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Cat Capsize in Ausy


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The area is not a good place in severe wind on sea. 

Stockton bight needs caution in these conditions due to short steep breaking seas.

Catamarans are not good in these conditions, and once rolled dont right...

The three deceased were trapped in the hull. 

Getting out of an upturned hull , cold , dark and being thrashed around may be a lot harder than some think....

The two who did get out (or were possibly already out) had life jackets on. There is no question that the life jackets saved their lives.

Please remember the size of the vessel we are talking about before too much blame is put on the make and model , like some other sailing sites seam to have focused upon.

 

Please take serious note of this

Please be awareWind gusts can be 40 percent stronger than the averages given here, and maximum waves may be up to twice the height.

 

 

and here is the forecast for the area right now

 

Forecast for Thursday until midnight

Strong Wind Warning for Thursday for Hunter Coast

Winds Westerly 20 to 30 knots. Seas 2 to 3 metres. Swell Southerly around 1 metre. Weather Clear.

 

  As a Marine Rescue skipper,  I am deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family

.And as usual I would strongly encourage all who play on the water to do what they can to increase their chances of survival, should an incident occur.

From all accounts so far this vessel did all that is normally suggested.

 

If you own a cat....  (and this is not necessarily related to this incident and I have no information to suggest anything but appropriate seamanship)

.Regardless  if you own a cat......   then SLOW DOWN when the sea state picks up........ The rule of crisis avoidance is "likely hood" and "ramifications".

  You may think that the likely hood of trouble in a cat is less, but the ramifications are way way worse...    

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Good words Idler. Slow down is not in our vocabulary often enough. The turtle often wins the race.

 

I am very suprised to hear how many died. Possibly got swept away, could not hold on to the hulls. We are never inside the hull when we are flying a hull but you might actually be safer in the hull during a capsize.

 

We have a set of jack stays that we can turn over onto the bottom so that we can tie ourselves and gear onto the hull, not if but when we capsize.

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Obviously I am incorrect in thinking that all those cats have escape hatches for use in these types of emergencies?  I've only sailed on a few and they all had hatches, hence my assumption.

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Obviously I am incorrect in thinking that all those cats have escape hatches for use in these types of emergencies? I've only sailed on a few and they all had hatches, hence my assumption.

No - not all Cats have escape hatches - those that don’t need an effective plan for cutting through the hull in designated areas where there are no obstructions to get through and appropriate tools to do the exit with .

Escape hatches themselves can be a potential problem if not looked after properly and securely locked

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Yep I agree on the slow down train of thought. 

That cat didn't appear to have any escape hatches which I think would probably be a good idea in a cruising cat of that size. 

35 knots with gusts and big seas is pretty big conditions for a cat, even a 11.7 metre one !!
Not good.

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