VOR yacht aground!!

[roblpm]

Haven't seen this posted on here:

http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/8082_Volvo-Ocean-Race-Team-Vestas-Wind-statement.html

Seems incredible.

Will prove to many on here the folly of relying on any technology invented since 1900.........

 

[MM5AHO]

Vestas Wind planning to abandon at daylight. Alvimedica team standing by.

 

[Richard Shead]

Natrually delighted they are all safe but it's not very Rock n Roll to run aground in the Volvo ...!

 

[taifun]

All other yachts passed Cargagos Carajos well to the west. Vestas navigated very close to the shoal, in darkness, trusting a survey from 1846!

 

[prv]

All other yachts passed Cargagos Carajos well to the west. Vestas navigated very close to the shoal, in darkness, trusting a survey from 1846!

For values of "very close to" that include "right over the top of"

Pete

 

[Tidewaiter2]

For values of "very close to" that include "right over the top of"

Pete

Probably thought they were in an Anderson(or Southerly)

 

[Seajet]

Please do not put that other name in the same sentence as Anderson...

The A22 may be good, but until I can get my chums still at BAe to slide me a Pegasus engine I think I'll at least try to keep to the watery bits.

 

[Tidewaiter2]

Please do not put that other name in the same sentence as Anderson...

The A22 may be good, but until I can get my chums still at BAe to slide me a Pegasus engine I think I'll at least try to keep to the watery bits.

Oi, wots wrong with a Southerly, older ones anyway

 

[Firefly]

Looks like their problem was they were relying on technology that itself relied on technology from well before 1900......

 

[estarzinger]

This is the key screen shot of the charting they had. I have boxed in red the SART vessel position. Looks like the charts were 'accurate enough'.


View attachment 47336

The green boat icon is Alvimedica standing by on the leeward side of the reef.

 

[st599]

All safely off and in a fisherman's shack. Presumably Volvo now have to work out how to get them back.

 

[Seajet]

So, the big question, is she a write off then ?

 

[Seajet]

Oi, wots wrong with a Southerly, older ones anyway

Sorry Tidewaiter I forgot you have one !

It's the recent ones with silly rudders, prices and in my experience owners which have given me a somewhat jaundiced view...

 

[prv]

This is the key screen shot of the charting they had. I have boxed in red the SART vessel position. Looks like the charts were 'accurate enough'.

Oh, wow!

I think a number of us were assuming that the position of the reef was a few miles out due to the age of the original survey (the Navionics version has some quaint-sounding notes like "a little fresh water by digging" presumably taken from a 19th-century chart). And thinking they were somewhat foolish to pass close to the charted position at night, as if they were in European waters where everything is accurately charted to within a few centimetres.

But to sail right into it when it's correctly charted - how does a fully-crewed professional racing boat screw up that badly?

Pete

 

[sailorman]

Oh, wow!

I think a number of us were assuming that the position of the reef was a few miles out due to the age of the original survey (the Navionics version has some quaint-sounding notes like "a little fresh water by digging" presumably taken from a 19th-century chart). And thinking they were somewhat foolish to pass close to the charted position at night, as if they were in European waters where everything is accurately charted to within a few centimetres.

But to sail right into it when it's correctly charted - how does a fully-crewed professional racing boat screw up that badly?

Pete

No doubt all well qualified too. :sleeping:

 

[st599]

Oh, wow!

I think a number of us were assuming that the position of the reef was a few miles out due to the age of the original survey (the Navionics version has some quaint-sounding notes like "a little fresh water by digging" presumably taken from a 19th-century chart). And thinking they were somewhat foolish to pass close to the charted position at night, as if they were in European waters where everything is accurately charted to within a few centimetres.

But to sail right into it when it's correctly charted - how does a fully-crewed professional racing boat screw up that badly?

Pete

According to the interview on the VOR Facebook feed, it's only apparent at one zoom level.

The pilot book does say it could be upto 3 miles longer than charted.

 

[taifun]

Oh, wow!
........
...... as if they were in European waters where everything is accurately charted to within a few centimetres.

.......

Pete

+1, except for the quote above.

For a sobering take on the accuracy of European charts, read this Danish paper -> http://eng.gst.dk/media/gst/2392344/Behind Nautical Chart vers okt2013.pdf

 

[andymcp]

It's easy to speculate on blame from afar, but given its a many-mile-long known (and charted) hazard that the 4 boats in front all changed course to avoid (including one tweeting that they had to make a last minute swerve to avoid) it does seem odd that they still managed to hit it. Glad all are safe - hitting anything at night while doing 15+kts must be a very unpleasant experience. Can't help but think that after 9 days and nights on a fully powered up ocean race boat, effectively match racing for all of that time, with only 8 crew fatigue must have been a part of it. Harsh outcome regardless of the cause, those boys must be absolutely devastated.

 

[Seajet]

andymcp,

I'm sure you have at least most of it right there, I always say ' it's not rocks, fog or big waves that'll get you, it's fatigue '.

However PRV has a point, for that course they needed a RangeRover !

 

[Spyro]

Incredible saying that you could only see the reef at zoom level 1. Surely if you know they are there then zoom level one is what you would be using. It's all very well saying that everyone is safe and no one is injured but I'll bet there is one mighty pissed off skipper.