HMS Bounty - Hurricane Sandy...
Discussion
Not sure whether anyone else picked up on this, I was pretty amazed/shocked to hear that the tall ship needed rescue assistance earlier this week in the path of hurricane Sandy. As a fairly seasoned sailor I was stunned as to why the hell they were in the direct path of the storm, the forecast models had been pretty much bang-on at the time.
This video has recently come to light, if you get to around 10.00 in it you will hear the skipper say that they chase hurricanes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd...
I'm a little gobsmacked at this really, just wanted to share the stupidity really...
This video has recently come to light, if you get to around 10.00 in it you will hear the skipper say that they chase hurricanes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd...
I'm a little gobsmacked at this really, just wanted to share the stupidity really...
It's a bit early to condemn them for stupidity. We don't know what caused the sinking yet, apart from they lost power and were unable to continue pumping. It is quite possible that their problem was compounded by the storm rather than caused by it.
There is nothing in that video that is stupid. He is quite correct to say that you stay in the South East quadrant of a hurricane, as that is the least dangerous place. In that quadrant the storm is moving away from you, so you are indeed chasing the hurricane. I didn't take from it that they deliberately put themselves into such a position like so called "storm chasers" who try to put themselves in the path of tornadoes to film them.
There is nothing in that video that is stupid. He is quite correct to say that you stay in the South East quadrant of a hurricane, as that is the least dangerous place. In that quadrant the storm is moving away from you, so you are indeed chasing the hurricane. I didn't take from it that they deliberately put themselves into such a position like so called "storm chasers" who try to put themselves in the path of tornadoes to film them.
Were they not sailing away from the storm but got caught up in the tail end due to the storm being somewhat larger than initially expected?
I know sweet FA about sailing however I would be surprised if the captain deliberately set sail towards the storm.
I guess that it was just one of those things that happens with tragic consequences.
Sad for the loss of life & also sad to see such a great ship lost.
I know sweet FA about sailing however I would be surprised if the captain deliberately set sail towards the storm.
I guess that it was just one of those things that happens with tragic consequences.
Sad for the loss of life & also sad to see such a great ship lost.
tank slapper said:
It's a bit early to condemn them for stupidity. We don't know what caused the sinking yet, apart from they lost power and were unable to continue pumping. It is quite possible that their problem was compounded by the storm rather than caused by it.
This. A vessel the size of Bounty should have had no trouble with the conditions they were in (40 knot winds and 18 ft seas). It was the pump failure that caused the sinking- remember that wooden ships always leak, and leak more in rough weather. AlexiusG55 said:
This. A vessel the size of Bounty should have had no trouble with the conditions they were in (40 knot winds and 18 ft seas). It was the pump failure that caused the sinking- remember that wooden ships always leak, and leak more in rough weather.
hard to believe they only had one pump onboard though..I doubt they had only one pump, but there are circumstances that could disable more than one. Flooding could cause problems with electrical or fuel systems for example, which could disable pumps.
It is often the case with incidents such as this, that an unhappy coincidence of factors results in a much more serious problem than any of them would individually. We will have to wait for the US coastguard report to know the details.
It is often the case with incidents such as this, that an unhappy coincidence of factors results in a much more serious problem than any of them would individually. We will have to wait for the US coastguard report to know the details.
AlexiusG55 said:
This. A vessel the size of Bounty should have had no trouble with the conditions they were in (40 knot winds and 18 ft seas). It was the pump failure that caused the sinking- remember that wooden ships always leak, and leak more in rough weather.
Bad seamanship to put any vessel in harms way regardless of the size and construction. Jackleman said:
AlexiusG55 said:
This. A vessel the size of Bounty should have had no trouble with the conditions they were in (40 knot winds and 18 ft seas). It was the pump failure that caused the sinking- remember that wooden ships always leak, and leak more in rough weather.
Bad seamanship to put any vessel in harms way regardless of the size and construction. Jackleman said:
It would seem they put to sea a few days before the storm, that would appear to be the stupidity I spoke of.
The US Navy sent 21 ships to sea to avoid being hit in port by the storm. There are also plenty of photos of these floating-type things that are no longer where their owners left them. Edited by Jackleman on Sunday 4th November 09:56
Being moored up when a storm hits is sometimes the stupid option.
psgcarey said:
The US Navy sent 21 ships to sea to avoid being hit in port by the storm. There are also plenty of photos of these floating-type things that are no longer where their owners left them.
Being moored up when a storm hits is sometimes the stupid option.
Maybe for the ship but rarely for the crew.Being moored up when a storm hits is sometimes the stupid option.
Olf said:
Sounds like you're determined to have the last word on this without any real knowledge of the circumstances.
I have quite a bit of knowledge of the circumstances, they put to sea and put themselves in harms way needlessly, as a result people died. The video I posted demonstrates that this so called mariner does not respect the elements. fatboy69 said:
Were they not sailing away from the storm but got caught up in the tail end due to the storm being somewhat larger than initially expected?
They were sailing due south from Connecticut to Florida as Sandy was moving north from the Caribbean not sure how they could expect not to be caught up in it, Bounty foundered around Cape Hatteras North Carolina. Sailed past safe harbour at Norfolk/Chesapeake Bay.http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2012/10/articles/sink...
Jackleman said:
Olf said:
Sounds like you're determined to have the last word on this without any real knowledge of the circumstances.
I have quite a bit of knowledge of the circumstances, they put to sea and put themselves in harms way needlessly, as a result people died. The video I posted demonstrates that this so called mariner does not respect the elements. There is a good thread running on the woodenboat forum about this. In fact the thread started the moment they set sail with various knowledgable locals expressing amazement that they would do such a thing given the forecast. Makes for sobering reading.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?154783-...
The ship was a 50 year old movie prop and seemed heavily reliant on pumps to stay afloat.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?154783-...
The ship was a 50 year old movie prop and seemed heavily reliant on pumps to stay afloat.
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