A Terrible Sailing Accident - SV Platino

[@SuperSventizeMe]

Critical for a preventer: run the line from the end of the boom to the bow, not to the tow rail further back. You want the maximum mechanical advantage, which you get when the preventer is a close as possible to 90 degrees off of the deployed boom centerline. Anything less and you increase the dynamic loads transmitted through preventer line into the deck hardware, increasing the chance of a mechanical failure.

[@christopherharry5818]

2 men were killed. One by the boom and one overboard. I met the boatbuild in NZ who was lost overboard and we were making the same passage a few days ahead. This was a horrific tale. We lead our preventor to the cockpit and rig it on a winch so it can be released quickly. We also keep watch in the cockpit at all times. I don't understand why when the hydrolic autopilot failed someone in the cockpit did not hand steer. I am sailing a 67 footer from St. Martin to Euorpe next spring. This is a good reminder of how big the forces on a large boat can be.

[@JheregJAB]

From another video, I was able to understand that the failure of the hydraulic autopilot was such that it required a bypass to be activated in order to hand steer. The wrecking ball of a traveler had already destroyed the binnacle and wheel, also destroying the electronic controls for the autopilot and the wheel itself.

[@christopherharry5818]

@@JheregJAB Maybe. I am only going from memory and that was from eight or nine years ago. I thought that boat had duel wheels. And most hydrolic autopilots require power to close the valves off to run the autopilot. A failure and or a power shut off should have made the helm completly released. That was a performance boat so it is possible it had hydrolic steering, but I would not bet on it. Still, power off should have been fail safe return to manual steering. In the fog an emergency at sea, a lot of simple things usually go wrong to add up to a major catastrophe.

[@malchugan2469]

Is it possible to overpower the hydraulic autohelm holding the helm fast? Thanks

[@christopherharry5818]

@@malchugan2469 Short answer no. Autopilot must be de-energized to open the valves to the hydrolic ram.

[@gregdamario5808]

@@christopherharry5818 Sorry Christo etc. Probably shouldn't be answering to you. However, for the rest of any dangerous sailors: Heysus H Christos. Drop the fornicating mainsail and proceed on a reduced jib or even storm sail. DO IT EARLY. So you lose some speed if the wind is not large, but you sail safely. So what? The boat arrives no one dies and the boat shows up safely at port. Not much of a KZbin but everyone goes home to their loved ones. Idiots. Bottom line, the wind overwhelmed the sail plan. Reduce the confusticated sail area! Were you racing? No, so what's the GD hurry? I'm not sympathetic to the captaincy. Very, very sad for the crewman swept overboard. He died scared, alone and without hope that the idiots on the sailboat would rescue him, which they did not. Not the least bit sympathetic to the people who were in charge. You killed a man because you were unsafe and stupid.

[@andgian]

I have a 62ft sailboat with inboom furling and have lived a similar situation. 8hrs at 40+ knots with big waves. The problem with in-boom is that you cannot reef or take down the sail in such situation, so had full mainsail. I would have never trusted the autopilot in such conditions and hand-steered the whole time. It was intense. As a rule I also never use the autopilot at deep angles for the risk of jibing. This experience was so bad that I right after replaced the boom with a normal one, with reefs and all.

[@barryonthefly]

I didn’t know you could not reef a boom furling main. Why?

[@andgian]

Furling a big sail in the boom is like trying to roll back toilette paper once it has unrolled. You need to get the alignment right or it won't work. Since the leading edge of the mainsail is fixed to the mast, either you get the alignment perfect or you will tear the sail. This requires holding the boom still in a certain position which creates the right angle between boom and mast. As soon as there is even a little bit of sea, say 1.5 meters, this becomes impossible unless you can find shelter, as the boom will be moving massively side to side making the procedure impossible. Also, while these booms are carbon and mine was as well, with carbon sail, they are extremely heavy (2-3 times a winged mast of the same material) and having them swing and pump on big waves, even with the sheet tight, is extremely hazardous. Finally, reefing is generally not recommended also because the reef is held by a friction system that prevents the drum from spinning which breaks very easily, and if that breaks the sail won't furl. In-boom is a big hazard if you do anything else than near-shore sailing, I did a specific refit to get rid of it and I'm the happiest now. Finally, since the clue is held on a block fixed on the drum, which is relatively thin, it has happened to me that the rail broke and came off, meaning that the sail had a mace and was flapping, in a similar fashion as what was told in the video, although fortunately this happened in calm conditions (human error as it was too much pull on the vang) and only caused a bunch of holes in the sail.

[@JP-lz3vk]

"The problem with in-boom is that you cannot reef or take down the sail in such situation, so had full mainsail." And there's the flaw.

[@HenryL161947]

agree with your assessment and actions

[@KevinHollins-i6z]

@@JP-lz3vk sounds ridicules to me so when the wind builds you can’t reef and the boats unbalanced then the pilot can’t cope what on earth is wrong with that system geez who knows

[@stonegatherers]

I sailed this boat twice to Fiji and round NZ with the original owner. This article fails to mention during the refit they changed the main sheet from being through a captive winch is going to the arch you can see in the old photo. The traveller tore out of the deck. The boat has had a refit and is sailing again with the mainsheet back on this arch. She's a wonderful boat

[@coutchtomato]

She is currently making her way back through the Pacific and eventually to the USA!!

[@bojangles8837]

What happens if we lead the preventer to a mid-ship cleat, block, or pad eye, and, in fact, the Platino tragedy was partially due to doing just that. A proper preventer is rigged only one way: from the boom end to as far forward as you can get it on the bow and then back to a winch in the cockpit. It is all about physics; for example, a proper preventer would be about 1200 pounds (540 kg) against some 7,000 pounds (3300 kg) or more on an amidships attached alternative! Of course, on a smaller boat, the loads will be lower, but the strength of the gear will be lower, too, so the dangers will remain. I have seen numerous booms broken from preventers set from mid-boom to mid-rail

[@cjg6364]

I beg to differ on the "qualified crew" assertions. If you're operating in 35-40 knot winds, you should not be running via auto pilot and you should have sail area reduced to the extent that an accidental jibe will not destroy the rigging. With inexperienced, low skilled captains and crew aboard "push button" yachts, the likelihood of major system failure skyrockets in high wind conditions because the push buttons serve to insulate the operators from the reality of the stresses that are involved. When hands are turning a large winch instead of electric or hydraulic motors, the forces involved and consequences of losing control of those forces become front and center - they can't be ignored or underestimated. This is why the larger the vessel, the more strict and stringent are the qualification requirements for licensing the operators/crew and the more strict the adherence to operational protocol. Qualified, experienced people know that you can't rely solely on auto pilots, instrumentation, and automated systems to maintain control of a vessel in harsh conditions. Harsh conditions require constant, vigilant oversight and hands-on control. They require prudent planning and continual adjustments to suit conditions - keeping the loads on equipment well within specified design criteria. Multiple high force jibes in rapid succession screams total loss of control and no sailing vessel can withstand a situation with too much sail out in high winds with uncontrolled jibes. Catastrophic failures are almost always a result of multiple layers of human error. From the details of this case, it appears to be a textbook example of multiple stages of human error compounded on one another.

