Renegade_Master
Well-Known Member
towed in................ lucky the rescuer has not claimed the vessel as salvage.
What went wrong after I sold my boat - Delivery trip from hell
- Thread starter mjkinch1
- Start date
Nick_H
Well-Known Member
IIRC, some plotters will show the boat symbol where it last had a fix, which in this case would be Alcudia marina last time Martynk used the boat. It would also certainly say "no fix", or something similar, on the screen. Either way, what you wouldn't see is the boat moving at all, and it would be blindingly obvious to anyone that it wasn't working. However stupid the skipper was, I can't believe he travelled 300+ nm thinking the plotter was working when it wasn't.
My guess is he couldn't get it working, so went dead reckoning instead, but using the plotter chart, cos he didn't have a paper chart. This would explain why he was 20 miles out, and with no other way of knowing exact position, the skipper probably moved the cursor on the screen to his best estimate of where they were using dead reckoning, and used that to give the emergency services a rough position to start a search?
To make it clear, i'm not in any way defending the skippers actions, he sounds completely incompetent. He should have got the plotter working before leaving, he should have sent owner off to buy a paper chart, he should carry a hand held GPS himself, and most of all he shouldn't have run out of fuel.
My guess is he couldn't get it working, so went dead reckoning instead, but using the plotter chart, cos he didn't have a paper chart. This would explain why he was 20 miles out, and with no other way of knowing exact position, the skipper probably moved the cursor on the screen to his best estimate of where they were using dead reckoning, and used that to give the emergency services a rough position to start a search?
To make it clear, i'm not in any way defending the skippers actions, he sounds completely incompetent. He should have got the plotter working before leaving, he should have sent owner off to buy a paper chart, he should carry a hand held GPS himself, and most of all he shouldn't have run out of fuel.
Renegade_Master
Well-Known Member
He should have got the plotter working before leaving, he should have sent owner off to buy a paper chart, he should carry a hand held GPS himself, and most of all he shouldn't have run out of fuel.
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Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
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Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
Dave_Snelson
Well-Known Member
Blimey! What a mess! Even coast hopping, a reasonably competent skipper could have made a better fist of it than this. Glad it all turned out safe in the end.
Coupe
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
He should have got the plotter working before leaving, he should have sent owner off to buy a paper chart, he should carry a hand held GPS himself, and most of all he shouldn't have run out of fuel.
__________________________________________________________________
Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree. I remember when we were taking SV1 over from Conwy that the skipper we had hired had a spare GPS. He knew that we had one on board but explained that he had already loaded the waypoints etc, just in case the boats system didn't work properly.
Excellent idea sez I so I bought a spare HH when I got home /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Martyn, yes, I remember being shocked when you told us the story in NW. I relayed the story to friends at home and to say gobsmacked is putting it mildly.
BTW: nice w/e on the water this side /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
He should have got the plotter working before leaving, he should have sent owner off to buy a paper chart, he should carry a hand held GPS himself, and most of all he shouldn't have run out of fuel.
__________________________________________________________________
Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
[/ QUOTE ]
I agree. I remember when we were taking SV1 over from Conwy that the skipper we had hired had a spare GPS. He knew that we had one on board but explained that he had already loaded the waypoints etc, just in case the boats system didn't work properly.
Excellent idea sez I so I bought a spare HH when I got home /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Martyn, yes, I remember being shocked when you told us the story in NW. I relayed the story to friends at home and to say gobsmacked is putting it mildly.
BTW: nice w/e on the water this side /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely, Clive.
Our new Princess was professionally delivered from Plymouth to Swanwick - the delivery skipper and crew had their own handheld navigation plotters and other backup equipment - portable liferaft etc.
They didnt even use the onboard equipment. I asked them why - the answer was that they are all slightly different and he considered he was much safer using his own hand held kit.
He did, however use the autopilot - but only for holding a set course.
Yes indeed essential for the skipper to check the GPS is working correctly, obtain and take the charts to cover the whole trip, always carry a spare GPS (I also carry a spare HH VHF) and should have calculated the fuel consumption or made enquires.
[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely, Clive.
Our new Princess was professionally delivered from Plymouth to Swanwick - the delivery skipper and crew had their own handheld navigation plotters and other backup equipment - portable liferaft etc.
They didnt even use the onboard equipment. I asked them why - the answer was that they are all slightly different and he considered he was much safer using his own hand held kit.
He did, however use the autopilot - but only for holding a set course.
D
Deleted User YDKXO
Guest
Martyn, I'm gobsmacked by the skipper's decision to coast to Sardinia. I considered the same trip this year myself and it never occured to me to plan this route. It's just a nonsense. Firstly the passage from the French coast to Sardinia is barely shorter than the direct route from Mahon and secondly it involved a crossing of the notorious Golf de Lion. If there was an issue with a range, the solution would have been simply to go at displacement speed for part or all of the trip or carry more fuel
Then there is the a/p thing. If something electrical doesn't work, the first thing you do is look at the breaker board!
Who was the skipper Chris? Not arranged by a mutual acquaintance of ours in Alcudia, I hope?
Then there is the a/p thing. If something electrical doesn't work, the first thing you do is look at the breaker board!
Who was the skipper Chris? Not arranged by a mutual acquaintance of ours in Alcudia, I hope?
mjkinch1
Well-Known Member
I think that having been involved in the post conversations about this, a couple of clear issues happened, of which I have absolutely no idea why.
- The journey that was planned for weeks, was changed at dinner the night before.
- The GPS was not tested, and no paper maps were taken or alternate GPS
- The buyer was in a hurry to get the boat away, and so decisions were made that were not tested through
I think you are right Mike, the journey via the coast was absolutely wrong, given the day they left it was a good forecast and should have been an easy crossing straight from Mahon.
Anyway the good news is that despite the tricky start. the boat is now happy in her new berth, and the lessons of this trip are just one of those things you tuck away in the 'I wont do that again' draw....
- The journey that was planned for weeks, was changed at dinner the night before.
- The GPS was not tested, and no paper maps were taken or alternate GPS
- The buyer was in a hurry to get the boat away, and so decisions were made that were not tested through
I think you are right Mike, the journey via the coast was absolutely wrong, given the day they left it was a good forecast and should have been an easy crossing straight from Mahon.
Anyway the good news is that despite the tricky start. the boat is now happy in her new berth, and the lessons of this trip are just one of those things you tuck away in the 'I wont do that again' draw....
