My curiosity was raised when I read a news article shared via Facebook that reported a ship ran aground off the coast of Columbia and was a total loss. What was the “cause” of this incident and what lesson might be learned? (News article at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/how-one-man-s-travelling-dream-sank-with-his-boat-1.5048527 )
As the news article was very vague, I searched the internet and found more information. There were more news articles – just as vague, a GoFundMe page, a YouTube channel Siam Sailing, Facebook accounts, brief references on Noonsite. MarineTraffic, NOAA, etc. Each had a little more information to be gleamed. Most had comment sections that expressed sympathies and condolences, but a very few individuals stated “something” didn’t make sense and questioned events - they were instantly flamed and accosted by others – don’t be judgmental or question the why-for! Its’s a tragic accident that can happen to anyone! He had years of experience and knows better than you ever will – end of story – pipe down, shut-up, and don’t express your derogatory opinions here! Monday Morning Quarterbacks, sitting in their comfortable chair with spare time to expound online... am certain that the survivors of things like this really would rather not see their pontifications.
Wow! Is the sailing community really this “narrow” and “closed minded”? When an aviation incident occurs the "root" cause is sought out vigorously and safety measures updated as applicable to minimize the chance of another such event - yet this prudent concept is shunned by so many in the sailing community - why?
If one cannot seek out the circumstances, the truths or facts; draw assumptions when information is lacking or withheld, how is it possible to learn from the tragic incident that occurred? Each can research the incident and determine “something” to be learned or be blinded by their own biases, inhibitions, and ignorance. What follows is what I could fathom from this “incident” and lessons I take from it – your mileage may vary!
First, the individual would be considered extremely experienced by any measure as he had built his own boat in two years and then travelled around the world on it. News articles differed in years aboard stating 19 years, while the personal account claimed 35 years. His boat was made of steel and about 13.5 meters (~44 feet) in length, launched in 1986. He had extensive time sailing solo aboard.
So what are the facts that can be gleamed?
From the news articles and Facebook account:
- Sailed with his girlfriend up the coast of Colombia in route to Panama.
- The wind was much more than forecast and the waves much higher; hit by a fierce gale; weather turned ugly near Cartagena.
- Happened on February 19, 2019 at 03:00 in the morning.
- Occurred on the coast of Columbia about 50 miles east of Cartagena; just outside of Puerto Velero and less than a mile (about ten minutes before we got to the entrance) from the entrance to a sheltered bay.
- Hit by a large wave from the side and steering was lost. By the time he got the emergency tiller on, more large waves had pushed the boat to the shore and the boat hit hard on the sandy bottom - broke the connection between the hull and the keel and water poured in.
From Marine Traffic website:
The last GPS position for Sailing Vessel Libelle, MMSI: 316028426; is Lat/Lon: 10.94344° / -75.05393° received at 2019-02-19 11:25 UTC – which is 6:25 AM local time Columbia.
From Goggle Maps with a satellite view, yacht Libelle is shown approximately where the red arrow points. As this peninsula is known for "shifting sand" the distance of 466 feet shown from land is approximate as this satellite picture is dated.
From Garmin's ActiveCaptain website which uses Navionics maps, yacht Libelle is shown approximately where the red star is. In the red box a CAUTION states, "Due to the constant change of the shoreline, depths may be less than charted." A red arrow points at the first navigational marker into the harbor with subsequent buoys to aide in safe passage.
From Garmin's ActiveCaptain website, Navionics map with sonar depths indicated is shown. Yacht Libelle is shown approximately where the red star is. A red arrow points at the first navigational marker into the harbor with subsequent buoys to aide in safe passage. The sonar map also shows variations in the seafloor that can contribute to the formation of dangerous and large ocean waves extending outwards from the shoreline – clearly an area to maintain safe distance from.
From Marina Puerto Velero website an approach with waypoints is provided to aide in safe passage.
From the archives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website a copy of the Offshore Waters Forecast for the area labeled zone AMZ031 indicated weather conditions and a GALE WARNING was issued. Excerpts of file below:
AMZ001-182030-
Synopsis for Caribbean Sea and Tropical N Atlantic from 07N to
19N between 55W and 64W
329 AM EST Mon Feb 18 2019
.SYNOPSIS...Strong to near gale force winds are expected over
the S central Caribbean through late Fri, reaching minimal gale
force along the coast of Colombia at night each night through mid
week. Strong winds will expand northward to Hispaniola adjacent
waters through late today and westward past Jamaica by Tue night
as strong high pressure builds N of the area. Fresh to strong E to
SE winds are also expected across the Caribbean waters W of 85W,
including the Gulf of Honduras, through Fri. NE to E swell will
build over Atlantic waters E of the Windward and Leeward Islands
by mid week continuing through the weekend.