[@MichaelBeeckman]

I agree. In those weather conditions with 3-4 m waves running up on you one should not be on autopilot. An autopilot can not anticipate the kick a running up wave gives to the stern, and can only react with a delay that results in oversteering. At some point it must go wrong, either by autopilot failure or worse, accidental jibing. There is nothing wrong with having an adequately reefed main sail and preventer when running downwind, but so many people rely too much on the preventer. If backed in strong enough winds, it will snap and the boom will come across. A skilled helmsman is key in these situations. And you need more than one helmsman to run shifts, because helming in those conditions requires skill, concentration and is tiring.

[@cjg6364]

@@PaulBKal I'm only going by what the video above said - "35-40 knot winds" and "2 meter waves". Whatever the wind and gusts were, I suspect they were significantly higher than 15 knots - otherwise the mast and rigging would still be standing. Get a clue.😅

[@topherdean1024]

@@PaulBKal Practical sailor just said in this video, that the winds increased from 20 to 30 and then gusting to 48 knots before the preventor snapped. Watch the video.

[@byterbit6236]

Very well said, and the essence of the issue I think: "...you should have sail area reduced to the extent that an accidental jibe will not destroy the rigging". I've seen preventers fail.

[@maxflight777]

@cjg 🎯🎯🎯

[@SailingAquarius]

This is why I like a ketch... Smaller sails, and easier to get control in bad situations.

[@spiritofziana7405]

There is a common theme among many of the incidents we were having in the last 2 decades. The boat was on autopilot. I learned, and this was many years ago, that in inclement weather and especially downwind, boats should be hand-steered, even if that is often tough on the crew. Autopilots do fail, but the real problem is the thing they can not do. Anticipating and reacting to circumstances seconds in advance. Humans are much superior in that regard. We have a feel for the boat, the autopilot does not.

[@michaelhorton9583]

Agreed. Although not in severe conditions, but a bit breezy, I had a situation on a broad reach, where battery voltage dropped to a level that switched off the electrics. Autopilot was locked in place with a breakwater not too far off and I had no rudder control. Unable to head up even after rolling the Genoa, I dropped the anchor and the boat came round. Had I not been in the cockpit, it would have been a disaster. Also realized afterwards that I could have removed the pin between the autopilot and rudder, but that would have meant going down below to get at it. Manufacturer checked out the below deck autopilot later and could find nothing wrong.

[@PaulBKal]

Hand steering on an ocean passage with a short handed crew is simply not an option. And if it is to be insisted on, then an awful lot less boats will be going to sea. How about you search the accident report online (entering SV Platino into any search engine will find it) and then READ it. Rather than making absurd comments on social media.

[@o4pureh2o]

Hand steering a big boat with hydraulic steering often gives zero feel or feedback so you end up always behind. We lost our auto pilot a day into a 9 day passage. We lasted an hour and realised there was no way of going on so we turned back. You don't know until you try

[@russellkbell]

Would it be possible to equip a yacht this size with wind-vane self-steering, either as the primary or backup ?

[@PaulBKal]

@@russellkbell, not really, not with those on the market at present, although it would probably be possible to engineer one. However most people with the money (and ego) for a 65’ cruising boat are always going to go for electronic/hydraulic autopilots.

[@lambertoazzi7883]

For all those reasons, I've now installed a Walder preventer... got already one wild jibe too much to dare for a second. In heavy weather, on my boat the crew wears also bike helmets... both on deck and below. To the people who smile at it I ask if they have ever been inside a boat in heavy weather... and I mean the real heavy, not a regular gale or strong gale. Here between Baltic and Kattegat seas, we have the luxury of being able to test heavy weather tactics and gear in a relatively safe environment... It is very instructive.

[@leslitton3793]

Regardless of existing conditions near sunset, we always shortened sail and made sure all rigging lines were in good order. Downwind with a genoa likely poled out, and rarely the mainsail. But if conditions were light and the main was up, the preventer was from the boom end all the way to a strong block near the bow pulpit.

[@robertthomas2942]

1. Slab reefing 2. A single continuous line for the preventer 3. Steering system that is NOT integrated into the AP, and can be disconnected very quickly. 4. Reef the damned sail.

[@chrisratcliffe6806]

Yep, if you think you should reef, you should have reefed half an hour ago

[@TCGE08]

As soon as I saw the drawing of a mid-boom preventer going to the mid-toe rail (not the bow) I THOUGHT this was going to end poorly. When they tied a rando rope to the too-short preventer line, I KNEW it would end poorly.

[@ophthodawg]

Terrible situation for those involved … it’s a story for every boater to learn from … systems malfunction and break. #boats For night passages: have a protocol to reduce sail area early despite the forecast… I’ll add… I replaced the “brains” of my autopilot last year. I had a couple of instances of random course deviation (turning 30° or more degrees). Spooky … in my experience boating is a blast until it’s scary and life threatening… be as careful and safe as you can. Appreciate you sharing the story. Heartbreaking to hear loss of life 😢

[@captainjimolchs]

The inspection you described was only required of racing boats of NZ registry. This event created an excuse for NZ bureaucrats to expand it to ALL departing NZ boats. Platino did not participate in the race, either because of "unfavorable" forecasts, or to complete a "punch list" after a shakedown.The autopilot log showed no record of being disengaged. When recovered, autopilot de-powered, steering was functional, but tight in places. The rigging did not fail until many hours later.

[@Hoganoutdoors]

Terrible tragedy. My first keel boat was a 20’ Pacific Seacraft Flicka. Gybing that little main sail wasn’t too bad, but I still rigged a boom brake (friction device) to keep the boom under control. I sailed that boat from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas. Without an engine. People thought I was crazy because that boat was so small. So I asked them: “So you think big boats are safer?” They’d always say “YES!” …and I’d say “You mean like the Titanic?” Everything is a trade-off. Bigger boats are not inherently safer at sea than smaller ones. There are many other factors at play that determine seaworthiness. The forces at play grow exponentially with boat length. When something critical fails on a small boat, you’ll probably be dealing with something that can be managed with muscle power. Not so on larger vessels. I moved up to a 30’ Catalina after selling my 20’ boat. It has a tall rig, and I found the 150 genoa was too much for it, and had it cut down to 110. The difference was night and day. Much easier to manage that smaller headsail. I single hand most of the time. Anything bigger than 30’ or so is going to be very difficult to manage safely. Could I do it? Sure - but I don’t see a good reason to go much larger than 30 to 35 feet unless you’re planning to sail with a full crew Or sit at the dock drinking with a LOT of friends. If that’s the plan, get a power boat!

[@WilliamAArnett]

Two additional points should be noted. First, as pointed out in the report, the preventer should be rigged from the END of the boom to the bow to produce the best possible geometry and thus the lowest loads on the line. Platino’s preventer rig probably put at least 2x as much load on the line as a better rigged one would have. (IIRC, the preventer was also compromised by the knot in the line, which can greatly reduce its breaking strength. And the padeye it was attached to was inadequate as well.) Second, the very common placement of the traveler in a position near positions normally occupied by crew leads to the “wrecking ball” scenario the befell Platino. A much safer design places the mainsheet somewhere outside the cockpit, for instance on an arch (as is common on Beneteaus).

