Off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Whale watching vessel sinks off Tofino, B.C., with fatalities - British Columbia - CBC News
Whale watching vessel sinks off Tofino, B.C., with fatalities - British Columbia - CBC News
Whale watchers down
- Thread starter Hawgwash
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West
Senior Member
Not good.
Wonder what the seas were like, as the boat looks a bit top heavy.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/740L2ue8z2I/maxresdefault.jpg
Wonder what the seas were like, as the boat looks a bit top heavy.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/740L2ue8z2I/maxresdefault.jpg
Tofino water taxi reported 3-4 metre swells, no wind.
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West
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Conrad
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There's conflicting reports on the sea state; on the one hand there was the mention of the 3-4 metre swells, and other reports suggest it was fairly calm. A photo of the upended tour boat taken just before it went under suggests that it was lumpy but not seriously so.
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Northern Spy
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Journalist on Twitter reports 14 missing, but local news is reporting 22 accounted for, so 5 missing.
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MurrayM
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Looks like somebody cut & pasted an extra 20' into the middle of the boat...
QB
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Oh my.
JDCAVE
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Wonder if circumstances were similar?
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/marine/2009/m09w0147/m09w0147.pdf
Jim
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http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/marine/2009/m09w0147/m09w0147.pdf
Jim
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psneeld
Guru
Wind waves and swells are 2 different animals....without a wave period the info is of not much help.
Can't tell stability from a picture either.....looks like a lot of effort went into her to keep weight lower....no fear of making it look a bit funky.
Can't tell stability from a picture either.....looks like a lot of effort went into her to keep weight lower....no fear of making it look a bit funky.
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MurrayM
Guru
One rescuer reported that he was told the boat rolled over after being hit by a 'rogue wave'.
Might be a situation where the swell rebounded then combined their forces off nearby rocks or islets, and got further concentrated by an underwater shelf...maybe...
Might be a situation where the swell rebounded then combined their forces off nearby rocks or islets, and got further concentrated by an underwater shelf...maybe...
sunchaser
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Good report JD. Have they posted initial coordinates? Reported weather conditions were good so either inlet surge, vessel issues or a hard strike may come out from initial survivor discussions.
JDCAVE
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They originally reported the location as Plover Pt, on Meares Island, since corrected as Plover Reef, near Vargas Island at the entrance of Clayoquot Sd.
The Explorator incident was found to be due to lack of use of navigation aids (wasn't watching plotter).
Rogue wave or lack of attention to navigation aids.
Jim
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The Explorator incident was found to be due to lack of use of navigation aids (wasn't watching plotter).
Rogue wave or lack of attention to navigation aids.
Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum
drb1025
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Capt.Bill11
Guru
There is a big difference between 10-12' wind driven waves a 10-12' long period swells on a clam day.
Odysseus
Member
I fish up their regularly and from PNW.
The swells are swells. They are hazardous near the rocks of course. There were no significant wind waves. Guessing watching seals and a swell lifted them onto rocks. Tide was near the low side.
7 days Tidal Predictions - Tides, Currents, and Water Levels
Currents can be pretty strong but less than say in the Puget Sound. More issue with swell action.
The swells are swells. They are hazardous near the rocks of course. There were no significant wind waves. Guessing watching seals and a swell lifted them onto rocks. Tide was near the low side.
7 days Tidal Predictions - Tides, Currents, and Water Levels
Currents can be pretty strong but less than say in the Puget Sound. More issue with swell action.
West
Senior Member
Yes, I know. Since there is lots of confusion about what the real cause of the sinking was, I showed a link to one scenario, nothing more.
Nomad Willy
Guru
Perhaps they wandered over a rock shallow enough to have somewhat the same effect as a "boomer"?. I'm thinking of a rock the size of a house .. or wearhouse. The comments using the expression "rogue wave" may relate to a boomer like situation. I've only seen big boomers once up close .. very scary. I gave it a really wide berth.
Unless the boat was actually touching the bottom (as in post #12) she should roll over if her CG was anything like low. Where the air was would be perhaps equally important however.
Unless the boat was actually touching the bottom (as in post #12) she should roll over if her CG was anything like low. Where the air was would be perhaps equally important however.
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Ski in NC
Technical Guru
Reports are they got a distress call off, if so that would mean they knew they were in trouble before it rolled. Could also have been another vessel making the call.
Really sparse info on the various news sites. Maybe a journalist out there could interview a survivor instead of making videos of still shots of parked ambulances!!!
Really sparse info on the various news sites. Maybe a journalist out there could interview a survivor instead of making videos of still shots of parked ambulances!!!
stubones99
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OFB
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If my memory is serving me I believe this accident location is at the entrance to bull **** pass. Locally named. Very interesting currents over and between very interesting grounds. But an awesome place to watch, listen, smell, whales, especially humpback's. To sit on the water at night under the stars, hear the blows, smell the breath of a big guy.
Very sad, my heart goes out to all. Here on this coast it's usually a fellow mariner to the rescue, it's just so remote outside of the " lower mainland.
Very sad, my heart goes out to all. Here on this coast it's usually a fellow mariner to the rescue, it's just so remote outside of the " lower mainland.
An eyewitness account: Frightened passengers recall huge wave hitting boat that sank
AusCan
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So sad....
I can't help wondering how it happened.
I'm thinking that if the boat had the swell on its beam to provide the best viewing on the shoreline, and there are 22 people on the leeward side of the upper deck watching seals, the COG is substantially changed.
A large swell, slightly breaking may be enough to roll the boat to the point where it takes on water. The next one could roll her over.
All speculation of course, but I wonder if the designers of tour boats take the possibility of all passengers being on one side, into the stability calculations?
I can't help wondering how it happened.
I'm thinking that if the boat had the swell on its beam to provide the best viewing on the shoreline, and there are 22 people on the leeward side of the upper deck watching seals, the COG is substantially changed.
A large swell, slightly breaking may be enough to roll the boat to the point where it takes on water. The next one could roll her over.
All speculation of course, but I wonder if the designers of tour boats take the possibility of all passengers being on one side, into the stability calculations?
Agreed, and from the one statement by one of the victims in the above article, sounds like a very likely scenario.
very sad indeed...
