Something Happened

Put two people in a room, show them something, and they'll likely have two different descriptions. Make it a potential life and death situation, and its almost a guarantee that nobody's going to see things the same. Still here are three accounts of the same situation involving a freighter; two "official", one not. The 'not' is from someone who was onboard the boat in question. Good thing this turned out okay, or there'd be some explaining to do. Even with the outcome, there still might be some explaining to do.....

Report #1 - The boat in question was put about by a sudden wind shift combined with a lumpy sea and lost a crew member over the side. The crew of the boat followed their training, making a radio report and giving their position taken from their GPS. Regatta support boats quickly attended the scene, rendered assistance and coordinated with the search and rescue authorities. The crew was returned to land in style courtesy of the Navy and walked ashore with her faithful lifejacket tucked under her arm. All's well that ends well and I must say that I am very favorably impressed with the performance of the yacht's crew, the support crews of such a well organized regatta and of course the authorities for their rapid response.

Report #2 - The accident happened after a sailor on the yacht was swept overboard in 2m seas during a race on Sunday. The crew radioed for help when the woman was flung into the sea after she became entangled in rigging. The yacht's engine failed to start and they lost sight of their crew member in the stormy seas. Two coastguard vessels were dispatched, but had to rescue the remaining crew after they all decided to abandon the yacht when a supertanker came bearing down on them. The crew were swept down the entire starboard side and past the propellers of the enormous ship before being rescued by the regatta's safety vessel. The female crew member was found about three hours later by a navy helicopter. Intermittent tropical storms and the approaching darkness had hindered the search. She was suffering from minor bruising, but once on land was able to walk from the ambulance to her waiting family and friends at the hospital.

Report #3 - This from a crew member who was reportedly on board this boat, and apparently he said that even Report #2 didn't do justice to the catastrophe. He said he slid along the hull of the tanker, every time he tried to push himself away he was "sucked" back on. He also mentions none of the crew were wearing PFD's and the PFD given to the lady who originally went over, was thrown over board by a crew member as they broached (for the second time). The Skipper apparently was adamant that they didn't need to radio in and tried to search for 15 mins, unsuccessfully. They only used the radio once another crew member was thrown across the deck, landing on the tiller and snapping it, oh and the engine failed....