Boat capsized in pompano beach?

[Magnolia3]

It's a very nasty inlet especially coming in on an outgoing tide even with just a small to moderate swell.
As Nemrod correctly pointed out standing waves compounded by a swell makes entering very tricky and boats need to time their runs between the waves.
Very easy to get broached which likely caused this capsize.

Not to mention that East Coast Fla has long had a rep for rogue waves in the inlets. What the above poster says is correct. We can armchair analyze till hel freezes over and in the end it will be just what it is a horribly tragic accident. One death is too much, but that so many were there to render aid prevented more tragedy.

I am on several chatboards devoted to sailing/cruising. There is a current thread on the nature of how the inlet has changed current wise since Sandy's passing ongoing on one. Cats are a generally stable platform. However, any boat can pitchpole. This was not a "preventable tragedy" in the sense that there was some kind of error..this is one can be laid, in my mind, on mother nature's doorstep.

My sympathies... horrible thing to happen.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Zaaddough's post from the Deco Stop:

I've been lurking for quite awhile, but haven't posted before. Never had something worthwhile to contribute to the forum.

I was on the fateful trip. I flew into Ft Lauderdale to do a few days of diving. Went out with PDC on Wednesday, to the Miller Lite. Great day for diving, though a bit rough each way through the inlet. Thursday PDC didn't get enough interest to schedule a trip, so I went out on the Coral Princess. Leaving the harbour was without incident. Seas were surprisingly calm, considering the small craft advisory. Nobody on board was sick. First dive on Abbey Too had moderate vis and surge. Second dive (didn't catch name) had more surge and worse vis.

Boat then headed in, with again fairly smooth ride. Got to mouth of inlet and captain told everybody to sit down. We were in neutral while he waited for the right moment to dash in. A very large wave hit our starboard aft corner. Boat pitched forward on the diagonal, with some water coming in over back. Forward port corner went under. We then instantly rolled over from starboard to port. Not enough time for anyone to react. Some were hit by tanks, others by the large dry boxes that shifted.

Immediately we were in the water. Family members anxiously calling out for missing. A few people were trapped under the boat in air pocket under the glass bottom. They were quickly gotten out. One woman did not make it out. She was on the starboard side in middle of boat, with roof over her and captains console in front of her. Amazing, really, there were not more serious injuries.

Within minutes we were surrounded by rescue craft. Numerous fishing, law enforcement, and tow boats immediately began pulling us out of the water. Some swam to the nearby shore. My thanks again to all who helped us out, in a very confusing and dangerous situation.

I was one of Nina's dive buddies on the trip, along with her nephew. She spent the dives taking pictures. She was obviously a very good diver. I didn't know her well, but am saddened by her loss. My sympathies go out to her family.

Wow, so the captain had the boat sitting idle in the water completely stopped near the mouth of the inlet and the boat just got rolled by a wave when he was sitting there completely stopped and not underway?

Sounds like he should have stopped further offshore and got everyone situated, before entering into the dangerous shallow water area. Defintely don't want to be completely stopped and sitting vulnerable with no ability to maneuver the boat in the shallow area....Is that correct?

Also, isn't pitch poleing the result of being underway, a large wave over taking from the stern, accelerating the vessel as it slides down the front face of the wave, causing the captain to loose steerage and then the bow goes under, the boat shifts left or right, and then the wave lifts the vessel from the rear and the side and flips it?

I've been on boats where that very nearly happened twice..coming in inlets... with outgoing tides and waves etc... As far as I know, the only way to survive this occurance is to have enough power to get ahead of the wave and keep steerage and/or be lucky.

However the description of the incident above is not consistent with this type of situation... sitting dead in the water and getting rolled from the side is different.. yes?

 

[John from the burg]

Hummm, terrible stuff.

 

[Wookie]

Wow, so the captain had the boat sitting idle in the water completely stopped near the mouth of the inlet and the boat just got rolled by a wave when he was sitting there completely stopped and not underway?

Sounds like he should have stopped further offshore and got everyone situated, before entering into the dangerous shallow water area. Defintely don't want to be completely stopped and sitting vulnerable with no ability to maneuver the boat in the shallow area....Is that correct?

