Capsize At Mavericks

A conversation among Whalers
Tacky79
Posts: 130
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 1:49 pm

Capsize At Mavericks

Postby Tacky79 » Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:55 am

[Two threads discussing the same short recording have been combined into a single thread.--jimh]

A video was posted of a 190 Montauk being overturned at the Mavericks surf spot (near Santa Cruz, California).

Looking at the captain as his boat overturns, makes me wonder why he wasn't looking towards the wave that was breaking towards him, why he wasn't quickly pushing the throttle forward. He seems to have got caught off guard. Just like the Jupiter video. A good lesson for us: don't get complacent!

LINK
2017 Boston Whaler Montauk 190 w/ 150 Merc/Fish Pkg/Bowrail delete/aft seating
1979 Boston Whaler Harpoon 5.2 sailboat with sails and a tiller :D

User avatar
Dutchman
Posts: 618
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:48 am
Location: Kalamazoo, MI (South Haven)
Contact:

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby Dutchman » Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:29 pm

Wow Tacky that is quite a video. I hope the skipper and his crew survived, we know the Montauk would.

That is a short video which seems to be taken from another boat. Any longer versions?

What was the final outcome did they salvage the Whaler?
EJO
"Clumsy Cleat"look up what it means
50th edition 2008 Montauk 150, w/60HP Mercury Bigfoot

steelhead55
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:46 pm

Capsize At Mavericks

Postby steelhead55 » Tue Feb 13, 2018 12:49 pm

This video [another posting of the same video showing a Boston Whaler being overturned or capsizing] was recorded at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay. Apparently this guy does this often. What I find amazing was no vest [PFD] for him or his passenger, a photographer. [Wave height] was [over] 20-feet that day.

User avatar
Dutchman
Posts: 618
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:48 am
Location: Kalamazoo, MI (South Haven)
Contact:

Meaning of "this guy does this often"

Postby Dutchman » Tue Feb 13, 2018 3:02 pm

What do you mean by "this guy does this often?" Flipping his boat, being thrown out of his boat, riding the waves.
EJO
"Clumsy Cleat"look up what it means
50th edition 2008 Montauk 150, w/60HP Mercury Bigfoot

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: meaning of "this guy does this often"; meaning of "capsize"; speculation about what happens after recording ended

Postby jimh » Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:12 pm

I interpreted "does this often" as meaning the boat operator often has operated his boat under similar conditions many times.

I don't think there was intent to say the boat operator often jumps out of his boat as it is rolled over in big waves.

I think the focus of the discussion is on the behavior of the boat, more than the historical past behavior of the boat operator.

Exactly what attitude the boat assumes in the moments following the end of the recording that is available is entirely speculative. Readers can speculate about what the boat does in the moments after the recording ends, but I don't think that is the focus of the discussion. I don't see that there is any point in such speculation, unless someone has a recording that shows what the boat does. The conflict between one person thinking the boat continues its roll and ends up inverted and another does not think that happens is impossible to resolve by watching the recording.

It seems sufficient to me to observe that the helmsman is thrown overboard. A more cogent question might be: was the helmsman wearing the safety lanyard?

Did the engine shut off?

I think if would be much better for the engine if it was NOT running if the engine becomes submerged. Engines that are submerged while running can suffer more damage than a non-running engine that is submerged.

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: helmsman not wearing personal floatation device

Postby jimh » Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:19 pm

Maybe the helmsman and photographer are wearing floatation jackets. On the other hand, I suspect none of the surfers swimming and surfing in these conditions are wearing Type-1 PFD devices.

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: identification of 190 MONTAUK

Postby jimh » Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:21 pm

How was the boat in the recording determined to be a 190 MONTAUK? Is there some visual evidence in the recording like a boat decal?

Jefecinco
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 6:35 pm
Location: Gulf Shores, AL

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby Jefecinco » Tue Feb 13, 2018 7:23 pm

The video is too short for me to definitely identify the boat as a 190 Montauk. I believe it certainly could be a 190 based upon the console and as much of the hull as was visible.
Butch

User avatar
f8f1
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 8:44 am
Location: Roseville CA

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby f8f1 » Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:13 pm

The boat is the "Get Wet Too" a 190 Montauk out of Pigeon Point Harbor Half Moon Bay CA.
John Handcock and Abalonee
18' 1986 Boston Whaler Outrage
150 ETEC
Clare Mary WDH3114
Class B AIS

CTJackC
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2018 12:22 am

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby CTJackC » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:12 pm

