Yacht sinks Motor Cruiser

[Guest]

Last Sunday I was driving along the sea front at Lee on Solent and noticed a 35-40 foot Motor Cruiser half submerged about 50 metres off the beach by the hovercraft slipway. Not having a camera with me at the time, I went back later by which time the boat was almost completely submeged with only part of the fly bridge and bowsprit showing. Further investigation during the course of this week has led me to discover that the MC was hit by a yacht from a well known saling charter company. The crew of the MC had to abandon ship and the coastguard asked the yach why it was not tanding by to assist the crew of the MC - the yacht replied that they are racing and just carry on regardless. Thankfully, all aboard the MC got off OK and were safe. The yacht also reported that they had sustained no damage. Does anybody know anything more about this? Also, so much for theyacht's regard for the safety of other mariners!

 

[Guest]

Dang! Mind you, if the MC ok, why go back? To really gettem? I hope the yacht got a result anyway, bit of a waste otherwise. Sorry, but there's almost nowhere in the world with more yachts and yacht races than the solent, so powerboats should watch for them.

The racing yachts do run it close - an essential part of yacht racing, or indeed almost all of yacht racing. If I had RoW in a yacht race, esp if end of series, I bet I'd wack other boats too, as much as the rules allowed. On a powerboat, I'd have cleared off, RoW or not.

I used to ride motorbikes. The hospitals have plenty of busted bikeriders in bandages and worse, many of whom can still sqawk "But I had Right of Way!" Yeah, you had right of way, but he had a Volvo.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

If they were out last Sunday, they were probably the only 2 boats in the Solent, given the foul weather so a trifle unlucky, methinks. Interesting to know whether the MC was being helmed from below or not 'coz if the MC was bashing its way westward into the prevailing gale, the skipper probably would'nt have seen a supertanker let alone a yacht.
Of course, it could have been the commitee boat they hit in which case I'm not surprised the yacht did'nt stop

 

[BarryD]

For some reason this has made the front page of our local paper (North Bucks rag 70 miles from the nearest salty wet stuff!) - £250,000 yatch sunk by sailing boat. The MC was following the race when the sailing boat performed a "bunt" that went wrong and hit the MC. No damage to the yatch but the MC rapidly started to take on water and the Solent coastguard were called. RoW has not been established but the MC owner is a bit non-plussed and is going legal.

Of course this is all from SWMBO over the phone so don't take it as gospal.

Barry D.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Which Bucks rag is this seeing as we live in S.Bucks?
On wot basis is the MC claiming RoW? And wot's a 'bunt'?

 

[BarryD]

Answers to Deleted User

Mike,

Citizan - printed out of Milton Keynes (can't get more North Bucks than that)
No idea why the MC is claiming RoW
Not a clue what a "bunt" is ask a saily type



Barry D.

 

[davel]

From the Citizen

http://www.mkcitizen.co.uk/news/story1.html has a picture (at least today it has).
Text is as follows:

THAT SINKING FEELING....






A CITY couple celebrating a wedding anniversary afloat leaped for their lives as their £250,000 luxury cruiser sank after being ‘torpedoed’ by a yacht.

Computer firm boss Bob Morris and his wife Jayne, from North Crawley, had been enjoying a day’s cruising with three friends when near-tragedy struck on Saturday.

Their 45 feet long boat, the Perfect 10, was following a yacht race in the Solent off Portsmouth when one of the racers turned suddenly striking the cruiser below the waterline.

“It was a big impact,” said Bob who runs data firm Compulogic.

“I dashed to assess the damage and it was even worse than I feared. There was a big hole and water was pouring in.

“We had to abandon ship as it was going down very quickly,” he said.

All five put on life jackets and scrambled into the water to be picked up by the boat which had hit them.

The Perfect 10, which the couple, married 17 years, have owned for five years was moored on the River Hamble near Southampton.

