Vestas collides with fishing vessel near Hong Kong

[gabilo]

Fisherman dead after crash with yacht in around-the-world race
https://sc.mp/2DrXAH3

[soares29]

Very sad

[malbert73]

Really awful. I can’t imagine sailing at 20+ knots among fishing boats and nets, in the dark. I wonder if fishing boat was big enough for radar to even pick up

[Bermuda Forte]

Truly sad for fisherman and family, our Team Vestas 11th Hour Racing, and all those involved in this tragedy.

[gamayun]

So, so very sad. I had been wondering what they hit. This is just the worse thing, but why wasn't it seen on radar?

[donradcliffe]

If I was sailing into Hong Kong at night with a crew of 10, I would have a dedicated person glued to the radar, plus additional lookouts besides the helmsperson. There will be many unlit boats out there. Yes, radar will pick up even wooden fishing vessels at 2 miles.

[Suijin]

And they had already retired from the race, so one would think that they'd be more relaxed and not pushing it. Have to assume that the boat was unlit but still a mystery what happened until more information makes it's way out.

Team Vestas seems cursed. The reef last time and now this. Bummer.

[tbain]

Originally Posted by Suijin

And they had already retired from the race, so one would think that they'd be more relaxed and not pushing it. Have to assume that the boat was unlit but still a mystery what happened until more information makes it's way out.

Team Vestas seems cursed. The reef last time and now this. Bummer.

I think this is a poor wording in the article which leads one to think they had retired from the race prior to the incident.

“A rival team reported that Vestas 11th Hour Racing, which had retired from the leg and was proceeding under its own power to Hong Kong, had collided with a fishing boat.”

I doubt they had retired when they were set to finish second at the time of the incident.

[Phoenician]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

If I was sailing into Hong Kong at night with a crew of 10, I would have a dedicated person glued to the radar, plus additional lookouts besides the helmsperson. There will be many unlit boats out there. Yes, radar will pick up even wooden fishing vessels at 2 miles.

+1 Additionally one has to question the wisdom or lack of foresight of race organisers This reminds me of the Dakar rally, where dozens have died over the years, most of them bystanders run over by cars or trucks racing through African villages.

[boatman61]

Profits and publicity rule every time.

[SSgtPitt]

Reports: Person dead after Volvo Ocean Race yacht hits fishing boat off Hong Kong coast - NZ Herald

Safari wouldn’t open the scmp dot com link nor could i get to scmp dot com directly but it opened the NZ story easily. Maybe because I use a VPN?

[Steadman Uhlich]

The VOR boats can sail very fast, even in moderate winds, so I would like to know the speed of VESTAS at the time of the collision.

Does anyone know the VESTAS speed at the time of collision? Have a link to a report of their boat speed at the time of collision?

A very fast, dimly or unlit silent sailboat, at night would be hard to see if one was on a fishing boat busy working on deck with gear (or with crew asleep) or at the wheel.

I have seen people on other sailing groups criticize the fishing boats as "unlit" or "one dim light" and yet the same could be said about a racing sailboat too. Either one would be hard to see in the dark, and with one traveling at relatively high speed and silent....

[soares29]

How to prevent this terrible accident in the future? In a pragmatic manner...

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

The VOR boats can sail very fast, even in moderate winds, so I would like to know the speed of VESTAS at the time of the collision.

Does anyone know the VESTAS speed at the time of collision? Have a link to a report of their boat speed at the time of collision?

A very fast, dimly or unlit silent sailboat, at night would be hard to see if one was on a fishing boat busy working on deck with gear (or with crew asleep) or at the wheel.

I have seen people on other sailing groups criticize the fishing boats as "unlit" or "one dim light" and yet the same could be said about a racing sailboat too. Either one would be hard to see in the dark, and with one traveling at relatively high speed and silent....

I read that the VESTAS boat was sailing at 20 knots in 23 knots of wind at the time of collision.

[mickt243]

Originally Posted by soares29

How to prevent this terrible accident in the future? In a pragmatic manner...

Dead simple - enforce good seamanship, eg no high speed running after sunset, navigate around dense fishing zones rather than through them.

We (as in the greater proportion of the population) seem to excuse bad/unsafe behaviour if it’s in the name of competition or record breaking. Competing teams in major events should display the utmost best behaviour. Instead, we applaud idiots who push themselves to the limit (or beyond it) and risk the lives of themselves and others.... case in point people who try to break round the world solo yacht records - how can sailing alone, at high speed, whilst very fatigued needing to sleep underway EVER be considered acceptable behaviour?

As it is, a person is dead, all in the name of racing....unfortunately they are not the first, and more unfortunately, they won’t be the last innocent victim....