Luxury Yacht Destroyed by Fire at San Diego Yard

Another one???

Good grief!! The luxury yachts seem to be falling like flies these days!

talk about timing, that drone was certainly in the right place at the opportune time. Wow!

You're right - there seems to be a real run on yacht disasters this year.

Another interesting aspect here is that it appears that the footage was shot via a drone mounted camera. Excellent quality, and I think we will see a lot more of that in the future.

I believe the name of that vessel is Polar Bear and it is my understanding that it was built by Aluetian (now Citadel) Yachts in Tacoma WA in 2011.

I also believe it's an metal boat. So perhaps some welding was going on at the time of the fire. But the fire could have been caused by a number of other things as well.

http://abdboats.com/polar-bear.html

Conrad said:

Another interesting aspect here is that it appears that the footage was shot via a drone mounted camera. Excellent quality, and I think we will see a lot more of that in the future.

Click to expand...

Why do you think it was a drone, rather than a chopper? (Not saying it was not, just wondering how one would be able to tell).

jwnall said:

Why do you think it was a drone, rather than a chopper? (Not saying it was not, just wondering how one would be able to tell).

Click to expand...

Becasue it sounds like the camera is being carried by a swarm of bees.

bligh said:

Becasue it sounds like the camera is being carried by a swarm of bees.

Click to expand...

That was my first clue. Also it seemed to holding position; helicopters can do that but to my eye have a different kind of motion.

Capt.Bill11 said:

I believe the name of that vessel is Polar Bear and it is my understanding that it was built by Aluetian (now Citadel) Yachts in Tacoma WA in 2011.

Click to expand...

You have the link for the wrong Polar Bear. There are two. The Citadel one that burned is this one:

Motor Yacht POLAR BEAR - a Citadel Superyacht

And here:

Ah, I stand corrected. There should be a law, one name per boat.

Lithium batteries!

Capt.Bill11 said:

Ah, I stand corrected. There should be a law, one name per boat.

Click to expand...

Thread drift: so what is the name of yours Captain Bill?

Conrad said:

That was my first clue. Also it seemed to holding position; helicopters can do that but to my eye have a different kind of motion.

Click to expand...

Crying shame about the yacht. Heartbreaker for sure.

I've been eyeing one of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision drones.

She-Kon said:

Crying shame about the yacht. Heartbreaker for sure.

I've been eyeing one of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision drones.

Click to expand...

Pretty slick looking and actually cheaper than I would have expected. Even less expensive is the AR Drone, although I have no idea how they would actually compare.

AR.Drone 2.0. Parrot new wi-fi quadricopter - AR.Drone.com - HD Camera - Civil drone - Parrot

She-Kon said:

I've been eyeing one of the DJI Phantom 2 Vision drones.

Click to expand...

What would you use it for? I've been wistfully eyeing such things ever since I read an article about drones in Wired magazine several years ago, but can never come up with a good rationale for what I would use it for. Of course, that has never stopped me from buying toys in the past, I suppose . . .

jwnall said:

What would you use it for? I've been wistfully eyeing such things ever since I read an article about drones in Wired magazine several years ago, but can never come up with a good rationale for what I would use it for.

Click to expand...

Do me a favor John. Stay away from my wife when we start discussing buying our next boat.

CPseudonym said:

Do me a favor John. Stay away from my wife when we start discussing buying our next boat.

Click to expand...

Just tell her that he who dies with the most toys, wins.

jwnall said:

What would you use it for? I've been wistfully eyeing such things ever since I read an article about drones in Wired magazine several years ago, but can never come up with a good rationale for what I would use it for. Of course, that has never stopped me from buying toys in the past, I suppose . . .

Click to expand...

*hehehe* Lemme see? Spyin' on bathing beauties on the beach. High altitude 'Selfies' of my boat shed! Hmmmm? I can't think of any other good reasons.

Used to fly RC planes back in the day. None powerful enough to mount a film camera on though. Always wanted to try it. Once knew a guy who flew RC planes testing air samples around nuclear plants. Couldn't actually believe someone made a living doing it.

I suppose it'll look good on the shelf beside the remote ROV submersible!

