18 seacraft - rescue in Vineyard Sound.
 

Yikes!

http://videos.tout.com/dry/mp4/59ad349754c437a7.mp4

So many ways to unswamp a boat in that condition but when you add panic it all goes south from there. If someone doesn't get to that before it rolls it will be a difficult salvage. The SeaCraft haters are going to love this.

would be nice to know what happened?!?! Also very nice to see everyone is OK.

It's a good reminder to double check and recaulk any thru hull fittings with 5200. The 18 seacraft splashwell and bilge access is terrible. IMO it could be fixed easily with a molded splashwell piece rather than a splash gate. Maybe shine could add this to his seacraft parts.

JJ - There's some commentary in the audio where he says the motor died and the bilge pump "let go" and something about "gas" towards the end.

Thank GOD some one was there to pick them up, such a bad feeling. I had about the same mess in a 22' mitch craft one time about 10 years ago. The hull bottom split by the stringer edge from a gas tank foam breaking loose from the tank pounding the hull bottom. Shit happens fast, before I knew it I was 3 miles out in the 7 mile river crossing in 3 foot chop sinking. Thank God the hull was foam filled under the floor. In about the same condition swamped like the one in the video I was lucky not to stall the motor and lucky the battery was in a sealed cooler section away from shorting out. I went slow as possible all the way to the ramp and it sat bottom on the ramp bottom while I was backing the trailer down. Even had a few a holes pass by swamping the boat worse not bothering to help. Needles to say a bad deal. Broke trailer springs from the weight, all tires looked flat and it took several hours for the water to drain before I could pull home. It always pays to have bilge alarms and take a look in the deck hatches once in a while....

High water alarms are cheap insurance for a boat of any size. Aside from a good thirsty mate I keep a very large bilge pump stowed away with a pre-attached big hose and gator clips on the leads.

I'm glad they had assistance to get off and all is good but this should remind everyone to think about what they would do in a similar situation. I have been in some hairy situations taking on water two separate times in commercial boats. Fortunately the captains in both situations had procedures in place that turned absolute calamity into a close call. It was a tough way to learn but it has provided great reference in how I stay prepared and how I do my best to keep such from occurring.

I heard most of this on the VHF if this was the gentleman in Quicks Hole. He called it a 19.
It would seem that on July 3, Quicks should have been a parking lot. Full of boats.

But he was not giving out any helpful information for quite a long time. Nor listening to direction from the USCG. It was extremely frustrating to listen to.

Example: a request for a location was answered as "near that island by the sailboats". This sort of thing went on for a while.

I ran out of VHF range as the Coast Guard finally managed to get a location out of him. I suspect just standing, waving arms and yelling would have worked well. Or a flare or horn.

Glad they are OK.

Nice to see them wearing Ski Type life jackets offshore , lucky group :eek:

So after he got out, it looked like the boat was floating again and they just left it?

Sad part is morons like this are breathing our air.....:rolleyes:

And more importantly sinking our SeaCrafts!

Please elucidate, because I do not know.

Bigshrimpin where did this go down?

Let's go get the boat! Nobody saved it.

It depends on the reason it took on water but a lot has to go wrong before a boat gets that low in the water. Once one has gotten to that point the options are to remove as much weight (including people) as possible and work to clear the deck and bilge. Any water you can get out while water is not coming over the transom is a gain and can help the situation going in the right direction.

About 25 years ago myself and 2 other young men cleared an inshore shrimp boat that was swamped to the gunnels with buckets. It took a few hours before it was stable enough to let the pumps finish clearing the hull but we saved the boat. At first it seemed pretty hopeless but by cutting the trawl loose and stuffing the scuppers with rags we were able to bucket the deck first and then slowly bucket water from the cabin and engine hole.

