Asgard II sinking in Biscay

Even then a prop shaft hole would take some time to sink her.

If she was of planked construction I wonder if she might have sprung a board to sink that quick.
 
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The previous Captain of the Asgard II has also stated that the seacocks were in very poor condition and likely to fail but having read his comments yestereve, I cannot now find them. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

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" Frank Traynor, a former mate who skippered the Asgard II for eight years, said that while it was very hard to tell without knowing the facts, he would not be surprised if it was a sea cock which had come away from the hull.

“It’s a sea water valve that lets water into the ship to cool the engines or service the toilets,” he said.

If a plank had come away from the hull, it would have sunk in minutes rather than hours.

“I would not be surprised if it turns out to be something similiar to a sea cock having come off the side of the ship,” Mr Traynor said.

It was a “cheap piece of equipment” costing hundreds rather than thousands of euro and would have been checked every time the Asgard II was out of the water.

The Asgard II had pumps and back-up gear on board but if it was a sea cock the water would have come in fast.

The ship was in its prime and was built to last 100 years, Mr Traynor said.

It had survived hurricane force winds before and he felt safer on it than on a ship many times its size, he told RTE radio. "

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/asgard-sinks-1473976.html
 
So he absolutely DID NOT say anything about the seacocks being in "very poor condition and likely to fail ". Just that seacocks failure was this best guess.
 
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They'll soon have divers down to see what really caused it, speculation before then is worthless. It's only guessing.

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She was painted green. An unlucky colour IMHO, so it may well be down to that.

R
 
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" . . . One former skipper of the Asgard II suggested that it had sunk because of a faulty piece of cheap equipment costing a few hundred euros."

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That is misleading but not actually different from saying 'maybe a seacock failed'! Seacocks cost less than a few hundred euros! Even the very best ones!
 
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Have to be a girt big seacock if it's gonna fail and sink a lugger that size that quickly.

Let's wait for the divers to have a butchers.

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Indeed, when I clean the bilges out on PT i pull the impellor and let water rush in and the bilge pump take it out, its not much of a bilge pump but the level rises pretty slowly, I reckon on a ship like that it would be many hours to sink her and more of a chance to do something about it, like put a finger in the hole!
 
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Have to be a girt big seacock if it's gonna fail and sink a lugger that size that quickly.

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Indeed. I said the same thing above. I was responding to someone who said that a former skipper said she had dodgy seacocks. As far as I can see he said no such thing.
 
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Have to be a girt big seacock if it's gonna fail and sink a lugger that size that quickly.

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Indeed. I said the same thing above. I was responding to someone who said that a former skipper said she had dodgy seacocks. As far as I can see he said no such thing.

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Ahh, but the newspapers reported his actual & sensible comments in that way - bless 'em.
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I m so so sorry like other posters, to see that Asgard 11 has gone to the bottom. Like Dyflin, I also cranked up the shrt software given the bearing and range on Belle Ille and it looked unlikely that less that 100 meters was the depth at the given location. I am really thankful that all are rescued without injury.What a dilemma. If Ireland can have her salvaged this would be great. A very strong boat, I hope the impact on the seabed has not compunded her damage.
I have had water in the boat up to armpit level, seawater squirting up through sinks etc. We won that particular race, as the waterline length was increased,but I kept getting swept off my seat by the waves washing through the cockpit! Boat was saved by a bucket brigade of helpful Howth Yacht Club members, and a sinking was averted.
If we do get another vessel or Salvage the Asgard, I would recommend a permanent diving officer, ready to act as of old with patches, cement, wooden bungs, plastic padding, (sets underwater) even the Christmas Ham and tacks!, now who was that!thinks, Captain Voss? Earling Tambs? cannot remember!

Well done to Skipper and crew in caring for the lives of the 20 trainees , the main responsibility, and paramount in the order of things.
When the water level rises above the floors in a vessel it is very difficult to know the source of the ingress, The action of the sea itself, the water rushing about due to the instability, all serve to make finding the ingress point near to impossible. In our case we did not find out till afterwards, as the boat was bailed by the superior force of the bucket brigade. Back syphoning of the heads was the cause. Over a period of about 4 hours whilst racing was enough to put the vessel in very grave danger.Good sailing to all!
 
Having sailed both Asgard II (for over 20 years) and Maria Assumpta (for only a few days) I can assure you that the only thing in common was that they were both beautiful wooden sailing ships but their regimes and modus operandi could not have been more different.

Asgard was always maintained to the very highest standards. There was never any quibble about costs, particularly if safety or standards were at issue. She was always well funded and her fiveman crew were always highly qualified professionals drawn from the merchant marine with all relevant training, tickets and experience. Captain Colm Newport is probably the most able Master I have ever sailed with - and I have worked aboard close on twenty different sailing ships.

Her sinking is as yet a mystery as the water ingress was so rapid. It suggests a major hole was punched in her midships section (perhaps by a waterlogged 40' container) or even that she sprung a plank. This though is highly unlikely as she was so strongly built. For 27 years she has taken everything that could be thrown at her and survived. I have been repeatedly in extremes of weather in her and never doubted her. Only less than two years ago we battled for 22hours with what was acknowledged as the worst night in the Irish Sea for 30years. We made it to Howth, battered and bruised, when a lot of bigger ships would have been in far greater peril.
Her loss is desperately sad but to read utterly uninformed opinion floating as blogs or newspaper articles suggesting that she was lost through incompetance or poor maintenance is galling. Asgard has survived full hurricanes and it it ironic that she should go down on a night of moderate winds and seas. Lady Luck must have nodded off.
 
since 1981 there have only been 5 contracted skippers on Asgard II (and a couple of occasional relief one) I have sailed with all of the on her and I can't imagine any one of them making a daft statement like that. It is most likely an invention by some typically medacious newsman - disregard it.
 
Thanks for the post. I completely agree. What is worse is that the media tales were merely uninformed and confusing, it took someone on here to turn it round and start talking about known problems with seacocks.

I was really sorry to hear about her loss. I never sailed on her but was in that world for a while and know something about the passion and sheer hard work needed to keep such a vessel working. I also have many good friends who spend most of their lives at sea on similar vessels, so I can't help wondering what might have happened.
 
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