Raft-up Disaster

The water coming over the transom while they are in reverse is a good clip for all to see... pretty scary stuff.
 
sfergson727 said:
What a bunch of Dumba$$es in the second clip. Plenty of DumbA$$ awards to go around in that one. 1st one goes to the owner for leaving the boat on a mooring with a hurricane coming. 2nd goes to the brainiac straddling the bridge to hold the fender in place, one slip and he is cut in half by the bridge and the boat. 3rd one goes to the idiots who salvaged it. Should have let the boat be destroyed, it's not worth a human life to save it.

A lot of things could have gone wrong when they boarded that boat, and they put their lives in danger with their acts, and conceivably others who would then have to try to save them from their stupidity.

Stupid.
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Absolutely agree. God invented insurance for times exactly like this.
 
I think that is in Zachs bay over by Jones Beach/Inlet. That is exactly why I like to pay for docking over at Fire Island!!
 
tdschafer said:
I think that is in Zachs bay over by Jones Beach/Inlet. That is exactly why I like to pay for docking over at Fire Island!!
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That is the Thumb you can see FI lighthouse in the back.
I did a night dive there. The tide was right but we were wrong and got swept out the inlet. 3 hours later and a 2 mile walk back the the truck . The tide rules. I feel their pain.
 
OK, here's a question for you right coasters who have to deal with hurricanes....Why don't boaters find a fairly well protected inlet/bay like the boat from the second video was in and just keep the bow headed into the wind?

On Memorial Day weekend iin 2002 I had my 330 up on the Snake River. I was anchored in a small inlet with a soft mud bottom. A predicted storm turned out to be much worse than imagined and I started to drag anchor. The only thing I could think of to do was get out of the cove and ride the storm out in the middle of the river. We had 4'-5' waves and winds gusting to 70mph. After about 45 minutes the storm subsided and we made a run for a sheltered park where we could tie up safely to a dock.

With 20/20 hindsight I don't think I had any other alternative. I've often wondered why people who own 30'-50' boats don't just ride out the storm.

Any thoughts?
 
Gofirstclass said:
OK, here's a question for you right coasters who have to deal with hurricanes....Why don't boaters find a fairly well protected inlet/bay like the boat from the second video was in and just keep the bow headed into the wind?

On Memorial Day weekend iin 2002 I had my 330 up on the Snake River. I was anchored in a small inlet with a soft mud bottom. A predicted storm turned out to be much worse than imagined and I started to drag anchor. The only thing I could think of to do was get out of the cove and ride the storm out in the middle of the river. We had 4'-5' waves and winds gusting to 70mph. After about 45 minutes the storm subsided and we made a run for a sheltered park where we could tie up safely to a dock.

With 20/20 hindsight I don't think I had any other alternative. I've often wondered why people who own 30'-50' boats don't just ride out the storm.

Any thoughts?
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The quick boater answer (myself included) would be ya save the boat and ride it out. Especially if conditions were as in the second video. But let's be honest. Anything could happen out there and it becomes life or boat. Ya you'd still have to put me in a straight jacket!
 
Skuza said:
Lets not forget the first video. It is THE definition of a cluster f*#K!
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I did not see many people actually start doing anything until it was too late??? The boats on the far side should have untied and got out of there, or where some of the boat owners on shore?

We have pretty large raft ups in narrow coves with deep water, and will often get some storms/winds break us loose. We all move quickly and get either untied, or help move the entire group. Granted it is not a tide, but still we do not just sit around and waste anytime. i just did not see any sense of urgency on the boats until they where already in trouble.
 
Gofirstclass said:
I've often wondered why people who own 30'-50' boats don't just ride out the storm.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

In a previous life I was an Air Directing Officer aboard one of our P3 Orions on a search and rescue in Fiji. A fishing trawler with 10 crew on board had sent a mayday after being hit broadsides by a couple of big waves during a seasonal cyclone. As far as we could tell from their last message the deck house had been badly damaged. They were never heard from again and no wreckage was ever found. God bless them and their families.

While we were conducting the search we were called off to also look for a 60 foot yacht that had left the local marina just as the storm hit. The vessel was on an hourly radio watch but after two hours was not heard from again. Two days later we found her close to shore under sail but flying distress flags. I ordered a local trawler to her assistance and she was towed back to Suva. It seems the captain and one crew member had decided to take the yacht to sea and ride out the storm rather than risk the inevitable damage that would occur in the confines of a relatively exposed marina. The sails were hydraulically hoisted and all was well initially but in their haste they had left a stern hatch open. In following seas they had taken water into the engine room which killed all the electrics. With their commuinications, engines and generator systems all washed out, they were effectively disabled. They could luff up but otherwise couldn't reduce their sails for manouvering, hence the distress flags.

So, going to sea to ride out the storm is not unheard of but in these conditions, planning, judgement and experience are just some of the essential prerequisites.


Terry
 
The commentary was the worst part for me.
 
That is the Sore Thumb side of theFire Island inlet. In that very spot there tends to be a whirlpool effect during tide changes. The current definitely rips through there at times. I'm not surprised that it pulled all those anchors loose.
 
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