What follows was written by our friend Bob Stephens of the yacht design firm Stephens Waring of Belfast, ME. It’s been posted on the firm’s web page, but the lessons learned are so important that we wanted to share it more widely. Thankfully, Bob (who had designed the subject yacht) agreed to our reposting it here on OffCenterHarbor.com.
Preview: A Rock And a Hard Place: Lessons Learned in Going Aground in HOI AN—a guest post by Bob Stephens
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Cleve Fair says:
Enjoyed this report and as said before, it’s honesty. It reminded me of a similar incident in my own boat, the J-35, “Man O’ War” during Key West Race Week back in the ’80’s. We were returning from the race course, inshore a little from the rest of the fleet but well off the reef area. We stuck an underwater obstruction, the boat pitched forward and the continued on. But I knew there had to be damage. I pressed the ‘man overboard key’ on the GPS to mark the location so we could potentially identify the obstruction. We were moored in the old Navy submarine pen (where I trained as a combat swimmer when In the Marine Corps). The Navy personnel had strong interest in our collision location. They believe it was an uncharted sunken boat from a recent hurricane. I dove in the harbor to inspect the keel. A dent in the lead keel about 6″ above the lower leading edge. Visible damage inside the boat indicated the keel had pushed up the keel box at the aft end. We completed the regatta and sailed the boat to Ross Marine in Clearwater. Repair costs were over $20,000. The was stiff and fast as ever after repair. As an experienced navigator and instructor of navigation, this was nonetheless an embarrassing experience!
Andy McCann says:
Well done! A nice forthright description of the incident, and a terrific analysis of the construction/repair. She’s a beauty, thank you for sharing.
Mike Hamburg says:
I like the responsibility of the persons that take the cake. the pictures tell all Thankto all that fixed that
David Tew says:
An admirably honest report. I came across Hoi Ann under repair in the shop shown. No one was eager to relay what had happened (understandably) but the acknowledgment here is a good read.
David Braun says:
Great views of the repair process.
Jim Heumann says:
Thank you. This is a great reminder not to get complacent, even in local waters.