She-Kon said:

*hehehe* Lemme see? Spyin' on bathing beauties on the beach. High altitude 'Selfies' of my boat shed! Hmmmm? I can't think of any other good reasons.

Used to fly RC planes back in the day. None powerful enough to mount a film camera on though. Always wanted to try it. Once knew a guy who flew RC planes testing air samples around nuclear plants. Couldn't actually believe someone made a living doing it.

I suppose it'll look good on the shelf beside the remote ROV submersible!

Click to expand...

You are an honest person. I like that. RC planes here, RC vehicles, RC boats . . .

She-Kon said:

*hehehe* Lemme see? Spyin' on bathing beauties on the beach. High altitude 'Selfies' of my boat shed! Hmmmm? I can't think of any other good reasons.

Used to fly RC planes back in the day. None powerful enough to mount a film camera on though. Always wanted to try it. Once knew a guy who flew RC planes testing air samples around nuclear plants. Couldn't actually believe someone made a living doing it.

I suppose it'll look good on the shelf beside the remote ROV submersible!

Click to expand...

Also a lot of aerial photography business have pooped recently due to companies like DJI making good quality RTF drones that can actually achieve something with out have to be Paul Allen.

The drone could be useful. In the Bahamas and other areas, it could fly ahead of you scouting out deep water/channels. You could use it to check out little inlets, bays, etc for anchoring possibilities. It could bring you cold drinks from the beach bar, saving gas for the dinghy.

N4712 said:

Also a lot of aerial photography business have pooped recently due to companies like DJI making good quality RTF drones that can actually achieve something with out have to be Paul Allen.

Click to expand...

There's a land survey office nearby that just added aerial photo capability with drones. The survey wood lots for harvest, residential plots for development and real estate ads etc.

In the case of the yacht fire it'd be a great tool for the Fire Captain on the ground to get an overview of the situation. I think we'll see more and more businesses pop up as the tech improves.

Some nice aerial video of my boat cruising a scenic waterway would be cool too!

Conrad said:

You're right - there seems to be a real run on yacht disasters this year.

Another interesting aspect here is that it appears that the footage was shot via a drone mounted camera. Excellent quality, and I think we will see a lot more of that in the future.

Click to expand...

Fire was likely started by a drone, which crashed into the yacht while spying on nekid babes. The drone crashed when the lithium battry powering the rotors exploded. By the way, as a former certification pilot/engineer for the FAA, I can say without reservation that every one of these drones has fatal design flaws when compared to even the most simple certificated helicopter or airplane. Part of the reason for certification is to protect people on the ground from junk falling from the sky. These contraptions are a clear and present danger. They should be banned from flight over any populated area.

janice142 said:

Thread drift: so what is the name of yours Captain Bill?

Click to expand...

The 42' GB motoryacht that I use to own (pictured to the left moored in front of my friends house in Eleuthera) was named Gin Gizmo.

The name of the boats I run for a living change from time to time. The last one was named Huey's Island. A 100' Broward named after the owners dog.

About the only 'inoffensive' use I could think of for a camera drone, is to be able to get shots of my own boat in motion, because otherwise I have found it next to impossible. No-one I know ever seems to be out there when I am.

There are a couple of fire trucks parked at the bow but it looks like they are going to just let it burn itself out. If you click the YouTube link
Blaze sparks aboard yacht in Chula Vista Marina - YouTube
there is more info. Says no other boats were damaged but I wouldn't want to be the owner of sailboat just aft of the fire.

Is a boatyard the same thing as a marina? When first reported on our local radio station, they reported it as being at a Chula Vista marina. There are two marinas in Chula Vista and neither one has that big a boat docked there. Knew it had to be in the boat yard. P.S. With every reporting of the story, the value of the boat keeps going up. Last I saw was 56 million dollars.

jwnall said:

What would you use it for? I've been wistfully eyeing such things ever since I read an article about drones in Wired magazine several years ago, but can never come up with a good rationale for what I would use it for. Of course, that has never stopped me from buying toys in the past, I suppose . . .

Click to expand...

Excellent point. I bought the AR Drone before thinking that through. After a few hours practice, I have not used it in months. Even so, if I had not bought an AR, I would probably be "needing" a Phantom.