Westsail 32 "Blue Mist" Grounded on Rocks

[cburger]

[QUOTE=boatman61;1437812]Firstly.. my compliments on your defence of a fellow 'Westsailor'..

Hate to see anyone's vessel on the rocks. Have a sneak'in suspicion we haven't heard the whole story here.

[s/v Jedi]

It must have been an Android phone

[CarinaPDX]

The problem is that we see a distressingly large number of incidents like this. While the specifics are hazy, it is clear that this boat and sailor (in some combination, but certainly the sailor's responsibility) were not ready for sea. At the same time that these threads appear, others appear where noobs are buying boats and going cruising, and when more experienced hands try to encourage them to do more homework and gain some experience first they are greeted with "I'm as good a man as you, don't tell ME I can't go now". I'm not sure what the solution is, but I have decided to give a wide berth to those who intend to go out unprepared (by my standards, thank you). Is it really so hard to understand that buying a boat may give you the title of captain, it does not make you a captain?

Greg

[Nicholson58]

[QUOTE=Hud3;1437794]

Originally Posted by cburger

I looked at Google Earth. Looks like he's on the rocks not far from a dirt road and flat ground on the lighthouse site. Looks like a big crane could pick her up to me.

That is along Big Sur Highway. Google the place. Average car speed from one end to the other is about 25 with no traffic. scenic road - not likely for heavy equipment.

[Richard5]

[QUOTE=Hud3;1437794]

Originally Posted by cburger

I looked at Google Earth. Looks like he's on the rocks not far from a dirt road and flat ground on the lighthouse site. Looks like a big crane could pick her up to me.

I'm not a crane operator or rigger however let's consider what must be done. The boat is on the rocks and inshore of a large field of wash rocks but not so inshore that it is up against the bluff. There is a small occasional beach inshore of the rocks. Then there is a sandstone bluff which varies in height between 15 to 30'. The bluff is overlaid with loosely compacted earth with is prone to mass wasting (landslides). I imainge the crane would have to sit back a minimum of tens of feet from the bluff. All told, the distance from the boat to stable ground above the bluff is laterally 100' or more.

I don't know the weight of the Westsail 32 but let's say circa 10 tons. The size of equipment to extend a boom that distance and snatch that load would be problematic in itself. Too, to factor in the permitting, etc (this is California!) would result in several days at best. Work would need to be done to stabilize the hull (to protect it from wave and tidal action) while it waits for the behemoth crane to show. That crane would probably come from Los Angeles or the central valley, either way a distance of several hundred miles. By the time everything is in place the boat has suffered more damage. The owner would have to be hard pressed to save that hull. If there is an insurance underwriter would they even allow for salvage? Better is to saw it into smaller manageable parts.

It is sad indeed but this is not some smooth faced beach which permits a snatch and grab or otherwise easy access as in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Just the bluff itself presents a major hurdle. There are possibly two access points from land. One is by the lighthouse which would require USCG approval. Heck, they'll prolly want an EIR. The other is across lands owned by the Hearst Corp. They are notorious for denying access across their lands.

To tow it seaward off the rocks would be imprudent. So many large, angular rocks the boat would bounce like a pinball. The equipment powerful enough to drag her into deeper water would itself be confined by draft which would likely require a very long set of cables. The hull would be so stove in from the attempt that one must consider if it is even worth the effort. Too, this is the winter season. It just so happens the highest tides of the year on that section of coast are this month. But it is an outer protected coast which means it does see significant waves from winter storms. That is not to say a calm day couldn't coincide with high water but knowing Murphy and his ilk I don't like the odds, especially with all that money riding on the attempt.

Let's say the salvage effort by sea is magically successful. I'm all wet, wrong about everything so far. Just to drive the equipment on a round trip from Morro Bay would cost tens of thousands. That assumes nothing goes wrong all the way. Let's say no further damage was incurred. Port San Luis is the closest, best option to haul the boat. The refit would itself cost a pretty penny. In the end you'd have the world's most costly Westsail 32.


Hope I'm wrong but every boat I've seen aground in those parts has become landfill at first kiss with the rocks.

[endoftheroad]

I am a Westsailor!
That being said I really wish those with deep romantic admiration of the boat would not over glamorize its capabilities.
Absolutely no doubt the Westsail 32 is a hugely respected boat, but this great reputation of the boat draws people that would not likely purchase a boat with less of a reputation and thus go out with too much confidence in the boat when the owner/skipper doesn't have the competence or experience for being at sea in the first place.
It's a phoenominal boat. It's commonly said that it's "bullet proof" and that annoys me to death because what do bullets and a reef have to do with eachother?
I do love the boat but I have my "bias" in check and I wish the same for some other Westsailors.

[Paul Elliott]

They could helicopter it off, like they did Low Speed Chase from the Farralones. I assume that the cost of the copter work would well exceed the value of the boat. I don't know if the State of California is going to let the boat sit there and just break into little pieces.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

They could helicopter it off, like they did Low Speed Chase from the Farralones. I assume that the cost of the copter work would well exceed the value of the boat. I don't know if the State of California is going to let the boat sit there and just break into little pieces.

