Boating Mishaps & Sinkings in the Abacos

Mishaps & Sinkings
from Sandy Estabrook’s Guide to The Abacos, Bahamas

Yes, every year in the Abacos there are about a half dozen mishaps on the water.
There are three primary causes.
Weather, Reefs and Speed added to Night Time Navigation.

The latter played a big part in a sailor loosing his life a few years ago when he was dinghying back to his boat at anchorage off New Plymouth. He had no running lights when hit by a fast moving boat headed for White Sound. A Tragedy that might have been avoided.

Anyway, we are not filling this page with such morbid tales, instead our emphasis will be on the unexpected accidents, where all parties are rescued without injury. As for their boats, that's another story. The first three tales are from the log of my boat, Motu Iti. Other stories are supported by articles in the Abaconian or on the Abaco Community Message board.

The Log of the Motu Iti - Catalina Islander Day 20 Wednesday 29th 1996

......... The night before we heard of a boat that ran aground on one of the many reefs on the ocean side of Elbow Cay. So, before departure we decided to do a little snorkeling in those reefs and saw the boat in question. It was a large catamaran from the Moorings Charter Fleet.

I’ve always thought of a sailing vessel as one of the most beautiful things in the world. Second only to a women. And it always saddens me to see a boat hung up in such a precarious position with it’s mast at a 45 degree angle and knowing that on every move by the waves, a little more hull gets chewed up. Not unlike the struggle we all have experienced in our adolescence, to maintain a doomed romance and hoping against hope.

Anyway, salvage efforts were underway who's outcome was undetermined as we left the beach.
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Log of the Motu Iti - Solo Trip Glacier Bay Cat, May 2000

After a short walk up the hill, I was sitting at the bar at the Bluff House chatting with my new friends when a mayday came across the radio. “Mayday, mayday, this is Ocean 55 on a reef off Elbow Cay taking on loads of water” The conversation was brief with one come back as to his heading with relation to Hope Town’s light house.

At this point, I can add I had seen the boat in question when it was at Green Turtle. Fact is there were two Ocean Yachts on some kind of test or P.R./photo cruise. They were not yet commissioned and went by the name Ocean 42 and Ocean 55. Later on during a visit to Hope Town, I found out the boat completely sunk, and keeping with island tradition the salvagers were out there stripping the boat the next morning of anything usable; like props, rails etc.
Everybody aboard was safely rescued but I’m sure the captain had some explaining to do.
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Log of the Motu Iti - 6 weeks - Glacier Bay Cat 2002

.... This day, I was in a canvas shop in New Plymouth having some stitching done on my Bimini Top’s zippers. The woman in the shop had on her VHF radio as do all merchants in the Abacos. (If you have read the report on my previous trip, you swear you’ll have heard this before). Anyway, a mayday came over the radio. It was an Ocean 55! Same as last time and it had hit a reef in heavy weather near to the last occurrence. Same type boat, same area! As it turned out, the boat owner was a personal friend of the canvas lady who jumped up and asked me if I could come back later. I said I would, and upon my return was told that the owner and his wife were safe but the boat has gone to the bottom.

Aug 1, 2006

Six Boats Grounded, One Sank and One Burned in Freak July 6 Storm. Nearly every day from July 1 through July 11, the Regatta Time in Abaco racing event was threatened or experienced storm clouds and rain, often clearing in the afternoon. However, during the early afternoon of July 6, a massive front passed through Abaco moving from North to South. Winds picked up to 60 - 70 miles per hour and for 15 - 20 minutes it was wild on the water as the frontal system moved through with near hurricane force wind. A dive boat belonging to Brendal Stevens sank in Coco Bay on Green Turtle Cay. This substantial boat is a 30-foot Island Hopper powered with an inboard Caterpillar engine. The boat was returning from a dive with 16 persons on board. Apparently the boat rolled over and sank in the high winds. All those on board were experienced swimmers and no one was injured. The boat was raised the next day. Cont’d.........
Storm Damages Several Boats Including the Rage
To the south at Guana Cay, race two in the five race series had just finished and the sailboat Haze III crossed the finish line ahead of the fowl weather. The skipper dropped the sails and turned the key to start the diesel engine when the boat immediately erupted in flames.

All six on the boat escaped without injury and were quickly rescued by Troy Albury of Guana Cay Fire and Rescue. The front came with the wind recorded at Nippers at 70 miles per hour. This drove the burning hull up on the shore south of the Orchid Bay development. When the storm passed, the hull was still on fire on the shoreline.

The owner, Mr. Richard Starita of Stuart, Florida, and his five-member crew took the loss of the boat and all their possessions in stride. Their passports, money, credit cards, personal effects and clothing were all consumed in the fire. That night at the Nipper’s party, Johnny Bethel gave them drink and meal tickets. They found an empty room on Guana and got a ride to Marsh Harbour the next morning.

