Yesterday, November 21 2023, Tim Jonze — associate editor of Guardian Culture —published in The Guardian an article entitled: “My boat sank in the dead of night – and I had to save my seven-year-old son” (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/21/how-we-survive-my-boat-sank-in-the-dead-of-night). On a first approach it seemed a heroic story of survival in which sheer physical endurance —and lots of luck— were able to overcome blunt errors in safety and seamanship. It is the story of a fishing trip of two adults and a seven-year old boy in an unspecified fishing boat, nine miles off Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia. The plan was for an overnight trip “so that they could wake up at daybreak and fish – the perfect time to catch snapper”. After “en enjoyable afternoon” the boy and one of the adults “hit the sack” in “the boat half-cabin area” while the other adult “dropped anchor” and went to sleep too. No watch was established because they were “feeling tired […] and they agreed it would be fine” since one of them “was a light sleeper anyway”. No lifejackets were put on for “it would have been too uncomfortable to sleep”. The article does not make mention to an EPIRB, a GPS or even a hand-operated bilge pump. Also no further details are provided about the drop of the anchor, the kind and size of the anchor, the nature or length of the rode, the depth at the spot, the length of the paid scope and the maneuver performed to secure the anchor to the bottom. As for the kind of boat, no details are provided either and one can only surmise it was likely a small fishing boat similar to the one on the pictures that accompany the article (a Stessco Sunseeker 620 — was that the actual boat that sunk?). They had a VHF radio (or was it a cellphone?) and they did call the coast guard before going under, though they were unable to report their exact position (no GPS?). Here is the video of the actual radio communications received at headquarters of Coast Guard Mooloolaba: https://www.facebook.com/coastguardmooloolabaQF6/videos/boat-sinking-at-caloundra-9-mile-3-pob-rescue-2019-06-09/2378719539039515/. Once in the water, with no lifejackets, they were able to hang to two plastic buckets, which allowed them enough buoyancy to keep afloat during more than seven hours, until they were eventually found and rescued.
However, the real nautical conundrum not addressed by the article is what did actually happen for the boat to have taken in water and sunk so quickly. All that the article says is that “the anchor rope had wound itself around the boat’s propeller and started to pull the vessel down.” Under which conditions can an anchor and rode pull a vessel down? Caloundra is in the Sunshine Coast, some 100 Km north of Brisbane and they were 9 miles (14 Km) east of Caloundra in the Coral Sea. This brings their position close to the compass rose in this nautical chart: https://camtas.com.au/products/qld-boating-fishing-camtas-marine-safety-chart-cleveland-to-mooloolaba-moreton-bay-mc530, hence in a depth of about 40 meters. Could the boat have had an anchor rode long enough (about 160 to 280 meters) to allow for a 4:1 to 7:1 scope at such a spot? If this had been the case, the rode would have been at an angle to the bottom and even it if the anchor had been caught in the bottom, save for humongous waves, it would have been unlikely for it to have “pulled the vessel down”. On the other hand, If the rode had been long enough just to reach the bottom (i.e., with a scope of one) the rode would have been nearly vertical, and if the anchor had dragged in the bottom it could have caught in a rock or coral head; then, the boat pitching and swinging in the waves may have caused the rode to tangle in the propeller thus shortening its scope further, and the waves could have drawn the boat under. However, another possible and perhaps more likely scenario is that the rode was much shorter and the anchor was left to dangle freely below the hull. Perhaps the idea was to leave the boat adrift while ensuring that the anchor would catch if the vessel would drift towards shore. The dangling rode may have then caught in the propeller bringing the anchor up and the flukes in contact to the hull, thus opening a hole in it below the waterline. A third possibility though less probable it is that for the rode to have been caught and pulled down by a very large fish or whale passing under the boat. Either way, the accident seems to have been more likely caused by an incorrect anchoring technique as well as poor seamanship and safety fitting of the boat. These fishermen were very lucky to have come out alive.
The article indicates that they “have a new boat now” and that they have “been out overnight again”. One can only hope that they have figured out what actually caused the accident, and that their new boat is now better safety equipped.
The Wakes I Leave... 