[@michaelbrady9056]

This is 100% right. The preventer should attach as far aft on boom as possible, and be lead through a block as far forward as possible on the bow, and lead to the cockpit (ideally weather side). This aligns with the leach, reducing the moment trying to break the boom, and broadens the angle as much as possible, which reduces the load on everything considerly. Furthermore the long length of rope allows some damping from stretch. and lastly - this is important - the long, nearly horizontal lead of the preventer means it won't prevent the vang from easing if the boat begins to round-up or the boom end hits the water.

[@asw20]

@@michaelbrady9056 Agree! A preventer or boom-brake rigged between the mid-boom and toerail can break the boom when it hits the water in a broach. Rigging from the boom end to bow allows the boom to lift in a broach (assuming the vang is off).

[@foobar9220]

I think it is not that simple. While attaching the preventer far to the outside makes sense from a geometry standpoint, it also means that it will be far outside the boat. I am pretty sure the engineers weighed the compromise and decided on an attachment further inside with better accessibility (this will allow to rig the preventer while sailing downwind with the boom outside). From a pure engineering standpoint, that compromise is sound, as higher forces can be handled with a strong enough line. As always, engineering is one thing, reality on the ground can be quite different and people make mistakes. Be it having the wrong lines on board or extending one with a weak line. I see the same issue in climbing where we have gear that is way overstrength but misuse - be it intentional or by accident - can still cause things to break.

[@asw20]

​@@foobar9220 We use a pair of 10mm dyneema lines attached to the boom end, run alongside the boom, and secured to a cleat by the gooseneck when not in use. When rigging the preventer, we soft-shackel the dyneema line to the preventer (stayset - some stretch) that runs the forward to the bow cleat, then back to the cockpit. It's easily rigged at sea from the deck, and can be controlled from the cockpit. It does not risk breaking the boom if it hits a wave in a broach. Rigger approved for offshore.

[@jeffcee9457]

For all of us who has been sailing long enough know if it's going to go wrong its in the middle of the night.Take all precaution after sun down

[@anthonyxuereb792]

Strange that.

[@philipsefton5270]

Just before sun down is even better 😉

[@captainjimolchs]

This event occurred during daylight,

[@markvan3465]

I think it is really helpful to learn by discussing these accidents. These particular incidents highlight the importance of a capable preventer. A 1500 lb boom.. yikes! I wonder how much force that sail generates on a gybe ? It does lead one to wonder if a ketch rig, with it’s smaller main sail would be a better option offshore.

[@giderama]

The slides on my Catalina 30 all broke recently. Didn’t know that could happen. It was pretty nasty in the 20 knots of wind, but I got the mainsail down and had it repaired.

[@peterluciano8348]

11/23 I have about 120,000 miles under the keel. Some thoughts * Using an auto pilot in heavy down wind never a good idea. * Using a boom break that eases an accidentally jib is a better boom break. * No one should have been on the deck without a harness in high winds. * Once the boat lost steering, someone should have taken the wheel and pointed the boat into the wind. Capt Peter A Luciano

[@glowingfatedie]

The quadrant was locked by the inoperable autopilot ram. No manual steering was possible.

[@paulreading8980]

Actually I cannot understand why the mainsail was deployed in those conditions. It should have been furled away or heavily reefed. They had two head sails and it would have been safer and given them better control of the boat if they had just used one of those instead..

[@GrampalettasCamp]

@@paulreading8980I was going to say the same thing

[@paulreading8980]

@@GrampalettasCampWell perhaps having an in-boom sail gave them a sense of security that I don’t have with an in mast sail. With an in-mast sail you are more aware of the potential problems of trying to furl a sail going down wind in rising conditions so you reef very early but with in-boom perhaps it is not so much of an issue?

[@peterebel7899]

Peter Read the story, some of your points were not applicable at all! Fields of problems: - Just for me: I hate in furling booms, too heavy - The equipment was not tested in shake down test trips (preventer, AP) - The crew was not drilled - The main was not furled in, for these conditions the inner staysail is plenty of power without any risk of damage in the cockpit area. - and some more

[@sputnikginger]

Like this boat, I have 2 furling headsails - both with poles. that is my downwind rig - they are easy to reef from the cockpit - I have been in a 45kt blow with this arrangement - I NEVER use the main downwind - its too difficult to reef with it full of wind - and the preventer business - well,this story speaks for itself - it can be a dangerous arrangement when things go wrong

[@donaldk21]

Great but sad story but you are so right about personally believing our boats not being checked often enough too often. Sadly these type events bring us back to reality and hopefully be more aware of our weaknesses. Again this brought back several areas i personally need to be more aware of, thanks so much. FWCS ⛵️

[@robinstepanek1345]

My husband and I were sailing around PT Mendocino in N. CA when our BMI for our lithium batteries shut down due to wire shorting. It happened in rising winds 20-29knots and 3-4 meter waves. We were already hand steering and only had a slip of Genoa out. It was also 1.5 hours before sunset and the fog was coming in. We pulled out lights and phone cords and moved to within 2 -3 miles of coast and used our phones. Hers the cascading error issue. When we lost power I was steering and I immediately took a reading on our compass, as darkness fell, we releazed that darn compass light wasn’t working- we have to take it out periodically and de-corode the connections and we had overlooked it as we hadn’t made any night passages in awhile. Wasn’t a huge big deal but it’s hard to steer and hold a light on the compass! After the weather calmed down, my husband switched the power over to our starter battery and we stopped at the closer FT Bragg instead of Half Moon Bay. Running dark in a fishing area with no AIS or radar was pretty stressful. My condolences to the families and friends of the two lost sailors.

[@dereklomer]

I have always taken care with my preventer and avoided down wind sailing in conditions where I should be ashore. However I had a rigging failure on my Catalina 42 a couple of years ago that was very much like a uncontrolled gybe. I was sailing open ocean off of Long Island on a beam reach with 20 knot winds. Suddenly the main sheet block released from the traveler car when the shackle broke. The boom slammed over 90 degrees with a huge bang and the rig shuddered. I was able to recover with some temporary dyneema line to hold the main on the traveler. The 5/6" shackle that connected the main sheet block to the traveler had broken. There was a corroded crack on the inside where it could not be seen from an inspection. Frequent rig inspections are essential for safety and peace of mind.

[@practical-sailor]

WOW!!! Well done on saving it! And good advice!

[@topherdean1024]

Now that is something that is totally unforeseeable. Running on a beam reach in 20kn winds is no cause to reef, I certainly wouldn't have been worried in your situation, and completely surprised if something like that happened. I'm glad you were able to get it under control quickly without injury or damage to your boat. Good work.

[@davep7849]

Dang crevice corrosion. Sneaky crap. Gave me a keel bolt headache one time.

[@hengizt452]

Thanks for sharing that 👍

[@markm417]

So just curious what the options are in this situation, re the autopilot. It seems the biggest causal issue was the locked steering, is there typically a release or something if that ram jams? Are we all one stuck hydraulic cylinder from hopeless?

[@ashleykerlin]

Any rock climber will tell you that a knot is the weakest point in a line. Even a Figure 8 knot which is one of the best for minimising lost strength will reduce tensile strength 35%. And a shock load is orders of magnitude higher than a static load. That's why climbers only use static ropes for top-rope climbing and always dynamic (stretching) ropes for lead climbs. And knots jamb. How can you release a line when it has a knot that can't run through gear? Get a longer rope. Clearly lines on a yacht are just as much life-and-death as they are for climbers.

