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Old 02-11-2007, 09:07   #1
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Steel Yacht Rammed off Canary Islands

Not worked out yet how to post the picture but have placed it in the gallery.

It shows a steel yacht that arrived last week into Las Palmas. Apparently rammed at night whilst two crew slept below.
Sadly no insurance nor identity to the freighter - so this is one skipper who's lost his home.

But if it were not made of steel - I seriously doubt they'd still be afloat.

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Old 02-11-2007, 09:58   #2
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Here ya go!

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Old 02-11-2007, 10:11   #3
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yet another big advertisement for KEEPING WATCH!!!!!!!!!.....two crew on board with BOTh not just asleep but BELOW and asleep....sad....but no sympathy.....
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Old 02-11-2007, 12:48   #4
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Have to agree with Rangiroo. Looks like a jury-rig with half a mast, too. Good advertisement for steel.
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Old 02-11-2007, 20:47   #5
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I do not believe that will buff out...

Looks like they were center-punched, and I'm surprised there's not more intrusion into the cabin. What do they believe might have been hit by - a ship, a fish-boat?

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Old 02-11-2007, 21:18   #6
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.......... : ) ............. ; ).......... !!
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Old 03-11-2007, 05:57   #7
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Looking at the picture, the dent matches the bulb of a ship's bow...a smaller boat would have done the most damage higher up.
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Old 03-11-2007, 06:53   #8
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Bar talk says it was a freighter but yet to speak with owners myself. They say the yachts had a surveyor on board and seems frames are so warped its write off.
Cheaper to rebuilt new boat that try to fix this one.
They are as you'd expect, gutted.
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Old 03-11-2007, 09:16   #9
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The picture is a good argument for a steel boat, and an even better argument for someone being on watch.

I can't count the number of times we have had to change course offshore day and night when a ship steamed by at an uncomfortably close distance. Even on the 3000 mile run outside the shipping lanes from Galapagos to the Marquesas, we saw six ships - fishing ships.

These guys are lucky to be alive.
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Old 03-11-2007, 20:51   #10
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Where was the 1000day guy when this happened?? (g)
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Old 04-11-2007, 21:04   #11
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Wow - That must have really rung their bell. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be below decks on that.

Just to verify they were underway, right?

Even if it was a tanker, what was he supposed to do?

I just don't get this, "Everyone asleep below decks" stuff. I just couldn't do it.

And really, is it fair to the other boat? He might have had damage as well...
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Old 08-11-2007, 20:34   #12
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When you are doing long ocean passages, it's a lot harder than you think to stay awake 24/7 with a crew of 2.

I always get a kick out of this discussion and the reality of what new cruising couples do. Here is a typical watch shift.

Shift 1. sunset to midnight
Shift 2. midnight to 4:AM
Shift 3. 4:AM to sunrise

You know what happens at sunrise......whoever is on watch, goes to sleep. The sun is up so the logic is.....you don't need to keep watch.

Guess what, ships in transit don't keep night time hours. They run 24 hours a day and all you have to do is be unattentive for 20 minutes and you can get run down. Chances of it actually happening.....probably about 10,000:1.

The reality is, stuff happens out at sea. In 80,000 miles and 2 circumnavigations, I have had 2 close calls. One was at night, while someone was on watch and one was in the middle of the day and no one was on watch. We were down below playing cards and we heard the droaning of an engine. By the time we got on deck, the ship passed us by about 150'. If it would have been closer, we could not have gotten out of the way. I called the ship on the VHF and they had no idea where we were.

We have a hard and fast rule that we keep watch 24/7 if we are within 100 miles of land. After that, we rely on radar with an alarm set at 6 miles and we go to bed. If the alarm goes off, I get up and take a look around. That will usually happen 4-10 times a day. 95% of the time, it is a false alarm (sensitivity setting). The other time, it will be a ship passing far away and we would probably not have seen them if we were watching.

In order to keep a proper watch, you need a minimum of 3 people. 4 hours on, 8 hours off. Each person taking 2 shifts a day. Any less than that and you are kidding yourselves.

Long ocean passages has it's risks. getting run down is one of them. Hitting a partially submerged container or other large item is another. One time we hit a Whale Shark, off of Indonesia. It was kinda like hitting a big fat bag of lard but it could have been something worse.

This guy was extremley lucky. It looks like the ships bulb struck him right between 2 bulkheads. Had it hit 1' one way or the other, we would have never known what happened to these guys.

One of the most shocking things that I ever saw was in 1985. We were anchored in Western Samoa and a smaller container ship came in and there was a yacht's mast stuck between the anchor and the hull. There was also a fresh scratch in the paint, all the way down the hull. I jumped in my dinghy and went over to the ship. It was a German Capt but he spoke English. They had no idea that the mast was there or that they even hit anything. That really scared the crap out of us for awhile.
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Old 16-11-2007, 09:46   #13
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Some Clarification

Hi Guys,
I took that picture and it was only bar talk that said they were all asleep. They do not speak fluent English but are stil here in Las Palmas, and a Belgium skipper parked next to them told me the following:
The yacht was hit when sailing at night in the 40 mile straight twix Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The 3 crew and yacht are French, basically beginning a planned 8 year cruise from France to Pacific.
The single guy going off watch did register the freighter. But it did not appear close nor was it on a collision course when he went down to wake the replacement watch.
They heard / felt the ship approaching and rushed to get back on deck.
The yacht was struck amidships and the mizzin plus top of main mast came down on them as they came out into the cockpit.
As a result they did not have the opportunity to try and take the freighters name from its stern.
The freighter did not stop.
They plan to remain here for possiby a month whilst the authorities attempt to trace the ships in the area at the time.
It is busy piece of water with commercial traffic, due in part to Las Palmas being a major container hub as well as all supplies in and out of the Canary Islands being transported by sea.
Hope this helps clear up some misconceptions the bar talk created.
Cheers
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Old 16-11-2007, 13:29   #14
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It is surprising how quickly freighters move these days. Sixteen knots or better many of them--and at that speed they close very quickly indeed. As soon as I see one I begin to worry unless I am in shallow water. They change course frequently in coastal waters, so not being on a collision course can change quickly. We have bulk coal and oil carriers as well as iron ore vessels on our coasts--usually with minimum crews.

If they hit you they will not be able to stop quickly even if they see you and want to--
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Old 16-11-2007, 18:52   #15
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After three days hove to in a force 9 blowing 10 and five days cruising SW Ireland instead of France, avoided a freighter by feet and inches within 10 miles from home, with (low experienced) watch . . . you just can't be too careful . . a collision would have been ironic . . but what a lesson! (Easterly F4-5 that went ballistic)
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