Dauphin Island Regatta Strom

[barfwinkle]

Hello to all

Does anyone have any information regarding the race. 2 dead and five missing and typically there are multiple CDs in the Regatta.

Fair Winds

[trapper]

I also would like information. Is the crew and boat named Green Dolphin ok. It is an Ensign that usually sails that race.

[Sea Hunt Video]

As of 2 hours ago there were two (2) confirmed dead and five (5) missing.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/25/us/mobile ... a-missing/

[barfwinkle]

I know 3CDs were in the race/race area. One is being towed in, 1was anchored, & I think one had already crossed the line. Hopefully more info soon.

FW

[Steve Kuhar]

To confirm what Bill said, there were three Cape Dorys that were registered participants and another that was not registered but participated in the start. All are members of the Central Gulf Fleet. There was one 36, one 31, and 2 30s. One of the boats was reportedly being towed back to Fairhope with an unknown problem, the other three did not report any damages, and at least one had crossed the finish line before the storm hit. I will leave it to the individual skippers to relate their particular experiences when they are able to.

Steve Kuhar

[Sea Hunt Video]

One of the national news channels (I don't remember which one) reported that winds were 70+ mph. That's hurricane force winds.

Is this a storm that came out of nowhere or a storm that was in some way forecast or predicted

[Steve Kuhar]

The forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms, some possibly severe. This is a fairly normal forecast for this time of year. The Mid Bay Light recorded winds of 73 mph, and doppler analysis showed the probability that the initial downflow exceeded 90 mph. To my knowledge this is the first time fatalities have occurred in the 50 year history of the Dauphin Island Race, but stormy races are not uncommon. There will be a lot of second guessing on this one, and a lot to be learned. Search efforts are continuing through the night for the five boaters that are still missing. It is my understanding that at least some of those missing were not participants in the race, but just happened to be on the bay when the storm hit.

I will post new information as it becomes available.

Steve Kuhar,
Central Gulf Fleet

[abcnuzeman]

Found this video at gCaptain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJF7i5z9lQ4

[Sea Hunt Video]

Amazing video.

What surprised me most in the video (besides the ferocity of the storm) was how long it took for crew to put on PFDs. If I recall correctly, it was 5 min, 7 min and then 10 min into video before three (3) of crew put on PFDs. Of course, the video starts well into the storm approaching. I would think that if they did not have on PFDs from the gitgo they would have immediately put on PFDs when they saw what was forming and moving towards them. The calmness of the person at the helm was impressive. She seemed to be taking it all in stride.

I have a practice of always putting on my PFD unless I am just motoring from my mooring to the dock. When it is 2-3 kts wind, blue sky and 90 degrees it may look silly but it is what I do.

[tjr818]

Anyone have an idea of what type of boat that was? I always feel safe in our Cape Dory 27, but I don't think our little YSM8 would have done so well under those conditions. During that sequence one of the guys said that another option for them would have been to drop anchor and go down below. We don't have a storm jib, so heaving to would not have been an option and we don't carry a drogue or a sea anchor, things you would not expect to need in a bay.

It looks like they were running before the storm,would it have been better to head into it

I wonder what they were going to do when they got to the harbor

[Jim Walsh]

I didn't watch the whole thing. It got monotonous after six minutes. Clearly they were comfortable with their sea room and figured the storm would be of short duration. Personally I'd try to determine its path and sail at an angle away from it which afforded me some sea room. Even a small scrap of sail will steady you and keep things more comfortable. I would not run before it and expose myself to the full fury of the squall and for the longest possible duration till it subsides. I did hear the lady at the helm say "59". I couldn't tell if it was MPH or knots.

[Steve Laume]

They should have had their PFDs and harnesses on when they first notice that storm. Right before they decided to take all the sails down and motor downwind. The people in the video were in classic heave to or fore reaching conditions. They could have set the boat up and gotten away from the wheel and it's lightning hazard. It would have been an easier ride and gotten them through the storm faster. There is no way I would have wanted to anchor in that stuff even if it was shallow.

That was an extremely nasty storm which came on quickly. The forecast wasn't something that would have kept you off the water if you were confident in your boat and crew. This is just one of those very unfortunate things that happen and even if people make some mistakes, or not, no one deserves to die while out sailing in the bay.

This brings great sadness to me that these people were lost due to a freak storm event, Steve.

[moctrams]

We ran into a storm like this coming up Delaware Bay heading back to the Chesapeake Bay. I dropped the main and secured it and left only myself and owner topside, hooked up with our harness and PFDs. We had enough sea room to motor into the storm. The full keel Luders handled it extremely well and we got through OK.

[tjr818]

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I kept reviewing that YouTube video and thinking about the two sailors in that little boat that still had the mainsail up. The people filming that were so close. Instead of filming the disaster they should have gone over to render any assistance that they could. I hope those two made it.

[Skeep]

Interesting videos all. Also interesting to see the trail of comments on YouTube for and against the Captain etc. None of us wants to be "that guy" do we?

Everyone on youtube is trying to put their finger on this or that to say what shouldda or couldda been done. Most of us who have been on the water for quite a number of years do definitely know of the power of nature. However, it's a great reminder of the capriciousness and velocity of nature once again. Things can rise from the deep and become a torrent before we realize. And, life is very precious and fragile in nature's grasp.

I am very glad the guy GoPro'd his experience for it provides each of us a chance to watch over his shoulder and ask ourselves what we might have done differently. Like extraordinary occurrences such as the Fastnet ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... bered.html we are all humbled once such an event is over.

In my own experience with such a similar squall in the Mediterranean some years ago aboard a much larger vessel, Beneteau 47, we navigated 42kt winds but were at the ready to head into the wind to push through if necessary. And our winds never topped 50. Yet, in my brilliance, we did not don our PFDs either. In retrospect I have become my own chief advocate for PFDs. Silly me. I've made a ton of mistakes. I think we become the best safety advocates who have been near such things and survived our own decisions!

Stirring footage.

So, a great learning piece for us all.