Terrible News From Avalon

This:

Big storm last night, 2 people dead. That large boat is one of "ours!"

Condolences for your loss and for the loss of those who tried to help. Dreadful.

So sad. Guess it is true what they say: Most dangerous place for a boat is near shore!

This isn't the first time

Avalon is subject to Santa Anna North Easterlies throughout the fall. This is different only in that occurred off that cold front in Nevada. Sad to see the deaths. Both Avalon and the Ismas are risky anchorages in the fall and winter. Boats typically moor bow to the north east regardless of current wind conditions. Mooring balls are set up for bow and stern ties. I wounder if these boats were anchored or on floats. is it just the three boats involved?

Geeze, how sad. Hope there's some more details on how these boats got where they are now, and if the storm was predicted.

Scary said:

Mooring balls are set up for bow and stern ties. I wounder if these boats were anchored or on floats. is it just the three boats involved?

Click to expand...

It looks like the one in the front is still attached to a mooring ball.

Gosh horrible news

Very sad indeed that people were killed. I was also wondering if the boats involved were moored with bow and stern lines. That seemsike a really stupid way to secure your boat in those high winds. Personally. I would never tie up that way. The safest, most comfortable anchor/mooring is a single hook and let the boat swing. I wonder if this contributed to the catastrophuk in Avalon?

Ouch, not good!

To get the most amount of boats in the harbor, they are moored using a bow line and a stern (sand line) line. The mooring balls are made fast to large concrete blocks. In a storm they tend to move. We were there once before a storm and the Harbor cops told everyone to either take your boat around to the other side of the island or leave your boat and go ashore. We were anchored at the time so we just threw all the rode out and went ashore. The next day our little trailer boat was still there. Some of the people on the bigger boats started their engines and rode out the storm at one bell takin' strain off the mooring blocks. Some boats wound up on the beach. It was our first, but not our last trip to Avalon.

Looks like one death was a harbor patrolman

Years ago I made the mistake of picking up a mooring ball at the Isthmus bow into the wind, which happened to be pointed west into the wind, toward the beach. The harbor master came out in a small boat and belittled me for not knowing the rules. Bow out, away from the beach , bow and stern ties to the mooring buoys. Sound like the harbor patrolman was swept off the deck of a boa he was trying to save and crushed between the boat and rock on the beach.

The civilian casualty was the guy who ran the pump-out boat. He always had a dog with him, don't know if he survived.

He was a Kiwi bloke