Accident on the Vision

[cool_hardware52]

How on earth do you lose a rudder?

They may not have "lost" the rudder. They may lost control of the rudder.

They most likely have two rudders.

OTOH, rudders project through the hull via a "rudder log" with a packing box. If you damaged the rudder via impact and bent or broke the shaft it could result in the rudder log leaking.

Nasty place to work as these are usually at a low point in the bilge and are soon under water.

Rudders commonly are the "deepest draft" point on many boats, and subject to damage first via grounding.

Tobin

 

[robertarak]

When they reported seven miles off San Nicholas I immediately pictures bottoming out on Begg Rock, but it's off the west end. Maybe they hit a log. I lost a prop on the Palawan wreck and a year or so later lost another one on the Olympic II.

Dude! Stop chewing up our wrecks!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Dude! Stop chewing up our wrecks!

The draft on my boat was only three feet.

 

[Kevrumbo]

When they reported seven miles off San Nicholas I immediately pictures bottoming out on Begg Rock, but it's off the west end. Maybe they hit a log. I lost a prop on the Palawan wreck and a year or so later lost another one on the Olympic II.

I was out at Begg Rock on the Diveboat Peace two weekends ago . . .and was amazed that we even held anchor without going bass-akwards into the wash rocks . . .(that would be my guess at what may have happened out there to the Vision).

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Here's a first-hand account: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ba_diving/message/39511

 

[Kevrumbo]

Wow . . .that's kinda how the Peace was a laying at anchor on the razor back ridge at Begg Rock --pushed by counter current, broaching into an opposing 3' to 6' swell-- I've never seen such confused seas as I saw out there. Had a tough time making it back to the boat on a long surface swim, even with the aid of my X-Scooter.

I now understand how much force those rudders were exposed to, and can see how the Vision's could literally get torn away. . .(Aye, the Coasties sure have been busy out there at San Nicolas the past couple of weekends:11:!)

 

[MaxBottomtime]

This is the Condor Express at Cortez Bank. It's amazing to see a big boat getting close to shallow water offshore.

Shark Park - Tow Surfing Adventures

 

[Dan Chua]

We were the charter group for the boat. We were leaving Begg at about 10:30 or so. Lost the rudder when the assembly came apart and the current or swell probably put enough force to cause it to break off. Capt. Tommy noticed he had lost steering control and went back to look at the steering assembly. Lots of water in the lazerette gushing in. Ben's sccount on BA Divers is right on. The crew was impressive, starting with noticing the problem right away, to taking the appropriate action, not panicking, keeping everyone abreast of what was going on. A patch was put on almost immediately using "splash zone." The water slowed to a trickle.

Coast guard sent helicopters out, dropped pumps and a man on board. A C130 was also dispatched. Navy ship was on stand by in the near vicinity. We were all (passengers)transferred to the USCG Blackfin at about 4 pm and the Vision was towed behind. Eight plus hours later we were in Ventura, where we were transferred with all our gear to the Condor, which had pizzas, food and drink on board, as well as a great crew of people helping out. Left Ventura at 2:45 plus, and we in SB about 4 or so. Had to take all the gear off the Condor because they were whale watching in the morning. Got to sleep at 5 am on the Truth.

Kudos go out to the Vision Crew for fast acting, level headedness (is that a word?), USCG, the Navy, and even the Pt. Sur for standing by in case of emergency. The CG was great, allowing tired people to sleep in their bunks. The tow was long, cold, and boring. The Blackfin is not designed to hold 30 plus people. Truth Aquatics was also great, with the manager Chris Callahan showing up late at night to try and help out. Everyone gets a two day rain check for another trip.

Apart from that, the trip was epic. First two days at Clemente were warm, clear, and great diving. First dive of the morning at Begg was incredible. I never felt like we were in peril or danger, although if something had gone wrong we could have been in the water and floating in liferafts. All in all, no one was hurt and it makes one feel really comfortable in the emergency response capabilities of everyone involved. It was also lucky we had such a great group of people on board. They were all experieced divers, and rolled with the punches, doing the best to make a bad situation as good as possible.



Dan

 

[Teamcasa]

Thanks for the report Dan. That's high praise for the Vision Crew. Time to book a dive with them.

 

[drbill]

Kudos to Captain Tommy Cappanelli and the crew of the Vision for their effective handling of this incident. Tommy grew up in Avalon and worked as crew on SCUBA Luv's King Neptune.