Sailboat beached near Jacksonville, FL

[BenBowSirocco]

Im with you Tetepare.

I have had many inexperienced friends and co-workers ask me for advice or express interest in buying a boat. I always tell them to take the coast guard sailing courses and join the sailing club for a year. If you cant sail an Ideal 18- you cant sail anything. And if you dont use the Ideal 18 at least once a month, it makes no sense to get a boat of your own.

The part that I find frustrating is that this situation which made it all over the news means there are people thinking, they need to have some sort of license or governmental oversight for this exact reason. The last thing we need is more oversight. Stupid is as stupid does.
Like the senator who was trying to suggest the Coast guard should "bill" people to help their budget.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

This is why I’m no advocate of telling dreamers to just go and learn along the way.

There really should be a collection of these threads to point to when the dreamers as told "just do it".


Too often you only hear about the success stories. A classic case of "survivorship bias" https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

"Diagoras of Melos was asked concerning paintings of those who had escaped shipwreck: "Look, you who think the gods have no care of human things, what do you say to so many persons preserved from death by their especial favour?", to which Diagoras replied: "Why, I say that their pictures are not here who were cast away, who are by much the greater number.""

[flyingfin]

Constant east winds for the last week along the Florida coast in that area, so the wind, drift and breakers pushed her to shore pretty quick. Dropping anchor is a great idea, until you find out you dont have line for good holding scope, and your anchor drags until the water gets shallow enough to hold,,,,,just at the point where your vessel is sitting right in the breakers!

They might have been able to sail east, but had a hard time beating upwind. Things always look easy from a dry chair on the shoreline.

[BenBowSirocco]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Constant east winds for the last week along the Florida coast in that area, so the wind, drift and breakers pushed her to shore pretty quick. Dropping anchor is a great idea, until you find out you dont have line for good holding scope, and your anchor drags until the water gets shallow enough to hold,,,,,just at the point where your vessel is sitting right in the breakers!

They might have been able to sail east, but had a hard time beating upwind. Things always look easy from a dry chair on the shoreline.

East wind, lee shore very true. Beating is uncomfortable. But they could have gone north or south, beam reaching, or just more and kept off the shore until a tow came to get them or change of tide to sail in the inlet.

But your right, its not entirely fair to judge the people who made the decision to abandon their sailboat because the engine died in moderate offshore conditions. We were not there and the decision lies with them.
But by discussing this situation and the options the crew had available perhaps someone might read this and be saved similar expense/embarrassment in the future.

Lastly, a local had said it was only 40 feet deep one mile out of that inlet. So I just looked at the chart and my chart says its 30 feet deep one mile out. Why cant a 54' boat anchor in 30-40'? At 5-1 thats 200' of rode.

[hpeer]

Anyone know what make/model for that boat? Looks like a nice rig.

[malbert73]

Not sure if applicable to this situation but here’s an interesting question: once you’re in the breakers and bouncing on the bottom would you be better letting the boat wash up broadside then having your anchor couch and having your boat pitching up and down off the bottom. That could cause the rudder to be broken or driven up through the hull. lying broadside seems like it would prevent this kind of pounding. YesIt ends up on the beach but probably undamaged.
My instinct would always be to drop the anchor but looking at this boat and how it ended up it looks pretty benign

[hpeer]

I’m thinking it looks benign because it is very shoal draft, or a swing keel. That’s why she is rocking in the surf, she is rolling on a round bottom.

Either that or the keel has already broken clean off.

But that’s part of why I asked about what make/model the boat is. That motion seems unusual to me for that situation. Might be wrong, just my thoughts.

[BenBowSirocco]

If your already bouncing?
Hmm that’s a tough spot, depending on tide, maybe drift passed the bounce till wallowing and then prepare the kedge while she wallows instead of pounds- although you make a good point- perhaps bow first would be better, sheet winches are astern though, not nearly the power of the windlass.

I guess if you knew the boat you might know which way she come off he ground. Some fin keels I have seen spin around easily and drag off from the bows quarter. Where as our old heavy gal only comes off as she went on- straight back, she won’t pivot.

[a64pilot]

She may be only lightly damaged, but getting her off in an undamaged condition may cost more than it’s worth.
I’d expect that an excavator and dump trucks will be how she is removed.

[Greg Mason]

A classic tale of too little, too late, or no response at all. First rule of insurance is to mitigate any further loss. How does a mariner respond to that? When my 4.108 leaked oil on the starter through the rear main seal, it was sail back to the slip, tie the dinghy to the side with the 15 hp and call for dock help. Not even my pride was wounded. Can't account for this though.

[Cadence]

Anyone spouting the drivel been there. The donkey quit in an inlet, lets hoist the sails, or drop the hook. I hope Sea tow can get her off as a soft grounding with a 40hp OB. Oh, that's a 24' rib with 3 300hp outboards on a high tide.

[a64pilot]

Apparently a tug boat has tried and snapped the tow line.
There appears to be a strap around the boat, so it appears the recovery crew knows what they are doing by not pulling on the bow etc.
Every day it seems I get a flood warning on my phone, and the tides have been very high lately, so here is hoping that they can get it off at high tide. I’m up river in Jax. High tide is right now and it doesn’t seem very high?
I assume it’s a very shoal draft boat, about like maybe an OI 41 type of bottom hopefully as I assume a shallow full keel is more survivable being drug off of a beach.

[zeehag]

video not playing for me.. have any pix ????

[captmikem]

Originally Posted by Ibetitsthisway

I bet some, that ANY anchor, with 100m chain, thrown out in 25-20m deep water (not to close to the shore) would have given enough time for rescuers to come and tow away.

I was making my way south towards Progresso in a Tropical Storm about to turn into a hurricane several years ago, I had a 150’ tug towing a 400 ft barge with 30,000 tons of scrap on it. I had wanted to pull into Ft Lauderdale but they would not let me.

Breeze picked up a bit and off MIA seabouy I started making sternway (pulling south but breeze and current taking me north). Middle of the night, off West Palm Beach a 600 ft freighter (something Mercedes I think her name was) which had been near me, crossed my bow and dropped both anchors in about 20 fath. She held and I kept on drifting north.

Later that morning the wind eased and allowed me to make my way south, the freighter was up on the beach in some lady’s front yard.
Dropping a hook may help but unless you can set it wind and sea can take you ashore.

IMHO, these folks could have sailed her off, or at least north or south…

M

[Mistress Sirena]

In case no one noticed the "engine "wrapped that line around the propeller