Phuket Storm Pushes King’s Cup Racers Aground

[webfact]

Phuket storm pushes King’s Cup racers aground

Sailors working to save the Royal Thai Navy 2 yacht.

Photo: Guy Nowell

Tai II afloat, but caught in the strong surf at Kata.

Photo: Guy Nowell

PHUKET: -- Racers in the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta are working furiously this morning to recover several yachts pushed ashore by strong winds and swell during the night.

The last race of the regatta was canceled as organizers stared at four boats beached at Kata Beach and seven boats caught in the surf break.

Many boats have already left the bay heading for shelter in Ao Chalong. The mark boats are already there awaiting direction to return to provide ground tackle to any boats struggling to hold their anchors.

More than 30 sailors desperately tried to float Royal Thai Navy 1 out of the break.

On one side of the boat was 10 sailors pushing hard to keep the boat in the waves while on other side another 20-plus sailors were pulling their hardest on the main halyard to lean the boat over in an attempt to free the keel from the sand.

Making the salvage operation even more dangerous is the tide coming in and three boats on the beach break floating perilously close to each other.

Sailors from around the fleet have leapt to the assistance of their fellow yachties, assisting wherever possible. Drenched by salt water and rain, it is all hands on deck and ropes on the beach.

One boat with luck on their side was Henry Kaye’s Thor. The boat beached safely with no damage. With the help of 20 sailors, he plans to carry his 1,000-kilogram boat up the beach away from the top of the tide.

Once the sea abates tomorrow, he will then call on those sailors to carry Thor back down the beach to float if off and away from Kata Beach.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-12-11

[ScubaBuddha]

The two pictures above really don't capture the scope of the carnage. The beached catamarans just need to wait for high tide, but some of the single hulls looked like they were sustaining some major keel damage. The Japanese boat shown above, Tai II, was completely capsized prior to the photos. I saw several dinghy's and zodiacs full of passengers, including the Marine Rescue boat, capsize in the surf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez5eWi4cDMs

Edited December 11, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[Chantal]

Thanks for sharing SB! You captured exactly what I saw yesterday.

[LivinginKata]

Still plenty of boats (about 8) on Kata beach sand this morning. Sad sad sight.

[katabeachbum]

Still plenty of boats (about 8) on Kata beach sand this morning. Sad sad sight.

and the largest one, a 44 footer, with damaged steering, rudder and a hole in the hull

[ScubaBuddha]

Still plenty of boats (about 8) on Kata beach sand this morning. Sad sad sight.

and the largest one, a 44 footer, with damaged steering, rudder and a hole in the hull

Late yesterday one of the boats was starting to get buried in the sand by the surf. I'm guessing at least one of those boats will be unsalvageable.

I found it strange that several of the grounded boats actually placed (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in their class in the regatta. That wou make one think the captains of these boats were experienced. And one grounded boat which placed in it's class, the Icihban, had actually grounded once the day before the storm as well. However some captains can't be blamed. At least one, and probably more, of the boats was knocked free or had it's ground tackle severed by another boat.

Edited December 12, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[katabeachbum]

Still plenty of boats (about 8) on Kata beach sand this morning. Sad sad sight.

and the largest one, a 44 footer, with damaged steering, rudder and a hole in the hull

Late yesterday one of the boats was starting to get buried in the sand by the surf. I'm guessing at least one of those boats will be unsalvageable.

I found it strange that several of the grounded boats actually placed (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in their class in the regatta. That wou make one think the captains of these boats were experienced. And one grounded boat which placed in it's class, the Icihban, had actually grounded once the day before the storm as well. However some captains can't be blamed. At least one, and probably more, of the boats was knocked free or had it's ground tackle severed by another boat.

Being a fast sailor doesnt make a good seaman

Having sailed as a captain since I was 16, better to cross oceans at 16 than being a bad boy my mum and dad used to say when I took off for the summer, I watched the boats anchoring friday sunset

Some of the boats where using ropes to the anchors, and some even ropes meant for the rig, which does not flex at all. Racing means reducing weight, but replacing heavy chains giving little or no stress on anchor, comes at a price when it blows up. In addition many boats where anchored at very shallow water, with shorter anchorline than 5 times the depth

Sad to see boats damaged like this, and as I understand at least one casualty

[steelepulse]

>>Late yesterday one of the boats was starting to get buried in the sand by the surf.