The entire video is worth watching but the capsize is around the 7 minute mark. For a Long Island Sound guy this is mind boggling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNehrcS_JZE

Jack

User avatar
Dutchman
Posts: 618
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:48 am
Location: Kalamazoo, MI (South Haven)
Contact:

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby Dutchman » Wed Feb 14, 2018 7:29 am

Okay so we know for sure now that the boat did capsize as the video shows it upside down and the skipper and crew were OK. The video is amazing that it shows all these surfers but none catching the waves that I could see going through it fast. The whaler caught a wave unfortunately. A lot of surfers were trying.
I read somewhere else that the boat ended up on the rocks being a loss.
EJO
"Clumsy Cleat"look up what it means
50th edition 2008 Montauk 150, w/60HP Mercury Bigfoot

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby jimh » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:22 am

CTJACK'--thanks for the link to the other recording of this event that clearly shows the 190 MONTAUK boat after it has capsized and is floating with its keel up. Once a Boston Whaler open deck boat hull inverts it becomes very stable in the inverted position. An inverted Boston Whaler hull spent 927 days drifting across the Atlantic Ocean. See CETACEA PAGE 76:

Crossing Oceans: The Atlantic
A Derelict Boston Whaler Crosses the Atlantic Ocean

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/cetaceaPage76.html

The above is a remarkable detailed and most interesting account, if I do say so myself.

I don't find anything particularly remarkable about the capsize. Any 19-foot moderate V-hull boat caught with a very large breaking wave on its beam is going to be rolled very hard. I don't know that Boston Whaler has ever published a chart of lateral stability or roll resistance for their hulls. But once the hull rolls to more than 90-degrees, I would not want to take bets on which direction it goes next, particularly when a breaking wave continues to push it over.

The drone recording shows two other (and apparently larger) boats operating in the same vicinity in relatively calm and stable water. I am guessing the 190 MONTAUK just got into a bad area with a big breaking wave on its beam. But even entering anywhere near that area would have to be done with the foreknowledge that the boat is going to be at risk for capsizing if it encounters a big wave with a unfavorable orientation.

Without an interview with the boat operator, it is difficult to know exactly what occurred. Perhaps the boat lost propulsion for a moment and could not maneuver out of the surf region.

CTJackC
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2018 12:22 am

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby CTJackC » Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:33 pm


User avatar
Phil T
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Was Maine. Temporarily Kentucky

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby Phil T » Wed Feb 14, 2018 7:15 pm

This video has been discussed on several discussion sites.

What is remarkable is the operator is stern-to the waves. Add to that the operator is not paying attention to the swells behind him and most distressing, no PFD. Time to go back to the boaters safety class.

I hope they both have learned their lesson.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby jimh » Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:10 pm

CTJackC wrote:Additional details in the link:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/boat-capsized- ... jet-skiers

Jack


Thanks for the pointer to that information. I found I had to watch the recording of the newscast to make any sense of the text. The text of the article seemed like it was a closed-captioning of the recording, and it made little sense just reading it. Only by watching the video could I figure out who was talking and what they were talking about.

The harbormaster mentioned "no place for beginners." That makes me wonder what was the basis for the earlier inference that "this guy apparently does this often."

When I first read that I thought it said "this guy [the boater] apparently does this [operates his boat in this area] often." Now I am wondering if the actual intended meaning was "this guy [ a photographer who made the recording of the capsize] does this [makes recordings at this location] often."

The two interpretations are completely different.

If the harbormaster's comment in the news presentation is appropriate, then apparently "this guy" [the boater] did not visit this area "often" and might have been unfamiliar with the wave effects.

Or, maybe, because it was a Boston Whaler boat, he thought he'd be immune to capsize. You can get a bit carried away--to make a pun--with the notion of being "Unsinkable." Maybe you could say the Whaler owner went a bit overboard with his expectation of lateral stability in big waves.

CTJackC
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2018 12:22 am

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby CTJackC » Mon Feb 26, 2018 7:42 pm

Fast look at the boat recovery. It is NOT pretty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB2QPVqR8PI

dtmackey
Posts: 760
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:29 pm

Re: Capsize At Mavericks

Postby dtmackey » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:54 pm

Boat doesn't stand a chance going on the rocks like that. I watched a 17 Montauk get demolished on the rocks in a hurricane years ago; the owner could not get it out of the water in the days leading up to the storm. Mooring dragged onto the rocks, boat turtle, and was broken up into pieces. Quite sad.

D-