So all the stories I posted have been just that; stories. As is often the case, speaking out before all the information is in. The conversation has just taken an abrupt change of direction.
what happened
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The tracker doesn’t lie: The Hunter 37 Aegean, which was feared to have been run over by a large commercial vessel during the Newport to Ensenada race, actually ran aground on the North Coronado Island, killing four crew members. A nasty bit of rock, and with the decent sized swell running during the race, it is not hard to imagine the sort of carnage rendered, at least to the boat. We still aren’t sure how the hell they ended up there though… Click here to expand on the track.
05/01/12
Before moving to RI in 1997 I lived in CA, and had raced in 17 Newport Beach to Ensenada races. Thus, I have been inside, outside, and quite near “Los Coronados” many times. I can imagine with very little wind at 1:30 am, and with the large swells typical of that part of the world that the Aegean got thrown by a large swell onto the rocks, and that perhaps the crew / skipper were reluctant to start the engine to get out of harms way lest they immediately be disqualified from the race. By the time they realized that the boat was far too close to the rocks and thought about starting the engine, it may have been too late.
I think we need to re-evaluate the disqualification rules in some offshore races. If life and limb are threatened, a skipper should feel it is prudent to start the engine, get out of harms way, and then move the boat to a position FURTHER AWAY relative to the finish line, cut the engine, and then continue racing. A policy like that “might” also have saved the boat in the Farralones race, although there I suspect once they realized they were too close to the rocks, even an engine may not have saved the boat and crew.
Paul
The most ironic thing about that tracking site is across the top of page.
SPOT. Live to tell about it.
Not that the tracking technology had anything to do with the accident, of course, just ironic. It certainly explains a lot that would otherwise be a mystery.
Bill
We have to figure out a way to keep people from bumping into islands.
One of the news items indicated that Aegean was in a class that allowed use of the engine if the wind dropped below some specified speed.
Maybe the availability of rescue services, helicopters, transponders etc. makes people less careful. The sea is not vicious, but it is unforgiving.