Why did the Bounty sink?

It's hard to say without knowing how she was built. I imagine they will interview the crew and come to a conclusion. Anyone that thinks they can "skirt" a hurricane is using pretty poor judgement or hasn't spent much time in open water.

Hi,

I would hazard a guess that the loss went something like this.

1 Old wooden boat has a few leaks that can be kept at bay with the pumps

2 Old Wooden boat has dirt in tanks that gets sloshed around by action of seas

3 Dirt blocks fuel filters engines stop

4 Engines/Gensets stop , pumps stop

5 Water continues to seep in till it overcomes the positive buoyancy and boat sinks.

In Points 2,3 and 4 Dirt could be replaced by water getting in through pipes/ vents etc in heavy weather- same end result

There was a court case after an old Sailing ship sank in the UK from a dirt in the fuel scenario that led to it's total loss with 3 casualties.
Maria Asumpta - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There has been a well known one involving the tanker Braer where water got into the fuel via a broken vent line
MV Braer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was an MAIB investigation years ago where in the conclusion it stated that "Vessels should not proceed to sea with the Bilge Pumps running", these words no doubt ruing true today as well.

Seems reasonable assumptions...

AND, the old rule the rougher it is the more that goes wrong... and the less you can deal with it!

Because the captain put her in an untenable position. Unfortunately, he managed to kill one of his crew and not just himself by the poor decision making.

She is not very deep so do you think she will be raised. Or will she be shredded by the sea.

I read a book about a similar boat heading out in hurricane Mitch thinking they would have a better chance in open water. I think it lost steering which has also been reported in this incident. Once you lose steering or power your chances of survival diminish greatly. I was in Cozumel when Mitch was coming in and drove to the east side of the island to take a look. The waves were maybe 12-15' coming from all directions and the wind was tearing the top 3-4' off of them. I couldn't imagine trying to run a boat through that at night time.

Hi,

I have sailed with a guy who was a close friend of the Captain who was lost in this one. He was greatly affected by this tragedy.

SV Fantome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tragic... but very easy to loose people in those conditions and most were quickly rescued... thank heavens.

The crew should know what happened and shortly we should too.

It appeared to be a good boat... but things get rough and go wrong in a hurry.

Often it is thought safer to go to sea if a bad storm hits... certainly with a large surge the marina can be problematic... but you can secure the best you can and go to a safe place... and maybe loose the boat. Or, go to sea to ride it out as supposedly it is safer. It never is... it may be lower probability of damage or loss to the boat, and if you are a Naval Vessel maybe so but that is a different dynamic. But a pleasure boat... I would rather be safe than sorry and loose the boat and have the crew safe and alive. As you could loose both boat and crew.

Its the owner's responsibility... he needs to over-ride the Captain on this... insurance will help replace the boat... you can always make more money... but you cannot replace a life.

The Bounty was for sale

This is very plausible, especially given that we know the engines quit. It would be interesting to know if any work had been done below decks recently. I grew up working on old wooden fishing boats. We almost lost one because of sawdust clogging bilge pumps. Just prior there was major bulkhead work completed and the bilges were not thoroughly cleaned. Fortunately, we were able to keep the boat afloat long enough for emergency pumps to be delivered. This occurred in relatively calm conditions, mind you. It would have been much worse in heavy seas. As it was the water was up to my waist in one of the forward compartments!

Okay, for those of us land lubbers w/o charts, how deep is the water 90nm off the cape????

Cheers,

SO....12,000' (roughly)????

Cheers,

Absolutely sad and needless tradegy!

Anyone with experience in these waters knows how much the Gulfstream can amplify the effects of storms, even "weaker" Cat 1 or 2 storms generate wave actions much greater when winds are pushed against the strong currents. We fish the stream edge and during northeast winds you can see changes from 3-5' seas on the inshore edge heap up to 10-12' on a dotted line along the current rip. The Bounty was right in the middle of the strongest part of the current based on satellite sea surface temps the day before the storm. From his course track it appears he was trying to pass to the east of the storm but changed course and was heading for the inshore side when the storm arrived and didn't make it to the western wall of the stream where seas would have been much smaller. Not that they would have been insignificant, the bottom inshore is littered with wrecks from storms too.

The article in the link below and video of an interview with the Captain sent chills down my spine. Maybe it's just me getting more conservative in my old age but the notion of actually intentionally sailing into a storm is beyond comprehension on anything less than 500'. His statement "you try to get as close to the eye as you can" is mind numbing! I've been through eyewalls, thankfully anchored in sheltered waters, open ocean? Not if I could help it!

Bounty's ill-fated trip in face of hurricane scrutinized | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Yes... I agree... reiterating the owner should override the Capt. on such safety issues. Stay in port... risk damaging the boat... keep the crew safe.!

That's Davy Jones Locker and isn't anyone to even bother looking for any of our sorry butts there... unless your a nuclear submarine or famous wreck like the Titanic... and maybe those should be left to Davy Jones... !

The crew share their experience

From ********

HMS Bounty Crewmembers Speak in an Exclusive Interview with ABC [VIDEO] | ******** - Maritime & Offshore News