Bavaria capsizes in Zumaya ( Country Vasque. Spain )
- Thread starter javier
- Start date
Laundryman
Member
There will be others along shortly, far more experienced than I but my first thought when the video started was, what on earth are those crew members doing on deck. As it turns out they weren't even strapped on! The only positive comment I have is that the boat righted herself very quickly. Horrible to watch.
Sailfree
Well-known member
am I correct in counting 4 in the water but only 2 rescued in the end? 2 did not seem to have lifejackets?
pcatterall
Well-known member
+Even before they came in the swell looked pretty big and waves starting to break I don't think I would have been sitting around so casually. When they came in I was surprised at that big breaking wave but guess they should have had a better idea of the conditions and just seemed not to care. As stated pretty orrible to watch!!
Sailfree
Well-known member
He did a 180 before entering so I think they were trying to judge a slacker period to attempt to enter. The way the boat wallowed and sped up when surfing down the waves indicate to me how difficult the boat was to control in the circumstances.
mrming
Well-known member
I'm speechless.
The boat coped well with the knockdown for what it's worth. One would hope the cameraman was on the telephone from the very beginning.
The boat coped well with the knockdown for what it's worth. One would hope the cameraman was on the telephone from the very beginning.
Wandering Star
Well-known member
absolutely agree and quite a while later you can see another crew member on the yacht walk forward still not clipped on (to do what, I'm not sure). The sailboat doesn't appear to have a clue and disappears without making any attempts to recover the MOB's then reappears and still does nothing. From my armchair I thought it was a dreadful example of seamanship. The motor cruiser did well not to get herself swamped or turned turtle and in the conditions, I thought the motor cruiser deserved a lot of praise.
Sailfree
Well-known member
We don't know the harbour but the area of white water in one shot and the swell I think it may have been a shallow area where the MOB's were washed to. The entrance channel appeared to be on the far side. I am sure that otherwise the yacht would have attempted to recover them.
Just checked and entrance channel is on far side. Nearside to the left not shown in video is a shelving beach. With the swell, whatever the shallower depth where the MOB's were, there must have been a real risk of pounding and breaking the keel off. A Bavaria did that on the Bramble Bank IIRC circa 2002?
Last edited:
Talulah
Well-known member
Looks like a different yacht has come out.
rwoofer
Active member
It was a different sailing boat that returned.
I'm not surprised the original boat did not return as there was a real risk of making a bad situation worse as the MOBs were still in the surf line and the risk of another capsize possibly onto the MOBs was too high. Even if they made contact with the MOBs in good time, I doubt they would have been able to get them aboard safely. I'm sure that is also why the second sailing boat stood by.
I just hope that the original sailing boat went in to summon more suitable help and the mobo was the result.
Blueboatman
Well-known member
Wow, thx for the heads up
Here's a good aerial view and entrance guide to put the yachts mobo delay in some more informed context.
http://www.guideatlantique.com/spip.php?article276&lang=en
Unlucky , rogue, wave doesn't begin to cover it. Amazed the engine kept running tbh..
I watched the whole thing, the skipper did seem to play the throttle and prob thought he had 'made it' past the molehead ok.That was some breaking wave that rolled 'em,-and look just how quick the flick over was- but that's what huge groundswell does on encountering shallows. All that energy has to dissipate somehow!
Experience would have perhaps been more risk aware...
Horrid artificial little snaky entrance too
No serious injury one trusts, this time
Last edited:
Wandering Star
Well-known member
But the breakers were fairly regular so coming in from seaward the skipper should have seen the sea conditions and aborted all thoughts of carrying on, certainly the crew should all have been harnessed up especially those on the foredeck. I'm not convinced that where the capsize happened was particularly shallow water but admit I don't know for sure. I am absolutely certain I wouldn't have left the MOB's alone until more help appeared (could summon help with VHF or flares rather than leave the casualties) and finally just launching the life raft on a long painter might have helped. In summary, I felt the helmsman or skipper had a brain freeze, he shouldn't have been there in those sea conditions and his MOB technique was woeful. I couldn't help being reminded of that German yacht last tear which was smashed up on the Portuguese Coast trying to make an entry into some port or other when the conditions were clearly against it - 2 people killed on that attempt as I recall.
Blueboatman
Well-known member
Sailfree
Well-known member
Thats the problem with Biscay entry to most ports are governed by swell and prevailing W wind so once you get caught out its often best to stay out.
