each year brick up in the San Blas and the story is always the same - captain passed out with either the boat on AP, or a guest on the wheel who has no experience and no charts.

This has nothing to do with "GPS/CP/AP-assisted wrecking". It has only to do with bad seamanship and operating an unsafe boat in an unsafe manner.

There are no "local police" and these boats operate without any licenses, permits, inspections or limitations. It is not uncommon to see a 45' catamaran loaded with 20 people and several motorcycles strapped to the deck.

There is an unlimited amount of young backpackers to fill spaces, so none of these stories have any effect on the trade. The companies buy any cheap boat they can and put them in service. This captain is probably already running another boat as I write this post.

Really, several of them are lost this way each year. Go to that companies website and 4 of the boats they list there under charter have already been wrecked and don't exist anymore.

I know several of them personally, and no way would I even go across a harbor with them.

Having said this, there are a couple of them that run well-found boats in a safe manner with knowledgeable crew. These generally operate independently and make only a few trips to fill the kitty and tend to be more selective regarding passengers and weather.

Mark

[colemj]

Looks like Belizesailor beat me to this.

One other point - I have spent hundreds of hours spear fishing in these waters. They are not "shark infested". Like everywhere else, sharks exist as sea creatures and one may encounter random reef sharks, but there are almost no large predator sharks or unusual numbers of sharks.

Also the article made the point that the couple took the boat trip because they wanted to avoid traveling the Darien Gap due to kidnappings. While the kidnapping part is accurate, the implication that there was even an alternative route through the Darien Gap was not accurate.

There are no roads, railways or any reasonable means of traveling across this area.

Mark

[Canibul]

Someone selling their writing might consider one nurse shark as evidence of an infestation.

I know people who will never go back to swim in an area where they once spotted one shark. They would tell you, to a man, that they know for a fact that these waters are shark infested. Interesting term. Apparently one shark can be enough.

Don't most of the large predators need to hang out in areas of abundant and predictable food sources, like seals, pinguins, and other large prey? What would a great white live on as a regular source he could catch in the Bahamas? Can he catch enough wahoo? Mahi? Tuna? We do get seasonal whale migrations. We've seen one 13-14 ft. Tiger shark.