[@davidseslar5798]

No rational climber uses a static line for top-rope climbing. While catching short falls are well within the system strength, the sudden sharp stop is hard on the climber. Static lines are used for rappelling, gear hauling, and climbing the rope directly using ascenders.

[@megamilyon6111]

@@davidseslar5798 I started rock climbing in 1984 at age 15. Most of the guys older than me used static ropes for top-roping and even lead climbing. I would say that trend continued until about the early 90's when dynamic ropes get better and more available. Today it seems dangerous and reckless but the early days of rock climbing were dangerous and reckless.

[@jameshuntsman6046]

Most rock climbing gyms use static ropes for top rope climbing. They last longer, easier to lower and don’t allow you to fall longer than necessary . You’re taught to pull up all slack as the climber ascends the route. No outdoor climber would do this, you wouldn’t want to mistake a static rope for dynamic to lead climb. My ice climbing ropes were two 8mm half ropes. After a lead on a wi5+ 160’ climb called the candle stick. My Freind was top roping it, tied to one of the half ropes, he fell and even with no slack ended up coming down 50’ Oh, climbers could care less about the figure eight knots decreasing any breaking strength, our ropes are way over the strength required to catch our skinny little bodies. Gear will fail way before a rope will break at the knot. One more climbing story. We were coming down the east ledge decent off el cap. I was first to rap. I had all the gear my body had the haul bag. His ATC was in the bottom of the bag. I had a figure 8 old school rappel device on the back of my harness as a back up. I gave it to him. I zipped down fixed ropes. Half way down I saw a knot tying another rope onto the rap line I was on. Not wanting to deal with that, I sung over to some fixed chains and another fixed line. My buddy wasn’t paying attention. He ended up stuck at the knot. Because of the figure eight device he miraculously passed the knot through and made it to the bottom.

[@ashleykerlin]

​@@davidseslar5798"sudden sharp stop"? Mate you need to find a new belayer. Nobody top-rope climbing should ever fall more than maybe 60cm.

[@dchiffy]

It’s amazing that theres a similar story on a large sailing boat from Bermuda to Canada. 60+foot boat, boom furling and a good crew 2 deaths. And the failure was the preventer. Thanks for the report

[@dchiffy]

Ive tried reaching out to you both through lady k and through your Patreon. I hope you received the emails. It’s been a while

[@dchiffy]

Love your work and knowledge

[@robbbbbie12]

I watched a video on that incident too, very similar situation, including the “wrecking ball”. Husband and wife both died of injuries sustained.

[@symphonyfarm2009]

I don't mean any disrespect to the captain and the decisions. I wasn't sailing and I know I am in a safe arm chair. For learning purposes, I would want to ask the question: why did they keep the mainsail up when the wind increased?

[@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk]

@@symphonyfarm2009 it’s a big boat, it can take the wind. The initial failure point was the autopilot. A better question would be, why did they continue to rely on the autopilot? Unless they couldn’t spare the manpower, that would be the real sticking point because apparently they jibed multiple times.

[@scomo532]

@@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk I agree, after the first gybe, I would think they would have immediately disconnected the AP and steered by hand and once on a beam reach reefed the main or completely furled it. I wouldn’t trust an AP on a long passage with the wind almost dead down. Especially if it had issues earlier.

[@grahambarton1942]

There was no reason to drop it prior to the autopilot failure and the initial gybe. They would have obviously reefed it and wanted to make progress. After the autopilot failed and caused the initial gybe, nobody could get to any of the controls. Remember the boom was flailing around with the main sheet and traveller track torn off the hull so nobody could get to the wheel or the halyard releases. It was flying around like a mace. Horrible situation. A local from Bayswater was the guy lost overboard. RIP Steve!

[@anotheryoutubesailingchann5710]

@@grahambarton1942 35 knot winds. No reason to drop it?

[@PaulBKal]

@@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jkread the report of the accident inquiry board

[@nitzansneh5552]

A key question: why they even sailed with a main, on 30-40 kts downwind, while they had two furlable headsails?

[@kailaniandi]

I just had a failure on my steering cable for my helmet about fifteen miles from Catalina. Probably going to change it from steel to kevlar when I get back to the mainland. Fortunately I have an emergency tiller connected to an auto tiller to get me home.

[@sunlovesailing]

Excellent tip to inspect and even possibly reevaluate my preventer set up. Maybe you’ve seen my comments before about scuttling boats after abandoning them, this is a perfect example. The vessel was taking on water, and left afloat, later to be found. This is often the case. Charts show “hazards to navigation” It’s part of their job, but vessels abandoned and left afloat are not on charts and just as dangerous as a charted rock. Thanks again for the great vid!

[@AdeboFunkyVoodoo]

Being clonked on the head by an out of control boom is very much the same experience, whether it has a furling system in it or not. As described here, the issue appears to be that the system they had for controlling the boom was simply inadequate. For me, the mere fact that the line they hoped to use as a preventer not being long enough indicates that they failed to prepare adequately to go to sea. With an adequate line and system, the additional weight of a furler should easily be accounted for. To the point of irrelevance. It wasn't the booms fault or even the autopilot. As with Escape (which several others have mentioned in the comments) the operation of the vessel and preparation for the voyage are what appear to be the most significant factors into why trouble, became disaster. Not a particular piece of kit, configuration of equipment or design of the vessel.

[@anotheryoutubesailingchann5710]

Condolences to the families of those who were lost and all respect to the captain and crew. I think one thing omitted from this video is a conversation about sails for the conditions. Downwind sailing with a main sail in heavy winds and a confused sea state doesn't seem to the best alternative, especially with a rig as heavy as the one on this boat. It's easy to second guess the captain but wouldn't a single headsail have been more appropriate?

[@mitchellwnorowski6747]

On a brand new 1979 Irwin Citation 39 half way between Montauk and block the rudder tube broke away from the inside of the hull. I still had steerage but we were taking water on faster than the electric pump could handle it. Fortunately the seas were calm we moved weight and bodies to the bow, manned the whale and motored to block.

[@patrickjohn2990]

So sorry the loss of life. There was a similar case of a 60 plus ft sailboat sailing from Bermuda to Canada and two people lost their lives. The best way to rig a preventer is from the end of the boom to a block on the bow and back to the cockpit. I am not sure If that set up would make a difference in this case because of the weight of the inboom system and the massive loads involved.

[@boblivingston4841]

Had a steering cable fail no steering.Boat pointed right up into the wind.Autopilot disconnected I turned the wheel and no resistance. I furled the head sail and dropped the main.Started the engine then got out the manual steering pipes. Put them together, took off the metal cover over the top of the rudder post.Then inserted the pipe into the rudder post.Used it like a tiller to motor home and also used the autopilot because it was connected to the rudder post.That was not a fun day.

[@doncoxe644]

The angle at which the preventer is rigged is critical. If it's at a low angle to the boom then it had better not be made of stretchy line. Also, I think preventers are often setup to stop a light easing of the main, for instance when sliding down a wave. That may seem reasonable but won't do the job when the autopilot (or anything else) puts you on a crash jibe. There can be tremendous forces applied to the line. On my boat we use a dyneema line and take it all the way to the bow for the best angle. This particular accident was horrible luck. My condolences to all.

[@TheCornucopiaProject-bd5jk]

I guess the lesson is that if it’s part of the boat it needs to be inspected. On small boats we can often catch things by a quick glance, but the proper way is to have a check list and use it meticulously. It becomes part of the log book. What would you put on a preseason, mid season and end of season checklist ?

