Catamaran collides with object off DR

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

Interesting story from last week, wonder what they hit.

https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-st...e-puerto-rico/

The article says 9 foot seas, but the picture looks like a reasonably calm motion. Maybe just a perspective.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[Scorpius]

I don't know. There's something suspicious about this. They say they were sailing in 9 ft seas when they hit something solid and began to sink. They say that 20 minutes later they were one third down and the boat continued to sink. There's a picture in the article of the boat about 1/3 down, so presumably taken about 20 minutes after the initial accident. That picture does not show 9 ft. seas. It shows about a one foot slop. Since when do 9 ft seas drop to a 1 ft slop in 20 minutes? In all my years of sailing, I've never seen that.

That inconsistency plus the lack of a reliable reported position of the accident raises serious doubts in my mind about the veracity of this entire report.

[donradcliffe]

Pictures very rarely depict the sea state accurately.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Pictures very rarely depict the sea state accurately.

Sorry, but those are NOT 9' seas! Not even close! Certainly not enough to pick a boat up and bring it crashing down on the obstruction several times. Sorry, but it's still fishy.

[boatman61]

Was gonna comment when this thread started but did not fancy the consequent abuse for being heartless to folks pain..

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by Scorpius

Sorry, but those are NOT 9' seas! Not even close! Certainly not enough to pick a boat up and bring it crashing down on the obstruction several times. Sorry, but it's still fishy.

I have often tried to film or photograph nasty conditions, then you look at the footage or picture afterwards and wonder what all the fuss was about! So when you see pics or videos of nasty seas, and it looks nasty, it was probably horrendous!

A 9ft sea will definitely not look like much on film or photo, probably because it isn't much to start off with in the first place!

[boatman61]

Even in a photo these do not look to be 6 to 9ft sea's with apparently 'stronger than expected winds'..
Sad they lost the boat but...

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Was gonna comment when this thread started but did not fancy the consequent abuse for being heartless to folks pain..

And yet, it is well recognized that inexperienced folks allow fear to make the seas seem bigger than they actually are. If they went over a reef with a break on it, and then were in the lee of it, the seas would be knocked down.

Anyhow, the story says they have another cat now, pretty fast turnaround!

Ann

[clakiep]

Catamarans do not sink ! At least sensible built ones ! If one hull is cracked open, open sea cocks in the other hull so it will float upright on its bridge belly. With only one hull submerged waves and wind can easily flip it over to a upside down position ! Not nice, but lots of time to wait for rescue with access to water, stores and gear.

Capt. Claus - ocean tramp of the eighties

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by clakiep

Catamarans do not sink ! At least sensible built ones ! If one hull is cracked open, open sea cocks in the other hull so it will float upright on its bridge belly. With only one hull submerged waves and wind can easily flip it over to a upside down position ! Not nice, but lots of time to wait for rescue with access to water, stores and gear.

Can you clarify this? Are you suggesting partially flooding the intact hull to level the boat?

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by qwerme

Probably another upside down Catamaran LOL

Not sure what's funny about that? May I ask how old you are, qwerme ?

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

[...]

Anyhow, the story says they have another cat now, pretty fast turnaround!

Ann

Yes, that surprised me, too! Insurance to the rescue, maybe?

Either way I'm glad they're back on the water and able to tell the story 100's more times now!

[qwerme]

Originally Posted by hzcruiser

Not sure what's funny about that? May I ask how old you are, qwerme ?

Well, I have a catamaran and people usually point out that it's more stable upside down.

The thought of an upside down catamaran, and not a partially submerged container, being the thing people actually hit was funny to me.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

And yet, it is well recognized that inexperienced folks allow fear to make the seas seem bigger than they actually are. If they went over a reef with a break on it, and then were in the lee of it, the seas would be knocked down.

Anyhow, the story says they have another cat now, pretty fast turnaround!

Ann

Consider myself 'Put Down'...

[SSgtPitt]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Very, very sad. The Sea.AI system (formerly OSCAR) can detect and warn for containers https://sea.ai/category/offshore/. Depending on your speed and proximity to your helm it may give you enough warning (a few hundred metres) to change course.

Interesting that they were rescued due to their personal EPIRBs; it seems that a boat EPIRB was not present, or at least not activated. I’m glad it worked out for them, but I still don’t really understand why sailors buy PLBs with satellite rather than AIS functionality. In a MOB situation I would want my boat to be able to respond, not a rescue organisation that could be 1000s of miles away. The EPIRB PLBs are designed for land and aircraft rescue, not for MOB situations.

Having both covers as many bases as possible. An AIS unit would have been worthless in this instance. We have an Epirb for the boat and PLB’s and MOB’s on our Mustangs. Hopefully we can help ourselves as well as have the Coast Guard come get us if needed.