Seacraft sinks off Martha's Vineyard

bigeasy1 · #1 08-09-2011, 12:23 PM

This sinking seems very odd to me.These guys say that they noticed a small leak,and the boat sank within 15 seconds after they noticed the leak.
How can a small leak sink a boat in 15 seconds?It had to be a bigger leak,a busted thru-hull fitting perhaps?
And why in the heck would you go out with a non functioning bilge pump?
Maybe it's me but do these guys look a little too calm for people who just had their boat sink and are adrift at sea?.
It looks like they are kinda laughing.

I mean no offense to them and I'm glad they were rescued,thank god for that,but something seems strange about it to me.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/...-call-20110808

BigLew · #2 08-09-2011, 02:00 PM

I didn't notice this posting before I posted the link that I did to the same story.

I agree with you that there is more "fishy" about this story than just their stated purpose for being out there to begin with! JMHO!

...and what about having a "head-cam" to video record the thing?
Who here carries a head cam on their boats when they go fishing? Let's see a show of hands.

jaybap · #3 08-09-2011, 02:29 PM

I know one of these guys personally. Very experience boater as he works on research vessles. The Go-pro camera was to catch some footage of them tuna fishing. Obv they didnt know the bilge pump wasnt working when they headed out(mistake). When they realized they had a serious problem they put the boat in gear and the water rushed to the stern of the boat and with 15 seconds it was under water.

mitchman · #4 08-09-2011, 02:42 PM

It was my vessel that sunk. Even though you tell your story it still manages to get flubbed by the news. What happened was towards the end of the day of fishing I went to get the hose out of the rear hatch and found it full of water. I discovered that the month-old bilge pump had burned out. I have an original 1969 hull with 20" transom that frequently gets water/waves splashing into the splashwell. It is also stern heavy with the far-rear console and 150 qt cooler that doubles as a seat. Water sometimes leaked into the hull from the splashwell through steering cable ports and rear seat hatches in the boat. I had taken measures to limit this but in the end it was not enough. Hard to believe that my hull filled up so much and though there quite possibly could of been another/new leak. I am on my boat several times a week May - October and hadn't noticed an issue lately either. Once the problem was discovered we reeled in the lines immediately to run for the nearest port (Menemsha). When I attempted to get the boat up on plane the water in the hull rushed to the back of the boat causing the rear end to swamp (didn't realize how much was in there). About 10 seconds later the boat listed, throwing the 3 of in the water. It was only a few seconds before the boat fully turtled and sank stern first with the bow in the air (that is burned into my memory). I would say it was 90 seconds from the time the first wave came over the transom to the boat sank.

We were very calm out there and no one panicked. It was almost surreal and couldn't believe that it just happened. We probably would of been more concerned if we were 60 miles offshore instead of 6 miles in sight of the vineyard. It was actually a bit of an adrenaline rush...

As far as the camera, my buddy has one of those go pro cameras and hes very annoying taking random video with it when were are boating and fishing. He had been taking footage that day randomly too. When we we were in the water, our 3rd friend was in contact with the coast guard and commercial boat, but we were all in good spirits. My buddy remembers that the go pro was in the his duffel bag (which somehow magically floated) and he starts taking video again.

Solafide · #5 08-09-2011, 03:14 PM

Glad everyone is alright.I had something similar happen to me in my old Wellcraft 25,the pump had failed but I didn't notice the problem until I tried to get on plane and all of the water went to the stern.I was able to beach the boat in time but I now check the bilge pump before each run.In my case the pump was a nearly new computerized pump the senses when water reaches a certain level (supposedly)

bigeasy1 · #6 08-09-2011, 03:34 PM

Man you guys are number one in my book for staying as calm as you were.Glad that you all came through ok.
It's a shame that you lost the boat.I'm still amazed by the level heads that prevailed in your situation.
Thanks for sharing the story and giving us the straight scoop.
I hope you'll be getting another seacraft down the road.

mitchman · #7 08-09-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Glad everyone is alright.I had something similar happen to me in my old Wellcraft 25,the pump had failed but I didn't notice the problem until I tried to get on plane and all of the water went to the stern.I was able to beach the boat in time but I now check the bilge pump before each run.In my case the pump was a nearly new computerized pump the senses when water reaches a certain level (supposedly)

This was actually the second new pump of the season. The first one was the same one that you had (electronic float switch) and it just went on all the time when the bilge was dry and killed one of my two batteries. Went back to mechanical float switch model and it was fine since then...

BigLew · #8 08-09-2011, 03:53 PM

Glad to hear everyone is OK and I apologise for any suspicious thinking and premature conclusions. I guess its just that so many think it is funny to stage another "tragic event" in their interest of 15 minutes of fame, aka. 'Jack-Ass'.

Your evaluation of the media to get the whole story couldn't be more accurate in my book. Someone was certainly looking out for you and your buds.

deerhunter · #9 08-10-2011, 01:15 PM

that sounds scary mitch. you guys done well not paniking. i take my 20ft seacraft out of westport to nomans area a few times a yr. was just out there 2 weekends ago. 22 mile trip . if you were 6 miles off chillmark the water depth isn't much more than 8o or 100 ft. think you could salvage the boat? i always check my pump before i go anywhere for the same reasons for the leaking that you think you had in your boat. if ya wanna go out there again, shoot me a pm and we'll go. gonna go to stellwagon this weekend.

Rainmaker · #10 08-10-2011, 01:49 PM

Wow, that was a tough trip. I wound up in the water once years ago (after getting run over by a freighter but that is another story) and I can tell you it is something I always think about when I leave the dock. In my case the water was 80 degrees I am not sure how I would handle the cold water but I bet I would not be so calm.

I am glad you guys made it through and hopefully you can salvage the boat.