BajaNomad

Capsized boat at the golden reef

pangamadness - 7-1-2006 at 10:53 PM

Just heard that a catamaran style boat left Puertoceitos and was headed to the golden reef and capsized near the reef. The person had a eperb and that saved their life. Coast Guard got word to someone at Gonzaga bay and someone went out and looked for the boat. Found everyone holding on to the capsized boat which was atached to the anchor and was holding them near the Golden reef.

Who has more info on this incident. Anyone care to comment on catamaran boats in the sea of Cortez. This happened before and everyone died. I know at least two catamaran boats have capsized at anchor in the East Cape.

I will be sticking with my panga.

bajajudy - 7-2-2006 at 06:54 AM

WOW
I am having a hard time imagining the conditions where a cat would capsize at anchor. Normally a boat will swing into the weather thereby protecting it from flipping. Maybe they had a stern anchor out...any more details?

Bruce R Leech - 7-2-2006 at 07:03 AM

usually the conditions where a cat would capsize at anchor are more from wave activity than wind. mostly form people anchoring to close to the beach .:O

lots can go wrong while on the hook,

pacificobob - 7-2-2006 at 02:05 PM

here in alaska the huge tides (as much as 40') can raise hell while anchored. but wow, a cat turning turtle while anchored? must be more to the story

turtleandtoad - 7-2-2006 at 03:11 PM

If the anchor is placed improperly, and the wind changes direction a couple of times, the anchor line can end up across the opposite hull and actually pull the cat over. That's just one reason you should always have a designated "anchor watch" to check things out frequently.

Flipped boat

Cypress - 7-3-2006 at 11:13 AM

Turtleandtoad has got the picture. If the anchor line is across the boat and hung up on whatever, when the slack comes out of it. Look out!

cat capsizing

bajadreamer - 7-8-2006 at 10:13 AM

I have seen several of catamaran style boats go turtle while at anchor at the East Cape. Typically it happens when the wind is from the north and the swell is from the south. The cats will lie facing the wind and catch the swell on their beam. Because of the exaggerated roll a cat developes when catching the swell on their beam, they start to dip the gunwale under the water with each swell. When they get a little water (weight) in the bilge, it exaggerates the roll and becomes self aggravating. Eventually the bilge drains the battery and over the boat goes. Certainly being in too close to the beach will make it worse, but I have seen them go over in 175 feet of water. Monohulls will do the same thing, but they don't have the exaggerated "snap roll" with a beam sea that the cats do.

I have never been to the Golden Reef in a big swell. Does it break out there?

Glad everyone is all right. That could have been a long way from help.

Jim

Talked with the owner --to get the straight scoop.

beercan - 8-5-2006 at 11:06 AM

I've known Jim since 1978 , but was unable to track him down till now.

he said his son or son-in-law was driving and they were about 2-3 miles from the reef when seas and wind came up and apparentley the driver stopped and a large wave/swell broadsided them . Over they went . The Epirb saved them , with the Coast Guard calling their home in Yuma .
The CG notified Mexico and a helio spotted them almost 8 hours later-- a friend from Punta Bufeo, went and picked them up. Boat total loss !!!

Bruce R Leech - 8-5-2006 at 07:39 PM

Love those Cats.:lol: not really only monos for me

JZ - 8-5-2006 at 09:14 PM

Wow. Any details on how bad the wind/waves were? It's suprising that they were big enought to flip the boat, given that another boat could make it out to them. I can't image the resue boat was that big based on the location.

The seas ,I believe were about 6'---

beercan - 8-5-2006 at 10:13 PM

We were out several times in June and ran into 6+ stuff and even in my 24' center , it was rough rides !!

Tim, the fellow who picked them up had a 19' Gregor the last time I fished with him .

We have seen 0 to 8 ' seas out there in the matter of an hour!!

JZ - 8-5-2006 at 11:56 PM

"We have seen 0 to 8 ' seas out there in the matter of an hour!!"

I take it that is partically due to the big tide swings and associated currents? We don't see anything like that in San Carlos on the mainland.

oxxo - 8-6-2006 at 07:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by beercan

We have seen 0 to 8 ' seas out there in the matter of an hour!!


There are two factors that come into play. One is the height of the waves or swells and the other is the time period measured in seconds between crests. 8' seas will not be a problem for even small boats if the period of the wave/swell heights is long. 8' seas at 20 second intervals like you might find on the open ocean is a pleasant ride. However, we are talking about the SOC here which is a relatively confined body of water.

My personal rule of thumb is that when the period begins to be equal to or be less than the wave height.....then hang on. For example if 8' waves occur at 8 second intervals.

It is possible to flip a catamaran if wave height and interval are equal and the wave height is of sufficient size and taken broadside. The downwind ama may dig into the water and submerge without sufficient buoyancy thereby cartwheeling the upwind ama. This can also happen by pitchpoling when the bow digs into a wave trough and the stern cartwheels over the top. Catamarans are even more susceptible to this than mono hulls. I can see both of these scenarios happening to a catamaran specifically on the SOC.

JZ - 8-6-2006 at 07:45 AM

This is the SOC, not the pacific, the period is always short, with a few exceptions.

elgatoloco - 8-6-2006 at 11:53 AM

What was the size of the catamaran that flipped?

oxxo - 8-6-2006 at 12:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by beercan
I've known Jim since 1978 , but was unable to track him down till now.

he said his son or son-in-law was driving and they were about 2-3 miles from the reef when seas and wind came up and apparentley the driver stopped and a large wave/swell broadsided them .


Beercan, was this a power catamaran or sailing catamaran? What was the length and how many people were aboard?

Also, a question about the cats that flipped at anchor at the East Cape. Were they sailing cats and what size were they?

Thanks

bufeo - 8-6-2006 at 12:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by beercan
...Tim, the fellow who picked them up had a 19' Gregor the last time I fished with him ...


Good on Timmy. Might know he'd be down there this time of year. I believe his present boat is a 20+ Bayrunner, although I'm not certain. I just know it's bigger than my 19'.

Cypress - 8-6-2006 at 02:18 PM

Six foot seas? Jeez! Have been there a time or two, crawling south thru the Gulf of Mexico heading for the rigs off the mouth of the MS River in a smaller boat than the Cat. that flipped. Somebody did something dumb. Good thing they got rescued.

Cats going turtle at East Cape

bajadreamer - 8-9-2006 at 08:18 PM

The cats that went over at East Cape were power cats. I think they were in the 22-24' range. One of them that I remember about 5 years ago was in the water only about 1-2 days-brand new! Ouch!

Jim

jerry - 8-9-2006 at 08:41 PM

so its a power cat insted of a sailor?? wow were ppl miss lead or should i say just way off in there insinuating?? oh well makes reading :bounce::bounce::bounce:

australian fisher - 11-19-2006 at 09:28 AM

hi guys, we love our cats here..but there are good and bad ones

i think its hard to get a stable cat that's skinny enough to go onto a trailer,
that and the new full planing hull, is the problem as i see it

a couple of aussie topics

http://www.sportsfish.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30334

http://www.ausfish.com.au/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1140214042/0



[Edited on 11-20-2006 by australian fisher]