Rescue in SoCal's King Harbor

[MrBill_FLL]

once it was on the rocks, I'd be tempted to be in the companion way, down below. hugging a fender.

with a outboard powered sailboat, this is a constant worry. I've had close calls.

its good to be lucky!

 

[shemandr]

With regard to the rescue swimmer, I'm sure he is eagerly anticipating the re-descent of his bronze testicles from way up in his abdomen. A heroic act. He was in significant peril when the boat got free and passed him to seaward.
As far as what I would do it's hard to say. Honestly I may have curled up on the cockpit sole and hoped for the best. I would have been tempted to scurry off the boat when it was out of the water but there probably wasn't enough time to mentally process that. If a rescuer yelled to me to go in the water I might of complied based on not my judgement of what is best, but of the fact that the swimmer has risked his safety to help me. There should be a point in which someone threatened realizes he is not in control, that mentally he is not in his realm and his best chance is to follow someone else's instructions.

 

[jssailem]

This is another example of staying with the boat is a good choice. Looking again at the 1979 Fastnet race (known as the “Horror on the high seas”)
the after event report stressed that many of the abandoned boats were floating and would have given their owners better conditions than abandoning the boat.

 

[Hayden Watson]

So......this is likes a sailors worst nightmare.
What could he have done different after he was on the rocks?
Would control of the jib sheet have given him a chance to get the head hauled earlier?
Was luck the only remedy here?

This could be any of us one day..

Once he hit the rocks all control was out of his hands. It was pure luck that the bow fell off enough for the main to fill and allow him to sail off.

We do not know what happened before the video started but in the article linked in post #25, the videographer stated that the boat came out of the marina and as soon as he cleared the breakwater reversed course toward the marina and was unable to point high enough to stay off the rocks or to tack. At that point he needed to steer to starboard to gain enough speed to enable a tack but the instinct for self-preservation resists that action.

His biggest mistake was not having a reef in the main and jib.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Could the captain and crew have backwinded the jib to swing the bow out or was there now way to regain control once the boat was on the rocks?

I got away from a pier by backwinding my jib once. Of course, I had a stern line on to keep me from blowing backwards onto another boat.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[jssailem]

Will.
There looked to be possible options like that but not sure the owner was thinking of them. The wave hits probably had him pretty shook up and holding on for dear life.

 

[Scotty C-M]

Watching that boat being bashed around, I don't think there was time or opportunity to do anything but hang on. Can you imagine trying to go on deck?? Holding on, or going into the water seem to be the only options. Going off the boat onto the rocks would be a very dangerous thing. I think that God just had other plans for those guys that day. All rescue workers deserve our (hopefully) undying respect (pun intended).

 

[genec]

"This could be any of us one day..."

I would certainly hope not. I like to think that many of us think well ahead, and plan contingencies when approaching dicey situations.

For instance, when I lost my engine (due to exhaust clogging... years ago) when approaching the channel and rocky entry, my first thoughts were to "unlock" my anchor, and hand the crew a boat hook. I then unfurled my jib and sailed toward the center of the channel.

We all recognize that sailing is hours of pleasure, punctuated by moments of "controlled terror" when approaching the hard crusty stuff... best be prepared.

 

[LuzSD]

So......this is likes a sailors worst nightmare.
What could he have done different after he was on the rocks?
Would control of the jib sheet have given him a chance to get the head hauled earlier?
Was luck the only remedy here?

This could be any of us one day..

I don't really agree this could be any of us...... at least in the circumstances that led to this for them. Going out in the conditions that were pretty clearly difficult, and then going full sail on top of that....is not what I'd guess most would do. We saw 2 boats out that day in Dana Point and they were having a really difficult time, but they were far out away from the jetties. Both ended up motoring and furling (in that order I hope ... we always go by the rule....never extinguish one source of power without replacing it with another, so we'd make sure we had an engine that worked before furling). I wonder if this boat had it's motor on when they attempted to get right back in initially?

Once these poor souls were so out of control I can't imagine they had much on their minds besides staying in the boat and not getting tossed around more than they were. It is really hard to watch. I agree with others that at the point they were on the rocks and it got so bad, the fact that these hero's jumped into the water for them would lead me to follow whatever they told me to do. They were meant to live through that for sure!! Wonder if the dog will ever willingly get on that boat again!

 

[genec]

once it was on the rocks, I'd be tempted to be in the companion way, down below. hugging a fender.

with a outboard powered sailboat, this is a constant worry. I've had close calls.

its good to be lucky!

Why does having an outboard powered sailboat make this a constant worry?

I can understand that perhaps the outboard might not get a "bite" in a large wave... but is there any thing else?

 

[Johann]

Why does having an outboard powered sailboat make this a constant worry?

I can understand that perhaps the outboard might not get a "bite" in a large wave... but is there any thing else?

I think in addition to the prop coming out of the water in large waves, a huge disadvantage is that you need to be making good headway to get any steering. With the inboard you can swing the bow around through the wind in forward gear with the thrust directed on the rudder. This could have been a factor in landing them on the rocks.

 

[dlochner]

Why does having an outboard powered sailboat make this a constant worry?

I can understand that perhaps the outboard might not get a "bite" in a large wave... but is there any thing else?

The outboard is really exposed whereas an inboard or sail drive has some protection from the keel and rudder.

And as you note, the outboard can come out of the water and lose its bite.

The downside to inboards is the crud at the bottom of the fuel tank. The wave action can stir it up and clog fuel filters.

Having had the experience of becoming intimate with a break wall on a boat with a cranky outboard (anyone remember the British Seagull?) I would much prefer to have an inboard.

 

[bawlmer]

The article said there were gale force winds and they were predicted. Also there was an 100 foot ocean going tug inside the harbor waiting out the wind event. What was he thinking?

 

[JamesG161]

What was he thinking?

His DOG wanted out of the house!

It was probably not the winds, but the Jetty/Harbor wave action that got him. If you notice his Outboard was in the UP position and not being used.

My guess is, full sails for maximum Way On and the Wave Action nosed him into the Irons.

Please note where that Tug was... ZERO WAVES.
Jim...

 

[genec]

The article said there were gale force winds and they were predicted. Also there was an 100 foot ocean going tug inside the harbor waiting out the wind event. What was he thinking?

I understood the gale force wind prediction was for "outside waters," which I seem to somehow believe was 30 miles out... no doubt still high winds "inside."

 

[Newport Bob]

OK - I just looked at this again. First agree with comments re rescue swimmer WOW! But near the end it looks like both power boats are more involved with the sail and no one is concerned/assisting the swimmer. Maybe I missed it but I didn't see a retreavel of the swimmer

 

[Rick D]

OK, here's a video that shows less of the end but more of them before they hit the rocks:
http://tbrnews.com/photos_videos/vi...cial&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

 

[Will Gilmore]

A relaxing of the main and pull on the jib sheet might have helped.
You can never tell though.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Johann]

You can see him hanging over the stern working the outboard prior to hitting the rocks.

 

[Gunni]

You can see him hanging over the stern working the outboard prior to hitting the rocks.

Which is one of the reasons he ended up on the jetty. Total waste of time. That outboard was useless to him.