yacht collision off Cowes

[Keith Tindell]

the trial has begun today of the naval officer/yachtsman who went across the bows of an inbound tanker in the solent 20011, captured on film as i am sure we have all seen. Should be interesting to find out what evidence he uses to support his "not guilty" plea. The evidence submitted today was at no time did he engage his engine, just the start of the fun, KT

[j.sabourn]

Don't know anything about this case only a smattering of what happened , on here. However have found in latter time at sea everyone relied on VHF as regards any action taken re. Rule of the Road. in the 50s and 60's you had to be I suppose on a better class of vessel to have such as VHF. Everyone obeyed the Rule of the Road. Before I retired I would trust no vessel I encountered to do so, and did alter course to give such vessels a wide berth. The seamanship of today regarding such is dependant on the likes of VHF even in the middle of the ocean. The likes of a naval officer sailing a yacht in his home waters, I cant see any excuse for, as he should have been aware of the local Laws at least. Perhaps he grew up at the wrong time. It is no good nowadays of expecting a vessel to obey the rules as many don't, probably through ignorance, and one has to look for probable alternatives to use in the case happening. A post Brian put out about the unmanned bridge of a ship in the North Sea, was not a one off case as have also seen this happen more than once. Cheers John Sabourn

[Keith Tindell]

Hi John, if you have not seen this incident, here it is at it happened off of Cowes Isle of Wight, a real buttock clencher, regards KT



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tUoUxzt9sI

[Ivan Cloherty]

Well only someone bent on suicide would attempt that, we've discussed this same incident before, naval officer! could mean anything or nothing, I know dustmen who have boats with better understanding of what big ships can and cannot do in a fairway, rules of the road don't come into it; local byelaws usually state that sailing vessels shall as far as practicable keep clear of the fairway and not impede the progress of larger vessels going about their lawful business.

[robpage]

Yacht Skipper On Trial Over Cowes Week Crash

9th October 2013, 12:31

Roland Wilson A Royal Navy lieutenant crashed his racing yacht into an oil tanker in the Solent after sailing "perilously close'' to the 120,000-ton vessel despite having seen it from five miles away, a court has heard.Roland Wilson, 32, from Stanley in Perthshire, is alleged to have been negligent after his boat, Atalanta of Chester, was involved in the collision which took place on the first day of the Cowes Week racing regatta in August 2011.Footage of the incident, in which one crew member suffered head injuries and another abandoned ship, has been posted on YouTube.Wilson, who was a serving RN officer at the time of the accident but who is now an RN reservist, denies three counts of contravening maritime regulations at the trial being held at Southampton Magistrates' Court.

Charles Row, prosecuting, described how Wilson, who owned and skippered the 33ft racing yacht, which had a crew of eight, into the path of the 260m-long (853ft), 42m-wide (138ft) Hanne Knutsen tanker despite having seen it from about five miles away.He said: "The sea was calm, visibility was excellent, in excess of 10 miles (16km), with 10 to 12 knots of wind."Unfortunately, despite these favourable conditions, the Atalanta was towards the back of the race, nevertheless she was making seven knots.''.Mr Row said that Wilson failed to comply with local shipping by-laws which required him to maintain a moving prohibited zone (MPZ) of 1,000m (0.6 miles) in front and 100m (328ft) either side of a vessel greater than 150m (492ft).He described how the situation became more complicated by a small motor vessel called Joy C which suffered engine failure just to the starboard of the Hanne Knutsen, which was heading to Fawley oil refinery.

The Hanne Knutsen had initially sounded its horn to indicate a starboard turn which it then abandoned when its pilots spotted the Joy C's plight.The tanker then sounded its horn again to indicate it was actually going to make a port turn.It was shortly after this that the accident happened.Mr Row said that even though the Hanne Knutsen started to change its course, the Atalanta should not have been in such a close position to the tanker.He said that Wilson failed to turn on the Atalanta's engines to power away from the tanker in order to avoid the collision.He said that such action was permitted under the race rules and would not have led to disqualification.Mr Row said: "She was still attempting to manoeuvre under sail power alone."She too had stopped in the water with her sails flapping, they found themselves in the wind shadow of the Hanne Knutsen.

"One of the crew took the decision to abandon ship approximately five or six seconds before the collision."He passed down the starboard side of the Hanne Knutsen."Having abandoned ship he was picked up by a spectator vessel."The Atalanta mast struck the bow of the Hanne Knutsen and was pivoted round to the port."She was dismasted and one of her crew suffered head injuries which required hospital treatment."Mercifully there was no other injury as a result of what happened.''Mr Row continued: "The Atalanta was passing perilously close even assuming that nothing went wrong, (it was) banking on the Hanne Knutsen turning at a certain rate at a certain point but something did go wrong."The Joy C found itself at great peril in front of the tanker, this caused the Hanne Knutsen to delay its turn.

"The Atalanta was in the MPZ having sailed hard."We say the MPZ is there for a reason, it's there to allow for a margin of error, it's a safety zone."The Atalanta had not turned on its engine so didn't have the power to manoeuvre when it did lose its wind and it ended up stalling.''District Judge Anthony Calloway, who is hearing the trial, was shown what Mr Row described as the "infamous YouTube footage''.The footage shows the Atalanta, which had a bright pink sail, cross the path of Hanne Knutsen and crash into its side, knocking its mast off.Screams can be heard from spectators who saw the incident happen.Mr Row stated that Wilson said in interview he had no formal sailing qualification but had been racing for eight years.He said that Wilson knew and understood the sailing regulations and admitted that he was "obliged to keep out of the way'' of the tanker.

Mr Row said that the tanker's horn blast indicating its starboard turn, which was then countermanded to a port turn, had lead to the collision.He said: "This led them to believe it was going to turn to starboard and it seems they relied on that.''He added that Wilson claimed: "It was only that manoeuvre of heading to port that placed the Atalanta in the MPZ.''Mr Row added that Wilson blamed the pilots for the accident because of the "confusing'' horn blasts.


There we are the Man with the Horn did it

[j.sabourn]

Did he who abandoned ship face a court martial, or was he not a Naval Hoccifer. John Sabourn .P.S. depending on the interval between the whistle blasts, perhaps he could claim he thought he heard 3 blasts and that the ship was going astern. J,S,

[cappy]

mind john I think I might have jumped over the wall myself ......tha try to stop the big effer with a 38 ft sailboat

[Keith Tindell]

One guy did abandon ship, just before the collision , apparently he travelled down the starboard side of the tanker, the other 7 guys stayed with the yacht, apparently one head injury between the rest of the crew, couldn`t have been the skipper, he had nothing there to damage!! KT

[j.sabourn]

#7 You would of at least taken the ships cat with you cappy. Hope he took his passport with him might of had trouble getting back into Portsmouth is a Naval Base you know. All the booze now finished is a long way to come back to get restocked. Cheers John Sabourn

[cappy]

yes john being the hero I am I would certainly gone below and searched for the ships cat ......not knowing it was at the wheel by the look of that mess.....sorry the booze has run out .....will send a case by courier ...so don't go out for 6 days till it arrives regards cappy