With assistance from another boat towing from the bow ring on this SeaCraft the right person could of cleared this swamp in the state it was in. Without assistance it would have been tough but it looked doable once they got the people off. If a person hung on the bow enough to keep the transom edge above water some bailing could of occurred. The real key would have been to start before it got to where it was. My guess on this one is the plug was out and it wasn't noticed until water started over the transom. By that time the one or both on board was in full panic.

FishStretcher posted that it's vineyard sound side of quicks hole. Looks that way from the Video. It's hard for me to believe the Coast Guard would let that boat bob around for very long on 4th of July weekend. Menempsha and Woods Hole stations are pretty close by.

To flesh this out a bit- I thought the call was a prank at first as I didn't think anyone would act that way on VHF. Like the buffoons who had that video a while back of the mola mola/ ocean sunfish. "What IS that thing, buddy? It's wicked huge- It must be a whale!!!" Those guys.

That's about what it sounded like.

I suspect they didn't lose a plug, as quick's is ~perhaps 5-6 miles from anywhere you can put in. But it is a very heavily traveled passage thru the Elizabeth Islands.

For the record, I was in the Vineyard Sound today. I forgot how smooth it is compared to Buzzard's Bay. I got my butt kicked this afternoon in Buzzards. 9.5 knots home into a chop. I had to wear swim goggles. My feet went numb. I think the chop was 6 feet apart on top of swells.

An 18' SeaCraft will float with the bilge completely full and the scuppers plugged. With that level of inexperience, I say they forgot the drain plug.

"Hey, can you guys tow me closer to shore?"
You are correct. There was plenty of freeboard. If he had replaced the plug he could have bailed with a bucket. If he didn't have a bucket he could have bailed with the cooler. If he didn't have a transom plug he could have used a piece of cloth as a substitute. He could have motored back to shore to initiate self bailing. Maybe the batteries were rendered inoperable by the water and the engine wouldn't start. Maybe the engine was swamped and ingested water.
As to the low transom, would this preclude bailing?
I think that's a teenage girl. For me the worst part of a scenario like this is the hysterics, the inability of people to listen and obey. Not necessarily the case here.
Whenever I assist another, whether on land or sea, I always wonder if they are the kind of people who would come to another's aid. Most of the time I get the sense that they wouldn't. I spent an hour helping a guy, his pal, and his 10 year old son start his truck in the mountains on a Sunday afternoon. Figured out how to hot wire it. Totally saved his bacon. The guy barely said thank you. A friend of mine is more likely to need assistance than most and least likely to assist someone. It disturbs me greatly.

Samaha,

That is the world we live in today, most people are self centered and dont care about anyone else.

But I am glad we still have some good samaritans left in the world, I try to be one as well.

The world is a better place when people remember the motto, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Glad no one lost their lives in this situation. I take my 71 year old mother out for boat rides sometimes, and I often think if she fell over board for any reason I think she would drown. I told her she needs to get a nice life jacket that is comfortable and wear it all the time when on the water, you never know when something might go wrong, at least these people were wearing life jackets, they may have done everything else wrong but they did do that.

I agree with you wholeheartedly Tom. Life is too short not to try and be a good brother.

Is the video available elsewhere? My computer won't open the link.

That would be my guess too. It's a LONG way from the launch ramp to quicks. If he launched on the mainland that's a 10+ mile ride to any ramp. Most of the ramps have some "no wake zones", but some of them like hoppy's are a straight shot across. I had my front fishbox thru hull come loose on my 18. Water was coming in around the fishbox drain fitting. The automatic bilge pump kept coming on and pumping water when I was 1/2 across cape cod bay. Tightened up the brass nut with a big wrench, tilted the bow up and motored home. Things happen.

Since I have an 18' SC and two daughters about the same age as this guys daughter, this video hits pretty close to home. I think I'll be rechecking my through hull.

Its also a pretty good argument for keeping a 5 gallon pail (or two) on the deck. A little fear and a bucket can go a long way.

I also like Mooses idea of having a high volume bilge pump with alligator clips available.

Safe travels to all of you!!!