Horrible Fire in Cowes

[Dockhead]

This:

Cowes fire destroys one-designs and classic keelboats - Yachts and Yachting Online

is too horrible for words.

My own boat is steps away from this, but reportedly (after a nervous call to marina managment) ok.

I'm not in Cowes at the moment, but in a few days.

[monte]

Really sad news..

[dannc]

Sad loss of history and dreams....

Awful.

At least no body was hurt or killed.

Later,
Dan

[transmitterdan]

Wow, so sorry to read that. Glad your boat is ok DH!

[Tayana42]

Too close. Sorry for all the people who were not as fortunate.


S/V B'Shert

[IdoraKeeper]

Gotta hate it, never be enough money to fix it all.

[MarkJ]

The whole fleet of Etchels.

Horrible. I know they have been replaced for this racing regatta but the boats themselves ate not being made anymore afaik

[Dockhead]

At least 30 yachts destroyed, some of them irreplaceable, like the gaff cutter Witch:

A yacht named Witch and a cauldron of intrigue | Soundings Online

a thing of incredible beauty, built in Cowes in 1902, and designed by the great Cowes designer Charles Sibbick, one of the first ever designers of purpose-built cruising yachts.

Fortunately not the last Sibbick design extant:

Saunterer | A classic yacht built by Charles Sibbick in 1900

[atoll]

sad news for the insurers and enthusiasts.......but there is a silver lining, wooden boat builders and associated trades we will just have to build another fleet!

just when there was a downturn in the trade.....

[BilTray]

Horrible news, sad that a lot of people lost their yachts.

[TeddyDiver]

Sad news indeed..

[exMaggieDrum]

Marinas, especially in winter when heaters are left on a lot, can be dangerous places for boats. Sorry to hear about the fire and the loss of the boats, but happy to hear yours was OK. I've seen boats that were close to a burning boat that did not catch on fire but the heat melted/scorched the FG on the side next to the fire.

[reed1v]

So, no automatic fire extinguishing systems? We got a foam system. A bit of a mess when it goes off, but nothing, absolutely nothing can burn when that foam hits the bricks. When your storing boats with electrical, fuel, and flammable systems, got to have quick response fire suppression. Guess that is a strange concept in England?

[Ribbit]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

The whole fleet of Etchels.

Horrible. I know they have been replaced for this racing regatta but the boats themselves ate not being made anymore afaik

According to the article, 8 new ones were going to be built this year, and that number has now been stepped up to 12.[eta: "David Heritage's new build factory is fine, so he currently building eight new boats anyway and he is going to step that up to 12, so we're going to get 12 new boats out in the next few months, which is fantastic. "]

Too tragic for words.

I suspect the highly customised and drop dead gorgeous Eschells, that I was sorely tempted to buy for me to do the Jester Challenge this year, is amongst those lost.

Glad to hear your boat is ok Dockhead.

[exMaggieDrum]

Originally Posted by reed1v

So, no automatic fire extinguishing systems? We got a foam system. A bit of a mess when it goes off, but nothing, absolutely nothing can burn when that foam hits the bricks. When your storing boats with electrical, fuel, and flammable systems, got to have quick response fire suppression. Guess that is a strange concept in England?

I've seen very few boats around here with automatic fire extinguishers, at least in the small-mid size recreational boats, and I've been on lots as a marine tech. I just removed the one on my boat. It wouldn't save the boat from a fire from a boat in the next slip. The interior might get through but the hull and all exterior equipment would not. It is actually incredibly difficult to put out a fire on a fiberglass boat once it gets going. I watched the fire department pour thousands of gallons of water in to this one 50' power boat a couple of years ago. The only thing that stopped the fire was when it sank in its slip.