Non-Recreational Boating

Boating in my area should be left to the professionals. Yup, that's a navy boat.



Story and video clip

How'd they manage to do that?

Not sure. But I bet the Skipper whacked Gilligan with his hat a few times.

A fine example of military intelligence

If the professor could make a radio out of a coconut, why couldn't he patch a hole in a boat?

Maybe a heroic rescue with a slight problem...or sheer negligence....outcomes are sometimes the same.

MurrayM said:

A fine example of military intelligence

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Wow, so many one liners could come from this grounding.

The Black Duck. Really! A training vessel runs aground. So does that mean they all have to go back to class of some sort? Did they all fail?

To be fair it says it was a clear day. Did she have a mechanical failure? Maybe they used off brand fuel filters in the Racors. The Canadian Navy needs to keep up on this site. We warned them this could happen. 30mu when they needed 10mu ??

My guess (and it is just a guess) is they just drove it onto the rock "which covers and uncovers" while trying to avoid the rock to the south that is "awash". Or maybe they meant to be there.

Northern Spy said:

My guess (and it is just a guess) is they just drove it onto the rock "which covers and uncovers" while trying to avoid the rock to the south that is "awash". Or maybe they meant to be there.

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I think the Costa Concordia just had some experience doing almost the exact same thing. They didn't fair as well.

As a professional mariner, and a former U.S. Coastie, I have to chime in with my two cents in defense of my fellow pro-mariners. If it wasn't a mechanical failure, maybe they messed up. It could have been a piloting exercise, or some other helmsmanship exercise. Either way, I hope that the investigation becomes published so we can know what really happened. Sometimes you can do everything right, and it still ends up bad.

Anthonyd said:

As a professional mariner, and a former U.S. Coastie, I have to chime in with my two cents in defense of my fellow pro-mariners. If it wasn't a mechanical failure, maybe they messed up. It could have been a piloting exercise, or some other helmsmanship exercise. Either way, I hope that the investigation becomes published so we can know what really happened. Sometimes you can do everything right, and it still ends up bad.

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Agree.

Anthonyd said:

As a professional mariner, and a former U.S. Coastie, I have to chime in with my two cents in defense of my fellow pro-mariners. If it wasn't a mechanical failure, maybe they messed up. It could have been a piloting exercise, or some other helmsmanship exercise. Either way, I hope that the investigation becomes published so we can know what really happened. Sometimes you can do everything right, and it still ends up bad.

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Agree 100%. Been there done that. And you would also know that the competitive nature of the service will land the coxswain a new nickname...

Northern Spy said:

Agree 100%. Been there done that. And you would also know that the competitive nature of the service will land the coxswain a new nickname...

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The good thing is that no one seems to have gotten hurt so another way to look at this is that 10 years from now it will make for great bar talk. Of course there will be at least nine different versions as to how and why it happened depending on who is telling the story.

Like any story there are always three sides. Yours, mine and what really happened.

Keith said:

If the professor could make a radio out of a coconut, why couldn't he patch a hole in a boat?

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Ginger and Mary-Ann, of course! Otherwise, when would a nerd get a chance with not 1, but 2 hotties?

Be interesting to see what morning brings. It was gusting over 50 knots at nearby Grief Point this morning and the morning ferry (365') run was cancelled.

Happy ending.

The Black Duck, damaged in places, was towed to the south harbour the following morning at high tide.

Some years ago an old USNA roommate ran a Polaris sub aground while maneuvering to dock. Technically caused by a tugboat error, but guess who took the wrap. No stars for that up and coming Captain.

skidgear said:

Some years ago an old USNA roommate ran a Polaris sub aground while maneuvering to dock. Technically caused by a tugboat error, but guess who took the wrap. No stars for that up and coming Captain.

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That's the reason I would not want to captain a sub based in Kings Bay. Every trip into the St. Mary's River could be a career ender.

Look you guys......The Black Duck is an Air Force vessel.......no wonder they crashed............The Navy would not do such a thing....except for those sub guys.......

Moonstruck - running up the Cooper & Goose Creek to the (I guess now "former") Weapons Station had its own set of challenges. The east coast boomer sailors can't catch a break.

I was fishing near Fort Moultrie, SC, in the late '80s when I saw a strange thing entering the harbor. It was the USS Bonefish being towed back to its homeport in Charleston after a fire broke out during exercises killing 3 people. As I recall, it was strung between two ocean-going tugs for the part of the journey I witnessed and made a bizarre sight when it appeared on the horizon. I did a little research and was astonished at how many dozens of subs have been damaged and lost over the years.

For the US - four lost since WWII;none since 1968. Pretty good record for an inherently dangerous business.

And glad I am that it's been so few lost. The number of groundings and collisions, however, was surprising. Wikipedia lists 68. Makes me feel less like a klutz when I occasionally touch bottom to know that it happens to the best.