Hippocampus
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 4,189
- Location
- Plymouth
- Vessel Name
- Hippocampus
- Vessel Make
- Nordic Tug 42
On the local news, on the phone with neighbors and in the various town chat rooms there’s been discussions about the rescue of three people off our shore.
The boat was an old ketch. From the pictures shown a full keel with attached rudder so a design not in production for around 30-40 years.
They were going MA to FL on the outside with 3 aboard. Two in their 60s and one in his 70s.
I’ve fished the area where they got into trouble. It’s very rocky and shoal. So extremely poor holding. Even in a center console you don’t attempt to anchor. Rather just leave the engine on to hold position.
From what I can gather from word of mouth and local sources they had an engine failure on a lee shore so drifted in. Went aground and the tide went out. Rescuers could literally walk out to the boat then put two in Gumbies (one crewman had a mustang exposure suit) and assist them in to the beach.
They couldn’t self rescue as their dinghy was frozen to the foredeck. I don’t get any clear reports if they called for a tow before entering the extreme shallows. I don’t get any clear reports if they started outside Mary Ann rock and it’s ATON. Typically when sailing from north to the cape cod canal everyone stays outside that marker. With local knowledge will scoot inside the marker to fish but you don’t save anything just running the coast on a transit.
Plymouth is a harbor of rescue. There’s always SAR boats in the water. At the Sandwich mouth of the canal there’s another harbor of rescue which is even slightly closer to this spot. The local fire department was involved in this case not the CG or either harbor master as the primary agency from what I’ve heard which is slightly unusual.
It’s always problematic to form judgments but one wonders. Why were they running that close in an area you likely can’t anchor without dragging?
Why didn’t they call for a tow early on?
Why didn’t have a raft that could be deployed and be functional in the cold weather of that day? Being dependent upon a dinghy frozen to the foredeck seems unwise.
The fire chief involved has his house right on that beach and was alert and processed the situation correctly. Our town has 365 ponds so the fire department is well supplied and trained in cold water rescues. They did a great timely rescue. His awareness was a matter of chance. This could have gone badly if the boat broke up or weather deteriorated. But it raises the question why are these elderly people taking an old ketch not set up for blue water on the outside in frigid conditions?
Your thoughts.
The boat was an old ketch. From the pictures shown a full keel with attached rudder so a design not in production for around 30-40 years.
They were going MA to FL on the outside with 3 aboard. Two in their 60s and one in his 70s.
I’ve fished the area where they got into trouble. It’s very rocky and shoal. So extremely poor holding. Even in a center console you don’t attempt to anchor. Rather just leave the engine on to hold position.
From what I can gather from word of mouth and local sources they had an engine failure on a lee shore so drifted in. Went aground and the tide went out. Rescuers could literally walk out to the boat then put two in Gumbies (one crewman had a mustang exposure suit) and assist them in to the beach.
They couldn’t self rescue as their dinghy was frozen to the foredeck. I don’t get any clear reports if they called for a tow before entering the extreme shallows. I don’t get any clear reports if they started outside Mary Ann rock and it’s ATON. Typically when sailing from north to the cape cod canal everyone stays outside that marker. With local knowledge will scoot inside the marker to fish but you don’t save anything just running the coast on a transit.
Plymouth is a harbor of rescue. There’s always SAR boats in the water. At the Sandwich mouth of the canal there’s another harbor of rescue which is even slightly closer to this spot. The local fire department was involved in this case not the CG or either harbor master as the primary agency from what I’ve heard which is slightly unusual.
It’s always problematic to form judgments but one wonders. Why were they running that close in an area you likely can’t anchor without dragging?
Why didn’t they call for a tow early on?
Why didn’t have a raft that could be deployed and be functional in the cold weather of that day? Being dependent upon a dinghy frozen to the foredeck seems unwise.
The fire chief involved has his house right on that beach and was alert and processed the situation correctly. Our town has 365 ponds so the fire department is well supplied and trained in cold water rescues. They did a great timely rescue. His awareness was a matter of chance. This could have gone badly if the boat broke up or weather deteriorated. But it raises the question why are these elderly people taking an old ketch not set up for blue water on the outside in frigid conditions?
Your thoughts.
Last edited:
:lol:
