I just don't get this

[Timm R Oday25]

Bodies of two children recovered after sailboat capsizes, search continues for missing man

Officials say the three left Oconto Harbor after 10 a.m. and around noon, officials received a report of an overdue boat.

fox11online.com

Why would you take kids that are still in diapers ?

 

[kappykaplan]

Very sad.

 

[thinwater]

This will no doubt stir emotions.

I took my daughter out when she was smaller than that. But with a larger boat, a better eye on the weather, and most importantly, always with another adult (usually wife but not always) who's sole responsibility was the safety of the children. We occasionally reversed duties, but there was always an adult with a single focus and no other assigned tasks, at least until she got a little older. It was never just the two of us until she started school, and by that time she knew the rules and was use to the water. By the time she was late elementary school she had her powerboat operators license, and in someways better judgment (more caution) than me. Now she's a teacher.

I've never claimed to be captain safety.

 

[kloudie1]

Sad to hear..
As Thinwater.. my boys were out with us before they could walk.. They'd both been "drownproofed" before they could walk since we have a pool...A pretty good boat, a keen weather eye and some sense of surroundings kept everything safe. it may have stunted their growth, however.... (both 6' 4 ish )
.

 

[DArcy]

That is a very sad story.

I was sailing before I could walk and so were all of my kids. Similar to Thinwater, there was always an adult to focus on the kids, and one to focus on the boat. Whether taking young children sailing is an irresponsible act depends on the boat, the skill of the skipper and the conditions.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

I also was in boats as soon as I could walk . Often times many miles from help. I never wore a lifejacket until I started sailing on Lake Michigan by myself in rough weather . My life ,my decision...
I lost my daughter when she was 15 ..so perhaps .I'm a little more emotionally invested in little kids than most folks

 

[dmax]

My kids were on my boat as infants - one daughter took her first steps across the salon floor. We had them in car seats strapped into the cockpit when sailing, felt very safe.

 

[dLj]

Truly a tragedy. Very very sad.

At 3 and 5 the children were likely not in diapers. I did take my daughter sailing at a much earlier age, she was not walking and rode in a car seat. We never went out with any chance of bad weather.

Having sailed in the area of Door County, I also know that there can be local squals that can be pretty fierce up that way. Nothing in that article talked to the local weather. Nor was there any mention what the boat was. So while a major tragedy, without more information all I can say is my most sincere condolences to the family and friends affected. Indeed a terrible tragedy.

dj

 

[DArcy]

There is a video that mentions the boat is 18ft and that there was a variety of weather over the period of time the boat was out. It sounds like weather could have been a factor.

 

[Foswick]

I think there's more to this story. Ages 3 and 5 are not too young to go out for a day sail in decent conditions, if the skipper is reasonably competent. Though they didn't comment on whether they were wearing PFDs, but is seems likely they were not, since the water temperature at the surface was 72 degrees. I noticed that on July 13, the boat had a mast up. But, the recovered boat did not even seem to have one present. Though the boat was listing in the water, it was still afloat and there is plenty to hold onto.

It seems unlikely that the boat simply capsized, resulting in all three drowning unless this played out in the most tragic way, with the father drowning trying to find his children.

We know that they beached on July 13 (from the photo). So, if I had to speculate, when they left that beach, the father simply forgot to put the keel back down.

 

[Marmalade]

Bad storms on Lake Michigan that Saturday night... took-down some expensive rigs on some experienced big boats... imagine an 18footer

 

[dlochner]

Bad storms on Lake Michigan that Saturday night... took-down some expensive rigs on some experienced big boats... imagine an 18footer

The Chi-Mac is a big deal. People spend lots of money to win those races and they push the boats to their absolute limits and keep up way more sail than most of us would ever use in those conditions. The boats are often sailing at the edge of their design limits. We don't know the details of the dismasting, however a sudden wind shift and a jibe could bring down the mast.

 

[thinwater]

The Chi-Mac is a big deal. People spend lots of money to win those races and they push the boats to their absolute limits and keep up way more sail than most of us would ever use in those conditions. The boats are often sailing at the edge of their design limits. We don't know the details of the dismasting, however a sudden wind shift and a jibe could bring down the mast.

We'll probably never know. But you bring up an interesting point. They may have been hit with a real bomb. Perhaps the boat was smashed and dismasted and there was nothing dad could do (other than not be out).

We read about heavy weather tactics, but the most important less most sailors can learn comes from being not just beaten but complete destroyed, like the Old Man and the Sea, early in their careers. A merciless capsize in a power full thunderstorm. A boat with bare poles picked up and thrown around on the beach. It took several experiences before I fully learned that thunderstorms can pack anything, that small boats will capsize, big boats will break stuff, and it's just not worth it. If it's black, take everything down and forget about being brave (stupid). Better yet, if you are in a small boat, go home early. Even on bigger boats I take in all the laundry when there are microbursts around. It's much more relaxing and less expensive.

 

[dlochner]

Size alone is not insurance against weather related disasters. The very design of the boat and its stability are perhaps more critical. There is an interesting series of articles on Peter Swanson's Loose Cannon substack on the Pride of Baltimore I capsizing and sinking in a microburst. The articles by Roger Long, N.A. are an interesting discussion about stability and the various influences on decision making that went into the design of the first Pride.

Pride & Stability, Part 1: About That 'Microburst' Theory of Sinking...

Disaster Did Not Require Extreme Winds To Happen, Naval Architect Roger Long Says

loosecannon.substack.com

 

[FDL S2]

The boat was a Gulf Coast 18. The weather Saturday evening was nasty. I am an hour south of Green Bay on Lake Winnebago and we had sustained 35kn winds around 8pm. Below is the radar showing the storm tracking towards Green Bay, I circled Green Bay in red on the first pic - they were in the middle of it.
Strong Thunderstorms pop up in summer, looking at the forecast in the morning it showed a partly cloudy day with light winds.

 

[Timm R Oday25]

Thank you for supplying a more complere understanding to wht most certainly was a cause.