Boat Sinks in White Marlin Open

Big fishing competition. All rescued. No word on cause. Looks like it went down fast.

The wake of a custom carolina boat running hard through the open ocean is a sight to behold. Island boatworks 65' is a impressive machine. Kudos to the captain and crew.

I charter fished out of OC Md for two years and learned alot in that short period. The cost of operations was a bit staggering to me at the time, from fuel to repairs to tackle, dockage etc. One story that really sunk in to me was a sinking of a boat in the charter fleet, the captain of fellow charter boat immediately snipped every line of the trolling spread and ran full throttle to his friends aid, I don't think the captain and crew got their feet wet. Makes you stop and consider priorities. Honestly, as a poor mate at the time, the though of tossing hundreds of dollars in tackle away in seconds is jarring, but then you stop and put it into perspective and it is as clear as day. It is a bit embarrassing but I just took life for granted at that point.

I really think that cutting the lines is what should/would be expected. When it comes to saving a life or a bit of tackle there isn’t much to think about.

Comodave said:

I really think that cutting the lines is what should/would be expected. When it comes to saving a life or a bit of tackle there isn’t much to think about.

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You're missing the point. Nobody said they were weighing the decision of helping the boat in distress or not. What he said was the captain ordered the lines cut , which amounted to hundreds of dollars of tackle lost; the terminal tackle & baits & all of the reels probably needed respooling since a large portion of the line was in the water, and possibly the days wages if the boat was chartered. Most folks (quite likely myself included) first instinct would've been to reel the lines in, asap. With a good crew and everyone helping, it might've taken a minute to clear the lines & get underway. This captain opted to cut everything ,which was his livelihood, to gain seconds. It was a quick decision that the captain made.
I completely get where the OP is coming from.

One thing about search and rescue in my experience....while seconds can count in the survivors eyes...they are often lost in the process on responders.


While the cutting or retrieval of lines can be debated (variables)...it is probably minutiae to the responders.


There are multiple ways of shaving seconds, but usually the best course of action is to not get all worked up racing to the rescue....keeping a calm, clear head and purposeful actions usually makes up more in minutes than seconds in responding.


Once on scene, and better evaluation of the actual emergency, is where seconds start to count.

Comodave said:

I really think that cutting the lines is what should/would be expected. When it comes to saving a life or a bit of tackle there isn’t much to think about.

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I fully agree and was being honest about my immaturity/lack of perspective at the time of hearing the story. This had happened years before I was working on that dock but it had involved two of charter boats running out of the same dock (our immediate neighbor and the boat just past him). The moment I heard the story stands out in my mind and it wasn't really the seconds of cutting the lines that mattered, it was the decisiveness of the captain (Bill Kneessi), responding with a clear head and purpose that really resonated with me and improved my perspective.

I wonder if a prize winning fish was hooked up?


Not wondering in the story's reference....but in general how many would do the same?


That's what separates men from mice.

psneeld said:

I wonder if a prize winning fish was hooked up?


Not wondering in the story's reference....but in general how many would do the same?


That's what separates men from mice.

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I just saw an update and another video, while the guys were exiting the raft and coming over the transom, a couple of guys were collecting a cooler on the port quarter, reportedly the beer cooler. Sounds like the took it in stride, as much as possible, they lost a blue marlin and lost their boat but saved the beer.

I meant, would a captain of a charter or paid tournament captain hooked up cut a possible money fish off?


A big decision.... but as I said.... of "mice and men."

psneeld said:

I meant, would a captain of a charter or paid tournament captain hooked up cut a possible money fish off?


A big decision.... but as I said.... of "mice and men."

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Hard to say, and my update really wasn't addressing your question, not sure why I hit quote versus reply.

That said, I would like to think I would attached the largest and brightest fender to the rod and toss it over the side.

The other big question that is not easy to answer, is whether you are even in a good position to help, are you the closest or one of the closest and will you be of help in finding them or get halfway there and realize there are already dozens of boats in the vicinity. This is a good time for AIS transceivers, then again how many boats have them shut off to hide there location (tournament fishing).

