Appropriate place for this question........

[Iguana Don]

Decided to start a seperate thread for this instead of the other so as not to cloud the issues at hand.

Those of you that have bluewater sailing and boating experience, please help me to understand how you get caught in a hurricane. It seems to me with all the radar, loran, gps, radio and communications gear, it would be almost impossible for this to happen. You get days of advance notice where it is, where it is headed, how fast it is moving.

Not living near any hurricane activity, or bluewater, and only seeing it on the "tube", it escapes me how this could happen. But I do live in the heart of "Tornado Alley" and even we have the benefits ot TV and radio and few lives are lost.

Thanks in advance

ID

 

[Fishkiller]

I just heard on the news about about the Wave Dancer, where 22 poeple lost their lives. The news stated that the crew thought they were in a safe port.

The Poseiden Mistress under IMHO inadaquate captian skills tried to out run the hurricane Gloria and caused the ship to sink, part of the divers had to be picked up 60 miles away by the Mexican coast guard.

I think that even with all this high tech gadet stuff there are still acidents and stupid people sometimes it's hard to tell which is which.

 

[joewr]

but we stay away from the Caribbean from early August to late October since that is hurricane season there. That is one of the reasons we go to Hawaii in Fall, too.


Joewr

 

[socaldiver]

I would think it would be best to avoid problematic areas during certain times. Hurricane season = staying out of the Carib.

I am not going to speculate or comment however on what should have or shouldn't have been done. They obviously had their reasons for staying in the area.

 

[Duca]

I thought I recently saw a special on one of the cable channels about one of the big sailing cruise ships that got caught by a hurricane a few years back and also sunk. It seems that what normally would've been the smart move by the Captain backfired when the storm made a unusual change in direction. I'm sure that these guys try to do their best. Our chosen sport is not without danger, nor is the activity of sailing in the first place. The risks must be wieghed against the benefits. Anytime you place your life in the custody of another person's judgement you must remember to consider all the pertinent facts.

I can't imagine that the Captain didn't do everything he could to ensure the safety of his passengers. I've always heard that big ships were safer out at sea than in a port at times like those... but I wasn't there and I'm certainly not a captain.

It seems, as noted by several others, the Caribbean is not the place to be in the late summer/early autumn.

 

[DivingGal]

Although I agree that it is hurricane season in the Carib in the late summer and one should be aware of the possibility of one coming through --- it also depends on where you're talking about. For instance, the southern Carib rarely gets hit by the nasty storms - Barbados has not been touched by one since the late 50's.

 

[Walter]

..........from June 1st through November 30. If you avoid the Caribbean from early August to late October you still may travel there during half the season. Personally, I do not let the possibility of one of these infrequent storms dictate my travel plans. If I did, I'd stay out of the islands for a much longer period of time.

From all the information I've seen this was not the Captain's fault. His boat had passengers with a hurricane bearing down on them. He did what he should've done. He went to a protected harbor. He tried to get accommodations in hotels for his passengers. There were no rooms to be had. A boat is not the best shelter, but it is better than no shelter. He was not at sea, he did not ignore the danger, he simply ran out of options.

WWW™

 

[syruss32]

I will be in the Caribbean at the end of this month. I hope that no hurricanes decide to blow around St. Thomas while I am there. I have been looking forward to this trip for a year and a half. I would hate to see it ruined by weather!

So everyone pray for nice weather there at the end of the month and the first 4 days of next month!

 

[Bob]

Don,
My understanding was the Wave Dancer was actually tied up in port and a combination of wind and tidal surge tore it loose from it's mooring and turned it over. My question is why they tried to ride out a force four, nearly a five hurricaine on board. I know they have shelters down there, so I don't understand the reasons why they were still on board. I've been through a couple of hurricaines and the worst place would be where they were. Probably would have to been there to understand. My heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones.:tree:Bob

 

[Rick Murchison]

They had run south to Placencia in an attempt to avoid the worst of the storm, which was forecast to make landfall north of there.
1. The storm went in further south than forecast, putting the creek where they were sheltering in the worst possible place.
2. There are no shelters around Placencia; Belize city, 80 miles north, turned out to be the better place to be, but had been forecast to get the brunt of the storm. And there was "no place in the inn" in Belize City, either.
-----------------
I do not travel to the Caribbean between 15 July and 1 November. I am a retired career naval officer and carrier pilot. I have been around the sea all my life.
I do not travel to the Caribbean between 15 July and 1 November.
Rick