Sailboat explodes at dock

[Amgine]

Sailboat explodes, sinks at dock near Nanaimo


Breaking story, 20m boat explodes at the dock, survivor escaped before the explosion.

Talk about your brief notes... not enough here to speculate, but how can you escape before an explosion?

[Amgine]

The Times-Colonist story:

62-foot schooner Chebucto exploded at Newcastle Island, just across from Nanaimo. "The explosion lifted the entire top of the boat off and then it collapsed back down and the ship closed in on itself and sank within minutes," reported Dick Hobbis, tourboat operator who was pulling into the dock at the time of the explosion.

The wooden sailboat was built in Nova Scotia in 1971 and has a diesel engine. It is operated by Norris' business Windjammer Charters. It was being chartered by 52 students of a girl's school, who had left the boat approximately 25 minutes earlier.

[rebel heart]

I have this really depressing book called Total Loss. There's a chapter in there about a guy who was making some tea (at the dock I think). He started the stove, then went and crawled back into the quarter berth.

The wind blew the flame out, a few minutes passed by, the bilge pump kicked on, and BOOM. I think he lost a leg and nearly drowned. Boat was totalled.

[hellosailor]

"but how can you escape before an explosion?"

Well, if you wait until AFTER the explosion, most folks would call is "survive" rather than escape. [g]

One can only suppose that he saw/head/smelled something that led him to exit immediately. As any home utility provider will tell you "If you smell gas, leave the house immediately, get clear and THEN call 911." That would count as escaping just in time, if the gas smell was followed by the usual gas explosion.

The gas industry doesn't like to talk about it much, but a number of homes and businesses DO explode every year. Here, that's why those utilities record all incoming phone calls, and respond immediately to all calls of "I smell gas".

All crew and 52 students off and safe...Someone was looking down and protecting them.

[Ex-Calif]

52 teen girls in an enclosed space?

And we are wondering why the deck blew off?

[Thermal]

"but how can you escape before an explosion?"
Seems every movie ever made that has an explosion shows people outrunning it, then just get up and walk away after flying for a bit.

[shadow]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

52 teen girls in an enclosed space?

And we are wondering why the deck blew off?

Not to make light of the situation and I'm glad everyone is safe, but that's a great statement and I was thinking along those lines also...

[swagman]

I once saw a wooden power boat (petrol fumes this time) explode on firing up the engines at a fuel dock.
The 40 foot deck and cabintop lifted more than 20 foot into the air and some items (like one gas bottle) landed 100 foot away.
In that case the 4 people on board were blown overboard and into the water, nd miraculously only had minor burns and injuries.
But looking at the speed it all happened, IMHO no one could have 'run away' from the explosion.
JOHN

[Ex-Calif]

Yes - Definitely not funny if anyone got hurt.

I will certainly be interested if a cause is found. Cooking gas?

"As many as 50 teenage girls had a near miss Monday when the sailboat they had been cruising on exploded and sank at a dock near Nanaimo, B.C."

This statement is one that really bugs me, though.

Isn't a near miss a hit? I mean, "I nearly missed but I didn't. It was a clean hit."

Didn't the girls really have a near hit?

(Sorry long day at work...)

[shadow]

I'm still trying to find a way to get a boat quick so I can have those 50 girls cram on my boat since they lost their to train on!!

[Lancerbye]

I was in Nanaimo 3 weeks ago and saw that boat tied to a mooring buoy. It was a nice old vessel. I might even have a picture of it. Too bad. Hate to see a boat like that destroyed. They don't build those anymore.

[craigsmith]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

This statement is one that really bugs me, though.

Isn't a near miss a hit? I mean, "I nearly missed but I didn't. It was a clean hit."

Didn't the girls really have a near hit?

You are misinterpreting the phrase. "A near miss" is most literally the same as saying "a close miss" - i.e. near but not a hit - or 'near' could be read as 'nearly', like "only just a miss" [but a miss nonetheless].

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by craigsmith

You are misinterpreting the phrase. "A near miss" is most literally the same as saying "a close miss" - i.e. near but not a hit - or 'near' could be read as 'nearly', like "only just a miss" [but a miss nonetheless].

Oh yeah. That clears it up - LOL

"nearly missed" is still a hit...

I'll give ya "close miss" but then I've never heard of a "close hit." Although most hits require closeness unless you are talking cruise missiles or ICBMs.

Interestingly most sailor's are in fact looking for a close miss when they reach port...

[perchance]

Something about horseshoes and hand grenades.

[David Grieme]

Our sense of humor out-ran the story that time.

The article doesn't say anybody escaped before the explosion. It says the owner and a crew member escaped before it sank, but the owner was injured.

"Hobbis said the Chebucto's owner and operator Dave Norris and another crew member managed to get off before it sank, but it appeared Norris hurt his arm and he was later taken to hospital."

The girl's may have had a relatively narrow escape (time-wise), but the crew did not escape the explosion. Thank goodness they both survived.

What is more than fairly queer is what 52 girls were doing on a 62 foot schooner. I can see chartering that sized boat with a crew of 4 or 5 and a charter group of 8-10 kids, but 52!? Hardly.