A couple more thoughts, how many of us have a writing implement handy to jot down coordinates. I know I have one at my lower station but I spend most of my time running from the upper station.

One thing is for sure, that beautiful sportfish can move fast.

I wonder if the boat had a fish on at the time of sinking. With those sea conditions backing down on a large fish to gain line on them would put the cockpit area under a lot water with waves breaking over the transom. Most sport fisherman have large scuppers to drain water from that area. Just a thought. Glad all crew survived!

psneeld said:

There are multiple ways of shaving seconds, but usually the best course of action is to not get all worked up racing to the rescue....keeping a calm, clear head and purposeful actions usually makes up more in minutes than seconds in responding.


Once on scene, and better evaluation of the actual emergency, is where seconds start to count.

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Fast is slow and slow is fast...

Terrible event. Incredible video footage

Update:

https://www.oceancitytoday.com/news/boat-takes-on-water-while-angler-fighting-blue-marlin/article_40416464-f622-11eb-9daf-a701e33b0a34.html?fbclid=IwAR1x49YhHYZPbDfnx86Z0aqhDHGeUDphB8IybxL-Jf7DwVyPYtSVvFlQ_Y4

They were backing down on a fish in 4-6 ft seas.

They took water over the transom.

One engine died.

Air bubbles coming from the exhaust of the other.

Some of you guys may have other thoughts but it looks to me like the water pressure into the exhaust systems did the deed. Perhaps water made its way back to the diesel cylinders on the dead engine. Perhaps back pressure of the water against exhaust outflow caused an exhaust hose or clamps to fail on the other.

Did the boat ultimately go down?

The article said ....yes....in 2000 feet of water.

Everyone on the raft had PFDs on. Good for them.
Per cutting the lines, in my mind, there would be not question on the priorities, cut the lines.
No tuna door????

Very competitive tournaments. I don't know how much money involved in this one but I've known one winner of $500,000 and that's without all the side bets made. I suspect some prizes go up to $1 million. Participants pay dearly to compete as well though. Definitely not a profitable business.

BandB said:

Very competitive tournaments. I don't know how much money involved in this one but I've known one winner of $500,000 and that's without all the side bets made. I suspect some prizes go up to $1 million. Participants pay dearly to compete as well though. Definitely not a profitable business.

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https://whitemarlinopen.com/

$30k per BOAT (as many fishermen aboard as you care to take) gets you a shot at this year's top prize of $3.2 million.

FWT said:

https://whitemarlinopen.com/

$30k per BOAT (as many fishermen aboard as you care to take) gets you a shot at this year's top prize of $3.2 million.

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Wow.

There is additional money involved in the Calcutta's which are side bets or a "tourney within a tourney", you are basically rolling more money into the wager. The charter boats get booked for the week by a group of angers who share cost, they pay the tournament rates of the charter boat every day, plus the entry fees plus the Calcutta's. The money involved is pretty mind numbing.

You guys are missing the entire point here.

In a case like this you cut your lines and race as quickly as possible to the sinking boat! You don't think about prize money, fishing tackle, or what fish you may or may not have hooked up. You don't know if the crew on the sinking boat is drowning or what is going on until you get on site. Every second counts until you get the crew on board and safe!

I am embarrassed that any of you are even discussing lost prize money!

fgarriso said:

You guys are missing the entire point here.

In a case like this you cut your lines and race as quickly as possible to the sinking boat! You don't think about prize money, fishing tackle, or what fish you may or may not have hooked up. You don't know if the crew on the sinking boat is drowning or what is going on until you get on site. Every second counts until you get the crew on board and safe!

I am embarrassed that any of you are even discussing lost prize money!

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That is the correct thing to do. But as we know, humans are selfish, irrational creatures.

fgarriso said:

You guys are missing the entire point here.

