Breaking News: New 74' Spencer sportfish sinks...

I think that 3rd pic shows an early impact. Not a deep water hit.
Change in water ripple, color or chop around it should of been visible.
Not sure if this was a night or early morning run, if so, another poor decision may have been maid.

IMO, No Lookout, too fast for conditions, poor path, BAD LUCK.

Everybody says reef. So I'm backing off of my container or debris collision idea.

Another (out there) idea;
New ship; Compass, AP response, GPS, Plotter I/O to pilot.
So many new pieces of equipment, calibration / fine tuning may not have been gun sight ready.
Anybody have a GPS error report yet at the time of incident?

You can blame the electronics but look at the chart I posted earlier. Unless you are a local and go thru there all the time, would you really run thru this narrow pass at speed when there is a lot of deep, marked open water just a mile or two away?

I wouldn't.

Then it may be other errors as in post #69.
I was trying to include more ideas with #70.

HE** (ck) no I would run thru there at speed or at idle driving somebody else's boat.

Seems when the skipper screws up (on past and other threads) and I mention it, I get blasted. I'm trying not to state that on this post but offer ideas so somebody else may mention the skipper screwed up.

The boat left early in the am and hit the supposedly uncharted reef while it was still not full daylight.

https://www.facebook.com/R.Bradley.Elder/videos/1300735389943978/

WOW. That is A LOT of bottom damage and I would deem the hull a total loss. Judging by the propellor missing 3 blades, I'd say they were doing cruise speed upon impact. Not good.

wow, anyone of those hull breaches could have caused enough flooding to sink this boat.

sometimes the hull and gear gets banged up more in the recovery.

Notice the damage on the stb side is more up/down or side/side, The collision is evident on the port side with fore/aft scratches and destruction.
Shallow reef at speed. Ouch.

I do admire the chain looped thru the bow thruster tunnel. Seems some have learned not to trust cleats the hard way.

Actually there is plenty of water there. Your Garmin chart just doesn't show it well.

Plenty of water EXCEPT for the reef head!!! That shows pretty well..

Yes and according to this post by the guy who posted the pictures on his Facebook page,

"Noooo this wasn't me. The guy that that did, ran right onto a rock marked on the charts with a big red X that says ROCKS!."

It sounds like they may very well have hit that charted reef. Or the charted area of heads to the right of it.

So, What could that mean to you?

It could mean a lot of things.

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking me for here?

It surely doesn't look like a very wide pass to me. Especially one to be blasting through in the dark at 40 knots.

I'd say you're correct. If it was dark and if they were running at high speed.

Pretty much the same data. yes plenty deep but not plenty wide and unmarked.

Don't know the conditions at the time of the accident but chances are it was early in t he day when visibility to read the water is not that good.

Having spent 15 years in the Caribbean I ve seen many reefs lurking under calm waters, you simply don't go flying thru narrow unmarked cuts.

Electronic failure or operator malfucktion?

OK, now I see what your getting at.

Total guess on my part is that the plotter was working but the chart is not totally accurate and/or they were going to fast with low light.

Then again they could have just been distracted by something and got off course.

If they were running at high speed they might only have a couple seconds to see their error and correct it in time.

I've been through that area and there is a channel. But I wouldn't be running at high speed through there, especially in low light. Unless I had run it on a regular basis and had a good repeatable track line.

Pretty much. There is just that weird chart knitting artifact that distorts the chart and channel a bit right there.

Maybe that's what F-ed them up?


As to your last bit, true that! Unless you're a local and do it everyday. And even then.....