Sailboat grounding in Corolla, NC this morning

At least it’s pointed in the right direction!

You can see the anchor line pulled out guitar string tight.

It could be retrieved with minimal damage or even no damage as the tide rises. Could easily be pulled to deep water and safety as long as it remains upright. Hopefully is already off the beach.

My guess is they came out Oregon Inlet and were heading for Chesapeake Bay or visa/versa. Still why he'd be so close he couldn't get a sail up or at least an anchor out where it'd do some good, I DK. At least it appears he's got a strong keel.

I think the insurance company is going to be very interested in
1) the course this "one of the best skippers for any sailboat you could hire. 100’s of deliveries to the islands..." was following,
2) why coming from Annapolis with a plan to stay on motor he chose not to stay on the ICW and
3) opted for Oregon Inlet and
4) if not heading for Oregon why he'd be that close to shore
5) why he was on motor and why he didn't deploy sails when he had motor trouble,
6) why he didn't deploy his anchor long before he got that close to shore.
7) why he didn't use that dink as a tow boat.

All leading back to big questions about (1) and the skipper's liability.

If he's a captain who uses a contract and has a decent one drawn up by a qualified attorney, I doubt seriously there is going to be any personal liability on the part of the captain. I think both the CG and perhaps NTSB and the Insurance company will interview the captain and he'll be able quickly to answer all the questions as to how it occurred. I think he'll probably look at choices made along the way and things he wishes he'd done differently, but that doesn't pass liability to him. Again, assuming a written agreement, he likely only is liable if there's some gross negligence.

For instance, if he was sleeping and had the boat on autopilot with no one standing watch, then that would qualify, in my opinion, as gross negligence. That leads to the first question I would ask which would be what other crew on board and what hours was he running. I don't care how good one is, if they're the sole crew and running 24 hours a day, that doesn't meat what I consider adequate standards. I know in the sailboat world there is a lot of that done, a lot of sole operator deliveries running day and night, and I always disagree with them and feel they don't meet the most basic watch requirements. If he was the entire crew and had sailed from Annapolis to Oregon Inlet, then that could easily explain what took place. Now, I don't know that to be the case.

Oh, in my head I'm seeing the combination of the timing of the issue with regards to egress through the channel, tides and big currents, wind and other weather conditions. Easy to point fingers here, but stuff happens...and after it does to any of us there is always a point in time where you second guess some of your decisions. Hell, I second guess mine all of the time, both before, during, and after, even if everything is going right.

In thousands of deliveries over 30 years, from just crossing L.I. Sound to Boston to Miami, I never had a contract. I understood that my first mistake could mean my house as well as my career. I wouldn't only require multiple crew on a 24 hour run; I'd never do a multi-day transport (putting in at night) without multiple crew. Do we know this Skipper was alone?

Never contracted a captain. But plenty times I’ve obtained his credentials and had him added to my policy as an approved operator. That isn’t necessary if I’m aboard.

Lol! You got that right...! On the launch pad!

In 30 years the only time I was asked for my creds was for commercial work. Never even asked for my references. What's the matter with people? I'd never hire a first issue captain except as a deckhand/mate, and I'd want to check refs before I hand someone the keys to my million dollar toy. (correction, I was asked by one / maybe two client's insurance companies.)