AMZ031-182030-
Caribbean from 11N to 15N between 72W and 80W including Colombia
Basin-
329 AM EST Mon Feb 18 2019
...GALE WARNING...
...GALE CONDITIONS POSSIBLE...
.TODAY...NE to E winds 20 to 25 kt. Seas 7 to 11 ft in E swell.
.TONIGHT...NE to E winds 25 to 35 kt within 90 nm of coast of
Colombia, and NE to E 20 to 30 kt elsewhere. Seas 8 to 12 ft in E
swell.
.TUE...NE to E winds 20 to 30 kt within 90 nm of coast of
Colombia, and NE to E 20 to 25 kt elsewhere. Seas 9 to 13 ft in E
swell.
.TUE NIGHT...NE to E winds 25 to 35 kt within 90 nm of coast of
Colombia, and NE to E 20 to 30 kt elsewhere. Seas 8 to 12 ft.
.WED...E winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 7 to 11 ft in NE to E swell.
.WED NIGHT...NE to E winds 25 to 35 kt within 90 nm of coast of
Colombia, and NE to E 20 to 30 kt elsewhere. Seas 7 to 10 ft.
.THU...E winds 20 to 25 kt. Seas 7 to 11 ft.
.THU NIGHT...E winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 7 to 11 ft in NE to E
swell.
.FRI...E winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 12 ft in NE to E swell.
.FRI NIGHT...NE to E winds 20 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 12 ft in NE to
E swell.
The reported failure of steering loss after being hit by a large wave also might yield educational insight. The information from all sources do not reveal the cause of the failure so "speculation" as to what most likely failed is the only option. This boat uses wheel steering mounted to a pedestal, so it most likely uses gear with chain and wire rope linkages to control the rudder. Are there documented cases of these systems failing - YES! In fact, this type of failure is extremely common, but easily prevented through routine inspections, maintenance, and replacements. An article on this by Don Casey summarized the most likely cause of this loss of steering failure, “….. a chain-and-wire system will not tolerate indifferent maintenance, and if it’s not properly maintained, it will fail suddenly and completely. The only thing you won’t know is when that will happen.” We have seen this type of failure get the best of many so-called experienced sailors and cruisers, read this, and sadly it continues to happen time and time again.
After the steering failure, an attempt to install a emergency tiller failed as the vessel had hit ground in a relatively short time span. The description of these events leads one to believe they were not aware of their proximity to land - it was 03:00 in the morning, dark, and disorientated. A few comments on postings questioned why the anchor was not dropped to save the vessel - they received only hostile comments back - so disappointing as their suggestion was not evaluated on its merit.
The visual and written facts above should be enough to formulate a reasonable opinion of the incident and learn something from it - this is what we summarized and take away from it:
- Proverbial rule in sailing - never approach land or a harbor at night or in degraded visual conditions. The incident occurred at 3:00 in the morning.
- Limit your exposure to adverse weather through adequate research of weather forecasts. The passage and incident occurred in a an area under a Gale Warning.
- Adequately plan your route to avoid potential hazards. Both the Navionics and Marina Puerto Velero maps indicate points (buoy or waypoints) offshore, away from the known hazardous peninsula, to start a safe entry into the harbor. The location of the vessel's grounding indicates that adequate offshore clearance was not maintained.
- Insure your inspection and preventative maintenance plan addresses your steering system and components.
- If you have an emergency tiller, practice installing it regularly. Also practice installation in the dark.
- If approaching land, ensure your anchor and tackle is prepared for instant deployment if needed; likewise for your back-up anchor.
The prevalent trend in comments to this incident professed an admiration for the adventures around the world and vast experience. Any differing opinion was instantly squashed and attacked. To that end, sometimes experience is actually part of the problem, sometimes experience is a rotten teacher. Experienced sailors do not understand the risks better just because they have been exposed to them more — they have just managed to dance around them where novices may not have. Or, as Laurence Gonzales puts it, “The word ‘experienced’ often refers to someone who’s gotten away with doing the wrong thing more frequently than you have.” That’s it. It is exactly that experience — the experience of nothing bad happening — that allows the experienced to nonchalantly decide which rules to follow and which ones don’t apply to them or shouldn’t.
As most of the comments to this incident reflect sympathy and remorse for their loss - it goes without asking, same from us. We wish them well in whatever path they steer their future towards. We also wish to thank them for their candid disclosures - as at least for us, we learned something positive from this unfortunate event.
