Update on the San Diego Capsizing last year

[LuzSD]

After receiving this letter and thinking about it for a long time, I believe that it would be appropriate to share it on this site. We had some very interesting and varied opinions at the time so I felt it was appropriate to share this forwarded email. As you can see, I received this in October and have not been able to forget about it...I decided I needed to share it with you now.
Take a look and see what you think and feel as you read it yourselves.....I'll share my thoughts after a while.
[FONT=&quot]
Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:02:08 -0400[/FONT]
Dear Heart of Sailing Captains and Volunteers,
As you probably heard, I had an accident in San Diego at the end of March that cost 2 lives. After 4 month of investigations, the Harbor Police of San Diego cleared me from any wrong doing and did not charge me with any criminal charges. The victims’ families filed a lawsuit against me, Heart of Sailing and Macgregor, the manufacture of the sailboat that capsized for no good reason. After all the police and opponent lawyers investigations, they are clearing us to pursuit Macgregor for problems and bad design that already cost many lives in the past.
I am now, after a long and painful journey, and the help and support of my family, my partner Stina, many of you and the families that sailed with us, emerging a little from my silence and getting back on the saddle to lead again Heart of Sailing to serve more families and continue the expansion to more horizons with some modifications in our Daysail procedures.




The email goes on to discuss his future sailing plans with Heart of Sailing....


Last year’s After Thanksgiving Sails were very successful.
[FONT=&quot]We all serviced 764 individuals from 163 families on 39 sailboats in 18 cities with the help of 77 volunteers that weekend.[/FONT]
We are ready to do it again this year to come back with a success. Lot of families that sailed with us over the last few years sent me notes to ask me to hang in there and that they were ready to sail with us again as soon as Daysails were available in their region.
Are you ready to do it again this year and to give them a memorable experience?

You probably heard from our Heart of Sailing families, as we do, that there is very little for Special Needs families to do together. We want to help change that, especially around the holidays. In that spirit, we are offering the After Thanksgiving Sail, primarily on Saturday, November 26, Friday and Sunday and the weekend of December 3rd/4th are also possible if it fits better your schedule. This not only provides the opportunity to create a new holiday memory and tradition, but to also include extended family members and friends who may be in town visiting.

The sails will be 1-hour in length, as usual. The only real differences are that there will be only one family per boat per hour, and we would like to present the sailing certificate to the family as a whole. We will send a template for both the certificate and the confirmation email that we recommend that you use.

I always greatly appreciate the care and time that you give to these families, but I want to give you a special thanks for helping to create a new family holiday tradition this Thanksgiving.

We presently have captains committed in:
Dana[FONT=&quot] Point, Newport Beach & Ventura CA, Jacksonville and Melbourne FL, Atlanta GA, Tacoma WA and Puerto Rico. [/FONT]
We would like to sail in all our chapters that could sail in November.

Please confirm the date, how many hours you would like to sail, and the number of family members that you can accommodate on each sail.
Also, please watch for our Parade of Light information.

If you do not want to receive any emails from me or Heart of Sailing, or want to be removed from our volunteers list, please let me know, I do not want to bother anyone.

Kind regards and thank you soooo much for your support in the last few years,
George

George Saidah
Founder/Executive Director
Heart of Sailing
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Sailing in CA, CT, FL, IN, GA, LA, MA, NJ, NY, OR, PR, TX, WA, Canada and France
U.S.[FONT=&quot] Headquarters:
1114 N. College Ave., Bloomington, IN 47404
email and phone contact information was deleted by me
[/FONT]

 

[Maine Sail]

MacGregor's fault...?????? Yeah, and the fork made Rosie O'Donnell fat... Gotta love the "capsized for no reason"..... What next some clown will sue Walker Bay because his dinghy capsized with only 11 people in it....

 

[Mike B1026]

Sounds like they had some idiot investigators. I would guess the lawyers figured that MacGregor had deeper pockets that a non-profit group. I wonder what type of insurance that group had? The bare minimum?

Hard to believe anyone that saw the way that boat was loaded would have let that guy off.

 

[Maine Sail]

"Capsized for no reason"... I got a reason POOR SEAMANSHIP.. Oh and they actually had the nerve to put the sails up. 10 PEOPLE ON A MAC 25!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course it is ALWAYS someone else's fault....

 

[Ross]

I wouldn't allow ten people on my Islander 30!

 

[sinnettc]

Not a lifejacket to be seen either.

