Deja Vu
When I read the post of the sailboat capsizing off Ocean Beach at this time of year, it was like Deja Vu. I read on another sailing forum today that the capsized 20-footer was really a Newport 30 the Canadian owner had bought in Los Angles and was harbor-hopping his way back up to Victoria BC, I don't know whether this is true or not, but it doesn't matter. On February 12, 1997 the US Coast Guard Motor Life Boat (MLB-44363) went out at night in gale conditions to rescue a dis-masted sailboat off the Quillayute River Bar, it sank and lost three of four crew members. The sailboat that MLB-44363 was trying to rescue was owned by a US Naval Officer that was being transferred from California to Washington. The US Naval Officer was harbor-hopping between incoming storm fronts to bring his sailboat up to Washington state before he had to report for duty. On November 6, 2003 a retired couple sailing the South Pacific left Kauai to head to Long Beach California. Nine hundred fifty miles north of Hawaii the retired couple's 32-foot sailboat hit a storm. The sailboat's EPIRB went off and the US Coast Guard found only the couple's empty life raft. The local newspaper indicated that the retired couple wanted to return home before the holidays to be with their family. The common thread between these three sailing tragedy is that the three sailboats were in a hurry to get to their home port, so they took a risk and sailed at the worst time of year. April 4, 1912 the HMS Titanic was sailing to New York on her maiden voyage. Both the owners and captain wanted to set a speed crossing record on her maiden voyage. That night the weather was clear, but cold. They had reports of icebergs in the area. There was no wind that night, it meant that the surface of the water was like glass and you couldn't see the waves hitting the icebergs. There was also no moon, which meant you couldn't see the moonlight reflecting off the icebergs. Most icebergs are white, but if an iceberg rolls over the white reflective surface is replaced by clear ice, which is hard to see at night. Based on these conditions, most ships in the iceberg field either stopped or reduced speed to maneuvering speed, just enough speed to maintain minimal helm control. The HMS Titanic was traveling at top speed to break a record. "When anyone asks me how I can best describe my experiences of nearly forty years at sea, I merely say uneventful. I have never been in an accident of any sort worth speaking about....I never saw a wreck and have never been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort." Captain E.J. Smith HMS Titanic Unfortunately, sailing tragedy like this has always happened and unfortunately will always happen. All four captains were highly experienced with a lot of years at sea, but once you stop believing that the sea can kill you, it will kill you. Fair Winds, Clyde http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/News/2004/02/21/355446.html