We sailed Biscay in 2004 and it was one gale after another. Saw some really beaten up boats that had been driven E and arrived in Bilbao but had originally been heading to cross to NW corner!
We ended up in port a lot to my wifes extreme frustration as her daughter was becoming increasingly ill and was finally admitted to hospital. Ended up sailing back on my own but picked weather windows.
Its only in the last 2 years has my wife started to regain any confidence and want to go sailing for summer holiday!
We sailed Biscay in 2004 and it was one gale after another. Saw some really beaten up boats that had been driven E and arrived in Bilbao but had originally been heading to cross to NW corner!
We ended up in port a lot to my wifes extreme frustration as her daughter was becoming increasingly ill and was finally admitted to hospital. Ended up sailing back on my own but picked weather windows.
Its only in the last 2 years has my wife started to regain any confidence and want to go sailing for summer holiday!
Last edited:
Sailfree
Well-known member
Look again and count number overboard and number picked up. From my look I think 2 that started swimming did not have LJ on.
2nd_apprentice
Well-known member
Seems like there was a real risk of running aground:
Sound advice too about not trying in those conditions.
Sound advice too about not trying in those conditions.
Last edited:
Sailfree
Well-known member
OK we can all be armchair critics after the event but can we learn from this event. Assuming we were going to go in is there anything the skipper could have done better?
Obviously LJ and clipped on, everyone in the cockpit.
It seemed to happen so fast do you think there was any chance of anticipating the wave and taking it stern on?
It looked windy and an onshore wind. Do you think a bit of genoa out to get through the entrance faster would have been better.
Accepting all this is asking for armchair judgements - just interested in trying to learn from others greater experience.
Not looking for the smart alec answers of no going in but could he have done anything better or was a capsize inevitable.
Just going into Cap Breton I was surprised by how much the swell magnified going into a harbour entrance. It went OK under engine alone but I did wonder after if it would have been better with a hankerchief of genoa out to steady the boat (the wind was constant) and to give more speed.
Obviously LJ and clipped on, everyone in the cockpit.
It seemed to happen so fast do you think there was any chance of anticipating the wave and taking it stern on?
It looked windy and an onshore wind. Do you think a bit of genoa out to get through the entrance faster would have been better.
Accepting all this is asking for armchair judgements - just interested in trying to learn from others greater experience.
Not looking for the smart alec answers of no going in but could he have done anything better or was a capsize inevitable.
Just going into Cap Breton I was surprised by how much the swell magnified going into a harbour entrance. It went OK under engine alone but I did wonder after if it would have been better with a hankerchief of genoa out to steady the boat (the wind was constant) and to give more speed.
Roberto
Well-known member
There are more details coming out
this site
http://www.lamarsalada.info/2014/02/espectacular-vuelco-de-un-velero-en.html
reports the boat was a local one, they went out for racing the same day, and were going back. They say swell was not that horrid, and that particular wave was an exceptional one. [I think during the video 12minutes there are not many of that height?]
Four people were swept overboard, 2 with lifejackets, 2 without; one was the skipper. They stuck together and waited for rescue as they could not swim. The site reports when the four were back on the pontoons they were not frightened.
This is the entrance
I reckon after the capsize the boat made the right choice to remain under the shelter of the starboard quay: the MOBs were just in front of the shoals/port wall: had she gone there, one more breaker and it's all destroyed on the beach
this site
http://www.lamarsalada.info/2014/02/espectacular-vuelco-de-un-velero-en.html
reports the boat was a local one, they went out for racing the same day, and were going back. They say swell was not that horrid, and that particular wave was an exceptional one. [I think during the video 12minutes there are not many of that height?]
Four people were swept overboard, 2 with lifejackets, 2 without; one was the skipper. They stuck together and waited for rescue as they could not swim. The site reports when the four were back on the pontoons they were not frightened.
This is the entrance
I reckon after the capsize the boat made the right choice to remain under the shelter of the starboard quay: the MOBs were just in front of the shoals/port wall: had she gone there, one more breaker and it's all destroyed on the beach
mrming
Well-known member
Local boat or not, as soon as I saw him side on to that swell with people lounging around on deck, my heart was in my mouth.
Sailfree
Well-known member
Thats good news. I could only count two people towards the end so I suspect each person hung onto one with a LJ. I did suspect that they were in shallows and that accounts for the yachts action.
