Yacht Justice Sinks

Cantata said:
Having been the forumite on the spot, with as much local knowledge as anyone round here, met the skipper and crew and also one of the lifeboat crew, it's more interesting than usual to read all the forum comments!
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Thanks for your written contribution on this thread and for your photos posted on the East Coast Forum. I have noticed that the passage between East Last and Hook Spit has shifted significantly over the last couple of years but it is difficult because the only point of reference you have is the buoys themselves and the buoys have had to be moved:

http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/aids_...tice_to_mariners/home.html?region=c&id=190422

I wondered if the movement of the Gore Channel could be a side effect of the construction of the nearby windfarm on Kentish Flats and if so then the Thanet farm may have even more dramatic consequences to the entrance to the Thames Estuary.
 
Ubergeekian said:
Thank you. Fascinating, and beautifully written. That account could be used in courses.
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I agree with Ubergeekian; I can completely identify with the skipper's sense of urgency to get to where he was going but it's a perfect case study to illustrate the principle that sometimes the best way to get to your eventual destination is to stay where you are.
 
Clyde_Wanderer said:
Really sad sight and my heart goes out to the owners.
What really shocks me is what looks like a very very flemsy keel to hull attachment which seems to be the nowm nowadays, it looks like the keel would have came off with the least of knocks, what are designers thinking of when they come up with such a weak design?
So much for modern technology and sandwich core, doesent look like the boat structure was very strong in any respect, especially when one compares the abuse that a Beneteau which went on the rocks on Horse Island off Ardrossan a couple years ago and the little hull damage she sustained.
C_W
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Having seen the rocks and witnessed the storm that battered the beached Benneteau you refer to I was also amazed at how little obvious damage there was when it saw it being recovered.
 
dratsea said:
I wondered if the movement of the Gore Channel could be a side effect of the construction of the nearby windfarm on Kentish Flats and if so then the Thanet farm may have even more dramatic consequences to the entrance to the Thames Estuary.
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that would be very interesting to look at...

Certainly at Scroby sands there has been considerable movement caused by the turbines.... Tidal scouring down tide can run for a considerable distance from the turbines... and the movement of the sandbank has been such that cable depths as originally laid have gone out the window... with some now almost on the surface.. and other buried much deeper than intended.

My impression is that at scroby this is all fairly localised... but the fact remains they do have a considerable impact.
 
Clyde_Wanderer said:
Really sad sight and my heart goes out to the owners.
What really shocks me is what looks like a very very flemsy keel to hull attachment which seems to be the nowm nowadays, it looks like the keel would have came off with the least of knocks, what are designers thinking of when they come up with such a weak design?
So much for modern technology and sandwich core, doesent look like the boat structure was very strong in any respect, especially when one compares the abuse that a Beneteau which went on the rocks on Horse Island off Ardrossan a couple years ago and the little hull damage she sustained.
C_W
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I find criticising the hull structure a little bit silly.
If you sail any boat at 8 knots into water that's too shallow with a few waves about, you stand a very good chance of destroying the boat. That applies to any hull from ferro to steel to carbon fibre dinghies. It's one of the reason's pivoting centreboards have their uses.

Full marks to the rescue crews involved and good to see cross border co-operation working out. Sympathy to the crew but at least no casualties.
 
Brand new boat being moved in winter, with a skeleton crew....

Anyone care to give me odds on that being a delivery skipper?
 
lw395 said:
I find criticising the hull structure a little bit silly.
If you sail any boat at 8 knots into water that's too shallow with a few waves about, you stand a very good chance of destroying the boat.
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True. The way the keel has pulled out leaving a fairly neat small hole in the hull is a bit surprising, though. It doesn't look as if the keel loads are very widely distributed - I'd have expected much more hull damage than there seems to be.
 
Quote from Mr Sea Mist II "you wouldn't catch me trying to do that, never ever!" Yay! I knew I was safe on our boat with such a sensible skipper!
 
Cantata said:
Having been the forumite on the spot, with as much local knowledge as anyone round here, met the skipper and crew and also one of the lifeboat crew, it's more interesting than usual to read all the forum comments!
Now then...
You are in Ramsgate, wanting to get to St.Kats. You want to get there for the 1300 HW locking-in. It's blowing hard from the NE and bitterly cold. You have one, very inexperienced crewman.
You could stay put, or plan a route in plenty of water through the Princes Channel, or you could use (very) slightly shorter 'Overland Route' as it's known locally, inside the Margate Hook Sand, past Reculver, and on across the shallows to the Nore.
You have chosen the latter. Your (almost) fatal error.
It's 0500 on Jan 31st, it's pitch dark, blowing 6-7 from the NE and you are flying (he at least had the full main up) westwards along the N.Kent coast in a very fast boat. You are aiming for a very narrow swatchway which, as charted, at LW 'should' just about have enough water to get you through. And it's LW.
You approach the narrow gap between the buoys on a beam reach doing, what, at least 8 knots perhaps, probably more. In the darkness you lose the best line between the buoys (or perhaps you didn't even know what the best line is).
The yacht strikes and stops. You realise you are in big trouble. You call a Mayday.
The lifeboat arrives, plus a helicopter. It's still pitch dark. The wind is howling, the waves are crashing on the sands around you. Your beautiful boat, that you've only had for four weeks, is jarring on the sands with each passing wave. Somehow the lads on the AWLB get a line aboard and take the strain but suddenly you realise water is pouring into your boat. Seconds later, she capsizes, you are both in the sea. Later the lifeboatman described this moment to me as 'very dodgy indeed', with just a small hint of massive understatement.
The helo crew are onto the situation, and somehow they get you and your crew lifted off the stbd quarter of the capsized boat. Still pitch dark! Still freezing cold!
The lifeboat crew can't really do anything to save your boat without putting themselves and their own boat in grave danger in the shallows, so it's left to fend for itself.
You and your crew are alive and unhurt.
It's only a boat.
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This account seems to be a rather unfortunate mix of factual reporting and personal comment. Not appropriate at this time, on this forum I would have thought.
 
savageseadog said:
This account seems to be a rather unfortunate mix of factual reporting and personal comment. Not appropriate at this time, on this forum I would have thought.
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There was no conjecture - just the telling of the story based on talking to the crew and a lifeboat member. Cantata has the credentials (of which you are perhaps unaware) and is unlikely to have spoken out of turn on a public forum (or even privately).
 
savageseadog said:
This account seems to be a rather unfortunate mix of factual reporting and personal comment. Not appropriate at this time, on this forum I would have thought.
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That's a little po-faced, m'dear fellow. I think he did admirably well in conveying the facts and some comments from professionals without dropping into direct criticism. Much as the MAIB, whose report will be interesting to read, do.

And why not on this forum, anyway? What forum would have been better?
 
lw395 said:
I find criticising the hull structure a little bit silly.
If you sail any boat at 8 knots into water that's too shallow with a few waves about, you stand a very good chance of destroying the boat. That applies to any hull from ferro to steel to carbon fibre dinghies. It's one of the reason's pivoting centreboards have their uses.

Full marks to the rescue crews involved and good to see cross border co-operation working out. Sympathy to the crew but at least no casualties.
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I wasn't referring to the keel damage, what I found surprising was the huge hole in the side.
 
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