CA sailboat slams pier

[Maine_Buzzard]

No comment.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/red ... wm7ms1nhfr

[Carl Thunberg]

I sincerely hope we will refrain from judging the seamanship of others with incomplete information about the series of events that lead to this potentially deadly consequence. When things go bad on the water, they do so very quickly.

[Sea Hunt Video]

I sincerely hope we will refrain from judging the seamanship of others with incomplete information about the series of events that lead to this potentially deadly consequence. When things go bad on the water, they do so very quickly.

I agree Carl.

From the brief video it looks to me like there is no boom (no mainsail) - at least not one I could see on my small computer. It looks like a portion of the white mainsail is in the cockpit and a portion is hanging off the port side. With that size sailboat it is possible/probable they do not have a diesel engine; an O/B does not appear visible on the stern. It also appears like the sailor on the starboard side of the coach roof is trying to deal with a malfunctioning jib sheet. It looks like the jib is partially furled. With an onshore strong wind, a non-functional jib, and a pier to leeward there is not much they could have done - at least from the short video of this incident. Thankfully, no serious injuries - in and of itself a miracle.

[Jim Walsh]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AdYTGre3fAA

Here's the full version.

[Carl Thunberg]

With so many others on-board who were NOT trying to unfoul the jib sheet, could one of them have deployed the anchor? I know I said I wouldn't do this.

[Sea Hunt Video]

VC Jim W.

That is an amazing video. Thanks for finding and posting.

Carl, I understand and agree with your initial post about not judging seamanship. My only interest is in using this as a learning experience - especially for someone like me with very limited skills and experience.

Given the situation that appears in the video (very high winds, strong onshore waves, no usable main, a malfunctioning jib and/or furler, no engine, etc.) is there anything additional or different that the captain and crew could have done Given the sea state I am not sure an anchor would have done much good - especially given the strong onshore waves. It is unlikely it would have set and would have been a flying metal object that could rebound and hit crew.

It seemed like initially the sailboat was on a starboard tack moving parallel to shore. For some reason they changed course and appeared to be trying to head to shore. With that VERY LARGE pier and numerous pilings nearby was that the only or best course

It does appear that this may be one of the few times when you do NOT want to be tethered to your sailboat. Being thrown clear of the boat may well have saved serious injury or death. I am not an M.D. but I think that a body does not react well when pushed/thrown with great force against a pier piling. It is incredible and a miracle no one was hurt.

[David Morton]

From my brief perusal of the comments on YouTube, I surmised that this experienced crew was actually participating in a race. Do most racing vessels carry an anchor?
I also noted from the video that it starts with main already doused and I wondered why that would be when anticipating a tack away from the leeward shore and a windward point of sail to home in these conditions. I can only assume that this experienced racing crew had suffered some malfunction making the main unusable. In which case, physics rather than incompetence determined this outcome and turning into that wind with jib alone, a near impossibility. Some very bad luck.

[Carl Thunberg]

I took a look at the nautical chart for Redondo Beach, CA. It's deep water right up to the surf zone.

[Paul Clayton]

Horrifying. I almost wish I hadn't seen that. My guess is that the main halyard or gooseneck broke, or the track ripped out of the mast, bringing down the main. The crew desperately tried to set the roller furling jib to get some control of the boat, but obviously were not able to claw off a lee shore under jib alone. The dangers of a lee shore, especially a steep rocky one, have always been known to sailors. Add to that gear failure and the results are cataclysmic.

[Dasein]

It is possible that the mainsail has a bolt rope (as opposed to slugs) for the mast slot, so that once the main is lowered it is free of the mast altogether. In heavy winds, once the last bit of the luff exits the mast slot, the sail swings around freely on the halyard. Also, absent a masthead topping lift, the boom will fall into the cockpit until a short boom lift (between the boom and the backstay) is attached. Looks a lot like mainsail configurations I saw when sailing J-22s. I found the bolt rope and short boom lift dangerous features in heavy wind conditions, as you can't rehoist easily when required, and attaching the boom lift prior to dropping the main is a knockdown waiting to happen.