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I was going to write about the great raft-up we had this weekend. 13 boats, 8 of which were sailboats, including both of mine. I brought the W25 out (sorry guys, the Watkins is a better cruising boat) and a friend brought my C25, Island Time. I trust the friend, he has a Irwin 30, but because of where we were going, he couldn't get Irwin there so I offered my C25. But, due to today's events, I had to change the focus of my post.
I know many of the northern owners are either hauling out or already hauled their boats out, but I found a new way...a draw-bridge. As my buddy was passing under the bridge, the tender decided to close the bridge, then realizing his mistake, re-opened the bridge. Island Time was third in a string of three sailboats, the tender was told there was THREE boats, but counted two and started to close. Here is the result (this picture is not photo-shopped and is of my boat):
No one was hurt, my buddy and his girlfriend were able to get off the boat before the rigging broke and the boat dropped. Had to drop the mast to get it home, didn't see any obvious hull damage, but will get a surveyor to make sure. The mast is bent, the front stay, back stay, and uppers all parted. Only the lowers remained in tact and kept the mast from crashing.
The tender admitted he was at fault. The bridge is owned by a local subdivision, and they already let me know they will take care of my boat, ,but...the lawyers aren't involved yet.
Other than that, it was a great weekend and will post a shot of the raft-up when I get one.
If there was ever any doubt about how tough our boats are, that picture says it all. Dangling from it's mast? That's stunning! Even if the rigging did finally part.
Glad no one was hurt & they're taking responsibility for the accident. Did your friends have to jump into the water to escape?
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by delliottg</i> <br /> Glad no one was hurt & they're taking responsibility for the accident. Did your friends have to jump into the water to escape? <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> They jumped off onto the bridge fenders, they were able to stay dry.
So the outboard seized before reconnecting with the fluid which it was intended to operate? I see smoke in the back, a little darker than gray two stroke mist, and I can imagine the last setting was 11 of 10!
Wow, lucky they didn't get killed. Even if you evacuate to the adjacent fenders, I could imagine the spreader coming down on top of you, or the rigging causing some unspeakable injuries, unless you can get well away from the bridge.
I am looking at the bridgehouse for the operator of the bridge... all I can say is, how'd he miss that rig coming his way? 2, 3 or otherwise. Everyone makes mistakes and all, but that's a doosy.
I have seen expert opinions that a sailboat's rig <u>should</u> be strong enough so that you should be able, theoretically, to lift it up by a crane attached to the masthead. I've just never seen it actually done before!
Optical illusion?... I don't seem to be able to put it together... it seems that the top of the mast is hung-up on the bridge at a different point as compared to the last photo's?
Dave, not sure why they didn't lower the bridge and let it float, I wasn't there and was two disgusted (not really that upset or pissed, just didn't want to talk to him) to ask the tender.
Henk, you're right, they don't look the same, must be a result of the different angles. The first one is from the north side and at a slight angle. The second pic is from the south side. The mast was hung on the south side of the bridge. No one told me that it moved till it fell.
Some one sent a shot to Central Florida 13's website. That witness said it hung for only 20 minutes, the guys at bridge said close to an hour, truth is probably somewhere in-betwen. Don't think the time matters except they waited too long to lower it because it dropped!
Ray...all great names, but I think I like "Pre-stretched" the best... or maybe "Hang Time" vice "Island Time"
Henk, talked to one of the guys there, that bridge has two sections per side, the north one was slightly lower than the south side, hence the "optical illusion".
I'm guessing he left her up there for fear of causing more trouble by lowering her, was waiting for a higher authority to tell him what to do, and "higher authority" was on break (or driving over). If he lowered her right away, a current could have made things even dicier with the mast-head still connected to the bridge. The auto traffic in the area was probably anxious for a conclusion...
You know that is pretty amazing - right about now the engineers who built the bridge are looking at those photos commenting on how cool it is that their bridge could lift that much extra weight...
Here's the promised raft-up shot. We had 13 boats, 5 stinkers and 8 sailboats. It was a nice night and a great time. We had a 41 Morgan, 30 O'Day, 30 Watkins, two 25 Watkins, C25 (Island Time), and not pictured, a 27 Hunter and a 23 Hunter. Now, if we would haved all just stayed there...
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.