[@greenebank]

In my 75 years of offshore sailing I have found mid boom preventers on a 40+Ft vessel are a recipe for a broken boom in heavy air. The forward preventer is ideal, provided it is a continuous line not in parts. If these guys had done a preventer drill before leaving the dock, this might have been preventable(pun intended).

[@rodrigoricardi7371]

Excellent video and precaution alerts. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheCaptainjz]

I once had a preventor rigged to a very strong steel padeye on the deck near the rail. A crewmember/helmsman allowed the vessel to jibe in the middle of the night in pretty big seas and wind. The jibe ripped the steel padeye apart and it failed...it just tore the steel like paper. Later examination of it did not demonstrate granularity or obvious problems in its manufacture. The lesson is that, even if rigged properly, there can be TREMENDOUS forces when this happens.

[@ahayes1062]

The in-boom furling arrangement is by no means the panacea that it may appear to be. It is almost impossible to furl an in-boom mainsail when off the wind. In heavy conditions even furling on the wind is difficult. That may be why the mainsail was still being used on Platino when a small foresail would have sufficed. How do I know? We owned from 2004 to 2012 a made-in-2000, 50 ft., high-quality sloop with a Leisure-furl in-boom furler. Most of the time the sail reefed wonderfully. Full-length battens could be aligned to lay on the bottom of the mandrel and they helped keep the shape of the furled sail almost as effectively as with slab reefing, and once furled away a cover was quickly drawn over the furled sail. But under heavy conditions it was usually more difficult to furl away the sail than with slab reefing or in-mast reefing. Boom angle is critical, and the appropriate boom angle varies with wind strength, wave action, and just how close to the wind reefing, or furling away, takes place. If the furling is not good - the sail has drifted forward or aft on the mandrel as it was furling - it was often necessary to not only adjust the boom angle, but to raise the sail a significant amount and more-or-less start again. We will never have an in-boom boat again and have been happy with the more-forgiving in-mast furling system, especially with a modern in-mast furling mast with a fairly wide asymmetric entry, such as is common on Seldén in-mast-furling masts.

[@mikepisarski8210]

This just shows how quickly things can go sideways , no matter how skilled you are. This is a very sad story that the survivors have to live with for the rest of their lives .

[@carlwilliams6977]

@@mikepisarski8210 True. However, as I've indicated elsewhere, I'm not sure that this crew was as skilled as the video portrayed. They had some serious lapses in judgment!

[@kevinjames3714]

On the Clipper Round the World Race. They are not called “preventers” cos, even in a best case scenario, they will not prevent the boom from breaking free. They are referred to as “Fore-Guys”. They may help a bit but in the toughest conditions will always fail

[@CannibalSailingUSA]

Very good commentary - the Catastrophic Chain of Events that escalate, like this case, is every Captains worst nightmare.

[@Cacheola]

My c34 rips with it's furling main. Holds a beautiful shape after 20 years and many miles. I've furled it in some heavy winds and rough seas. Key is to maintain it and not over power with electric winches or frantic winching. Massage it carefully and it's totally doable, especially if you've reefed already. Where I live, winds can sneak up on you, change direction, and are not well predicted

[@victorpuyu574]

Appreciate sharing story with such full details. I will put much more attention to steering on such courses. Some people pointed why not to reef? To be honest can't imagine doing that after reaching such waves and windforse in open ocean condition

[@stephencrockett7580]

This case should have been brought to court! It never was! The owners ought to have been held responsible.

[@o4pureh2o]

Not sure if their system was the same but when our hydraulic steering system burst a line the rudder goes to one side and will not come back until the ram is removed. This causes the yacht to circle. It takes time to remove the back mattress to access the ram and remove it. we then need to but the emergency steering in place. The boat could easily do multiple passes through the wind before we get control of the boat again. There are many systems where there's a lot more than just disconnecting an auto pilot to regain control.

[@TX200AA]

I had a Jeanneau 45.2 for quite a few years and was always a bit wary of the forces involved in a gybe. The worst thing that happened to me was when sailing on a beam reach off the Turkish coast a sudden wind shift caused me to gybe the boat to avoid getting too close to the shore. The gybe put too much stress on the somewhat crystalline cast metal gooseneck and broke it. I made a rope lashing to hold it together temporarily, and made up a new gooseneck from aluminium billet with bronze bushes. After that I fitted a boom brake so that all gybes were made in a much more controlled manner. I was glad however that I had a fully battened mainsail with twin line reefing because although it was sometimes hard work I could always reduce sail.

[@ottifantiwaalkes9289]

think a monohull could also quite quickly and easily flip over with a jibe preventer in place. Especially if not released slowly when needed. A jibe preventer mostly prevents the obvious. The gibe. But not necessarily an accident or a disaster. With or without preventer it can go very bad very quick. Many things to consider I think. Massive boom on that boat though.

[@wackytheshaggy]

This reminds me of the accident on the CNB 66 Escape a few yeas ago. Large boom swinging. I never use a preventer, I have yet to see one not fail and cause problems. In large swell / strong winds from behind I hand steer if I have the main up, or if it is so strong that I don't trust not to do an accidental gybe (Or I'm just cruising) I'll sail with just the furling headsail / genoa / jib. Keeps the boat tracking better anyway and is plenty of sail area. These large furning booms are lethal when swinging and the fact that areas where they can hit you are not marked with large yellow do not step signs is a dangerous omission for aesthetics.

[@sleethmitchell]

i've never trusted any sort of preventer. very impressed by the power of the wind when it works its way to the wrong side of the sail. when running in iffy conditions, shorten the sail.

[@wynmead]

I was crewing on a German registered yacht from NZ to Tonga July-August this year. No certification requirements for foreign yachts even though the yacht is permanently based in NZ. My offshore sail was my first blue water adventure. I have an 11m sloop and have sailed within NZ for 20 years and down many Cook Straight crossings. The skipper's attitude to safety was from my view near zero. We did also have a crash gybe north of Raoul Island. The wind vane pilot lost steerage because the vane got caught in a washing line. The preventer block was attached to an inner shroud rigging screw. The screw lower threaded part broke off causing the gybe. No one was outside. We quickly maintained the new course to avoid further gybes. Fortunately the mast had two lower shrouds each side. There was just enough excess thread to wind down the screw and reattach. As a fixer the owner very capable and that's about the only positive I can say. I will never sail on a foreign registered yacht again.

[@daviddavid8389]

Preventer on any boat, my opinion is the only correct way is to attach the line to the aft end of the boom to a pulley at the bow returning opposite side of cockpit to a winch.

[@BeeRich33]

Add the following: Bad line, resulting bad hardware, higher chops, sun setting, strained crew. Sailing as a pleasure cruiser, or a Laser racer, can be very stressful at times. This is a motorsailer, which means it should have been relatively safe, having both options. It's a tough but relatively slower vessel.

[@andrewnes8764]

Same as a few other comments . 1 Use of auto pilot (vs wind vane ) when and where. 2 These days boom brakes vs preventers or used together . 3 The preventer needs very good under standing. Shock loading can test things to failure . example bowline can weaken by 50%

[@jesuschrist-alphaomega]

Can i ask with all the years of experience from you tim an all the people on this channel. What is that list of maintenance checks the need to be performed, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly an yearly? As a newbie i think this list would be valuable

[@sidczinkota5580]

The list is rather long. Read read read. Maintenance is continual thing. There is no end. I keep a detailed maintenance log in concert with a very lengthy to-do list. In my very humble opinion, there is no perfect boat. They ALL need work; some more than others.

