440: Charter Lagoon 440 Takes on water and flips

[Bahia]

This cat finally sank after a few days of floating... it was never recovered.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by Bahia

This cat finally sank after a few days of floating... it was never recovered.

What? Did a pig fly overhead as well? You mean all cats don't float forever ? 😀


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[captnjbk]

The reason it flipped over is buoyancy. When the boat is floating it is buoyant. When one or both hulls fills with water the buoyancy is greatly diminished. With the buoyancy in the hulls greatly diminished the rig becomes the heaviest part of the boat and it wouldn't take much of a swell and or wind to push (flip) it over. Think how much the mast, boom, sails weigh on a Lagoon 440. Works similar to the keel on a mono hull.
The real question is did it float or go all the way to the bottom ???

[Bcs01]

Hi category4jay,

I was crew on the Zebra Moon and posted details of the status about 1 week after the incident in my post #93.

The information on the failed escape hatch came from divers that the marina send out the day after the incident. There are no photos and that was never re-confirmed later. The escape hatches on that particular boat were of the fixed type with a hammer on the side to break them.

There is no information on the alternative theory of a broken sea cock etc. In fairly calm sea, waves not more than 1,5m, the 44ft cat capsized in minutes.

The Zebra Moon floated then for about 3 days (the two front compartments provided buoyancy). A harbor tug tried to salvage her by attaching a towing line to the aluminum traverse between the two bows. the tug apparently went to fast, the traverse broke, damaging the two front compartments and the boat went down to 45m. Maybe, not the best example of seamanship. Thus the root cause for this mishap could never be fully clarified.

as a gesture of goodwill the charter company provided another boat on which we completed the remaining two weeks of vacation. According to the fine print of the charter contract (probably any charter contract) they were not at all obliged to do that. So we consider ourselves happy to have only lost personal belongings.

I will try to add pics again of the escape hatch in original condition plus the capsized boat.

BR

[Bcs01]

Hi,

I want to also add and share some points on safety that we as a charter crew learned from this experience.

Checking the boat at handover
- not only check that the bilge pump is running, but also make sure that the automatic switches (if any) that activate the pump in case water is rising are in working order. Check if there is an alarm attached.
- also check the manual emergency bilge pumps: Are seals ok, is the clapper/handle there, does it fit. (would not have helped in this case, but ion the meantime we found cases where the manual pumps were not in order)
- do not accept a missing life raft, even if that is supposed to be not required/not customary in the area
- Make sure the oars for the dinghy are in proper condition. Do not accept cracked oar blades etc.
Of course this should all be standard procedure, but ...

Safety checklist before leaving port
- Always execute a proper check list to ensure all windows, hatches, valves etc. are properly closed and secured
This should be a matter of course, but many skippers/crews become negligent after a few days.

Be better prepared to leave ship in the dinghy
- Always have the dinghy ready and prepared
- Davits are best but rare. If possible tow the dinghy. It may take very long to get it from deck over the guardrail into the water and equip it.
- A dinghy needs oars (in working condition and secured), engine and don't forget gasoline). Mounting the outboard motor in an emergency situation may be difficult.
- Also always have some water in the dinghy
- Try to organize what needs to come along in case you have to leave ship and have water proof bags ready for documents, electronics, medicine etc)
- But don't have everything in a water proof bag in cockpit/saloon while you are anchored or docked - too easy for thieves
Most of this not only applies if you want to abandon ship, but e.g. also if you want to come to aid of others. Clock and train how long it takes you to properly equip and launch the dinghy.

There is nothing really new her, but based on this experience we look at it now from a new perspective

[Bahia]

...well, majority of the boats in Seychelles do not have life rafts because these are not required by law for the island hopping charters...

[Bcs01]

... yes, I know, and I accepted that explanation at the time.

If you compare Seychelles with Greece or Croatia, also there most cruisers hop from island to islands never loosing sight of land, but no one would go out without a life raft. Around the Seychelles, compared to Greece or Croatia, there is a lot of blue water. And the trip between Praslin and Mahe which most charter boats take is 30 miles.

If you don't have mandatory life raft, your attention should shift to the state of the dinghy. Here I perceived that many are hardly fit to take the crew around the harbour basin: Too small for a full crew of 8, leaking, no oars/oarlocks - just paddles. In addition, never a watertight box or bag with a minimum ration of water and a first aid kit.

The notion of having to fit a crew of eight into the usual 8-foot dinghy of a charter cat, half-way between Mahe and Praslin seems outright scary to me.

Our cat had 10kw air condition and 3 flat screen TVs but neither life raft nor a properly equipped "seaworthy" dinghy. Mandatory, or not, I don't feel that is the right balance of things.

[category4jay]

Originally Posted by Bcs01

The information on the failed escape hatch came from divers that the marina send out the day after the incident. There are no photos and that was never re-confirmed later. The escape hatches on that particular boat were of the fixed type with a hammer on the side to break them.

BR

Hello Bcs01

So If I understand correctly the escape hatches were not opened/broken open and were therefore not the reason this L440 took on water and sank. Is that right? Thanks.

[category4jay]

Originally Posted by category4jay

Hello Bcs01



So If I understand correctly the escape hatches were not opened/broken open and were therefore not the reason this L440 took on water and sank. Is that right? Thanks.

Hate to quote myself but what was the final conclusion on what sank this boat.

[Bcs01]

Hi,

thanks for following up this still somehow disturbing incident.

we got a verbal report from one of the divers who inspected the capsized, still floating cat that one of the escape hatch windows was "missing".

The boat sank a short time later so circumstance and root cause were never investigated in detail.

In want to restate though that these were the type of hatches designed to be broken by a hammer. They could not be accidentally opened by a crew member. From the moment we realized something was wrong (electrical instrument failure) to capsizing it took 5-7 minutes in moderate to fair weather, with a slightly choppy sea.

BR Bernd

[arsenelupiga]

my guess based on diver story: badly attached escape hatch simply fell off.

reminds me to check mine.