In a case like this you cut your lines and race as quickly as possible to the sinking boat! You don't think about prize money, fishing tackle, or what fish you may or may not have hooked up. You don't know if the crew on the sinking boat is drowning or what is going on until you get on site. Every second counts until you get the crew on board and safe!

I am embarrassed that any of you are even discussing lost prize money!

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We aren't missing any point and we're not arguing about cutting lines. What we are discussing is the nature of the events. Also, the money involved is likely what led the initial boat to continue backing down so long and led to it's sinking. Many who don't fish might not know what these tournaments are like. I never had any idea until meeting someone who participated.

fgarriso said:

You guys are missing the entire point here.

In a case like this you cut your lines and race as quickly as possible to the sinking boat! You don't think about prize money, fishing tackle, or what fish you may or may not have hooked up. You don't know if the crew on the sinking boat is drowning or what is going on until you get on site. Every second counts until you get the crew on board and safe!

I am embarrassed that any of you are even discussing lost prize money!

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My discussion of the nature of this tournament is not related to the decision to abandon fishing to save a life at all, my most recent post was simply sharing some more details about how this tournament works having fished in a charter setting. Just sharing, albeit a bit off topic.

Every second counts as long as it is in a positive direction and not clouding reason.

I have seen too many "rush" into situations that only made things worse.

Often the reported position is incorrect, so how does rushing to the wrong position help?

As I posted before, once on scene, critical and rapid decisions are often crucial....only because now your info is relatively clear and up to date.

I learned a long time ago seconds don't really count more often than not and even when they do...it is often a bad bet unless your awareness of the situation is darn good.

I am not saying don't cut lines, but I bet many boats could have had most rigs in and cockpit stowed while the captain was copying info and plotting a course and handling the radio....If not, then the "cut`em off" order may have been a good call.

Some Captains place far too much faith in their boats while backing aggressively. There are videos on YouTube where they literally fill the cockpit with water and place all their faith in the scuppers and the ability to raise the bow immediately after. These guys appear to have busted an exhaust hose which allowed the engine room to flood.

Easy for me to say since I've never run a boat like that and never will.

Jeff Lebowski said:

Some Captains place far too much faith in their boats while backing aggressively. There are videos on YouTube where they literally fill the cockpit with water and place all their faith in the scuppers and the ability to raise the bow immediately after. These guys appear to have busted an exhaust hose which allowed the engine room to flood.

Easy for me to say since I've never run a boat like that and never will.

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That kind of usage makes me nervous as well. Personally, if that kind of usage is expected, I'd want side exhausts a bit above the waterline so they wouldn't be deeply submerged while backing. And I'd want to know for sure that flooding the cockpit wouldn't cause downflooding (good hatch seals, door seals, etc.) and that it'll self drain quickly after flooding without causing any other major concerns in the meantime.

fgarriso said:

You guys are missing the entire point here.

In a case like this you cut your lines and race as quickly as possible to the sinking boat! You don't think about prize money, fishing tackle, or what fish you may or may not have hooked up. You don't know if the crew on the sinking boat is drowning or what is going on until you get on site. Every second counts until you get the crew on board and safe!

I am embarrassed that any of you are even discussing lost prize money!

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Maybe you missed reading the news articles. The boat that heard the call DID in fact immediately cut lines and race to the scene, arriving very soon after the abandon ship. The rescuing boat DID do what they should, and did it well.

Maybe you also missed the part where the boat that sank had all of the gear one might say in hindsight they should have. A lifeboat. Handheld radios etc.

None of that was in doubt from the beginning. So its the rest of the story that has been in doubt and worthy of discussion for anyone interested in the topic of how and why boats sink, so we can avoid that fate.

re -- cause
.
According to the rescue crew, the cause was operator error:
* While backing toward a fight, the deck swamped.
I imagine the engines drowned, the pumps were not engineered for that volume, and the crew realized their predicament.
.
I think the crew of the responding vessel 'FishBone' did everything right.
.
Learning from this, I think I would design a swim-step/platform with low accessible grips so anybody in the water could self-rescue.
Thoughts?