[@jesuschrist-alphaomega]

@sidczinkota5580 thank you for your time an reply. And yes I am trying to read an watch everything. Building a chart of what needs attention an when. And a listing tools an items that need to be stocked on the boat as replacement parts. What's the 1 or 3 things that you find always needing repair or replacement?

[@sidczinkota5580]

My pleasure. I carry 16 tool boxes. No joke. Don't despair; I accumulated them over the years. Electrical, plumbing, 2 for general hand tools, one for specific engine tools, one for sewing, 2 for cordless power tools, one complete set of metric sockets, one for SAE sockets, two for rigging, several for stock materials and spare parts, two for painting. I'd say engine takes a lot of my time, then probably electrical. I have yet to experience cruising; so far it's only been one shake-down cruise, followed by another, followed by another. Best regards.

[@jesuschrist-alphaomega]

@sidczinkota5580 wonderful info. Thank you so much. Just as n FYI. We are packing up our home plan on moving for Florida to start the hunt for our new live aboard an crusing life. We plan on 3 to 4 months living in a slip, taking the boat out n getting to know her. Once we feel everything is as close to 100% working we are gonna launch out to start 3 years of exploration. Be nice one day to anchor near by.

[@Richard-nb4iv]

A terrible situation and my condolences to those involved. I only use a preventer in light air with a forcast that ensures that doesn't change. I have been on three yachts that experienced bad accidental jibes where the mainsheet traveler blew apart. It was amazing that there were no injuries to any of the crew. Also, in a regatta, my friend rigged a preventer and in heavy air, an accidental jibe ripped off the boom at the gooseneck from the mast like a can opener. That was only one accidental jibe. Based on my experiences, I use a boom brake now. I also dont trust any autopilot. I named mine H.A.L.( 2001 Space Odyssey) While sailing from Tortola, BVI to NY, N.Y. Every time we though we could get some rest, the autopilot ( which worked while my eyes were open) turned against us and would brooch the boat. We had to hand steer all the way short handed. Would I do it again? Yes! "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Thank you for your video!

[@jims5338]

I'm with you on the boom brake. I guess it goes back to all my years in judo with the philosophy that you "give way' to an opponent rather that opposing strength with strength- and that's for a human not Poseidon! Plus that the boat simply will heave-to on the opposite tack, something I'd much rather wake up to than a broach.

[@bobgranafei6809]

32 years and thousands of miles of blue water sailing and never did I experience jamming with my in mast main furling system when I. was trying to roll the sail in. Twice I experienced jamming when trying to roll it out. On both occasions the jam occurred when less than 3 feet of sail had been unfurled. On both occasions the jam was due to sail fatigue at the very head of the sail which caused it to fold over on itself and jam. While not 63 foot boat a Hans Christian 48T is a good sized vessel which displaces 50,000 pound. Her boom could be carried by a man and a small boy; its weight was only a few hundred pounds. Further, in mast furling, if rigged correctly, allows one person to set and furl the main, while at the helm, in the safety of the cockpit. Every in boom set up I've look at, including one manufacture's video, requires 2 people to use it effectively. The small sacrifice of not having battens is far off-set by the safety and ease of use of an in mast system.

[@Sonnell]

I agree. this hatred towards furling mainsails is not just stupid, it is dangerous. First, most modern sails can have good shape even in an in mast furling system. So you do not loose really speed. Second and more importantly, it is a lot safer in most conditions. You do not have to leave your position and can be done by one person. And can be done in an emergency a lot faster and safer. I think a traditional sail jams a lot more often as the forces on those sliding thingies are most of the time not in the direction such system can handle. Also gets dirty easily, etc.

[@PaulBKal]

In my 50 years of sailing I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve helped other sailors fix their in-mast or in-boom furling systems. It would be in the dozens. Never once, however, have I ever had to assist other yachties fix their slab reefing systems. Never once have I had a problem with slab reefing that couldn’t be fixed in a few minutes and with minimal disruption. My experience with in-mast furling isn’t extensive but it did seem to work alright on any boat I was aboard, but I could not say the same for in-boom furling, but both seem to be a massively unnecessary complication of a very simple system.

[@georgeburns7251]

@@PaulBKalmy experience as well. Have on several occasions had to help with boom or mast reefing systems, but never with slab systems.

[@sailingaqualibra4848]

As a mainsail trimmer on many grand prix racing boats I had a visceral dislike of in mast furling. However, the vessel I bought for family cruising already had it and I discovered two main advantages; it is so easy to reef that you do it when you should do it, and you have "infinite" reefing, so can dial in exactly the right amount of sail for the given conditions (including down to trysail size). Taken together these points mean the vessel remains under complete control while moving through the gears as conditions change. As far as reliability is concerned, I've never had any issues, and remember that in the 1980's Dodge Morgan sailed solo around the world through the Southern Ocean on his American Promise, as Hood 60(?) with in mast furling, proving its reliability.

[@PaulBKal]

@@sailingaqualibra4848, yeah, not sure it was that reliable. It’s been a while since I read his account but my recollection is that he did have some dramas with his main furler, but they occurred mid ocean and not in high wind situations and he was able to sort them out.

[@michaelbrady9056]

Please, please ditch the preventer down to the toe rail! Preventer needs to lead as far forward on the bow as possible, then aft to the cockpit. The lead should be as horizontal as it can - the downward force on your current arrangement prevents the boom from rising with vang ease or boom hitting the water in a round-up. Use the toerail method enough you will break your boom.

[@artsmith103]

I've been on 48' and 50'. If big is necessary, I don't understand bigger than that. And I prefer 37-42'. A little smaller for coastal cruising.

[@ArturZagaj-Izraelita]

6:48 nałożyć na całą długość panele słoneczne w jednym lub dwóch rzędach i jest jacht elektryczny o potężnej mocy (bo paneli wejdzie więcej niż 5 kilowatów).

[@roadboat9216]

I could easily singe hand my 46’ ketch. Loads are much smaller and easier to handle. I also prefer a good vane gear like Hydrovane. Much more dependable and no power required. I sailed thousands of ocean miles with mine. Usually the crew was just my wife and I but either could handle the boat at sea. And sometimes did.

