'Gone through a blender': No signs of distress before yacht race tragedy

[Cooley Hurd]

Last edited Tue May 1, 2012, 06:36 AM - Edit history (1)

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/30/11466954-gone-through-a-blender-no-signs-of-distress-before-yacht-race-tragedy?lite?ocid=twitter

ENSENADA, Mexico - Eric Lamb was doing safety patrol on a 124-mile yacht race when he spotted a boat that appeared too close to Mexico's Coronado Islands. He never got there.

As his twin-engine boat neared the uninhabited islands just south of San Diego, he stumbled on sailboat shards that were mostly no more than six inches long strewn over about two square miles. He saw a small refrigerator, a white seat cushion and empty containers of yogurt and soy milk.

Over several hours, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter directed him in his search and led him to two dead bodies floating with their backs up, badly scraped and bruised. The Coast Guard recovered a third body and the fourth member of the crew was missing early Monday in California's second deadly accident this month involving an ocean race.

Lamb, 62, said the 37-foot yacht looked like it "had gone through a blender."

"It was real obvious it had been hit just because the debris was so small," he said Sunday.

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[Delphinus]

1. Wow.

What could have done that kind of damage? An ocean liner?

[Scuba]

2. Sounds like it was battered against rocks.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. I have to tell you from experience that sailing at night in shipping lanes......

puts you in a very vulnerable position. You are constantly checking for any sign of ships and if there is fog forget about it. You can't see anything. When I did it we didn't have radar and I assume that this boat did. You hope that the person on the ships radar is also paying attention.
When you think that the ship is moving at 25 knots and you are moving at 7 knots (at best) in poor visibility that doesn't leave any time for maneuvering. You resign yourself to paying attention and luck.
I suspect that a freighter ran her down and never even knew that it did.

[cbayer]

5. Considering where they were, I think this is the most likely explanation.

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. Terrible. I can't get out of my head two or three on deck,

one or two down below trying to rest before his watch. Awful.
I know I felt vulnerable as hell when I went below at night trusting that the guys on deck would keep an eye out, and you know that they are as tired as you.

[cbayer]

8. Not a racer, but on overnight cruises, I sleep in the cockpit.

I don't sleep well but I feel better being out there.

It's really foggy off LA today, so there may have been a lot of fog last night. Maybe their radar failed?

We cross the shipping lanes frequently and have done so in thick fog. To say it is nerve wracking would be a gross understatement.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. Yikes! Horrible accident!

I hope they can get to the bottom of this, but it sounds like it'll be tough to piece this together.

[hootinholler]

7. Got a link to the article?

I'd love to see the whole thing.

[Cooley Hurd]

10. oops! Added - sorry about that...

[hootinholler]

11. Thanks!

While sailboats have the right of way, the law of gross tonnage always applies.

[Evasporque]

9. Could be a propane leak and explosion.....

Propane is heavier than air and is common in U.S. for boats now (other regions use CNG)

If the bilge filled with propane the slightest spark would set off a massive explosion. Sailboats have been known to of been blown into little chunks.