Have you guys seen the video of that 50' fishing charter boat going down about 5 miles south of the Golden Gate? Just about the same place where the sailboat went down a month or two ago. They had 25 guests and four crew aboard when the boat started taking on water and they had to put-out a Mayday call to the Coast Guard. Fortunatly, about 4-5 other boats in the area where able to get there faster and started pulling people out of the 50 degree water. About a dozen of the guests were too afraid to get off of the boat and clung to the railings at the bow until the boat had rolled almost 90 degrees and threw them into the water. One guy on a boat that came to assist had a video camera and caught it on tape. They were able to get everyone safely aboard the rescue boats but one fellow who was 85 yo had to be evacuated by helicopter to a hospital where he later died of a heart attack. The Captain of the boat said the boat sank because of a 'pump failure'. The CG is already making plans to raise the boat to prevent pollution to the beach. Lousy way to end a fishing trip!!
Dramatic rescue off of Ocean Beach ...
- Thread starter Jeff M21319
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Pump Failure??
Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing this. When they haul the boat, it will be interesting to see what caused it to sink. I'm struggling to figure out what kind of pump failure would cause a sizeable boat like that to sink. A raw water pump? Seems like they should have been able to close a through hull. Curious. Gary Wyngarden S/V Wanderlust H37.5
Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing this. When they haul the boat, it will be interesting to see what caused it to sink. I'm struggling to figure out what kind of pump failure would cause a sizeable boat like that to sink. A raw water pump? Seems like they should have been able to close a through hull. Curious. Gary Wyngarden S/V Wanderlust H37.5
Conditions
I had a late breakfast at Louie's overlooking the area between the sinking/rescue and the Golden Gate bridge a few hours before the event. It was pretty windy with plenty of whitecaps, but overall, the swell didn't look that bad. I would have sailed given the conditions. I haven't checked the tides, but it does change pretty fast closer in as the tide and current changes. I'm not sure how major that effect would be where they were reported. Given the position reported in the coverage, I do not think the fishing boat was in the same area as the recent sailboat sinking. By that, it sounds like the fishing boat was off the shoal area. It was reported as two miles out, while the sailboat rescue was performed from shore. I saw a short segment of the rescue tape on either Fox news or MSNBC, not sure which. It will be interesting to see what the cause was once they lift the boat. My understanding is that it took on the water pretty fast. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
I had a late breakfast at Louie's overlooking the area between the sinking/rescue and the Golden Gate bridge a few hours before the event. It was pretty windy with plenty of whitecaps, but overall, the swell didn't look that bad. I would have sailed given the conditions. I haven't checked the tides, but it does change pretty fast closer in as the tide and current changes. I'm not sure how major that effect would be where they were reported. Given the position reported in the coverage, I do not think the fishing boat was in the same area as the recent sailboat sinking. By that, it sounds like the fishing boat was off the shoal area. It was reported as two miles out, while the sailboat rescue was performed from shore. I saw a short segment of the rescue tape on either Fox news or MSNBC, not sure which. It will be interesting to see what the cause was once they lift the boat. My understanding is that it took on the water pretty fast. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
A high water alarm would have been Good
A simploe float switch high water alarm might have made for a far better day for all involved. Once the water gets too deep, it is hard to see where the water is coming from. A lack of good lighting compounds the problem as does poor house keeping and junk stored below in the bilges that obstructs vision while trouble shooting. A loose or broken hose would be a good guess as the source; the investigation/post mortum will provide the answer.
A simploe float switch high water alarm might have made for a far better day for all involved. Once the water gets too deep, it is hard to see where the water is coming from. A lack of good lighting compounds the problem as does poor house keeping and junk stored below in the bilges that obstructs vision while trouble shooting. A loose or broken hose would be a good guess as the source; the investigation/post mortum will provide the answer.
Just wondering what went wrong...
It'll be really interesting to find out what went wrong and how the boat sank so fast. I'm wondering, if something like that occurred and the engine was still operational, wouldn't a boat that size have an engine driven pump that could keep up with all but the largest leaks? They didn't say that they hit something or that the hull had been punctured, so I'm really curious to know what could happen that could make a boat that big sink so fast. Also, since it was an inspected, commercial vessel, wouldn't they be required to have enough life rafts on board for everyone to get into?
It'll be really interesting to find out what went wrong and how the boat sank so fast. I'm wondering, if something like that occurred and the engine was still operational, wouldn't a boat that size have an engine driven pump that could keep up with all but the largest leaks? They didn't say that they hit something or that the hull had been punctured, so I'm really curious to know what could happen that could make a boat that big sink so fast. Also, since it was an inspected, commercial vessel, wouldn't they be required to have enough life rafts on board for everyone to get into?
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