[@kimphilley621]

I would have thought a man writing this story would have read the actual NZ government report. The way you said the story completely covered up the Very Poorly Prepared Boat. Shake down was one afternoon with almost no wind Motor sailing near Auckland. The bridge Deck design was completely changed from an Arch to a deck one. Those big course changes of around 50 degrees were not even noticed let alone planned by Both Licensed owners. This due to the resavouir emptying itself slowly. One wonders if taking and actual couple days of real wind Shake Down sails before heading North from New Zealand to Tonga or Fiji. We are talking the area of the Roaring 40's. I have made this voyage twice on a Southern Cross 39. BTW...The New Zealand Maritime Entity ended up making up a whole bunch of crazy new rules after this incident. Good thing you didn't point the blame finger....You would have had some real opinions about all that if you would have really read the entire report. How those two licensed owners were not found at fault is beyond me. Just my opinion. US Coast Guard Master 500 ton Ocean, AB Unlimited, Radar,Tankerman Grade B and Below. 37 years Offshore Towing, and 15 years World offshore cruising 40,000 plus miles

[@tipirick]

Thank you for this report and especially all the good posts below...I am so very sorry for these poor people. And I am angry at the senseless loss. Having a 74-year-old’s lifetime of sailing, continuing on my ’38 sloop, I have 4 points I can’t help but try to make: 1. Autohelms are great tools for light conditions. I turn it off as soon as I notice the system laboring as conditions turn even slightly heavier because in my experience the increased stress and wear will just break it, its failure most prone in the worst of conditions and usually at night. 2. Any autohelm with the possibility of limiting the rudder movement after it fails, let alone locking it up, is not an autohelm, it’s a death wish, as useful as a headless captain or a Tesla driver who loves to brag about his self-driving (coal) car. 3. Never use the main in 20kt+, come about to the wind and douse her, then headsail only, and as the old maxim says, reefed before you barely even think “maybe I should be reefed”, and disengage that autohelm so it doesn’t get a chance to show you its sinister dark side(s). 4. Consider first taking a hike through the countryside with your potential crew. If they are the fitness type and show up with all the gear, tech and fashion who then hike focused on high performance to get to the finish, avoid them as crew. That mindset is deadly when sailing for many reasons.

[@roadboat9216]

I think that these large sloops and RF booms are trouble. Loads are just too much. We also had a catastrophy in the Atlantic with a very large massive sloop with RF boom, resulting in 2 deaths.

[@lynettehardy8653]

We have a Walden boom brake on our IP420, still rig a preventer when running, redundancy is key.

[@jaysonlima7196]

I had a C&C 25 (kept on a mooring) that had her forward cleat let go on a not particularly rough day (winds were only 10-15 knts but gusting to about 20) with the mooring in a very sheltered area with negligible current. Got a call from the harbor master said my boat was up in the mud. The stainless bolts that had been holding the cleat had corroded into nothing inside the deck, because stainles does weird things in an anoxic environment. Nothing else was damaged and we stuck her back on the mooring facing the wrong way as it were until I got a chance to get at it properly. Boat was fairly new to me but very far from new, however showin all the signs of having previously been very well cared for.

[@brucewymond5138]

The load on a preventer can be massive, particularly when compared to a mainsheet, as it’s typically on a much shorter lever arm from the gooseneck, e.g 2:1 ratio. Something to bear in mind. Thanks for this informative and regrettably very sad video. A tragedy for all.

[@grahambarton1942]

Lots of armchair experts commenting here criticising the crew. My understanding is that the initial gybe, caused by the failure of the autopilot, tore off the whole mainsheet traveller, which aligned with the wheel and all the halyards and other controls. So the traveller and blocks and a considerable length of mainsheet was flailing around like the spiked ball on a mace. And in an arc that swiped over the cockpit and controls. So there was no way to get the boat under control until the boom damaged the backstay and the mast came down. It was a truly horrible situation. RIP Steve and the other chap who I didn’t know.

[@PaulBKal]

Exactly. And why is it so hard for people to search out the accident report and read it before pontificating here!

[@JaydomanXRP]

The Furline snapped in a force 7-8 when the skipper forgot to unclip the spinnaker halyard from the bow of the boat the previous night causing it to be wound in with the forsail. Resulting in a temporary mayday call until we cut the sail free which was in danger of wrecking the boat . Noisy against the mast At night and unexpected departure were factors but a small mistake nearly did for us.

[@RogerMather-gq8rn]

Yes, a 1500 lb boom (think Volkswagon Beattle) shaped like a baseball bat, what could possibly go wrong?

[@rocinanteblues]

I was delivering a 56 yacht last weekend in south East Asia by myself sailing close when the autopilot failed. All I had to do was put my hand on the helm and hand steer. Sounds like they did a granny knot to make the length for a preventer. Not even a bowline. I have a 43 foot. Stern cockpit. I always run a preventer back to the cockpit

[@christophmahler]

If the boom had a furler why not reduce sail area to limit forces (is the mainstay mostly for 'reaching' into the wind direction or for maximum down wind propulsion) ? Isn't that a basic maneuver when sailing (maybe the furler would have required controlled manual handling, wonder if the mainstay could have been pulled down in a conventional set up) ?

[@PaulBKal]

There wasn’t all that much wind at the time of the accident. It built up later

[@erents1]

Wow makes me way more careful with my preventer. I did purchase a new preventer line for my maiden voyage and have used it to my largest winch. I would have reefed my sails at 20 knots, reef early, reef often!

[@grahamlongley8298]

My autopilot is a raymarine AV100. When a quartering sea in 2.5m waves hit the boat it sometimes spins the boat 70 degrees off course to windward. That in itself is not the issue except the autoilot then cuts out, locking the rudder full over. If I am below I do not know that the rudder has locked at full over until the boat goes back on course then 70 degrees the other way & I get a massive gybe, jamming the boom against the preventer ( if it is set) & spinning the boat through 360 degrees.. My solution is to use my Aries, It steers a poor course but always brings me back on line & never cuts out.

[@yahuchanon37]

Why didn`t they immediately steer into the wind and tight the mainsheet? Or at least tight the mainsheet? Even a boom 10 times smaller is horrible let loose. I know, shit happens too fast.....

[@stevenfogerty2110]

My preventor on my 35-foot centre cockpit goes forward to a block shackled to the aluminium toe rail, then back to the cockpit secured on a cleat fitted just for that line near the jib sheet winch. This makes it easy to adjust the boom. I've also found it more comfortable to hand steer when running with the wind. Less toing and froing and less chance of an accidental jibe. Common sense really.

[@marcelliedts5170]

Autopilot is not fit for heavy weather sailing.

[@stude292]

Holy, holy cow. I watched, listened and thought... And thought. And, relived a gybe which I deliberately performed, in ~25 kts of wind, due to my stupidity and negligence: I was too busy (get this) taking snapshots of the sea state, (yep, you read that correctly) to pay proper attention to our position, expecting the current, which was at max ebb, to compensate for the unusual, and exhilarating downwind conditions. The sea state prevented me from seeing the can buoys during my all too casual horizon sweeps (I was already convinced we were at least a nm south of the actual position). I suddenly realized, as a can popped out of a swell, with extreme disappointment in myself, that we were in danger of running into an exposed portion of a reef - a well known and respected obstacle. Tacking would likely result in a grounding (we were that close). And, I had prevented the boom to the toerail, using a 3:1 tackle which utilized cam cleats, instead of installing the proper length line to run back to the cockpit. The gybe, with the full main (another stupid move: should have doused it earlier, under less windy conditions, and run broadly with one of our two head sails), resulted in a pretty spectacular "all stop", and, thankfully, no damage (my loads are a very tiny fraction of those witnessed by this yacht). But, I could not release the cam cleat on the preventer, which, in hindsight, was a good thing, because that boom would have fallen off spectacularly, possibly destroying our traveler (I can't remember where the stops were- but probably would have been bad...). And, we could not head up, to relieve the tension and start over (our progress was now nil, except for leeway, and we had room now to tack) as we were heaved-to. So, I resorted to starting the engine, which quickly gybed us, again, with the expected crashing sound. I quickly released the preventer, unfurled the staysail, and immediately tacked away from the reef. I was up, partly through the night, reviewing my stupidity, moment by moment, to, hopefully, burn it into my head forever. And, to implement a proper cockpit-based boom management system. Now, to my point: I can't really relate to this crews' disastrous circumstances as the loads, and the kinetic energy of that boom, encountered by them were inconceivably greater than any in my experience. And, the failure of the autopilot: How could they have predicted that? And, disconnect? Somehow secure, below deck, during this fatal commotion? The repeated gybing of a 1500- pound boom, in windy conditions??? Simply unbelievable. Yes, the line used to extend their preventer was apparently underrated- but I certainly could not predict the load it was subjected to. I simply do not have the necessary experience nor intuition. But, my approach, going forward, beyond behaving as a proper captain, is simply to utilize only a headsail running downwind/near downwind, and to get accustomed to utilizing the prevention system at points at/beyond a beam reach, as second nature. As to autopilots: An unfair comparison, as I utilize a windvane (or, tillerpilot, motoring/light air) on a tiller steered boat- both obviously accessable. God bless them all, and I am truly sorry for their loss.-- PM

