Capsized in the St Augustine Inlet

[LoudMusic]

This isn't the way you want to spend your Sunday afternoon.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/florid...errifying-turn

[gonesail]

went thru there a few times .. not for the timid or faint of heart. you gotta watch those markers.

[Jim Cate]

The details of this sinking should be pretty interesting. Seems like striking the sandbar distorted the keel/hull area enough to rapidly flood the boat... if I'm understanding the rather vague report correctly.

Hope some more informed info is forthcoming.

Jim

[LoudMusic]

I doubt we'll ever see any more.

[a64pilot]

So you run aground in calm water, in sand not rocks, hear a crack and the boat pretty much instantly sinks?

[model 10]

wood boat?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Ecos

wood boat?

No, I don’t want to post what I’m thinking so I won’t be called bashing.

However I believe that the current is fast here and may add 3 or 4 kts maybe or boat speed, but still, tearing you keel off by running aground in sand?

Looks newish Fiberglass to me

[capn_billl]

It looked like the bar was shallow enough that the boat went almost 90 degs, then waves washed into it.

[Chotu]

That is a tricky little spot. No doubt. Those markers are are always getting moved and shoaling all the time. Plus a bit of a current and can be bouncy.

[Exile]

Navigating St. Augustine Inlet is always worth a call for local knowledge to SeaTow, BoatUS, or the USCG for the latest info on shoaling, markers, etc.

[iSaint]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

So you run aground in calm water, in sand not rocks, hear a crack and the boat pretty much instantly sinks?

I don't think inlets along the Atlantic are calm water. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[LoudMusic]

Originally Posted by Exile

Navigating St. Augustine Inlet is always worth a call for local knowledge to SeaTow, BoatUS, or the USCG for the latest info on shoaling, markers, etc.

The first time we came in the inlet (a year ago) we called and the BoatUS captain we spoke to seemed to think we were a bit crazy for calling. He just said to stay inside the channel markers.

We haven't called since and haven't had any trouble, though we've only gone through the inlet a handful of time and we're pretty shallow draft - less than 4 feet.

I believe I read somewhere that this capsized boat was a 35' Catalina? If that makes any difference to anyone. Frankly I find it hard to believe they ran aground. I'd guess they actually had a keel failure from lack of maintenance, but perhaps it was so abrupt they thought they hit something?

[Captain Bill]

St. Augustine inlet is best done quite carefully and my preference is at low tide when bird butts help in identifying the shallow water. I was coming through once after not having been through the inlet for a long time and was dutifully following the markers when I began approaching a bunch of birds standing between me and what appeared to be the next mark. A quick look around found another marker several hundred yards away on a 90 degree turn to the starboard. Had I not seen those birds I might have run up on that bar as it was late in the day and the sun was low in the west making reading water color difficult at best.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by iSaint

I don't think inlets along the Atlantic are calm water. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Did you watch the Video? It’s not rough water. Inlets can be of course depending on tide, but this isn’t bad.

The issue is that any boat ought to be built well enough to run aground in an inlet and not sink from it, even if it had been run aground before.

I’ve seen boats run aground on rocks, with serious waves, and take hours to be beaten apart

[zboss]

Our inlet has breaking water on either side and can quickly go from breaking steep seas to not breaking calm seas depending on winds and tides, so the picture is not necessarily representative of what the seas were like during the incident.

Like most of florida this past month we have been experiencing afternoon thunderstorms and microbursts accompanying them so its very possible that they reacted to the weather (which has been coming from the W/SW every afternoon) by coming into the inlet during a contrary tide. Once that tide slowed or the weather went by the seas calm quickly.