Worst Case Scenario: Hitting A Sunken Container - What To Do!??

[Tomm0]

Hope that whale was ok.

Liferaft, epirb, grab bag filled with goodies... and insurance. Get a new boat and start over.

[motaman9]

Take a look at "Adrift: 76 days lost at sea" by Steve Callahan, great book

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Charlie

The earth is a pretty dangerous place and probably all people who read this forum are members of the "Lucky Sperm Club" worrying about things that may happen as opposed to someone in Somalia worrying about where their next meal may come from, or in the Middle East worrying about the stability of their government, or East LA worrying about drive by shootings.

A little off point, but ain't it the truth.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by NOMN

He hit a sunken shipping container

but in the other thread the fin keel guy said you never had to worry about hitting things in the open water

[captain58sailin]

You don't have to worry about it, you should plan for it though. Also it doesn't mean you should be out there with your eyes closed, unless you are a single hander . It is much more dangerous around the coasts, with hitting logs, or fouling your prop on buoy line etc... or just plain running aground.

[boatman61]

The result of hitting a UFO in a 50kt blow in the Straits of Gibraltar S of Trafalgar/Barbatte... in a Catalac..
We managed to get her in but the hulls were shin deep in water... and there's a hell of a lot of volume under the floors... pumps failed and manual pumps broke...
20 miles further out.. Who knows
Repairing the split... went from hull to hull

[kellyp08]

This topic will probably become hot again following release of the Robert Redford movie "All is Lost". In the story the single-handed sailor's Cal 39 collides with a metal shipping container that puts a nasty hole in the starboard side from the waterline up. I've too have also worried about slamming into one of these while passage-making single-handed or even with a full crew; they'd be hard to spot on a dark night. And some, I understand, can float a few inches below the surface of the water.

In the movie the singlehanded Redford character puts the boat on a starboard tack and then repairs the hole with epoxy and glass mat while hanging over the side and reinforcing from inside. This may sound good in theory but the more likely point if impact will more likely be at the bow at or below the waterline. This would be a difficult place to effect a fiberglass repair - especially when single-handed.

Collision mats made of canvas with a sealing agent and securing lines at the the corners of the mat can be used to "plug" (overlap) the hole. In a pinch a small jib or storm trysail may work. If one can get to the breach from inside the vessel, the hole or crack can be dealt with. The external water pressure on the collision mat should significantly reduce the influx of water - hopefully to a volume that can be handled by the bilge pump (or raw water intake on the diesel).

It is estimated that there are about 20-30,000 of these containers floating around the earth's oceans that have fallen or washed overboard from the decks off those huge container ships. The outrage is that these containers are floating in international waters and, to my knowledge, no country will assume the responsibility for retrieving them!

All of that said, have I ever seen a floating container? Not yet.

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by kellyp08

This topic will probably become hot again following release of the Robert Redford movie "All is Lost". In the story the single-handed sailor's Cal 39 collides with a metal shipping container that puts a nasty hole in the starboard side from the waterline up. I've too have also worried about slamming into one of these while passage-making single-handed or even with a full crew; they'd be hard to spot on a dark night. And some, I understand, can float a few inches below the surface of the water. In the movie the singlehanded Redford character puts the boat on a starboard tack and then repairs the hole with epoxy and glass mat while hanging over the side and reinforcing from inside. This may sound good in theory but the more likely point if impact will more likely be at the bow at or below the waterline. This would be a difficult place to effect a fiberglass repair - especially when single-handed. Collision mats made of canvas with a sealing agent and securing lines at the the corners of the mat can be used to "plug" (overlap) the hole. In a pinch a small jib or storm trysail may work. If one can get to the breach from inside the vessel, the hole or crack can be dealt with. The external water pressure on the collision mat should significantly reduce the influx of water - hopefully to a volume that can be handled by the bilge pump (or raw water intake on the diesel). It is estimated that there are about 20-30,000 of these containers floating around the earth's oceans that have fallen or washed overboard from the decks off those huge container ships. The outrage is that these containers are floating in international waters and, to my knowledge, no country will assume the responsibility for retrieving them! All of that said, have I ever seen a floating container? Not yet.

I guess the plus side to them floating in international waters is that anyone can salvage and claim them.

I just hope I find one with a waterproof Maserati....

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by kellyp08

All of that said, have I ever seen a floating container? Not yet.

Not a container but had a large fridge freezer go past us one night whilst diving off the Northern Ireland coast. Being full of insulation it floated remarkably well.

Pete

[btrayfors]

No worry, guys and gals.

The IAPAIS is busy fitting all those free floating containers with AIS transponders. Just gotta keep your eyes fixed on the screen 24/7 :-)

IAPAIS = International Association for the Promotion of AIS

B

[MBLittle]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

No worry, guys and gals. The IAPAIS is busy fitting all those free floating containers with AIS transponders. Just gotta keep your eyes fixed on the screen 24/7 :-) IAPAIS = International Association for the Promotion of AIS B

Tagging them like whales huh?

[DeepFrz]

All of that said, have I ever seen a floating container? Not yet.

I have, but only on the internet on a live broadcast of the 2007/8 Vendee Globe. It wasn't in international waters but just off the entrance to Les Sables d’Olonne, the starting point for the race.

[markpierce]

I'm thankful my boat never became a lost container!

[Mr B]

If you can track your parcels as they travel round the world, By ship or air,

How come they cant track a container full of parcels being tracked,

[roverhi]

I've heard that something like 10,000 containers go in the ocean each year. By far, they almost all sink within a short time. The only ones that might float are refrigerated containers and only if they are loaded with produce that might make them positively buoyant, surely not a load of beef, and one that is loaded with particularly buoyant merchandise resembling styrofoam. So very very few containers will remain afloat to be a danger to a cruising boat.

You are far and away more in danger of running into a stray Boston Whaler or a log. The hazards will probably be a bit higher in the North Pacific till the Japanese Tsunami debris either sinks or grounds.

The reason that they can't track containers is they are typically nearly awash so any tracking device is going to get soaked, batteries would wear down quickly and they aren't stopping by your local friendly package tracking depot to get their locations updated.