[@gillesmaumus4033]

Excellent reminders !

[@justadam1917]

All of the problems were compounded by the fact no safety protocols were established at the beginning of the Voyage meaning it took far too long to record the position of the man overboard and despite the plane being in position 20 minutes after the eventual transmission of man overboard they were now too far away to find or recover the person last seen waving to the boat

[@MachTuck]

Hey thanks for this video. What would cause an unexpected jibe that hard to make the boom swing to the other side? Thanks

[@felixcat9318]

Outstanding episode!

[@petermacinnis5686]

Emergency tiller, do you have one, do you know how to use it, is it accessible, is all necessary gear available for immediate use? Most will answer “no” but like the preventer, when needed will probably not be convenient. Be prepared!

[@semperparatus678]

I can remember our auto pilot stopped working, I was able to temporarily fix it with 4 zip ties and some electrical tape. It was off 4° to port but we dialed it in knowing this and we did great lol.

[@maxx9384]

We used a parasailor for most of our transatlantic crossing. And 2 independent autopilots.. Seems like this we eliminated a bit of risk..

[@loveanimalsenjoylife3339]

Whenever I was in conditions similar to these I would lower the mainsail and just sail with the jib. Much safer and just about as fast.

[@jwwebnaut7045]

Why not sail downwind on foresails only, going goose winged? Why are all these boats sloop rigged instead of ketch rigged?

[@baxternauset]

That boatyard fire pictured in the video was in Mattapoisett, MA. Has nothing to do with this yacht. I know because my 40' sloop was on the hard right in front of the burning build on the right a week before the fire! Boat is fine. My car? Not so much.

[@practical-sailor]

Wow sorry to hear about the car! Glad the boat is okay. It's hard to find pictures so I've noticed most people use this particular picture when explaining a boat yard fire.

[@animapulcra9205]

Though the report on SV Platinos at page 53 under subsection Command and Control the damning conclusion comes to light despite this somewhat insincere tech heavy video. Quote: 'No emergency drills, or any other safety training specific to the yacht and its equipment was carried out with the crew at any time. - No emergency procedures were developed and documented. - No specific safety briefing was given. - No standing orders were issued and no requirements were stated for safe practices on the yacht (--report develop the failures in detail, my comment--) - No log book was kept. - No written watch roster was provided. The owners relied on the knowledge and experience of each individual crewmember. It was assumed that they all possessed the required expertise to effectively use the equipment onboard and respond to an emergency.' End Quote. That last part is the closest the report get to issue manslaughter by criminal negligence.

[@PaulBKal]

I don’t think you need to be quite so harsh mate. With the exception of the log book issue, you are judging yesterday’s events by today’s standards. It is largely because of the Platino incident back in 2016, that sailors now routinely have written procedures etc. I sailed for probably 25 years before I ever received or participated in a safety briefing or even a man overboard drill. And that came after another terrible disaster, the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. In fact NZ instituted its very strong laws about vessel safety as a consequence of the Platino incident. Initially, they almost bankrupted their marine industry because foreign yacht stopped coming to NZ. In Australia we were the great beneficiary of the NZ changes until they wound the rules back a bit and foreign yacht went back to NZ, but in the meantime many of their marine workers came to Australia. And many have stayed!

[@ValtHorn-f1j]

That is a great point there. I looked it up and there seems even to be a biased wording by the investigators. You rarely find such diverted wording in reports done by ordinary prosecuting criminal investigators.

[@myaschaefer6597]

What a tragic mechanical failure. What make and model was the autopilot?

[@chrisolberz3308]

Sadly not the only accident like that. Anothr one happened way closer to your home on a Contest killing both owners......Lessons...never trust autopilot in conditions that need intervention within seconds if failure does happen....Second.....boom brakes are invented for a reason and often better then rigging a preventer. Lastly....where your boom traveler goes is of super importance ...for me in cockpit is a total no no

[@falconsail1062]

Horrific tragedy. In hindsight, priority should have been to depower the boat - that is drop the main 1st, then attempt to regain steerage. Of course, the situation was dynamic and it would be difficult to discern the decision making and crew execution during the escalation of threats unfolding amid the chaos. When things go sideways, first identify the threat - in this case, demasting from the uncontrolled gybes, then seek remedy, in this case, regain steerage. Thanks for your great videos.

[@malchugan2469]

As always, this is a very interesting video. The story is terrible, and I did not understand why they failed to disengage an autohelm. Question for all skippers who have hydraulic autohelm: Is it possible to overpower the hydraulic autohelm holding the helm fast? Thanks About a preventer, if you are on a run or close, and the preventer holds a boom, you need an immediate reaction, so you must not use the autohelm.

[@philipcolebatch4067]

Old saying sticks in my head,”Reef early- Reef deep”, and if you are thinking about reefing, you have left it too late.

[@petervanderwaart1138]

No mention of reefing?

[@hogfishmaximussailing5208]

My cruiser has a 20 foot, 200 lb boom. I have preventers rigged from the anchor well all the way back to winches in the cockpit. I actually rig both preventers anytime I rig one (which sounds stupid). It saved my ass last winter going down the coast of Baja when the winds doubled and reversed in direction in seconds. We jibed three times in less than 60 seconds at like 2:00AM. The extra preventer gave us another point to assist getting her under control. Luckily, the only damage was nerves! I don't know all the details of this event, but nobody ever gets into sailing to die. It is however like many exciting outdoors "things" in that it has some inherent risk. I like to jokingly say " nobody ever got hurt sitting on a couch with their remote control".

[@topherdean1024]

Agreed. However, statistically, I bet more deaths are caused by sitting on your couch with your remote control. Heart attacks are the leading cause of death. Much safer to get outdoors and have a wild and exciting life. I'm glad I did. 💙

[@SFQuack]

Was nobody on the helm? Was the helm disabled? How do you have so many accidental gybes unless nobody took the helm? More info needed.

[@topherdean1024]

I have a question. The crew must have been looking at weather forecasts. They must have seen a possible increase in wind speeds. Why didn't they put in a reef? Also, after the preventor failed and discovering that the steering had locked up, I guess my first thought would be to dowse the main. They must have had the halyard accessible in the cockpit. Is there some reason I'm not thinking of for not doing that?