One single hull was half buried today, what a shame. Does a good insurance policy cover something like this, or is it an "act of God"?

[andrew55]

Sure the pics don't convey what a desparate and frantic situation this must have been (is?).

'

Great to see the sailors working together in this emergency as always. Competitive types 'around the bouys' but quick to do lend a hand when needed. Salts of the earth.

I can't claim 'katabeachbum's feat of being a captain since 16 (unless I count my 11'3" Heron dinghy which I usually ended up paddling home with a floarboard because something broke!). I have however done a reasonable amount of coastal sailing in my life, both on my old 37' steel home, and also as a minor crew-member delivering racing yachts to their next event. I also have a very expired coxwain's certificate.

How did this happen???

Was this weather extraordinary? Neptune can sure be an unwinnable foe if He sets His mind to it.

Who decided on this anchorage? I might be misreading the pics but these boats look like they're designed to snuggle up in nice marina pens when not racing. From the pics this also looks like the least desirable place to 'drop a pick' imaginable. Was it only minimal (lght) racing ground tackle on board? The chain attached to the anchor is more important than the anchor.. chain is heavy.. heavy boats go slow.... This would indeed be poor seamanship given the selected location to overnight.

Was there a watch on board the boats? Surely on a shore like this. Especially with so many anchored together. Or were the calls of the mermaids toward the beach too tempting? One boat slips its anchor and its as predictable as dominoes. Needed to be crew on-board. May have been.

There can be unpredictable circumstances and this may well have been the case. If not I reckon the cat'o'nine tails will be working overtime.

Heard mention of a boat named 'Ichiban' on previous post. Does it look like it's 70 feet long and real fast?

[BillR]

I was out on a 30 meter cat yesterday morning and we had to turn back towards rawai because the waves were so bad, even for a large vessel.

[andrew55]

I was out on a 30 meter cat yesterday morning and we had to turn back towards rawai because the waves were so bad, even for a large vessel.

Obviously bad. Maybe my questions unfair.

[mikebike]

I was fortunate to crew on a class series placing yacht this year. We had been monitoring wind and weather and decided to anchor well off the beach prior to the opening of the regatta last Sunday and drop all our chain secured by rope to a buoy and our dinghy. Each evening we'd haul up the chain secure it THEN double brace the chain with heavy rope, cleating it both port and starboard. We didn't move at all all week including the storm. I congratulate my skipper and his attention to safety all week. It may have cost us a higher placing overall but safety first is always the correct choice at sea and anchorage.

[madmitch]

>>Late yesterday one of the boats was starting to get buried in the sand by the surf.

One single hull was half buried today, what a shame. Does a good insurance policy cover something like this, or is it an "act of God"?

These yachts should all be covered by insurance and it is almost certain, depending upon the individual policy wordings, that losses such as this will be covered.

"Acts of God" exclusions do not exist in current insurance terminology, despite popular belief. Individual perils such as flood, earthquake, windstorm may be excluded.

[stevenl]

>>Late yesterday one of the boats was starting to get buried in the sand by the surf.

One single hull was half buried today, what a shame. Does a good insurance policy cover something like this, or is it an "act of God"?

These yachts should all be covered by insurance and it is almost certain, depending upon the individual policy wordings, that losses such as this will be covered.

"Acts of God" exclusions do not exist in current insurance terminology, despite popular belief. Individual perils such as flood, earthquake, windstorm may be excluded.

But 'normal precautions' can be an exclusion. And judging from mikebike, normal precautions would have prevented this.

[madmitch]

These yachts should all be covered by insurance and it is almost certain, depending upon the individual policy wordings, that losses such as this will be covered.

"Acts of God" exclusions do not exist in current insurance terminology, despite popular belief. Individual perils such as flood, earthquake, windstorm may be excluded.

But 'normal precautions' can be an exclusion. And judging from mikebike, normal precautions would have prevented this.

Possibly, but it depends upon the policy wording. Could be an interesting one for the loss adjusters. A lot of marine insurance wordings are pretty standard so there will be precedents, I'm sure.

NB Marine insurance was never my field.