Also, isn't pitch poleing the result of being underway, a large wave over taking from the stern, accelerating the vessel as it slides down the front face of the wave, causing the captain to loose steerage and then the bow goes under, the boat shifts left or right, and then the wave lifts the vessel from the rear and the side and flips it?

I've been on boats where that very nearly happened twice..coming in inlets... with outgoing tides and waves etc... As far as I know, the only way to survive this occurance is to have enough power to get ahead of the wave and keep steerage and/or be lucky.

However the description of the incident above is not consistent with this type of situation... sitting dead in the water and getting rolled from the side is different.. yes?

I reiterate that I wasn't there, and have no experience with Corinthians, but I do with Hobie Cats, a much smaller version of a pontoon boat. The eyewitness didn't say they were stopped or dead in the water, he said they were in neutral, as I would expect a Captain to do when facing a potentially hazardous bar. let's say for sake of argument that the rogue wave was 8 feet tall, not unheard of at that particular channel entrance. The boat has engines throttled back so the skipper can see how the water is moving. He's looking forward, not really paying close attention to what's coming up behind him. The wave lifts the starboard stern and the 48 foot Corinthian Buries the port pontoon. The deck is at a heel angle of 15-20 degrees. The submerged hull generates buoyancy and force back towards the stern, and the loose stuff breaks free of its tiedowns and shifts forward. 21 passengers, 43 scuba cylinders, dive gear, lifejacket boxes, and coolers all head towards the port forward corner. Meanwhile, the wave passes under, but the next one lifts the now lighter stern and flips the boat.

I don't know Hillsboro inlet, but when I have come through Jupitor inlet on a ebb tide, we had some pretty big waves at the inlet for an otherwise calm sea. When I went into Mayport, I had standing 8 footers against a 4 knot current. I pulled back to give it a good look and see how I would make safe passage, the waves/current/flow picked the 100 foot 69 ton displacement Spree up and flipped her sideways in about 10 seconds. I didn't have passengers or scuba gear onboard, but I can easily see that if I had, none of them would have stayed put, even if we had been ready for it.

Its just a sad series on events.

 

[zaaddough]

We were flipped sideways by a single wave that lifted us from starboard stern. Subsequent waves caused overturned boat to lurch toward those of us I'm water.

 

[Ana]

How about sharing some of your navigation knowledge?

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/handling-safety/439880-dos-donts-inlets.html#post6557391

 

[shmuggy]

I live on a lake in Central Virginia and a rogue wave killed an experienced, veteran conservation officer on patrol on the lake last year. So many times when we go out on a dive boat everything is calm and then next thing you know, the current changes, the winds pick up and everything gets dicey. Mother Nature can do some freaky things. The Coast Guard will do a thorough investigation and deal with anything that needs to be addressed so we should wait and see what they say. I have been out with this dive shop and thought they did a good job and were mindful of the safety of their passengers and crew. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy.

 

[tddfleming]

Lake Anna? He was near shore hit his head and fell overboard. It was a boat wake.

 

[Glock Diver]

A real shame.

I've been on the Coral Princess with SFDH, and found their captains and crews to be professional and competent. I've also used Hillsboro Inlet numerous times in my own boat, a 23' mono-hull, and have found it to be pretty dicey even on a calm day. I've had a few close calls there.

Those Corinthian Catamarans aren't exactly true catamarans; they draw 10"-12" of water, which is less than many pontoon boats. They're not the easiest to maneuver underway, and are easily affected by wind-- much more so than traditional mono-hull craft.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Sounds like he was watching the ground swell, outside the break waiting for the big set to end only to find out that he was watching a small set. Suddenly, the big set arrives, and since it breaks in much deeper water, he's in the surf zone instead of sitting outside it. The wave quarters him, port pontoon digs in and it rolls him on the spot. I don't think that boat has any kind of fly bridge, so reading the swell must be pretty tough. I could totally see that happening.

---------- Post added November 24th, 2012 at 06:55 PM ----------