Pic of grounding at Oregon Inlet this week

[sweetsailing]

Very sad indeed. All I want to know is when and where are they selling and how much.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by sweetsailing

Very sad indeed. All I want to know is when and where are they selling and how much.

LOL

My thoughs too, but I want a cat.

Any similar cat stories lately?

[starfish62]

Those Shannons are nice boats!

[live2kite]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Is that flatter water behind the boat the channel?

As far as I can tell from the pic I posted and camaraderies account they made it past the Bonner Bridge itself and quickly ran aground on the south side of the channel inside the bridge. The pic would be a shot looking north with the channel and islands due west of the Coast Guard station in the background (pretty sure). There was a commercial shrimping boat that ran aground in that same general area a year ago. Sport fish charters run the inlet almost daily in decent weather and sufficient daylight but those guys know it like the back of their hand and have less draft to deal with.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

Is that flatter water behind the boat the channel? Yes, it is a sad way to end sailing.

That was my first impression as well. In windy conditions like that, flat water is usually deeper.


Steve B.

[truecharge]

Sometimes when one is tired they convince themselves they can do something that otherwise would be rejected. As single hander, I been there, and made my share of slow and bad decisions.

[Curtis]

Without the whole story I'm very hesitant to rush to judgement. I've not sailed the area but just pulled up the chart. If winds were NE 40 you can imagine that it was VERY boisterous outside with Cape Hatteras to the south the Ocracoke Inlet a 75 nm trip...let's say 16-20 hours away.

Going North would be difficult and slow in these conditions and, just from the charts, it looks like either Rudee Inlet or back in the Chesapeak. About the same distance but probably much slower...say 24-30 hours away.

Maybe they made the calculated decision to get out of the rough stuff and were planning to drop the hook to wait it out, rest, and get local info? That might not be a bad call if you were tired and scared.

[Curtis]

This is kind of interesting. The latest charts have this note:


After going to the referenced website and sorting through several NOTM's I found a link to OREGON INLET that has fairly current surveys and channel locations.

You'd have to really do your homework before tackling this one....

[Curtis]

Press Release

Date: October 19, 2008
Contact: Scott M. Hembrook, LTJG
Coast Guard rescues 3 from sailing vessel inside Oregon Inlet, N.C.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued three people from a sailing vessel that was malfunctioning in heavy weather near Oregon Inlet today. Dare County 911 notified the Coast Guard that they received a call from the crew of the sailing vessel Noah's Ark II stating that they were listing heavily to one side and had a fouled propeller.
Coast Guard members from Station Oregon Inlet gained visual contact with the Noah's Ark II at 11:06 a.m. and launched a 47-foot motor life boat to assist, but the crew of the sailing vessel went hard aground inside the inlet and anchored the boat in water too shallow for the station's motor life boat to transit.
A Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., diverted to assist. When they arrived on scene, they hoisted all three crewmembers aboard the helicopter and transported them safely to Station Oregon Inlet.
The Coast Guard encourages all mariners to keep informed of current and predicted weather conditions when getting underway, and to monitor the weather conditions using their radio so that they can be aware of any changes.