Empty 48' Yacht Washes Up on Florida Beach

[speakeasy]

Originally Posted by speciald@ocens.

The US government ended up owning the J boat Endeavor after it was taken from the Enron Guy. He still had to pay for the Maintenance and crew until he died

Kenny boy Lay lives! Someday, some cruiser will come across him on some quiet luxury island.

If the boat is gov'mint owned, the news stories will get spun further and further from the truth toward some plausible story. Florida is full of intrigue and skullduggery being the "capital of Latin America".

[BlueSeas]

From the news in Tampa Bay...
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Owner of Redington Beach mystery boat says it was stolen in Mexico

The owner of a 48-foot Mexican yacht that mysteriously ran ashore with no one aboard and its engines running said today he had reported it stolen from a Cancun marina days earlier...

...He said the boat had gas and was set to sail on autopilot at 3 knots. "It could have made it from Cancun

Maybe he just made someone mad in Cancun!

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Drew13440

I am going out on a limb and guess reporters were told the vessel was "U.S. Coast Guard documented." So they report the federal government owns it. Just my best guess.

I've been the subject of a few news stories (all positive) and they get stuff wrong 100% of the time. At least one or two times per story.

[paradix]

Originally Posted by erict

After watching the video interview with the man who witnessed and "discovered" the grounding, it occurred to me he might have some sort of legal claim to the boat. Perhaps something along the lines of salvage.

I think that to claim something as bounty, you actually have to physically salvage it, not just find it washed up on the beach (otherwise anyone who beaches their boat and heads off for a picnic could be in trouble!).

But I could be wrong... We have a different legal system down here.

[Drew13440]

Originally Posted by Drew13440
I am going out on a limb and guess reporters were told the vessel was "U.S. Coast Guard documented." So they report the federal government owns it. Just my best guess.
I've been the subject of a few news stories (all positive) and they get stuff wrong 100% of the time. At least one or two times per story.

Oh I bet! I've been involved in a lot of stories myself (not personally, but involved with the issues at hand). Tell the press someone threw seven red rubber balls over the White House fence and they will report "the President has gone bowling." Trust me, I know.

[svHyLyte]

A news update today reported that investigators had determined that the yacht was reported stolen in the Yucatan area of Mexico two days before it ran aground here. A shoreside witness reported that he observed the boat motoring slowing toward shore. Following its grounding he went aboard and found no one but the engines were in gear at idle and the auto pilot was engaged.

With this information, I suspect it might be a case of human smuggeling and I wouldn't be surprized if an abandoned inflatable is found somewhere in the vacinity in the near future. From Puerto Juarez to where the boat came ashore is about 450 miles, or about an 18 hour run at an easy 25 knots for that boat.

FWIW...

[speakeasy]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

A news update today reported that investigators had determined that the yacht was reported stolen in the Yucatan area of Mexico two days before it ran aground here. A shoreside witness reported that he observed the boat motoring slowing toward shore. Following its grounding he went aboard and found no one but the engines were in gear at idle and the auto pilot was engaged.

With this information, I suspect it might be a case of human smuggeling and I wouldn't be surprized if an abandoned inflatable is found somewhere in the vacinity in the near future. From Puerto Juarez to where the boat came ashore is about 450 miles, or about an 18 hour run at an easy 25 knots for that boat.

FWIW...

Now that's the most realistic theory so far me thinks.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

From Puerto Juarez to where the boat came ashore is about 450 miles, or about an 18 hour run at an easy 25 knots for that boat.

Does that boat have long enough legs for that journey? Maybe there are some empty fuel drums yet to be found.

[capn_billl]

Human smuggling gets my vote, remember the wet foot dry foot law. If they abandon ship just before it beaches they can dinghy, (or swim) to a quieter place to sneak in. Since it is a stolen boat no wories if it crashes or is seized.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by DotDun

Does that boat have long enough legs for that journey? Maybe there are some empty fuel drums yet to be found.

The yacht reportedly carries 400 gal of fuel for twin 490 Cummins diesels. At twenty-five knots the yacht would be loaping along at roughly 75% of power but I don't know what the burn rate would be for that. (I'm not a motor-boat person.) I suspect one could easily carry a couple of spare fuel drums as suggested above, eh?

[Mule]

Well I gotta hand it to the folks that took the boat if they were attempting to get into the US illegally. Sure beats the shi+ out of dying in the desert, or in the back of a semi. These guys came to the USA in style.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

The yacht reportedly carries 400 gal of fuel for twin 490 Cummins diesels. At twenty-five knots the yacht would be loaping along at roughly 75% of power but I don't know what the burn rate would be for that. (I'm not a motor-boat person.) I suspect one could easily carry a couple of spare fuel drums as suggested above, eh?

The few motor-boaters I've been close to that have similar size/weight makes me believe that boat would burn 40+ gallons/hour minimum at 25kts. They couldn't carry enough fuel, wonder if they stopped in Havana or Key West?

[SaltyMonkey]

Flip coin

Well, I think they had some decency if thats the right word even though they stole the boat etc. They didn't try and trash it by partying or strip it. They didn't just abandon it in the middle of the ocean to cause shipping issues. They put it on autopilot and aimed it at a beach at slow enough speed where it might have a chance at salvaging. So, something else is up here. They new how to run the thing to get to the USA too, so they had some knowledge about navigation and seamanship.

[speakeasy]

Well maybe they were intelligent and knew how to do max range cruise. What would the range be of that petroleum dolphin with, say 200 gals. in drums, or 600 gals total? Maybe it already had extra tanks installed in order to go further and the karma to prove it (if one could find a paper trail).

Maybe this was Hitchcockian, with both husband and wife secretly setting their sites on this cruise to kill the other, and they succeeded. He smashed her head and weighted her and tossed, and he sat down with relief and drank the gin'n'tonic she had always made perfectly for him.

It'll be interesting to see what gets publicly released after this.

[SurferShane]

How ironic would it be for some drug or people smugglers to have knocked off a government boat? Maybe they knew which boat to target to really rub it in?