Yet another disaster at sea

[Wolfe10]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Well Magellan, for one thing.......

"A couple's sailboat was 90 miles off Hernando Beach, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico........"

Technically, you're correct, they could try crossing the Gulf of Mexico and try their luck in Texas or Mexico. East may have been easier. with it blowing 25+ out of the east for the last 5 days, that might not be as easily done as typed.

Yup, heading either north or east would get them to land without electronic devices.


And, the other question is "what weather window did you leave in that caught you in a 'wave that broke a port out'"


This is the Gulf of Mexico, not the southern oceans. Weather forecasts are pretty accurate.

[boatman61]

I would imagine that when the window/port got stoved in, that was the end of self rescue..
Likely the wife would have freaked out and left the skipper with only one responsible action.. Call for assistance.
With a capable crew maybe things could have gone differently however, most wives ABOARD boats would rather be somewhere else when the SHTF..

[Exile]

Over-reliance on electronics and awareness of the complacency it can produce are critical lessons. It's just not clear to me it applies to this particular incident.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I would imagine that when the window/port got stoved in, that was the end of self rescue..
Likely the wife would have freaked out and left the skipper with only one responsible action.. Call for assistance.
With a capable crew maybe things could have gone differently however, most wives ABOARD boats would rather be somewhere else when the SHTF..

Fortunately for these folks, and for better or worse, the USCG and I would think most rescue agencies don't pass judgment. They just rescue.

[barcoMeCasa]

Originally Posted by Exile

Over-reliance on electronics and awareness of the complacency it can produce are critical lessons. It's just not clear to me it applies to this particular incident.

As they called for help before the electrics went down it seems unlikely.

I've left the heads porthole open once before, what a mess, very quickly after getting into waves on the beam the floorboards were floating.

No one here knows anything about what happened out there, just the usual web forum judgemental noise.

[BAD ORCA]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I mean, I agree with you. It’s just a perspective thing. In the last couple of months there have been countless boats washed up or abandoned near coastal. What’s going on? Most of these situations have not been dire or emergency either. They have just been simple mistakes.

Usually it’s just a couple a year.

If we continue to see such bad behavior by our community, relying on government services constantly, we are going to start to come under a microscope. And none of us want that

Has You-tube made modern sailing look as easy peasy as renting an RV for the week and heading to the Rockies? I had a neighbor who was seriously ready to set off from Los Angeles for a world cruise with a worn Main and Jib. The concept of backup sails never even registered on his radar! His attitude was 'you just got to do it now before its too late'.

I get the feeling many modern people have re-focused on the 'doing it now' without all the imagination and planning that goes along with that. Lots of disposable income nowadays makes this more possible than ever without really worrying about the financial consequences.

[Bowdrie]

Looking at the pictures on the link provided I see that the rig is intact, a backwinded jib without enough wind to heel the boat, and not hardly a whitecap in sight.
Am I missing something about a stove-in portlight?
That would seem quite strange given the apparent conditions of wind/sea.
"Taking on water"? Now that would be an interesting thing to find out about.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Exile

Fortunately for these folks, and for better or worse, the USCG and I would think most rescue agencies don't pass judgment. They just rescue.

No judgement being passed.. unlike you..
I am just theorising on reasons why what looks like a sound boat by all appearances would be abandoned.
Having been on a few boats where a limited to zero experienced females have freaked out when on board in turning weather.
Once going W past Tarifa and the wind got upto F7+ and sea's 3m+ and breaking a friend nearly threw a punch at me when I refused to turn and head back to Tarifa against the weather as his wife screamed hysterically below.. "we're going to die".. 2hrs past the funnel we were motoring on a glassy sea.
Its not your ball, you can't take it home.. Sorry!!

[NYSail]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Well Magellan, for one thing.......

"A couple's sailboat was 90 miles off Hernando Beach, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico........"

Technically, you're correct, they could try crossing the Gulf of Mexico and try their luck in Texas or Mexico. East may have been easier. with it blowing 25+ out of the east for the last 5 days, that might not be as easily done as typed.

Sorry Shew I missed the Gulf part......

So what you're saying is anytime the wind picks up and things get tough might as well call the coasties? And what about charts and basic navigation.... sun rises east sets west? It might be too tough? Then stay on land or at least not 90 miles out. Just seems a bit lame to me..... but I wasn't there and I am sure there is more to the story.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Looking at the pictures on the link provided I see that the rig is intact, a backwinded jib without enough wind to heel the boat, and not hardly a whitecap in sight.
Am I missing something about a stove-in portlight?
That would seem quite strange given the apparent conditions of wind/sea.
"Taking on water"? Now that would be an interesting thing to find out about.

Report linked in the OP said a portlight got busted in by a wave and water was sloshing around inside, shorting out some of the electronics. That's all that's been reported I believe, but is it all that actually happened? Dunno. Not sure about the "taking on water" part, assuming that connotes a sinking boat. Seems unlikely given the report also stating that the couple were making arrangements for salvage.

Maybe more to the story, but then maybe not. Wouldn't be the first time an otherwise sound vessel gets abandoned. Maybe as Boatie suggests someone freaked out. Only thing that seems certain is that poor little dog ain't gettin' back onboard!!

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by Exile

Report linked in the OP said a portlight got busted in by a wave

Yeah, right.
I've got a suspicion that whatever got busted-in by some wave was not a real portlight.

[lifeofreilly57]

During our cruising in the Caribbean I was surprised by the number of boats who carried no paper charts, didn't keep logs at sea or know traditional navigation basics.
It was surprising to me since I have charts for all the areas we cruised, from Newport to Panama and like to use them when planning a route and as a backup in case of failures. Had two chartplotters, a handheld GPS, open cpn on the laptop, etc, etc.
Oh, and I still have a sextant too, I might have to get the books out to remember how to use it properly but it's still a backup. Oh, and the tables to go with it.
I'd be rather embarrassed if I lost the electronics 100 miles out and couldn't get back to shore. Generally you could just head west and eventually run into land.
Now, if there were a serious injury onboard I could see calling the Coasties.

[George_SD]

It's possible that the water caused a short circuit that took out powered bilge pumps. We all know that in many cases batteries are located lower than most other equipment and that's not even counting all of the not water tight splices and connections below the cabin sole that many boats have.

Give others the benefit of the doubt when lives are at stake, especially when we know nothing about their abilities to deal with the situation.

[HeywoodJ]

I suspect this picture is the genesis of much of the conjecture/speculation. I wasn't there, I don't know, but, in a picture it sure looks like a boat that could be sailed back to somewhere.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by barcoMeCasa

No one here knows anything about what happened out there, just the usual web forum judgemental noise.

And generally by the same few characters. The ones proclaiming they aren’t being judgmental yet do so are the best.