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Old 10-15-2022, 04:53 PM   #1
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3 fishermen rescued

Short version:

3 guys in a center console tied to an oil rig that sank ( the CC sank, not the oil rig ) spent 28 hours floating and got rescued by the USCG.

Long version:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/15/us/bo...son/index.html

I find it hard to believe they only had "2 minutes to react before their boat sank"

Also, wouldn't an oil rig have a ladder attached somewhere ?
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Old 10-15-2022, 05:18 PM   #2
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A small boat like that can go down incredibly fast, so 2 minutes is within reason. They are very lucky. I don’t ever want to have to poke a shark in the eye…
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Old 10-15-2022, 05:23 PM   #3
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This happened near where we live. Local news reports said they had some pretty nasty shark bite wounds on their hands from fending off sharks.
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Old 10-15-2022, 05:24 PM   #4
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Great ending to the story.

What I read was the waves increased due to rough weather and started filling the back of the 24-foot center console with water. I can see how in just a couple of minutes large waves could swamp the boat and sink it.

It also said once they were in the water they tried to swim to the rig to climb it and use an emergency phone, but they couldn't make it. Tide and/or current likely swept them away from the rig.
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Old 10-16-2022, 07:01 AM   #5
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No one thought to radio the oil rig itself. Quick mayday call. Press that cute little hidden red button on your DSC VHF. Maybe think it was time to go home when waves started growing while bobbing tens of miles out in your little boat.

Perhaps there are one or two lessons learned here.
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Old 10-16-2022, 07:49 AM   #6
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I like the quote "As soon as I saw waves coming over the back of the boat I knew it was bad...."

if they were tied off to the rig......and they couldn't swim to the rig because of the current, and the waves were coming over the stern.....they must have been tied stern to the rig....probably so they could cast towards the rig. Wasn't there was an NFL player who sunk his boat off of Tampa because he anchored off the stern and bad weather came up?

I have a hard time thinking that on the ride out to the rig there were no warning signs of bad weather.....maybe not enough to turn around, but at least to have a heightened sense of awareness. You've got visibility for miles out there.....

Keeping your bow into the weather and always carrying a knife are pretty basic concepts that should be learned early in a boating career.

At least the had the good sense to wear PFD's
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Old 10-16-2022, 08:02 AM   #7
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Pretty sure the NFL player story was that he was trying to free the anchor tied to the stern using power (motor).

That is especially dangerous if tied to a stern cleat and pretty dangerous if to one of the rings in the transom depending how high above the waterline they are.

True that a bow tie is usually always safer but not lways desirable if fishing.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:10 AM   #8
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You have a good memory!!

From Reuters:
The investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the men were unable to free the anchor when it was tied to a bow cleat so they tied the line to the rear of the boat.

Cooper then used the 21-foot (6-meter) fishing boat’s 200 horsepower motor to try to free the anchor. The boat “immediately swamped over the stern, submerging and rolling to port, capsizing,” the investigation report said.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:27 AM   #9
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Most boats that tie off to rigs use a large rig hook so that they don't have to tie off. Just pull up so there is slack in the rope and lift the hook off whatever it is on, usually a pipe.
Also unless the rig was in a bay there are no ladders typically on a platform. The landing is usually 8' or higher off the water. And unless the platform is manned there is usually no phone. Or if there is it is usually in a locked building.
Basically you are on your own.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:33 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
You have a good memory!!


Cooper then used the 21-foot (6-meter) fishing boat’s 200 horsepower motor to try to free the anchor. The boat “immediately swamped over the stern, submerging and rolling to port, capsizing,” the investigation report said.
That makes more sense why they didn't have time to make a distress call. By the time they realized they were in real danger, they were likely already in the water. Not an excuse of their actions by any means, but kind of explains why they didn't make a distress call if they knew they were sinking.
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Old 10-16-2022, 09:36 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
You have a good memory!!

From Reuters:
The investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the men were unable to free the anchor when it was tied to a bow cleat so they tied the line to the rear of the boat.

Cooper then used the 21-foot (6-meter) fishing boat’s 200 horsepower motor to try to free the anchor. The boat “immediately swamped over the stern, submerging and rolling to port, capsizing,” the investigation report said.
I also have a very likely cause or at least additional causation to the capsizing that I haven't read elsewhere yet.

Those kinds of stories have been my life for most of my life.

