Nekton Rorqual runs aground in Fort Lauderdale

[livinthedream]

So to address a few things:

1) Yes we have anchors located forward on the Starboard bow.

As Robin has stated you will never see them in use as they damage the reef hence the reason for the moorings we use. The line you see on the port bow is tied to a mooring line. Often when we tie up we let out scope (length) on the bow line and that will pull the mooring buoy below the surface.

2) The photograph of the Rorqual shows the boat ballasted all the way forward, we are able to ballast the boat in many interesting ways. I'm not sure as to the reason for the position in this picture.

3) I wish I could say what happened, however I am not currently on the boat and while the investigation is ongoing no one is able to comment who was actually there.

4) There were no guests on board the boat was coming into Port Everglades for fuel before repositioning to Puerto Rico for our St. Croix Itinerary.

5) In regards to reef damage the Rorqual grounded in sand.

6) The Pilot has two fins on the inside of the pontoons which provide it's maneuvering capabilities. The Rorqual has rudders on the back of it's nozzle assemblies which move by hydraulics.


That's about it for me. It's sucks, it's a crappy situation, however it is my firm belief that this was due to mechanical failure, either engine or steering. The Coast Guard was on the boat this afternoon to assess damage to the boat if any. We will be making repairs prior to venturing back out on charter. You may me think that I am merely towing the company line, I'm not believe me or don't but I figured I might be able to clear up at least some of the questions.

Hope to see you out out on the water someday, or better yet under it

Cheers

 

[livinthedream]

So to address a few things:

1) Yes we have anchors located forward on the Starboard bow.

As Robin has stated you will never see them in use as they damage the reef hence the reason for the moorings we use. The line you see on the port bow is tied to a mooring line. Often when we tie up we let out scope (length) on the bow line and that will pull the mooring buoy below the surface.

2) The photograph of the Rorqual shows the boat ballasted all the way forward, we are able to ballast the boat in many interesting ways. I'm not sure as to the reason for the position in this picture.

3) I wish I could say what happened, however I am not currently on the boat and while the investigation is ongoing no one is able to comment who was actually there.

4) There were no guests on board the boat was coming into Port Everglades for fuel before repositioning to Puerto Rico for our St. Croix Itinerary.

5) In regards to reef damage the Rorqual grounded in sand.

6) The Pilot has two fins on the inside of the pontoons which provide it's maneuvering capabilities. The Rorqual has rudders on the back of it's nozzle assemblies which move by hydraulics.
View attachment 50893

That's about it for me. It's sucks, it's a crappy situation, however it is my firm belief that this was due to mechanical failure, either engine or steering. The Coast Guard was on the boat this afternoon to assess damage to the boat if any. We will be making repairs prior to venturing back out on charter. You may me think that I am merely towing the company line, I'm not, believe me or don't but I figured I might be able to clear up at least some of the questions.

Hope to see you out out on the water someday, or better yet under it

Cheers,
Eric

 

[livinthedream]

In Response:

Engine repairs we take seriously. In the 5 months I've been on we have always had both engines operational. It may have been down at that time but has been repaired.

Regarding Nitrox we at long last have our Nitrox systems on both boats operating. The Rorqual has a new ingersoll/rand nitrox compressor and the MAKO compressor dedicated to our Nitrox operations.

 

[cowfish]

they have an "anchor" but for rule compliance only...it cannot do the job and they never use it...not good

 

[cowfish]

just wanted to add, because i dont want to be too harsh, anyone who has spent any amount of time at sea knows that "stuff happens"- was just pointing out that their ability to anchor is not very good- but bad stuff happens to good boats, good captains, and good companies...

 

[cappyjon431]

they have an "anchor" but for rule compliance only...it cannot do the job and they never use it...not good

I can't speak for the Rorqual, but after working on the Pilot for over eight years and captaining her for two, the TWO anchors (one on the starboard bow, one in the bow locker as back-up) that we had on board were NOT "for rule compliance only." I remember having to anchor off of Water Cay in Cay Sal after the remanents of Hurricane Floyd did not abate as quickly as expected. I also remember having to anchor off of Rum Cay in the Southern Bahamas when a major winter storm passed thru unannounced, and i remeber having to anchor in Belize when we had very rough seas and one of our competitors accidently pulled our mooring pin. Obviously we try to avoid throwing the anchor at all costs, but in emergencies it is an essential piece of equipment.

 

[deepstops]

5) In regards to reef damage the Rorqual grounded in sand.

6) The Pilot has two fins on the inside of the pontoons which provide it's maneuvering capabilities. The Rorqual has rudders on the back of it's nozzle assemblies which move by hydraulics.
View attachment 50893

Cheers,
Eric

I 100% agree there couldn't be any impact to the reef because there is no reef 6-8' deep where the boat came in.

Thank you for the clarification on the two different steering systems in use.

In Response:

Engine repairs we take seriously. In the 5 months I've been on we have always had both engines operational. It may have been down at that time but has been repaired.

Regarding Nitrox we at long last have our Nitrox systems on both boats operating. The Rorqual has a new ingersoll/rand nitrox compressor and the MAKO compressor dedicated to our Nitrox operations.

Regarding running trips on a single engine, it's good to hear that's presently resolved but it does sound like it was more than a one week occurrence and it's sounds as though it impacted some trips.

The issue with no nitrox being available and no notification given prior to passengers arriving has been discussed at length here already so there's no point in rehashing it really except to say it caused plenty of unhappiness with many passengers.

 

[osprey]

Looking at the position tracker on their website it shows that on Monday they were in the Southern Bahamas headed to St Croix when they turned around and headed back to Ft Lauderdale. The reason may have been hurricane Omar or a mechanical problem.

 

[Caver95]

they have an "anchor" but for rule compliance only...it cannot do the job and they never use it...not good

Well then, the time(when I was the engineer on the boat) I deployed the anchor it must have been a flashback. It was the second most scary thing I have done at sea, the most scary thing I did at sea will be in my memoirs

 

[deepstops]

Well then, the time(when I was the engineer on the boat) I deployed the anchor it must have been a flashback. It was the second most scary thing I have done at sea.

That begs the question: what was the most scary thing??