Power Boat sinks Sag Harbor,NY

[seadaddler]

Last sunday a fifty something power boat hit the rocks
outside the mooring field and break water at Sag Harbor,ny
and sank in 10ft of water at about 8 in the morning.
It wasn't until 12 midnight that two Boat US towing it into
our marina at brewers Greenport,took two more ours to pump
out more water before lifting her out of the water onto land.
Monday I saw the big holes in her bottom and watched someone
taking everything out of her insides,clothing and gear and all
the furniture.
The word is she is a total loss,she was big and beautiful.
So if your boating and don't know the waters make sure you
always check your charts and I am sure most of us already do
but some boaters make costly mistakes,thank goodness know one
was hurt.
Nick

 

[Ross]

Nick, Did they hit the rocks before or after dark?

There was a story a few years ago about a man and his sons wreaking on the jetty at night outside of Charleston ,SC. Didn't know where the entrance was and were too close to shore at night.

 

[jviss]

not abou this but, ...

... I surely hope the grammar and spelling police aren't monitoring this thread.

 

[Ross]

Jviss sumtimes Eye make missteaks when I post but if you ken

reed watt I rote then I got close enough.

 

[jviss]

Yes sir!

Me too! I can barely type most of the time.

 

[Scott]

If I'm not mistaken ...

those rocks are just barely showing at low tide. The first year I brought my ski boat out and lauched at Sag Harbor I bought a chart, but did not study that area very carefully. We were just looking for good places to water ski and then go fishing later on. I think I ran right thru that rock field later on that first day at high tide. Later on while looking at the charts more carefully, I was like, YIKES!! *yks With all that sand out there, you wouldn't exect to find a rock field right outside the entrance to a major harbor like Sag Harbor.

Much as I love sailing, I still don't want to give this boat up ...

 

[Ross]

It helps to remember that Long Island exists because of the last

Ice age. It seems that the Glacier stopped there and dumped its load of sand, gravel and boulders.

 

[Mike G.]

I have been up close and personal with those rocks

While departing Sag Harbor one morning, I stupidly was trying to program my handheld GPS and did not pay attention. A few minutes later the Admiral realized that we were not moving. Luckily we "just" got deposited on top a one of those rocks.

I let out the boom and let the kids hang from it. Off we went - no damage!!!

Boy, did I get an earful from the Admiral!!!

Mike

 

[sinnettc]

Seems like . . .

They'd mark 'em if people run into them that often.

 

[CalebD]

Forget about the 'Grammar Police'

Ross is write, LI was built by glaciers that left some pretty huge boulders that exist all along the north shore of LI and even on the CT side too.
I think that for a power boat of that size to sustain that much damage from contact with the bottom (as has been described) only proves that the 'captain' was going WAY too fast in an unfamiliar area (either that or the bottom of this floating condo was built way too thin). One less menace on the water for the rest of us.
If a boat that size sank, as in filled with 10' of sea water, then it's engines were underwater too, all electronics fouled and everything else soaked in a nasty solution of seawater, diesel/gas plus who knows what. It is no big surprise to me that the insurance company would 'CTL' (complete & total loss) that boat. The insurers will end up owning the boat and have it fixed up and sell it to some jerk one more time. In all likelihood few insurers will not insure this guy for 3 years again as the accident was clearly his fault; the rocks did not move into his boat, his boat hit the rocks.
I have sailed my smallest (14') sailboat around Northwest Harbor (near Sag Harbor) enough to know that it is a beautiful area and that there is some current to be considered as well as bottom obstructions.
BTW JViss, Seadaddler's post was pretty well phrased, for him. I will look for the story to appear in the East Hampton Star next Thursday and if I find any grammatical mistakes in their story I will certainly write them! I don't hold Nick up to quite the same standard. Wink, wink.

 

[tweitz]

On the rocks

The East Hampton Star is pretty good on grammar.

And those rocks (which I pass quite frequently) are well marked on the charts. Megayachts transit that area every day without a problem. I think a lot of people think that hazards and channels are not marked unless there is a specific navigation mark on each hazard. They don't understand the concept that you are supposed to look at the chart to see where the hazards are relative to your position. I count 13 navigation markers within a 1 nautical mile radius of the end of the breakwater. So if you are in that area, you should know where you are. If you know where you are it is easy to miss the rocks. Moreover, a boat that size must surely have a chartplotter on the bridge, and that would show the rocks as well. A while ago I was in Three Mile Harbor and a guy came up behind me in a huge Cigarette boat and asked if he was in Sag Harbor. He was only about 8 miles away. People who navigate without paying attention to the charts eventually find the shallow water and rocks. At least he didn't hit anyone else, like the idiot in Buzzard's Bay.

 

[Scott B]

On the rocks

On our recent trip to Killarney, I monitored 3 different Mayday calls for people abandoning their vessel after running onto rocks. We saw the aftermath of one grounding with the salvage boat pulling a 36' powerboat with several pupms on deck trying to keep it afloat while undertow. A few weeks ago I watched a fairly new 30 sometning Rinker heading at half throttle between a couple of points with many rocks, less than 2 feet deep and no way through. Luckily a closer boat and people on show got his attention and he came to a stop without hitting anything but right in the middle of the "mine field" and this is in an area with well marked channels, clearly charted and shows up on the chart plotter. Go figure.

 

[Ross]

I down loaded the chart for Sag Harbor

the rocks are clearly marked . Look to page 11.
http://ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/12358_BookletChart_HomeEd.pdf

 

[RAD]

The rocks in question

Just south of bouy "9A" ?