Aground at Elbow Cay

[Exile]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Everyone has focused on them hanging a right and heading out into the Atlantic.. but why could they not have turned South and run downwind then gone onto a beam reach.. or possible downwind run with an E'ly by the time they got there, along the bottom of the Bank and up to Freeport.. no trouble keeping offshore going S and with the waves.. keep sail to a minimum and just the jib.. or a controlled drift with bare poles and easy motion.
Once in the lee of the Bank if still a N'ly the sea's should be much less.. same with an E'ly going with the current.
If this is a bad idea.. Why.???
Or is everyone hung up on 'Destination or Damnation..'

A very good idea, just not one they chose, or possibly were in a position to choose. Didn't want to lose hard fought ground; thought they could pinch the corner; couldn't get the boat turned around; thought they were somewhere else; sheer exhaustion; major equip. failure . . . .

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Everyone has focused on them hanging a right and heading out into the Atlantic.. but why could they not have turned South and run downwind then gone onto a beam reach.. or possible downwind run with an E'ly by the time they got there, along the bottom of the Bank and up to Freeport.. no trouble keeping offshore going S and with the waves.. keep sail to a minimum and just the jib.. or a controlled drift with bare poles and easy motion.
Once in the lee of the Bank if still a N'ly the sea's should be much less.. same with an E'ly going with the current.
If this is a bad idea.. Why.???
Or is everyone hung up on 'Destination or Damnation..'

If just off the coast of where they grounded the best course you could hold to stay clear would have been a little east of south. Once south of Little Harbor the coast starts trending a little to the west and a course of 190-200 would take then around the Hole in the Wall and indeed into a nice lee.

It's been a while since I was there but as I recall it is reef free and you could pull close up to the beach on the SW corner of Abaco and anchor.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Everyone has focused on them hanging a right and heading out into the Atlantic.. but why could they not have turned South and run downwind then gone onto a beam reach.. or possible downwind run with an E'ly by the time they got there, along the bottom of the Bank and up to Freeport.. no trouble keeping offshore going S and with the waves.. keep sail to a minimum and just the jib.. or a controlled drift with bare poles and easy motion.
Once in the lee of the Bank if still a N'ly the sea's should be much less.. same with an E'ly going with the current.
If this is a bad idea.. Why.???
Or is everyone hung up on 'Destination or Damnation..'

I can't see anything wrong with that idea but it might have been more comfortable and less challenging for a fatigued crew to heave to and hang out nearby. I guess it would depend on whether you thought the wind would abate and allow you to get safely into Hopetown before you could get to Freeport. Either option sounds better to me than trying to make it through one of those cuts with the wind and waves up.

Of course better options than what they chose are always as clear as can be sitting here by the warm woodstove in my family room, but apprehension and fatigue can do funny things to us all. It would be good to know what info they had about the weather and what knowledge regarding how to pass through those cuts safely they had, and their perception of their boats capabilities. Tough to really put ourselves in their place without a lot more information.

[steamgoat]

Just reading Steve Dodges guide to Abaco.One highlighted passage,referring to Elbow reef says “more boats ground on this reef than any other in Abaco” Obviously a tricky area at the best of times.

[Group9]

Sheer exhaustion is the major cause I am betting on. Three days without rest, and everything goes. Judgement, eyesight, concentration, fine motor control, etc.

[weavis]

I dont know what happened.

Preferable to see if the skipper can shed light on the issue. We know the location, the weather, the wind, but we dont know why it happened.

I think that is important if only to see if its a mistake that we could make. Im sure I could make a mistake, I know I have, Luck plays a large part in some decisions we make...

[JPA Cate]

Luck plays a large part in some decisions we make...

Boy, it sure does, also in whether the decision works out as planned. Good luck is a wonderful trump card.

Ann

[Tricolor]

Sometimes we all need that little angel on our shoulder.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Boy, it sure does, also in whether the decision works out as planned. Good luck is a wonderful trump card.

Ann

I always liked the quote from Lefty Gomez. "I'd rather lucky than good."

Of course it doesn't hurt to be good as well.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

Sometimes we all need that little angel on our shoulder.

For sure! A friend of mine, who sailed all over the Caribbean without incident, ran onto a reef outside of Georgetown, on the way home, in broad daylight, under perfect conditions, because he was reading a book and didn't look up in time.

[earlgray]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

Sometimes we all need that little angel on our shoulder.

yes, definitely.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTEYa1yvfg

[boatman61]

Ahah.. the Azores Approaches claim another victim..
Couple of things for folks who view this.. pouring fresh fuel into a suspect contaminated tank is a waste of fuel..
Carry a few metres of spare fuel hose and a fuel bulb pump so if this happens you can rig a flow from your spare fuel container direct to the engine fuel pump and are able to run a return to the container.. prime using the bulb, turn the key and your good to go.
Not a long distance job but good enough to keep your batteries charged for a couple of weeks and a bit left to get you into port.
Make sure the fuel can is well wedged in/lashed securely..
Can be set up in half an hour.. hour max.
Another thing I could not fathom.. why did he not just heave to.
Also.. one can sail into Horta and anchor.. have done it several times in the past so a tow is only needed if no wind.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Just read the Motu Iti blog. The owner of Motu Iti (Goldwin) met the owner (Scott) of the Westsail 32 that went aground on Elbow Cay. Scott was crewing on Rage, a traditional Bahamian sloop in a race and Goldwin got into a conversation with Scott about his voyage from PR to Elbow Cay. Apparently it was a case of escaping a bad situation. Here's an excerpt from the blog:

"I had a crew mate, Scott, who moved in and out with me on the lee deck. We talked. He told me why he sailed out of Puerto Rico, bound for St. Augustine on an ill-equipped boat after Hurricane Maria. He had a masonry house in PR; his neighbors’ were wooden. During Hurricane Maria, he watched large heavy objects fly by. After the storm the neighbors’ frame houses were gone. As were the trees and undergrowth. Scott’s house looked like it had been machine-gunned. There was no power, water, food or police protection. Scott said it was anarchy, scary. While he was working on his boat, his house was looted by his neighbors. He had lived among them for seven years.

He moved onto his boat and prepared as best he could for a fast departure. After Hurricane Maria, his boat needed repair and supplies. One night three men in a small boat silently drifted down next to Scott’s boat. One man boarded and came down the companionway with a gun, not knowing Scott had two dogs with him “They were gentle animals,” he said, “until that night – and they attacked.” The fleeing thief fired one shot at Scott and missed. The slug went through a thick bulkhead and lodged in toilet plumbing. The three men escaped in the dark. Scott weighed anchor soon after.

Two weeks later, he was driven over the Elbow Cay reef by another storm. The boat became a total loss, as subsequent wind and waves broke it into pieces which spread along the beach. The people of Elbow Cay cleaned up the wreckage as they have for hundreds of years. There was little theft. Scott said the people of the Bahamas have been “very, very hospitable, kind and helpful.”

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

Just read the Motu Iti blog...
... Here's an excerpt from the blog: ...

Thanks, AJnA.