This is where the 2 million liability insurance comes in. Just a reminder of a thread a little while ago where 2 million liability was thought of as a lot.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by cburger

He still is. I am going to go out on a limb here. First of all we all know how accurate news reporters are these days and how important is for them to get their facts straight. So without a complete story people should not rush to conclusions. Maybe the guy was a very experienced mariner who for what ever reason ran into a patch of bad luck, certainly had the smarts to pick a very capable boat. Maybe a sea was running and it was foggy and his main navigational instruments crapped out and was making last ditch effort to determine his position with the cell before he foundered. Lot of maybes here, I'd like to here the skippers side of the story and reserve judgment. For a poster saying the boat is a complete write off and there is no way of salvaging the vessel is a load of "Horse chips". Without being on site to view how she's lying, without being on site to view the damage, etc, etc. this is just a blowhard blowing smoke.

From the pictures I have been able to see the vessel is laying on her port side, rig is down, looks like they lost boomkins, rudder and bowsprit. The story has indicated the boat has a volleyball sized hole in her, not really a big deal unless below the waterline and she is taking on water. From the picture starboard side has scraped some bottom paint and basicly all things considered looks in great shape. Leifel still sells a new mast for the boat for about 6k, if even needed, wooden spars are easily fabricated, deal with the rudder and drive on. My "Guess" is if the boat is insured all will be made right.

No way, a boat grounded on rocks like that for any length of time is a huge ordeal to repair. I've seen plenty of boats grounded like this which had NO hole in them but were total write offs due to all of the glass on one side being fractured. This boat has likely sustained major damage, including failed bulkhead tabbing, damage to the keel structure, rudder damage, etc. etc. Salvaging and then rebuilding her would cost vastly more than cleaning up the mess and buying another.

[Richard5]

[QUOTE=Nicholson58;1437839]

Originally Posted by Hud3

That is along Big Sur Highway. Google the place. Average car speed from one end to the other is about 25 with no traffic. scenic road - not likely for heavy equipment.

It is Highway 1 you mean. Piedras Blanco is still south of the Big Sur coast, the southerly back door into that most scenic stretch of coast. Anyway, Caltrans, the state dept of transportation, keeps some mighty powerful equipment along that road. The mountains spill down into the sea which means the road is cut into the side of the mountains above the ocean. The bedrock is highly fractured (google 'Franciscan Melange') which means there are numerous landslides every day but especially during the winter.

The tales I could tell you about driving that road. I've driven the entire length from Morro Bay to Monterey thousands of times and in all kinds of weather both night and day. Good local knowledge means you don't get stuck behind hundreds of white knuckled drivers daring themselves to look at the scenery.

I've met folks from all over the world along that coast, it truly is world class but with a fine line with death and carnage just over the line. Good memories!

[Hud3]

Not the Rte 1--looks like the service road for the lighthouse, and a dirt road near the shoreline. The article said he grounded just north of the big white rock, I'm guessing where I inserted the yellow oval in the image, below.

It seems to match the alignment of the boat, shore features and big rock in the news photo. If so, that would seem to put the boat within crane reach of the flat ground just off the dirt road. I watched a mid-size crane pick a similarly-situated boat off the rocks in Nevis a few years ago.

Too bad he didn't ground on the beach just to the north!

[endoftheroad]

Blue Mist was for sale for quite a while.
I liked the fact that it was an 80 year old owner.
I think the price was more like $25k and thought it could be a good boat.
Here in this link he is asking $15k, he must have dropped the price.

http://www.westsail.com/forsale/bluemist.htm


Here she is listed 2-1/2 years ago for $34,500
http://www.boatloco.com/boats/showthread.php?t=67190

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Firstly.. my compliments on your defence of a fellow 'Westsailor'..
But... if he was experienced I think he'd have done the sensible thing 'if his electrics crapped out' and that would have been to stand out to sea till daylight when he could orient himself more accurately.. as it was he was coming in blind.
All part of the school of hard knocks..

I think you mean the school of hard "rocks" boaty...

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by minaret

this boat has likely sustained major damage, including failed bulkhead tabbing, damage to the keel structure, rudder damage

it appears from the photo that the starboard side of the hull is really deformed and stoved in. that would indicate some serious damage to the westsail hull.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by gonesail

it appears from the photo that the starboard side of the hull is really deformed and stoved in. that would indicate some serious damage to the westsail hull.

I have enlarged the picture as well as tried to enhance the contrast and saturation. No where in the picture do I see a hull that has been "Stove In" or for that matter seriously deformed. Starboard side is showing abrasion that when through the top blue coat bottom paint and is exposing red paint below, with some evidence that glass has been scratched, really appears to be in good shape all things considered. No what is going on with the port side is anyone's guess and I fully understand fractured fiberglass strands and all the other potential problems, however I have seen many boats go aground in some pretty dicey circumstances only to be refloated without much issue. A real concern is if where she is lying the boat is taking water down below. Judging by the sat pics posted here it appears they should be able to get her with a crane. I look forward to hearing more about this story as some actual "Facts" come in