Two Dead, Seven Hurt in San Diego Sailboat Accident

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Unfortunately, when it comes to news about boating things the typical journalist is clueless. It will take someone in the marine industry to straighten this story out. Maybe Latitude 38 will have a report soon.

Unfortunately journalism and 'fact' checking has died with the old print newspapers...

Yet there is going to be a news conference shortly.. tune in and watch....

(at the top of the page there is a link)
San Diego News, San Diego, California News, Weather, and Sports - KGTV 10News.com

(this may work: Watch live at 3:30 p.m. as the Harbor Police Department will hold a press briefing regarding the Sunday accident in which two men died after a boat capsized off Shelter Island.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

My dad and I met a guy in the fog one time off of San Diego, en route to Catalina. A guy on a power boat came over and asked us which way to Catalina, so my dad replied with a compass heading and even corrected giving him true as well. The guy shakes his head, says he doesn't have a compass, and just wants us to point. That was ~60 miles away in open water.

Fortune favors the foolish and the prepared it seems.

Similar thing happened to me in Block Island Sound in fog a number of years ago except he was looking for fuel. Had a cute little twenty something on board too. I pointed him toward Connecticut so he would not keep heading out into the Atlantic.

[markpierce]

From the California State booklet on boating laws:

"Single-hull motorboats less than 20 feet in length which are manufactured after 1972 must display capacity and safe horsepower information. The maximum weight in persons, gear and motors is offered as a guide to boaters, and should not be exceeded. It is not a violation of federal or California state law to exceed recommended maximums. However, other states may cite an operator who exceeds capacity and horsepower limitations..."

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

My dad and I met a guy in the fog one time off of San Diego, en route to Catalina. A guy on a power boat came over and asked us which way to Catalina, so my dad replied with a compass heading and even corrected giving him true as well. The guy shakes his head, says he doesn't have a compass, and just wants us to point. That was ~60 miles away in open water.

Fortune favors the foolish and the prepared it seems.

Sailing friends of mine love to tell the story of a guy they met at a marina here in S. Florida that was taking off in a 22-23 ft sailboat with a restaurant placemat as his one and only "chart"! It was an animated "map" that showed tourist spots along the FL coast and about 3 of the Bahamas islands. They attempted to tell him that might not be the best plan but he was not deterred.

Not to detract from the OP...sad story. I'm glad the kids are ok. We adults take our own risks, kids are innocent bystanders.

[h20man]

ok. here is the summary from the news conference.

It is a Macgregor, 26 foot....

Two people died:


Father and Son: Jun Chen 48 San Diego and Chau Chen 73 of San Diego.

The boat was run by a foundation based out of Indiana. For special needs.

7 members in one family

2 members of another.

one operator.

2 young special needs adults, and Two children.

vessel operated by non profit entity

Harbor Patrol has no evidence of collision.

Harbor Patrol has several accident people on staff and expect a several week investigation.

Harbor Patrol is looking for witnesses still.

The press conference praised the 'good samaritans' that came to the rescue of the people.

---

(Googling for the nonprofit finds the following possilbility, also photos seem to match: Heartofsailing.org
)

[shadow]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Oh I believe you on that, but this was crystal clear night time, and the SD channel buoys go out several miles. Just a guy with more boat than he should have been handling.

When I was very young and very dumb I brought a boat down from LA to SD with no charts / gps / clue on how to navigate. All I had was a depth sounder so I stayed in 50' of water until I found a pier, and yelled up to the fishermen on the end to tell me what the next harbor was and how much further.

I leave stories like that off my nautical resume, but anyone who wasn't an idiot at some point in their sailing career is a liar.

I love those types of stories!!! Now that's old school sailing!! Almost from the Cpt. Ron school of when you get lost, just pull over and ask.. Or wait, maybe that's me.. I get them confused... sorry..

[shadow]

On a more serious note, I really do hate reading about people getting hurt or killed on boats. It should be a time of absolute fun and enjoying yourself and nature.. My prayers and thoughts to all those involved........

[mbianka]

One thing that struck me about this tragedy is that I read it last night here on the Cruisers Forum not long after it happened. Then I heard it on the radio news some 12 hours later here in New York. It struck me if you are waiting for the "journalists" to give you the news on things like this "you are backing up boys". Goes to show how the internet and sites like this can get us the news faster than the mainstream media can.

[cal40john]

You can tell that it is the D or C model as it looks like a sailboat and not one of their later power/sail X or M models from pictures on SA. The pictures also clearly show the MacGregor label. D is daggerboard and C is centerboard. As someone else said this water ballasted model was never to be operated without the ballast tank full, it is self righting with the tank full and will capsize at around 60 degrees with the tank empty.

The Mac 25 was a weighted swing keel that did not retract completely into the hull.

Originally Posted by h20man

ok. here is the summary from the news conference.

It is a Macgregor, 26 foot....

Two people died:


Father and Son: Jun Chen 48 San Diego and Chau Chen 73 of San Diego.

The boat was run by a foundation based out of Indiana. For special needs.

7 members in one family

2 members of another.

one operator.

2 young special needs adults, and Two children.

vessel operated by non profit entity

Harbor Patrol has no evidence of collision.

Harbor Patrol has several accident people on staff and expect a several week investigation.

Harbor Patrol is looking for witnesses still.

The press conference praised the 'good samaritans' that came to the rescue of the people.

---

(Googling for finds the following possilbility: Heartofsailing.org
)

[Kettlewell]

Whoever owns the boat is in big trouble.

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Whoever owns the boat is in big trouble.

It is a pity, as the nonprofit (that has photos of the same boat from previous excursions ) appears to be doing a lot of good...

and ... on the registration it says sail with George, (who appears to be the founder in photos....)

The foundation on their web site(link to FAQ with safety stuff) appears to be quite strict about life vests for all under 18's, suggested for all adults, and has an emphasis on safety.....

[seasick]

The photo seems to suggest that overloading these Mac26Cs was, well, done in the past.
If all the folks aboard at the time this was taken shift one way or the other in unison, she would have rolled over leaving the dock. "Let's just leave the fenders out while were at it, they may come in handy to cling to later." The retractable rudder would explain why no rudder was visible in the photo of her up side down.

[sarafina]

They may talk about safety on the site, but I see 8 people on board in the publicity shot and only 2 in PFDs...

[h20man]

Originally Posted by sarafina

They may talk about safety on the site, but I see 8 people on board in the publicity shot and only 2 in PFDs...

tragic, as the founder of the foundation appears to be doing a lot of good...

In looking at past photos, it appears that at times they had a bigger boat to use.. and other times they use the smaller one...

[ty.gregory]

I'm not sure how everyone together could fit on one side, unless they stood on each other's shoulders.