Oct 21 2009

Sink, sank, sunk …. lessons learned from recent boating mishaps in Southern California

Published by at 12:33 under Channel Islands,grounding,Sailing

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Lady Frances aground at Smugglers
F/V Lady Frances aground at Smugglers. USCG photo.

It’s been a tough fishing season for the squid fleet and brisk business for Channel Watch Marine, the local Vessel Assist team. Lady Frances, above, is in the shipyards now, but not for repair. She’ll be cut up and most likely end up in a landfill. Another squid boat nearly sank due to rusted welds in the shaft log, and Donz Rig, another squid lightboat, nearly sank in Channel Islands Harbor last week.

Donz Rig
Donz Rig in Bellport Marine Anacapa Shipyard. photo: capt. dan

Lessons for the rest of us

The near sinking of Donz Rig brings home a couple of valuable lessons. According to the owner, the captain got underway in fog that reduced visibility to 100-200 feet in Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor. He was the lone crew, and, as he neared the detached breakwater, the fog thickened and visibility was further reduced. The captain estimated he could see 25-50 feet. Unsure of his position, he was at idle and dead slow when he clipped the breakwater, opening a gash in the bow. He beached the boat on Hollywood Beach.

Lessons learned?

The owner says the primary lesson is “If you don’t know where your are, stop. Drop the anchor if you have to.”

Fishermen’s livelihoods depends on their ability to sail in nearly all conditions. We weekend sailors, on the other hand, can stay home. On the third hand, I’ve been caught in similar conditions when the marine layer moved suddenly. Donz Rig would have had a better chance if there had been a second crewman to monitor the radar and chartplotter. Zero-zero fog, particularly at night is tough to handle in the open sea. In close quarters, it requires thorough planning. Had the captain charted a heading from the end of the south jetty to open sea and then adhered to that heading, he’d have escaped damage. If he’d stopped as the owner mentioned, he would have reduced his risk. If he’d been able to monitor the radar closely, he could have avoided the breakwater.

So, four lessons obtain:
• Know where you are by eyeball, by radar and/or gps
• Know where you’re going. We always chart an escape course when we’re at anchor. If everything goes to hell at night and we get blown out of an anchorage we know and will steer a heading to safe waters. If you’re heading out in weather so rotten that you may not see harbor obstacles, make sure you know the heading from the last landmark you’re likely to see to safe water.
• Pick your weather and set reasonable limits commensurate with skills and experience
• Take crew
A fifth lesson, somewhat tangential, be ready to sound your fog signal.

Lessons from Lady Frances

Lady Frances undertow
F/V Lady Frances (apologies to the owner who did spell her name correctly) under tow by Channel Watch Marine/Vessel Assist. Photo Capt Paul Amaral

Oh, the hapless Lady Frances: A calm, windless night. A full moon. And yet she found herself on the rocks, her anchor still in the hawse.

What happened?

Best guess – after a long, hard day, the helmsman fell asleep. Amazingly, they’d cruised through Smugglers/Yellowbanks where 20+ boats lay to anchor before sliding onto the rocks.

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2 responses so far

2 Responses to “Sink, sank, sunk …. lessons learned from recent boating mishaps in Southern California”

  1. # Shirly Ujeston 22 Oct 2009 at 07:33

    I think the title of this blog should be: Complacency can kill you…and possibly ruin your day.

  2. # Randy Bushon 23 Oct 2009 at 07:29

    You could be right Shirly, perhaps the the age of electronic navigation has lulled some skippers into a state of complacency. How about those two Northwest Airline pilots? Good thing there aren’t any rocks in the sky…

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