Apt parable - shipwrecks??

[Jana Shaw]

Well, this one isn't about wooden boats, but it is boat related so I guess this where I should post this.

I am looking for information about a freighter (possibly an oil tanker) which ran aground I believe off the West Coast of England or Wales. I remember seeing a TV documentary about this accident a while back.

In the ensuing inquiry it was found that there had been too much hemming and hawing back and forth between the parties involved (ship's captain, pilot, harbourmaster, etc.) about whether the boat should proceed into harbour thru dangerous straits or turn around and head for deeper possibly safer water. If a decision and been made and ANY action taken the boat would have been safe. As it was, the boat ran aground due the high winds and lack of decisive action.

Dimly recalling this story put me in a reflective mood about how in many situations nautical and otherwise and firm hand on the tiller (literally or metaphorically) can be better than dithering and debating until THE RIGHT SOLUTION presents itself. It seemed and apt parable give the death of your President Reagan.

Anyway, if anyone has any info (such as the name of the boat) on this one I would appreciate it. I think I saw the show on the Discovery channel.

Thanks,

Jana

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Well, there have been a couple, but I should think that you might have in mind the grounding of the SEA EMPRESS in the approach to Milford Haven in 1996.

[Mike Field]

Hh'mmm. I was thinking in terms of the Torrey Canyon, which ran aground south of Land's End in 1967.

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/hu/ergsinhu/aboutergs/images/torreycanyon.jpg
.

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/hu/ergsinhu/aboutergs/images/positionmap.gif
.
It was a horrible story anyway. There's an account here (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/hu/ergsinhu/aboutergs/lasttrip.html) of what happened, together with suggestions as to how.
.

[Paul Pless]

ok, I've got a stupid question. I've heard of several shipwrecks like the above link shows. Where the captain and crew new they were doomed before they actually hit a reef, it was just a matter of time. Why don't these guys ever drop anchor?

[Stiletto]

An Englishman who lived adjacent to my local haulout area had a map of the British Isles on his wall that had all the shipwrecks from about 1600 to 1900 marked. There was barely room to squeeze in another name.

Thankfully there are a lot fewer these days.