One of the YC's at our lake hosts a sailing outing for the local Big Brother/Sister program. Everyone wears a lifejacket and nobody's boat gets overloaded.

We've had 6 or 7 people on Verboten but only to motor out for the 4th of July fireworks. Sailing, i don't think we've ever had more than 4 adults or 3 adults and 3 small children.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

fwiw, its a macgregor 26D,(daggerboard), waterballast. 1987-1989 IIRC. the M25 had iron keels around 700#.

A report from one SanDiego Mac owner said the ballast was not full. (very bad).
-and clearly overloaded.

-I'm sure George has good intentions, but from what I read, he was in a business where he was charging for sail trips.

-Shake a Leg is a better run org... and they use sonars with extra lead in the ballast. good point on the pfd's. I've taken shake a leg sailors out, and pfd's are required.

 

[Rick D]

Purely A Deep Pockets Issue

The 501 C3 has no assets, MacGregor does.

 

[Steve Dion]

George should spend a few months in jail.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

According to today's coast guard standards, the capacity of the MacGregor in question is only 5 passengers (960 pounds).

My boat is similar in size and I think that I could put 11 overweight passengers on board and still not be in danger of capsize for a harbor trip like the one in question. Sinnettc, you just said that your boat is stable for 7 and yours is significantly smaller than the MacGregor. Besides that, according to calculations that are taught in CG Auxillary courses for Safe Boating, a boat the size of this MacGregor should be stable as a rule of thumb for the number of people that were on board. I accept the argument that the calculation is just a rule of thumb and can't be relied upon and a manufacterer shouldn't be held to that standard (otherwise canoes would not be viable), but I don't accept that it is ethical or justifiable for MacGregor to mislead innocent people into believing that the boat is constructed to a reasonable standard, when they purposely sacrifice stability and safety to meet an economic model.

The point is that the MacGregor is as unstable as a canoe, yet it is disquised as a stable boat with proportions that are similar to other boats with far greater stability. Even their glossy advertising touts how stable the boat is ... just go to their website and see all the proclamations for stability and safety. Buried in the fine print is their statement on capacity and even where NOT to place people to avoid capsize. In one photo, MacGregor has a guy standing on the rail of the deck pulling on the shrouds, simulating stability, while their fine print says that passengers should NEVER be placed on the deck.

MacGregor is as deceptive as the captain that allowed all those people on the boat. Casual observers would know that overloading a canoe is dangerous. When those folks were standing on the dock, the MacGregor looks as stable as any other sailboat, but the truth is that it is not.

I hear all the arguments that the captain is at fault, and I agree, but MacGregor is equally deceptive and I don't blame the injured parties for suing MacGregor one bit.

 

[Jackdaw]

Sadly, not the first time this sort of stupidity has claimed lives.

10+ people. Non-sailors. Kids. Water ballasted Mac

http://www.ne-ts.com/ar/ar-407capsize.html

 

[Merlin Clark]

IIRC, to haul passengers for hire, the operator or "captain" has to be USCG licensed and the vessel must be inspected by the CG to ensure it is fit for this purpose.
If this is a charter business (and it sure sounds like he is) and the "captains" are not licensed and the vessels are not inspected then he should be shut down until this is sorted out.
Wringing of the hands and cute puppies aside, there are rules in place that cover this and I surely hope the great State of California can figure this out. They don't need to be punishing this company for the incompetence of this boat operator.
The boat is fine for what it is designed for and this wasn't what it was designed for.
As they say "it's a poor craftsman that blames his tools".

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Jackdaw, you may not have been around last year to see how unpopular I became for my posts which were slanted against MacGregor. I linked that tragedy as well when this was first brought up.

On the other side of the coin, these are the only two incidences that I am aware of where lack of stability led to tragedy. This is surprising to me, but I can only come to one conclusion.

MacGregors are extremely popular boats and I sympathize with anybody who is uncomfortable with my remarks because I believe in free markets, personal responsibillity, etc. It appears to me that the overwhelming number of MacGregor owners and boaters must be using these boats responsibly. The limited capacity must be a factor that boaters take into serious consideration and they take responsibility on their own account.

These incidences seem to be rare anomalies, so I understand the reluctance to focus any blame on MacGregor. I have my own viewpoints and I hope people can respect that.

 

[Jackdaw]

Jackdaw, you may not have been around last year to see how unpopular I became for my posts which were slanted against MacGregor. I linked that tragedy as well when this was first brought up.

