Creative Help Needed

[Arch Stanton]

What is the extent of the damage, and where does the accident take place?

[zeehag]

they hit an island which tipped over and then the front fell off.....in a big storm.....

[Adamante]

Try this:

The boat is rammed by a big white whale.

The opening line of your story is "Call me Ishmael."

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

Maybe the front fell off...

That is absolutely hilarious! I was laughing so hard my family wondered what was wrong! If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was Monty Python

[writer859]

Wow, thank you everyone! Callmecrazy, that's the funniest video i've seen in a while. Keep going guys!

[writer859]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

What is the extent of the damage, and where does the accident take place?

the extent of the damage is really just the two deaths, anything above that is going to depend on how i do it. I was thinking the location would be around Cape Scott seems like the likeliest place to run into issues during a round trip.

[callmecrazy]

2 deaths? How many left onboard? How big is the boat?

[writer859]

Originally Posted by callmecrazy

2 deaths? How many left onboard? How big is the boat?

I was thinking about a 38' cutter rigged boat but I could change it depending on the circumstances of the accident. It's the boat I know and 1 -2 people left on board.

[callmecrazy]

For two people to die, it would have to be a pretty major catastrophe... Maybe they hit a submurged object, abandoned ship as it was taking on water, but after spending the night floating in the blackness with the critters, the dawn revealed the boat didn't completely sink (it must have had watertight bulkheads)... The two survivors (other two got eaten? or just lost?) make it back to the boat and pump it out and patch the hole

[callmecrazy]

Either that, or they died from E-coli after attempting to repair the head in choppy seas

[perchance]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

That is absolutely hilarious! I was laughing so hard my family wondered what was wrong! If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was Monty Python

The lifeboat cannibal skit.

[h20man]

Actually... it could be easy for two people to die...

no life vests.

two below, two above.


cold dark night.

one falls into the cold water.. due to heart attack, or relieving themselves over the side... and nudged by wave rocking boat..

partner dives in (unprepared, emotional response) to try to 'save' them...

other's come up on deck...

they know others have gone overboard... but have no clue where...

they do not see...

better, they are 'guests' and... do not even know the difference between an EPRB or VHF. Cell service is spotty/non existent... and who should they call?

so having two vanish... quickly... is not a problem...

and how they actually die? are they chums with the orca's? or just feeding the fish? or just drowned in hypothermic water?

but it CAN happen, and it can happen quickly.....


---

[callmecrazy]

Originally Posted by h20man

Actually... it could be easy for two people to die...

no life vests.

two below, two above.


cold dark night.

one falls into the cold water.. due to heart attack, or relieving themselves over the side... and nudged by wave rocking boat..

partner dives in (unprepared, emotional response) to try to 'save' them...

other's come up on deck...

they know others have gone overboard... but have no clue where...

they do not see...

better, they are 'guests' and... do not even know the difference between an EPRB or VHF. Cell service is spotty/non existent... and who should they call?

so having two vanish... quickly... is not a problem...

and how they actually die? are they chums with the orca's? or just feeding the fish? or just drowned in hypothermic water?

but it CAN happen, and it can happen quickly.....


---

But the criteria included "not due to human error".

[h20man]

Originally Posted by writer859

<snip>
I am aiming for something that is believable and not an operator error, or at least not entirely.
<snip>

I believe my original answer fit into the parameters described above....

and, unfortunately is believable...

[ADMPRTR]

For a (somber) real story, a friend of mine lost his Catalina due to a engine fire.

He was motoring through a canal when he smelt smoke and went down into the cabin to locate the source. He opened up the engine compartment and thick black smoke poured out blinding him. He and his wife rushed out and had just enough time to throw the inflatable dinghy and gas cans into the water and escape the boat. Apparently within minutes the boat sank and the only thing that saved them was that they were in protected waters and were able to swim ashore. Luckily, there were no injuries. It turns out there was one small electrical component on the engine that shorted out.