Tourism took them under their wing and assisted with police reports, emergency banking, clothing and contact with the U.S. Embassy in Nassau. This was necessary before they could clear with U.S. Immi- gration on their return to Florida.

As the race finished, many of the boats sought shelter and anchored in Fishers Bay just north of the Guana Cay settlement. The northwest exposure of Fisher’s Bay was no help when the high winds hit and six boats dragged anchor and were driven ashore, four on the rocks and two on the north beach of the old Guana Harbour Beach Resort. Some damage was caused to anchored boats by those boats being dragged by the wind as they were driven to the shore off their stern. One boat lost its bowsprit, causing it to cancel the rest of the races.

Just before Abaco Rage crossed the finish line, a stay fitting on the top of the mast broke, leaving the tall mast in a precarious state. She finished the race without inci- dent and was able to anchor in Fisher’s Bay with her mother ship.

The frontal winds drove the wood-hulled Abaco Rage ashore with her mother boat, the 64-foot Nomad, hard against her side. The crew feared for the worst but damage was limited to several cracked ribs and her rudder. The boat was retired from the balance of the races so proper repairs could be carried out.

In true racing form, the entrants retired to Nippers overlooking the Guana Cay beach and enjoyed the party well into the night.

Mr. Richard Starita and his five-member crew lost their boat and all their belongings when the boat caught fire and burned out completely. The only thing he was able to salvage was a bottle of rum that was in his skipper’s bag given by the Regatta committee. He was given another bottle to cheer his spirit.

The Abaco Rage suffered minor damage when its mother ship smashed into it during a freak storm that blew through the anchorage at Fishers Bay off Guana Cay on July 6. Several other boats suffered minor damage when boats dragged their anchors.

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Continuation of Above story.................

07-07-2006, 06:09 PM
Jim

Storm At Great Guana

Thursday afternoon the annual Abaco Regatta was in full swing with the last boat of the second race near the finish line in the Sea of Abaco off Great Guana Cay. Captains and crews were looking forward to anchoring in Fisher’s Bay and going to one of the many post race parties on the island. All wanted to hurry in and anchor to beat the apparent rain in dark clouds looming on the horizon. One boat Haze III suddenly caught on fire after crossing the finish line. The crew of six quickly realized that attempts to put out the fire with boat extinguishers was futile and abandoned ship into the Sea of Abaco. Emergency calls went out, and Troy Albury of Dive Abaco quickly responded rescuing all six in the water. Fate then began continue its dirty deed, and as a series of squalls hit with a fury like I have seldom seen. Winds were clocked at a near constant 60 MPH lasting for over 40 minutes. At least five boats were blown onto the rocks. Another large sailboat broke anchor and dragged through the anchorage spearing boats with its bowsprit, pulling up anchors and leaving a trail of splintered teak in its path. Such emergencies also bring out the best in people. Some boaters feeling themselves secure jumped into their inflatable hard bottom dinghies to render help. The first couple to try flipped over themselves in the high winds. The rest of the crew of Dive Abaco and other boaters jumped into more substantial boats and circled the harbour rending assistance. Other cruisers and sailors also jumped from these boats to board boats in distress and render assistance. Besides the total loss of Haze III the only other total loss was one of Troy Albury’s own 23 foot boats, which was crushed by another as it hit the rocks. Several other boats including my own sustained considerable and costly damage. The blessing in all of this was that no one sustained personal injury and many heroes answered the call to duty and saved many boats. There are many to thank. Troy at Dive Guana no doubt heads the list. But my personal thanks to Andy “Moon” Burke of Lunar Richard fame, Mike from the crew of Stranded Naked, and Aaron from the crew of “Abaco Rage” who boarded my boat Island Fever to assist my wife in my absence. His own Abaco Rage also sustained substantial damage. There are many others to thank who go nameless. Also, thanks to those who helped the next morning to search and dive Fisher’s Bay to retrieve numerous boat parts. Special thanks to Guana Cay Freight who used its old US Navy landing craft to pull three boats off the rocks. If there are any other you know of you would like to thank feel free to jump in. Bravo Zulu!

