Viking on the beach…

agreed. But your aim is to buy the time necessary for help to arrive or for systems to be restored.

Not long, there is a Coast Guard station in Fort Lauderdale, close to the inlet and probably within 30 minutes if they step on it. Also numerous local tow boat franchises in the surround area with young hungry Captains.
Then lots of recreational boats if the weather was nice..(I wasn’t there, seems like it was a bit windy perhaps, but there is usually plenty of traffic out there)
I sure would have takes their towline with my 300 HP inboard diesel, if nothing else just to slow the drift and get their bow into the waves and wind, maybe even dropped my anchor to slow it further.

STATEMENT BY VIKING YACHTS REGARDING THE VIKING 92 BEACHED IN DELRAY, FLORIDA

On November 3, 2023, a 2017 Viking 92 Open Bridge Convertible (92 C) departed Palm Beach Inlet en route to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Within an hour of departure, the 92 C encountered a fuel interruption to the generators and then main engines, at which point the 92 C lost power. It was set adrift as the captain and crew tried to resolve the problem. The crew tried to deploy the anchor by releasing the brake, but unfortunately the devil claw was still attached. It subsequently was lodged into the deployment chute rendering the anchor unusable. The 92 C came to rest on the shore in Delray Beach, Florida.

The vessel is now at the Viking Yacht Service Center safely blocked in our Riviera Beach yard since Sunday night. After our technicians inspected the 92 C, they determined that the incident was not the result of manufacturing or design error and that the damage was minimal. Once we receive the needed parts and materials, we expect to have the boat back fishing hopefully by the New Year.

Most importantly, the captain and the crew are safely ashore with no incident.

I have seen a variety of YouTube videos and the waves and wind were huge. Water was going over the top of the small coast guard boat just to have an idea.

Don't know if it's fact, but used to hear if your line is used you become responsible for the one being towed.

Not sure about that, hopefully there is a Good Samaritan rule on the water as well as on land.
I have a towed a few boats over the years, but much smaller than 92’, never asked for anything or any compensation, just being a good neighbor.

I do not understand the purpose of the statement, considering she is a seven year old yacht.
On the same page, why not make a statement on the Viking 50 which ended aground and then finished in pieces following some sea bashing on the end of October in the Bahamas.

I see this statement more as trying to gain an opportunity to gain a marketing advantage, which I think seeing the comments on social media did actually the opposite.

Isn't this their Timex advertisement of how it takes a licking and keeps on ticking? The 92 got quite a bit of social buzz. Simple paragraph to spin a bad tale into a company positive while underlining the fact that blame falls elsewhere.

In general, it's probably fair to say that the towing vessel carries overall responsibility for the towing operation under normal circumstances. This seems reasonable enough as the towed vessel is often in a dead ship condition.

Regulations per the MCA Workboat Code (in alignment with IMO directives) are linked below - note that all bets are off in an emergency situation. However, as this situation involved a US vessel on a US beach, there may be domestic legislation that says otherwise.

https://www.imorules.com/GUID-3DFF59C2-9504-43A1-A8AC-FDCC39FEA587.html

It's to put to bed any rumors that are floating around the internet. Also the bow rail comments are funny. There is a bow hatch directly behind the anchor locker, for this very purpose, no need to walk up the side decks to get to the anchor, just pop out the foward deck hatch and you're right there.

Anyways, many mistakes here. One they floated around for 1.5 hours before calling a tow boat. 2. They ran the day tank out of fuel, even though the boat had plenty of fuel in it. 3. The anchor is hydraulic and has a bypass to lower the anchor without power. They removed the devils claw from the boat but not the anchor chain, when launching the anchor the devils claw wedged into the anchor hause pipe, jammed and rendered the anchor useless. They should've never been out in 8-10' seas, when they could've taken the ICW and been there in less than a days time. They should've called a tow boat after assessing the situation in the first 10 minutes.

I'm curious about this #2 in your comment. Do you know it for FACT to be the cause and not an auto fire shut down system malfunction??

Viking stated in their press release that it was a fuel delivery issue and from what I heard, yes.

On a SF of this size, the bow rail is also too far away from offering any support, IF you are fiddling with the anchor. You can keep your body in the hatch, while laying on the deck with your chest and fool with the anchor.

My Fireboy System, and probably others, kill the engines by deenergizing or energizing (in the case of some diesels) the fuel solenoid so although their statement I assume is correct as to fuel related, the specifics were not stated.