Despite attempts by Coastguards, who rushed to the scene following a mayday call, the boat slipped beneath the waves as sea conditions worsened and it could be a total loss.

“It had started as a delightful day with my wife and three friends and ended in complete disaster,” said Bob, who is in his 40s.

He said he is now seeking legal advice to establish who was responsible for the accident.

“I shall be looking to

recover the cost of my boat,” he said.

Meanwhile a full investigation has been started by the Marine Accident Investigation Board.

The skipper of the sailing boat, chartered from yachting holiday firm Sunsail, has submitted a report. The sailboat was undamaged.

Sunsail general manager Chris Satchwell said he understood their boat had been performing a manoeuvre called a broach and lost control as it turned sideways.

“Unfortunately the power boat was in the way.

“However the rules of the sea are complex. It will be for the board to decide who was at fault,” he said.

 

[byron]

It is an offence under the maritime shipping act not to render assistance if you are in a position to do so.

©2001
www.education-jobs.co.uk
www.alexander-advertising.co.uk

 

[Guest]

According to the newspaper report, there was some assistance given, but that's not what my information led me to believe, but then my contact was only listening on Ch 16 and was not close enough to see.........

 

[duncan]

if the yacht broached and hit the mc then it is hardly an intentional manoevre on behalf of the yacht - and the mc would seem to have been in the wrong place for the conditions /situation. All that will be assessed in due course.
However there does seem to be some conflict between the thread and the article regarding whether the yacht rendered assistance after regaining control or continued racing.......
Interesting thought is that a yacht probably had the best possible material available to 'save' the mc - a nice heavy sail or sail bag placed outside the breached hull could well have created a reasonable seal.

 

[Guest]

Re: From the Citizen

Sunsail? Isn't this the charter operator? So what's it doing racing?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by kimhollamby on Wed Jan 30 21:31:09 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

Re: Sunsail

ah no, they do a lot of racing - the boats are based portsmouth, and are available for rent (charter) for several races and series throughout the season. I have chartered boats from them, and altho they're basic boats, they usually work ok, and they have spare ones if soem twat in a motorboat is so sodding close that a weird move makes you ram him.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by kimhollamby on Wed Jan 30 21:29:36 2002 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Sealine?

The picture looks like a Sealine (410/420?) so I suppose we should'nt be surprised that it can be sunk by a dinghy

 

[Guest]

Re: Compulogic?

..is regisrtered as a compnay with "Dormant" status. Oh dear. I would have thort we have easily enuf info now to launch a bombing run.

 

[jfm]

Spooky c\'incidence....BB already thort bout this

...The idea of a dangling water intake pipe Tee-ed into the raw water inlet. And GW please eat much humble pie re scoffing at idea. If the Sealine had this device fitted (patent royalties to matts re basic concept, additional royalties to jfm if remote morse cable to ball valve was fitted) they could have revved up and pumped thousands of gallons/min of seawater out of the hull and mebbe stayed afloat.

JFM

 

[Guest]

Re: Spooky c\'incidence....BB already thort bout this

Happy to eat 'umble pie, m'lud, but it's a bit cramped down here in the bilges, wot with all the fairies and teh festoons of plumbing, and some eejit's just gone and put in ball valves, now, wot with cables to 'em and all.

Actually, I suspect I may not have understood the concept properly, here, y'know...

 

[Twister_Ken]

Raggie responds

Ho Hum - you don't actually perform a broach - it's what happens when the yot takes control* turns across the wind and gets pressed over so far that the rudder comes mostly out of the water and the helmsperson loses any ability to correct the problem, at least not until the yot has weathercocked into the wind and come back upright.

However a broached yot doesn't go very far or very fast so the motahboatah must have been pretty close to get hit hard enough to sink.

*usually caused by carrying lots of sail, and then getting hit by a gust from a unexpected direction.

 

[MikeBrazier]

Re: Raggie responds

Probably much easier to take down the mast and fit a nice big engine or two