Unsinkable Can Be Valuable

[jimh]

On Friday, June 19, 2020 a 30 or 32-foot sank in Grand Traverse Bay. There were ten people aboard. All were rescued by a good samaritan boat that came near to the sinking boat. The good samaritan boat positioned itself stern-to-stern with the sinking boat. The good samaritan boat had a large stern platform, and some people were helped from the water onto the platform. Water temperature at this time of year can be very cold, perhaps only 50-degrees or lower.

According to a newspaper report, the sinking boat put out a distress call, presumably by voice on Channel 16. According to one person who apparently heard the call, the sinking boat indicated they were "by Power Island," the largest island in Grand Traverse Bay and not too far from Traverse City.

The Coast Guard sent a helicopter with rescue swimmer to assist. The helicopter then stood off and recorded the next eight minutes or so of the incident. The recording (in rather low resolution) has been posted by the Coast Guard at

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/756873/c ... verse-city?

The recording shows several adult men needing very significant assistance to get out of the water and onto the stern platform of the good samaritan boat, possibly due to onset of hypothermia. The recording also shows another boat standing by in close proximity to the sinking boat.

The newspaper account states the water depth where the boat sank as 145-feet. An observer speculates that recovery of the sunken boat will be mandatory and expensive. The NOAA chart shows that water depths "by Power Island" could be as great as 380-feet, or only around 30-feet. The USCG announcement mentions 250-feet.

Every time I read about an incident like this, I remind myself that a Boston Whaler boat is not going to sink.

[Don SSDD]

Thanks for that Jim, very interesting to see how difficult it is to rescue people out of the water, even with a large swim platform, in daylight hours, and in a fairly calm sea.

People who choose not to wear a life jacket and think they can put it on in the water need to practice that in the water. It is very hard to do. On my whaler, I always wear a life jacket and when traveling insist everyone wears one.

The people rescued were very lucky to have rescuers close by.

[Jefecinco]

The rescue swimmer deserves a lot of recognition. Without him or her the outcome could have been quite different. The woman in white was tireless in helping people out of the water. The woman in the yellow bikini was a true heroine entering the water and remaining there while helping victims board the rescue boat.

It was scary watching the rescue swimmer trying, with help, to get the elderly gentleman off the platform so others could be brought aboard. Hypothermia seemed to affect the older people more severely. That is a warning to those of us over seventy. We need to be more cautious in everything we do and remember our bodies are no longer able to withstand the stresses we used to deal with unthinkingly.

[Rascal]

Thanks for sharing Jim. It was also a scary reminder that larger boats do not have level flotation requirements like boats less than 20 feet. Even though the boat was still floating, it got to a point where staying onboard was no longer possible due to the bow up angle. I wish the video showed the point when the boat sank.

[Phil T]

I would postulate the gentleman's frail condition was more to do with his slender frame and cold water temperature exposure rather than age.

He appears to be suffering mild hypothermia. He can barely stand.

It is also worth noting the swim ladder shown is not especially ergonomic when mounted on a large stern platform.