Easy to recall things that you studied and commented on for years.
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Old 10-16-2022, 11:35 AM   #12
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I also have a very likely cause or at least additional causation to the capsizing that I haven't read elsewhere yet.
Do you plan to share?
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Old 10-16-2022, 12:24 PM   #13
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A little too complicated to explain well in a post, but the boat hull design (my assumption as I didn't see the boat shape well) with the size/weight/distribution of the crew in that situation could be VERY unstable combined with the actions of the captain trying to free the anchor. Having pulled hundreds of boats off sandbars using lots of power similar to what one would do to free a stuck anchor tied to the stern taught me a lot.

If the boat lurched and 4 large people grabbed the T-top for balance, I could see the boat rolling rapidly and combining with water pouring in over a stern quarter aggravating the situation.

I came up with the theory looking at the newer CC boat hulls at a show. They scared me enough that what happened to that crew could be easily duplicated.
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Old 10-16-2022, 01:48 PM   #14
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For the NFL incident, I could see if the guys hauled in all the slack so the anchor line was verticle, and they hit the throttle hard, the stern would squat significantly almost instantly...then a few big heavy guys run to the stern quarter to release the line and its all over.
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Old 10-16-2022, 02:11 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Benthic2 View Post
For the NFL incident, I could see if the guys hauled in all the slack so the anchor line was verticle, and they hit the throttle hard, the stern would squat significantly almost instantly...then a few big heavy guys run to the stern quarter to release the line and its all over.
Maybe..... I see these big guys sitting on the gunnels or standing (not many places to sit on those boats) and when the boat lurches, grab the t top..... water is already pouring over the stern quarter and now the boat is so much into a rolling moment hanging on to the t top is instinctive and over it goes.

The boat was probably tied to the anchor on one side or the other, and as an outboard, rare that it would be in the center. So rapid power would cause a rapid rolling moment (I leaned on sandbar pulls) and because of many of these boat designs in that size, the rest of the rolling would take much, like 3 or 4 guys holding the t top.
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Old 10-16-2022, 02:54 PM   #16
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Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence here in Louisiana. As stated in a previous post, fisherman use a "rig hook" to tie to the many oil and gas structures in our coastal waters to fish. Usually this is off the bow, and then the fishermen collect in the stern and start fishing, placing most weight in the stern. This results in the self bailing feature of many outboards becoming overwhelmed in a choppy sea and seawater fills the inner hull. Then the float switch of the bilge pump (if equipped) is dead. While concentrating on fishing, enough water has entered the inner hull and usually sloshes to one side capsizing the outboard rather quickly, while the occupants were concentrating on fishing, not situational awareness. Also as pointed out many oil rigs are not manned, and the current in the Gulf of Mexico around the mouth of the river can be rapid, and you cannot swim back to the rig. Even experienced pleasure divers are lost by making this fatal mistake- surfacing too far behind the boat to swim back against the surface current (and not leaving a watch person aboard).

I do not know if this is what happened in this case, but I have seen this play out more than once in my years of fishing and diving this area. These guys got lucky.
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Old 10-21-2022, 02:23 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by folivier View Post
Most boats that tie off to rigs use a large rig hook so that they don't have to tie off. Just pull up so there is slack in the rope and lift the hook off whatever it is on, usually a pipe.
Also unless the rig was in a bay there are no ladders typically on a platform. The landing is usually 8' or higher off the water. And unless the platform is manned there is usually no phone. Or if there is it is usually in a locked building.
Basically you are on your own.
Every time exiting the breakwater you should consider
that you’re on your own. And taken all precautions before leaving.
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Old 10-21-2022, 05:36 PM   #18
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Every time exiting the breakwater you should consider that you’re on your own. And taken all precautions before leaving.
I'd imagine not enough people realize how quickly an improper anchoring setup can lead to a sinking. People get way too focused on the other activities and ignore the REALLY important requirements involved with NOT SINKING THE BOAT.
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Old 10-21-2022, 06:53 PM   #19
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Hello Everyone,
If it was tied to a pillar wood or steel. A couple good smacks and a shallow draft. Could happen.
I witnessed a 25' In/out, go over a wake and it cracked the back hull. But stayed in place. And was filled by 2 1/2 feet. Before I got there. Boat was 1 day old..
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Old 10-22-2022, 12:57 AM   #20
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Great story. It says, "The men didn’t know it, but before the miraculous text message went through, the Coast Guard was already on their way, Lt. Katy Caraway from Air Station New Orleans told CNN on Thursday. She was the co-pilot of a Jayhawk helicopter that helped rescue the men." So someone called the CG to report them missing before the text went out? Amazing that from that height on the water the text was successfully sent.
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