Dismasted by an aircraft carrier

[Pegu Club]

Well well well, just when you think humans couldn’t be more oblivious…., an aircraft carrier, a bloody aircraft carrier….,

And now the forthcoming Colregs discussion…., ��

Fair winds,

[ScottRhodes13]

Originally Posted by Hartleyg

OK, I've never heard of a radar that only points forward..

My radar has the option to display gps position and other information on the bottom third of the screen. Caused me a lot of concern a few years ago when I was boating along a ferry route in dense fog and didn't know how to reconfigure it.

[Franziska]

Well just about a year ago a single handed, very very high tech equipped sailboat managed to hit a fishing boat.

Guess the poor guy was probably just taking a nap and the carrier was fast under way, so quickly appeared over the horizon...

I really really I sincerely hope this is not another nail in the coffin for solo sailing.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

The sailboat skipper was completely in the wrong. Warships have exclusion zones. If they had detected him they probably would have fired on him !!

thankyou - that is my point !

half a dozen state of the art microwave band radars...numerous human eyeball mk1 lookouts...and they still didn't detect him !

however i disagree that the sailboat was automatically in the wrong. a warship on passage is bound by colregs just like the rest of us. they sometimes impose an exclusion zone when at anchor or there is an exercise going on, but otherwise a warship is a power driven vessel and unless the power vessel is restricted in ability to manoeuver in channel etc, the sail vessel is the stand on vessel.

i'm not talking about seamanship or common sense here - just the rules. nobody has the right to steam blindly around and run other vessels down just because they are painted grey !

cheers,

[sailingabe41ds]

French aircraft carrier? I hope the sailboat didn't do any harm to it....

Seriously, when I sail to San Diego I keep the heck out of all those carriers and any military ships. Usually if you get too close you will get their attention and sometime you will have a Zodiac with a blue flashing light coming in your direction.
I was hailed once coming into San Diego by a cruiser asking what my intentions were....I was more than a half mile away. He has inches of steel and I have inches of fiberglass, what did he think my intentions were? Let me tell you when you hear "Warship hailing vessel on starboard side...what is your intentions?" IT GETS YOUR ATTENTION!
I do not know what happened with this carrier and sailboat...but how the heck did the sailboat not see an aircraft carrier 10+ miles away and how did the carrier allow a sailboat to get so close in an age of terrorist with bombs in little boats that could put big holes in military ships is beyond my comprehension. You are suppose to stay over 100 yards from any military vessel in the US. Maybe France is different being a warmer friendlier culture ... 10cm before kissing on the cheeks.

Abe

[goboatingnow]

The report says the sailboat was detected at short range. No indication of what short range actually meant.

[SV_FlyingTigress]

[QUOTE=sailingabe41ds;3521731]French aircraft carrier? I hope the sailboat didn't do any harm to it....

was wondering how long before that comment appeared, in addition to legit boating safety, there is a fair bit of comedy gold potential here... just saying.

[RaymondR]

An aircraft carrier recovering aircraft would be pretty well restricted in maneuvering.

[Noisykate]

Once upon a time, crossing the English Channel in snotty weather, similar to that described, we got a message on our AIS from a cross channel ferry.
It said:

"I cannot see you on my radar".

We've been evangelical about AIS ever since.

[vpbarkley]

The sailboat did a great service for the carrier.

They should buy the guy a new boat.

They need to detect vessels - of any size, in any weather, every time.

Next time it could be a terrorist.

[tp12]

lol …. According to colregs they’re both to blame…

[Tupaia]

Sounds like solo sailor asleep, relaying on everyone else to watch out for him. At the very least he should have had AIS. Just lucky he wasn't hurt.

[double u]

somehow I assumed carriers operate with lots of destroyers, submarines,...around them, guarding a perimeter that cannot be penetrated. The carrier is probably the single most expensive "asset" of the French navy - & a boat that could be carrying 10tons of explosives can get next to it undetected?! Colregs & common sense are one thing, "awareness" of military personell operating such an expensive "asset" are something else

[CarinaPDX]

OK, this is fun...

Legally they are both at fault to some degree. The sailboat was clearly not standing watch, and certainly the aircraft carrier made a great radar target. And the carrier was travelling too fast to maneuver when the boat was sighted. Still, I wouldn't want to argue the point.

Practically the sailor is the one that could, and should, have avoided the accident. He should have seen visually and on radar that huge metal ship, and he should have kept well clear. Carriers can't sneak up on anyone. It is not surprising that the carrier's radar didn't see the sailboat in those conditions; the reflection from a small fiberglass boat is easily swamped out by the reflection from the rough seas. One has to wonder a bit about their visual watch standers though. And it was travelling with a task force of other ships and considering their main responsibility is to protect the carrier this is probably a career-ending experience for one or more personnel. If they didn't see a sailboat until it was too late then they have no chance with a periscope...

I suspect that an AIS on the sailboat would have prevented this, as would better watch standing. The radar should have worked too but I guess that he was relying on the alarm (set wrong) instead of actually looking at the screen. He probably was asleep, of course.

Before getting too critical, I am reminded that the day I crossed the Channel back to the UK from Belgium in the fog I was treated to hearing a conversation with a massive container ship that was afire after being t-boned by the SS Norway. Consider that is two large ships with professional crews and modern equipment, including multiple radars, operating in a traffic separation scheme (TSS) overseen by shore-based traffic control with its own radar. The mind boggles...

Greg

[chasfgr]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

How in the world can a sailor not see an aircraft carrier and stay the F out of the way?!

Well he was asleep below, relying on his radar alarm.


Even single-handers have to sleep sometimes.


I've done it for 44K nm and only once hit anything - the outer maker buoy on the way into Messolonghi - anf that was in the dimpsy at dawn.