You see any safety equipment???

[kthoennes]

Boy, I'm so sensitive to every noise and puff of wind and creak of lines when we're sleeping on board that I don't know how your boat can swamp or take on so much water that you don't wake up until it's too late, absent some catastrophic sudden breach. I sleep great on the boat but still, I remember last season I got up at 3:00 in the morning because two coffee cups in a galley cabinet were clinking against each other with each big wave. Sleeping in the aft berth with the door closed and two A/C units running, if the boys get up in the middle of the night I can still tell when the shower/sink sump pump for the forward head kicks on and pushes water overboard, even running under a carpeted floor way forward down in the engine compartment. Couldn't he hear the bilge pump(s) running and the water pouring out the thru hull? But then maybe his pumps were dead.

 

[psneeld]

Many people do sleep though the first part of sinking...isn't till the list rolls them out of bed or the trip to the head involves wet feet that they have a clue something is wrong.

 

[HopCar]

Do any of you find it strange that he ran ninety miles offshore by himself and took a nap? Was he fishing?

 

[dwhatty]

Pete, I cannot help myself, sorry.
What exactly would you do if she fell overboard.

Maybe talk to your lawyer before answering that one ..

 

[High Wire]

He was drifting for a day and a half in the gulfstream. He could have been sunk 10 miles offshore and drifted that far in that time.

 

[psneeld]

Especially where he was, the shape of the coast and direction of wind and current.

 

[twistedtree]

I think the lesson from this is that when your boat is going down, it's not likely to be the pastoral scene that we all envision with a quick trip to grab and activate the EPIRP, grab the fully charged VHF, set off a DSC alert, don a life jacket, and step into the life raft.


I expect reality looks just like that picture with everything wrong side up, all equipment lost or unreachable, and everyone saying "wait, what just happened", because it's already over. Oh, and add in storm conditions. I forgot about that.

 

[psneeld]

Believe me...I have had people screaming bloody murder when there was little danger at all and others completely stoic when I was scared shi*less things were going bad FAST.

Emergencies play out in many different ways...unless you are completely used to them....and even then it's at best a guessing game on what happens next and when.

 

[hughespat57]

Been over this thoroughly on the ClubSeaRay.com site

USCG audio conversation with Bee from vessel after pickup.
https://www.dvidshub.net/audio/64701/missing-mariner-stuart-bee-located-86-miles-east-port-canaveral


https://www.dvidshub.net/search?q=stuart+bee&view=grid




Quoting myself...

"Let's be fair here, when you "go to sea" you need to be prepared because this is a good example of "**** happens". And there are several things he did that certainly could have been done better.

But the boat is clearly a mid 1990 or older Sea Ray, likely a 310DA. They called it a 32 footer, but we know how Sea Ray is with dimensions. A 310 is anywhere from 31' 6" Water Line to 35' 3" Over All with the pulpit and a platform. Look at the helm cabinetry, not molded fiberglass, the arch is aft swept, the engine vents and cabin window style. This is clearly a 25+ year old boat. (but hey so is mine)
The boat is clean, the life jackets are clean, there are two fire extinguishers by the cabin door, the vinyl is not cracked or peeling, there is a Simrad chart plotter and a Simrad 3g radar. This is a well equipped vessel and reasonably cared for. We cant tell about the machinery and it is a saltwater boat.

The CG audio conversation indicates he had a "registered PLB" Bee says "EPIRB" but I would bet on the accuracy of the CG description. A PLB is typically not automated, but manually activated, unlikely to have a hydro-static release bracket. Not quite as good as a marine EPIRB, but he had it. He was reasonably prepared.

Mistakes...
1. alone offshore,
when things go badly extra hands help, could have stood watches while one sleeps. (required by the way)
2. Float Plan?
although he was well known by his marina to be a "day tripper" and they reported him overdue the next morning.
3. Reluctance to call for help EARLY.
This is a common "I can handle it" attitude with any human. If you are having ANY problem offshore you can call the CG and report your position and all vital statistics and set up a communication check schedule. While you attempt to resolve the issue; if you fail to report or reply they have a good starting point to search and calculate set and drift.
At the FIRST sign of "the **** hitting the fan", don't hesitate to use that EPIRB or DSC button, no one is going to get angry about it."

 

[hughespat57]

Okay, so I have to eat some crow today and take back some of my original post's comments - he did have some safety equipment on board, apparently could not reach it before the situation got out of hand.

Far be it from me to tell another boater how to set up the safety gear on their boat, but if you had a 32 foot boat and were planning an 86 mile off-shore excursion, how would you set it up to minimize the possibility of this kind of thing happening (clinging to a anchor pulpit for days)? This question is where the gurus here can really help the boating community.

The other thing that has me a bit puzzled is the fuel. I know quite a bit about Sea Rays since I've owned two a couple of feet shorter than this one. I assume a 32 Sea Ray boat is a gasser, (maybe twin outboards?), not sure of the range it had. My former Sea Ray boat with a single Merc-stern drive had a range of about 260 miles on an absolutely full 90 gallon tank, clean bottom, average load, and minimal chop/wind. With any kind of current, wind, load, and if he had huge motors (e.g. 400 HP twins), getting back could have become an issue. We may never know.

My 300 is twin 350/5.7 GM Mercruiser I/O 200 gallons of fuel in twin wing tanks. My rule fuel is the age old "1/3" - 1/3 out, 1/3 back, 1/3 reserve - which would limit me to about 75 miles.
And this time of year off Cape Canaveral the Gulf Stream is about 50 miles out and 2 - 3 knots. I was down there for Thanksgiving (Palm Beach/Lake Worth Inlet) Winds early week were 10-15 out of the east. Seas 4-8 near shore. Calmed down to a light breeze and very flat later in the week.

 

[alvasurg]

I am surprised that on TF no one has seen this audio posted on Passagemaker email today. It explains the lack of EPRB use and other things. However, other parts of the guys story dont make sense!! Asleep on a 32 foot boat 80 miles out.Stupid!! "Theres something rotten in Denmark" as the the old saying goes

 

[HopCar]

Asleep on a 32 foot boat 80 miles out.Stupid!! "Theres something rotten in Denmark" as the the old saying goes

That’s been bothering me too. Who goes 80 miles offshore by himself and takes a nap?