Jim and Sue Jones of Island Fever with grandkids Chassidy and Austin
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07-12-2006, 12:39 PM
SherrySS

Rage ON Guana

The Abaco Rage did sustain damage, but she'll be back! Jeff Gale and crew aboard the Rage had finished their race and were tied along the port side of the 50+ footer, Nomad, which tows the Rage to the different regatta races and was anchored. Nomad also had 1 or 2 boats tied along her starboard side and 5 or 6 in a line off her stern when we picked up Jeff and my sons less than 10 minutes before the storm hit. Jeff got Jenny, Joey and visiting family members safely to a restaurant dock (Blue Water Grill?) Some of us made it inside and some were standing along a wall witnessing chaos! We'd just passed by the sailboat on fire coming up to Guana. Now, an unmanned sailboat slipped anchor and we watched in disbelief as the wind and waves tossed it across the harbor. We were hoping the anchor would catch again, but from our vantage point it looked like she went aground. Then a big catamaran was also losing ground. Fortunately the people on board were able to get that under control - to the relief of the sailboat behind them that they were bearing down on! We finally made our way into the restaurant, worrying about Jeff's friends and the boats we'd last seen them on, hidden beyond the small point we couldn't see around. A few minutes later, someone listening to the radio in the restaurant said that Nomad and several other boats were on the beach! As soon as they could (I'm just guessing, but the storm must have lasted at least 45 minutes), Jeff, Jason & Jamie headed back out to see what they could do. They saw the Nomad washed up on the beach and saw the tall mast of the Rage - she was pinned between Nomad and the shore!

All still on board Nomad were okay. As the storm hit, some of the guys had managed to cut loose the boats that were tied to her. Randy had just enough time to keep Nomad and the Rage from crashing into a dock before they got past it and went aground. I think the Rage was lucky that the Nomad hit and stuck where she did, or the Rage would have sustained even more damage, crushed between the large boat and the shore. A freight boat that had been at the restaurant was already pulling several other sailboats that were washed ashore and then came over to help. Jenny Gale had to take the rest of us back to Hopetown and Parrot Cay before it got dark, so we didn't get to see what happened. But, with the help of the freight boat and high tide, both boats were upright and floating before dark. The next day, Jeff, Paige, PG and Jason got the Rage's gear,lead, & pry off the Nomad and the beach and back on board and towed her back to Matt Lowe Cay. The Nomad suffered considerable damage, but with pumps keeping up with the water coming in, she was moved to Marsh Harbour (or Calcutta) to be hauled.

I never saw so many things go so wrong so fast. I hope everyone in the small boats that went out just before the storm hit to aid or just see the burning sailboat, were able to get back in safely! The efforts of all those who went to the aid of so many boaters was greatly appreciated!
Sherry

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07-07-2006, 11:21 AM
bradgunn

Brendel's boat

I was just told by someone who returned from Abaco last night that Brendel's boat sunk during a 50 knot squall in the last day or so. Does anyone know about this, and is it true?
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07-07-2006, 11:03 AM
Cobra

Yes, it is true. Further information is sketchy at this point. No one was lost thank Goodness, but it must have been traumatic for those aboard. The squall was quite fierce with 50-60 knots of wind from the SW. There is speculation that a manifold housing burst, allowing water to be pumped into the bilge. With passengers, gear, and the effects of the squall combined made a bad situation worse.
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07-08-2006, 10:12 AM
Motuiti

What I found out.......

Under the circumstances, I didn't want to call Brendal so I called Linda at the G.T.C, regarding Brendal's boat. Seems he was caught in the same heavy duty squall that wreaked havoc with the Regatta folks at Guana.

Anyway during the event (about 3-4 PM) water came in over the transom, which is for all practical purposes is non existent to allow easy access to the water for the divers. As a result the bulge pump couldn't keep up and his boat literally sunk. All the divers were in the water.

There was another boat in the area that radioed a mayday and went to the rescue along with island folks. All divers were recovered safely with no injuries reported. Donny Sawyer remained on the scene gathering up floating personal effects of the divers.

An to top it all of Brendal along with some Island help (this part I'm not clear on) got his boat floated and towed back to his dock before sunset. Incredible!

Sandy
AbacoEscape.com
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07-09-2006 02:58 PM
mermaid

Message from Brendal's Dive Center

Mary e-mailed me the following and asked me to post it.
From: Brendals Dive Center
Brendal and Mary Stevens
Green Turtle Cay, Abaco
To: All boaters,yachtsman's, and friends of Abaco

We want to say THANK YOU to everyone that responded and helped on July 7th during a day of many weather problems and mariner problems throughout Abaco.

All guests, crew and Brendal are fine.

Brendal was heading north on Sea of Abaco
for port in Green Turtle Cay when the vessel problem began.
He was in the Sea of Abaco on the north end of Green Turtle Cay in about 6-8 feet of water when the vessel went.
Boats were there quickly and all guests were brought to the Dive Center on Green Turtle Cay
where we connected them with their personal gear and items.

Brendal was able to raise the vessel within 2 hours
and was towed back to the Dive Center's dock.

We do have a second boat and this
is in operation doing regular trips and services while the other boat engine is being serviced.