On the other side of the coin, these are the only two incidences that I am aware of where lack of stability led to tragedy. This is surprising to me, but I can only come to one conclusion.

MacGregors are extremely popular boats and I sympathize with anybody who is uncomfortable with my remarks because I believe in free markets, personal responsibillity, etc. It appears to me that the overwhelming number of MacGregor owners and boaters must be using these boats responsibly. The limited capacity must be a factor that boaters take into serious consideration and they take responsibility on their own account.

These incidences seem to be rare anomalies, so I understand the reluctance to focus any blame on MacGregor. I have my own viewpoints and I hope people can respect that.

Scott,

I hear what you are saying. I don't blame McGregor at all for these accidents. I'd place blame on a person sailing them that does not understand the trade offs of the design. It's unbelievably light for a 25 foot sail boat. The weight of 10 people on board becomes a significant part of the (in)stability.

In both of these cases it seems there was one person who knew the boat (and this stability issue) on board, and at least 9 who did not. In the case of the san diego accedent, it just seems to the worst possible boat to use for this kind of adventure.

He says they will revisit their 'procedures' going forward. I hope that they find a way to continue this work. But in a safe and prudent manner.

 

[Maine Sail]

Sadly, not the first time this sort of stupidity has claimed lives.

10+ people. Non-sailors. Kids. Water ballasted Mac

http://www.ne-ts.com/ar/ar-407capsize.html

WITH EMPTY BALLAST TANKS!!!!! How is this even remotely the fault of Mac...?

This complete and utter lack of judgement is no different than smoking a cigarette while gassing your vehicle, blowing yourself up, then your survivors suing the gas company because gas is "explosive".....

 

[Doug L]

I disagree with Scott on the inherrent danger of the water ballast Mac, but in the Lake Champlain incident, the lack of permanant labels regarding the boat capacity and the need to fill the ballast may well leave Macgregor open to a lawsuit. This really shows me how important it is to know the boat you are operating, all are potentially dangerous.

 

[Jackdaw]

WITH EMPTY BALLAST TANKS!!!!! How is this even remotely the fault of Mac...?

This complete and utter lack of judgement is no different than smoking a cigarette while gassing your vehicle, blowing yourself up, then your survivors suing the gas company because gas is "explosive".....

For sure.

Now one thing they could do is point out (in huge letters and with nasty pictures) how much the GZ curve goes to crap without water in the tanks.
Based on the lake Champlain accident, the AVS must be below 90 with empty tanks. That should warrant more attention.

This point I assume is missed by a lot of owners, especially if they are coming to the boat from a 18 foot runabout and not a 18 foot day sailer.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

But I do blame MacGregor for advertising in direct conflict with reality. MS, if Exxon promoted safety and gasoline by publishing photographs of somebody flicking their cigarette ashes into a fuel receptor, would you then blame Exxon for a similar tragedy (even if they had a fine-print disclaimer to never perform a stunt like that)?

You might be able to see some parallels when you observe MacGregors advertising (although I concede that they never show an overloaded boat).

 

[KD3PC]

But I do blame MacGregor for advertising in direct conflict with reality.

Then you would have to hold accountable almost every advertiser in the country....McDs adds look nothing like their products. No way does make up on a woman make her look like the stars who are airbrushed. Drinking beer does not get you the Sweedish Bikini Team, Etc Etc Etc

There is but one person to blame and he has all but been given a free ride to continue risking other people's lives, or worse as his past performance has proven.

This is not a MacG problem, this is a "captain" problem, one who refuses to act like one. And be responsible.

 

[LuzSD]

Reading everyone's comments surprises me a little, I didn't expect that we would go over the details again like we did originally. I understand that some were not around then but I actually put this up because I could not get over the tone of George's email to his audience. These are people that he must know or they at least know of him and I read no remorse or any time spent on the tragedy that occurred, whether he was to blame or not. From what I can gather this was the first opportunity that he actually addressed this tragedy to those he works with and it was so so lacking in any concern for the victims and their families. I do understand that he just finished defending himself but the language he uses "that cost 2 lives" with not a single word expressing sorrow for any lives being lost was stunning to me. The entire tone was about how he was innocent and clear now to pursue placing the blame elsewhere. Next thing we will read (I really do think we might) is that he has been awarded compensation for his pain and suffering. Though the idea of this foundation is a good one, I would not support it in any way as long as someone like this is at the helm.