Dreams Submerged

Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Poor plan. Or poor execution?

Could this be a result of the “Just go for it” thinking?
 
Aug 1, 2011
3,972
Catalina 270 255 Wabamun. Welcome to the marina
“An old 28 foot sailboat” drained everything? They couldn’t have started with much.
 
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Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
JP is my pass unfortunately,
not having sailing experience was the cause.

He didn't plan his trip down from Tarpon Springs to ensure
he would come into an unknown channel before dark & in fog.

To make matters worse, his woman stood on the bow with a spotlight in sea fog.
Who does that? Doing this, she cut down visibility to 10 feet at best past the bow.
He ran out of the channel & hit the sandbar period.

Coming down the channel with land lights shining in your face is also more confusing for knowing exactly were your position is within the channel.

How fast was he going, I don't know but, it was enough to rip off his
bolt-on keel.

Did he have up to date charts, again who knows the markers have changed over the years.

He did everything a novice sailor should NOT do.
I feel bad for them & their pug.

What's the old saying, "The prudent navigator should not
rely solely on only one form for navigation."

Or something close to this.
 
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Gunni

.
Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
No sailing experience.
Night approach to unknown inlet.
No radio.
No liability insurance.
Derelict vessel in public channel.
What could go wrong?

Looks like mom and dad are on the hook.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Did he have up to date charts, again who knows the markers have changed over the years.
Article says 2015-16 charts. DID IRMA CHANGE THE CHANNEL? When you notice the markets aren't where they should be, either you are wrong or the channel is. Either way, stop.

The sail from Alabama to Tarpon Springs should give a good introduction to sailing, unless the father that helped them didn't know how to sail either.

This is a very sad story and I feel bad for them. However, that whole section of coast is well maintained and well marked, usually. It does drift over time. It's almost all sand, after all. It sounds like their keel was destined to fall off. They are lucky it happened where it did.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 
May 7, 2012
1,338
Hunter e33 Maple Bay, BC
No liability insurance.
I am sure this event will generate a lot of comments. Just an observation, early in the article it stated: "They lived at the marina for months . . . " It is my understanding and experience that a minimum of $1M or more liability insurance is required to keep a boat in a marina or boatyard. Possibly different regulations for different areas.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
It is my understanding and experience that a minimum of $1M or more liability insurance is required to keep a boat in a marina or boatyard.
That would be up to the boatyard and their insurance company. Tarpon Springs is mostly a commercial fishing town with a small tourist industry. The old Greek sponge boats have given way to shrimp and charter boats. They may not feel the need to force a live-aboard couple to carry such a thing. Also, as one who had known it. Insurance policies don't guarantee a pay out in case of loss. :( Read your policy carefully, don't listen to the sales rep.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 
Mar 1, 2012
2,182
1961 Rhodes Meridian 25 Texas coast
I am sure this event will generate a lot of comments. Just an observation, early in the article it stated: "They lived at the marina for months . . . " It is my understanding and experience that a minimum of $1M or more liability insurance is required to keep a boat in a marina or boatyard. Possibly different regulations for different areas.
I carry $300,000, which has been acceptable all around the coast, Texas to Maryland
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I guess I’m insensitive but I think it’s too bad Darwinism isn’t effective on today’s humans
It is, Leslie, it just is working in a group form instead of individually. Natural Selection is patient, but, like the tortoise, it'll get there.

- Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jun 10, 2017
174
Catalina 1980 Catalina 30 Mk II John's Pass / Tampa Bay
Have we gotten off track here?

I thought this was about an ill-trained couple with an unproven
boat in a strange channel at night in fog.

Insurance or not, this did not have an effect on their sad conclusion.
 
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leo310

.
Dec 15, 2006
635
Catalina 310 44 Campbell River BC
By the write up they did not have a GPS and only used a chart. The problem that I see is, sailing in a new area at night and kept going even when not sure where they were and this makes a bad day. Now that it has happened what should they have done is stop and figure out where they were and if posable drop the hook and wait until day break.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
what should they have done is stop and figure out where they were
What they should have done, @leo310, is become familiar with navigation, sailing a boat, approaching a harbor and a hundred other skills needed to adventure safely onto the waters. As in so many accidents it is the series of little steps they took that got them into the mess they experienced. Sad. Well sure unless your a heartless curmudgeon.:yikes: (Not to disparage curmudgeon's). But it is a lesson that is often repeated.:banghead: Since they had not learned the piloting skill "Never enter an unknown harbor in the dark", they were unprepared for the experience. The idea of dropping the hook and waiting until daylight or at least till the fog dissipated appears to be outside their knowledge base.

Did they need to actually experience such things to learn them? Maybe. If you do not read information and history you are destined to repeat the failures of those that have traveled your path before you.

This is no different then the settlers who ventured across the plains in the 1800's trying to find California. Some chose to go it alone. Not all of them succeeded. They lost their rig to all sorts of peril. Hostiles, floods, river crossings, breakdowns...

Only difference, now you can tell your tale of woe, open a go fund me account and empathetic folks send you money.
As Yakov Smirnoff would say...