Our thoughts and prayers are also with everyone else that had problems that day.

Thank you again for everyone's concern, telephone and emails.

Brendal and Mary Stevens
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07-08-2006, 05:50 PM
TurtleDreams

Hurray for Brendal and all who helped re-float his boat! I would expect no less from these great folks and most don't think of themselves as anything special, but I know better.
Fair Winds!
Susan
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07-12-2006, 09:39 PM
mavera

quik response

I was really amazed at the speed at which the GTC folks responded to the MayDay.

My family and I had just returned from Munjack Cove. As the squall line approached Munjack, I was trying to gather kids off the far end of the beach. By the time we turned SE at the N end of Munjack, there were already white caps on the Sea of Abaco. I felt relatively safe in a 28 Wellcraft with twin 225 yamahas but things quickly got out of hand with 50mph winds and trying to run in the trough. Several small boats in the area could do nothing but put their nose into the wind. In hindsight, had I known 50mph winds were in the mix, we would have hunkered down in the cove at Munjack.

Once safely back in Black Sound and tied up, went for a shower. My daughter came in and yelled that there was a MayDay on the radio that a boat had gone down. I literally had just put on my suit on the way out when my wife told me that 4 small boats had raced out of Black Sound within seconds of the distress call.

We had only made it out of Black Sound a quarter of a mile when it was announced that all souls were on board and safe.

Incredibly, during all of this, some idiot was announcing Securite on 16 that he had lost his dinghy and if anyone found it to call him. On those rare occasions when I have heard people in trouble on 16, you would think people are ignorant of what goes on over the radio (and obviously within hearing distance of the distress call).

An event like this that could have been extremely bad but for the quick response and cool demeanor of the folks that responded. I am sure Brendal and his clients enjoyed no small sense of relief to see all those craft racing to their aid.
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07-18-2006,
darnold

Trip Report - Treasure Cay July 2006

...................... Also we stopped by The Green Turtle Club for a Mango Daiquiri and also stopped by to talk to Brendal. He was having a new engine put in his dive boat (from the sinking incident last week). He told me that he managed to drive it up into about 7 feet of water before it actually sunk and the salvage team had it up again first thing the next day.

New Story ........................

06-17-2006, 11:43 AM
hdujohn

North MOW Channel

Any info on the boat that reportedly hit reef at North MOW channel yesterday?
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06-17-2006, 07:35 PM
bevo/fishing/hunting

It's a 42' Viking that was fishing in the Treasure Cay Tourney yesterday when he ran on the reef at the south end on north MOW. We were fishing when the captain had said on the radio "I think I hit the reef". Sounded like everyone got off on life rafts OK, luckily!. Not sure how much stuff they were able to salvage and how much, if anything, is left on board. The boat is called "Scooter II". Don't have much more info than that except lots of chatter on the radio and luckily lots of boats were around to help.
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06-21-2006, 05:45 PMduncanp

Boat has broken up

Yesterday we went out and looked at this boat. It is very close to the Adirondack wreck, may 100ft from it. At this point it has broken up and there are parts of it on the beachs of MOW. There is also fuel in the water.
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06-22-2006, 09:11 AM
Shelmar1271

I have some pics, that I will post later. He was not anywhere near the channel when he hit. The boat has now broken up and is completely submerged.
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06-22-2006, 10:51 AM
up north

what is being done about the fuel spill? This could be pretty bad for the reef and fish.
erin
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06-22-2006, 11:05 AM
Shelmar1271

I went out there on Monday and the fuel was leaking out at a pretty steady rate. I do not think anything has been done about it. On Wednesday morning I could not see much fuel through the binoculars.
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07-14-2006, 10:06 AM
duncanp

Viking on reef

Yesterday the conditions were great so i went out to see the Viking on the reef. As you can see it is broken up and can only be seen at low tide.

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07-14-2006, 10:11 AM
R

Were they running in the dark? I can not believe that they would try to cross the reef there if they were watching ahead. -R
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07-14-2006, 10:15 AM
dogfish

Running through there 4 days in a row this past May we followed the dodge's guide waypoints but on a number of occassions saw people head on a much further south heading at full speed. We saw one motor yatch way south into the reef that did finally slow, then, stop and then reverse course. -Doug
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07-14-2006, 12:51 PM
bevo/fishing/hunting

No.. they were running back from the Treasure Cay Billfish Tourney. We spoke to the captain at the airport, he said he was following his gps and ran up on the reef.. go figure! Thanks for the pics...
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07-14-2006, 12:56 PM
R

Good day,
I just don't see how you could go into the reef there without seeing that you were going to ground your vessel. I know many run on auto-pilot, perhaps this will act as a warning to others to drive by sight and not depend only on your electronics. -R.
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