The Albatros is in amazingly good condition considering that less tha 24 hours ago it was sitting at the bottom of the ocean. A cracked platform, a little damage to the flybridge, and shattered windows. Of course all electrical will have to be replaced, but even the engines seem to be fine.
The "escape" which is the exhaust pipe broke (this was the bang they heard) and created a 5 - 6" diameter hole in the side of the boat just above the water line. No bilge can keep up with this - so this WAS the cause of the sinking. Rita said once plled out, she could see straight through to the engine compartment from this hole.
The Marine park has also completed their report and determined that the boat did NOT land on any reef and that salvage efforts were conducted per environmental standards and without negligence to the reef. They also confirmed that there was no leakage of gas or oil or other contaminantes.
There was some minor contact with a small patch of reef i the recovery efort, but it was determined NOT to be negligent. Albatross will "pay resitution" for this damage by volunteering time and resources to marine park conservation efforts and projects.
Again, kudos to the local community for pulling together to help one of our own. Kudos to the salvage team and crew who worked tirelessly for the past 3 days to raise the Albatros while minimizing any further damage to the reef or environment.
Looks like the Albatross will have a little facelift and will be back in action sooner than later! Congrats Rita and Staff for a happy ending to what could have been much, much, much worse!
I am going to add my own commentary here as well. Rita has been my friend and colleague for 13+ years now. I have always admired and respected her both as a friend and as a business owner. The grace and dignity in which she handled this incident was impressive! She stayed calm and focused and just stayed on task with what needed to be done. My respect for her has increased exponentially - she is a strong and inspiring woman and I am grateful to call her my friend and colleague!
If it were gas, that kind of thing could have been caused by a back fire. Let me know if they ever figure out why it broke. Just curious and nothing more.
