LESSONS FROM A TRAGEDY

It was a boat accident that shouldn’t have happened – for several reasons. Here’s how things went wrong, as pieced together by the Coast Guard in a final report issued recently:

A 55-year-old Stratham, N.H., man and his son, 20, started out from Rockland last Oct. 15, a Saturday, on their 41-foot sailboat, Naobi, for Rye, N.H., to have the boat hauled for the winter.

The forecast was for bad weather. They had trouble starting the engine on their dinghy, and their diesel engine sputtered and died, but they went ahead under sail. They had lifejackets and safety harnesses onboard but never put them on. Safety flares were onboard but weren’t used.

By nightfall, it was raining hard, the wind was gusting at perhaps 30 knots and they were being buffeted by nearly 5-foot seas. The son, new to the boat, slept below and occasionally spelled his father at the helm.

At about 9:30 p.m., with the weather worsening, the father summoned the son on deck to help furl the sails. The father crawled out on the bowsprit to try to fix the jammed furling mechanism on the jib sail while the son tried to keep the boat headed into the wind.

It broached broadside to the wind and waves, took a lurch, and the stay sail boom knocked the father overboard. He managed to grab the end of a line, and the son tried to haul his father aboard, but the father lost his grip and disappeared in the murk.

The son tried unsuccessfully to start the engine. He tried to use the boat’s shortwave radio but didn’t know whether it was working. He tried to call for help on his father’s cell phone but could raise no one.

His mother became alarmed when she couldn’t reach them by cell phone. She called the Coast Guard on Monday, Oct. 17, and a search began immediately of the long stretch of ocean between Rockland and Rye. On the fourth day, a patrol plane finally spotted the battered sailboat and radioed a nearby lobster boat for help. The crew found the son still aboard and got him onto the lobster boat. The sailboat was towed into Rockland harbor and examined by the Coast Guard.

The inspecting officer, Lt. Cdr. Michael Lindaitis, had these recommendations for all sailors:

File a “float plan” with family or friends, giving the intended route and time of arrival.

Make sure all necessary equipment is in order and all necessary safety gear is aboard.

Make sure that crew members understand how to handle the boat and use the safety gear.

Finally, if a boat is overdue, call the Coast Guard immediately.

Commercial boats and their captains are licensed, and crews may get dockside safety training and inspection by the Coast Guard.

Maine has no similar requirements for recreational boating, but Cdr. Lindaitis strongly recommends that pleasure sailors arrange with the Coast Guard Auxiliary for training and inspection.

Adequate gear and training, prudent preparation and a float plan can save lives and prevent tragedy.