NY30 Amorita sunk off Beavertail?

[Figment]

I just stumbled across a SA thread about Amorita going down off Beavertail (Newport RI) over the weekend. Say it ain't so!

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=57011

http://www.ny30.org/amorita.htm

[rbgarr]

Sumurun vs. Amorita=Bad News

http://i7.tinypic.com/5zp1aud.jpg

[elf]

Sorry, it's true. Sadly, very sadly, I have a photo of a piece of the boom, some ripped off mast, the step at the bottom of the mast and some gaff sticking up out of the water.

And a photo of Alera and Amorita tacking across Castle Hill Light on Saturday.

Terrible.

[rbgarr]

I wonder if IRIS (NY 30 #1) will be rebuilt now?

[Figment]

so, there's no hope of salvage for Amorita?
That must have been one mother of a collision!!!

If so, at least we can say she died doing what she loved.

Sumurun escaped without injury?

[elf]

Alera is number 1. She was restored by Boothbay when it was Samples, just a couple years ago.

Sumurun escaped with scuffed paint on her stem.

[rbgarr]

I looked at Cory Silken's photos of the regatta but didn't see any shots of the collision or sinking. Did Amorita clip Sumurun's stern?

[elf]

As I got it - Sumurun clipped Alera's transom, snagged her sheet, ripped her foot and track off the boom. Alera swung around into Amorita's sheet and swung Amorita into Sumurun's path.

[rbgarr]

http://www.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000Az_4zLN23sA

Cory Silken's photos of the Tiedemann/Museum of Yachting Regatta.

None show the collision or sinking, however.

[elf]

water wasn't that color.

I was on Valora Sat., Rugosa Sun.

[Figment]

A petty issue, but:
I find it immensely frustrating that this forum software won't permit me to correct the title of this thread to read "NY30"!

[Nicholas Carey]

A petty issue, but:
I find it immensely frustrating that this forum software won't permit me to correct the title of this thread to read "NY30"!Hit the edit button on the message that started this thread. Then click on "Go Advanced" and you'll be able to edit the thread title (it's the title of first post).

[rbgarr]

Alera was damaged, too.

[Michael s/v Sannyasin]

Truely sad.

If it helps ease the pain, I enjoyed a special treat after the boat show in Mystic. I continued up to Belfast Maine where some Westsail Owners were holding a rendezvous. One of them manged to arrange a tour of French and Webb by Todd French.

F&W are working on a contract to restore 4 Buzzard Bay 30's, plus assist in the restoration of another Buzzard Bay 30 in Vermont (supply them with fabricated things).

The restoration is pretty much a complete rebuild. Todd said that they first strip out the frames and fit the new frames to the original planks.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW03.jpg

Then, they replank to the new frames.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW04.jpg

They saved all the original hardware and refurbished if possible. Here are the original capstans. He said they wouldn't turn when they first arrived.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW05.jpg

between the 4 boats, they found a sample of just about every fitting, and where necessary, used that as a mold for new cast parts.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW06.jpg

Here is a drawer with hatches/covers. Someone mentioned that a rainbow ended in that drawer.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW07.jpg

Todd said that what they really excelled in was joinery. Looking at these brand new coach houses, I'd have to agree.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW08.jpg

They've got 3 in the shop now

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW09.jpg

and one under cover in the lot, waiting its turn. They hope to launch all 4 on the same day in May, 2008.

http://www.greatsoftware.net/sailing/FW10.jpg

[Figment]

Gotta love a place that bothers to weedwhack under the boatstands!
Thanks for the pics.

[Kim Whitmyre]

I can't find any other info on this unfortunate turn of events. . .Surely there is some reporting somewhere?

[adam96]

Safe Sea will be attempting to 'raise' AMORITA tomorrow morning (10-July) using air bags attached to the keel bolts - so I am told by a secondary source. She is in 40 - 50 ft of water if my recollection of the chart is correct.

Oh yeah, the whole incident was caught on video......

[bamamick]

Sometimes we forget that these things will actually sink. The Dragon class lost several boats in the Solent last year.

Glad to hear of a salvage effort, though what she'll look like with that amount of pressure on her hull I can't imagine.

Horrible.

Mickey Lake

[elf]

Safe Sea will be attempting to 'raise' AMORITA tomorrow morning (10-July) using air bags attached to the keel bolts - so I am told by a secondary source. She is in 40 - 50 ft of water if my recollection of the chart is correct.

Did they haul the remnants off the water on Saturday?

[rbgarr]

... the whole incident was caught on video.

I wonder if it will appear on youtube.

[Concordia...41]

Truly sad and a good reminder of what a serious business this is.

Great pictures Mike! Now that's the way to do a rebuild(s). :)

[brian.cunningham]

Ouch.
So much for vintage racing rules :(

[rbgarr]

From the Newport Daily News Tuesday:

Owners hope to rescue yacht sunken in race

By Sean Flynn/Daily News staff

The owners of a classic sailing sloop that sank Saturday afternoon after a three-sailboat collision off Beavertail in Jamestown hope to raise the boat today.

Jed Pearsall and William Doyle, both of Newport and co-owners of the Amorita, each said they are optimistic that the New York 30 sailing sloop built in 1905 can be salvaged.

"I'm devastated," Doyle said Monday, as he talked about the accident. "We'll use whatever means are needed to get her up. She will be rebuilt. She's not lost, but damaged."

The owners said the Amorita went down quickly after the Sumurun, a classic sailing yacht from 1914, hit it. The Sumurun has its homeport in Antigua, in the Caribbean.

Also involved in the collision was the Alera, another 1905 New York 30. The Alera is based in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

The owners and others connected with the boats did not want to talk about details of the accident because there are insurance claims involved.

Pearsall, Doyle and two crewmembers from the Amorita were in the water after their boat went down, but nearby boats quickly picked them up.

The classic sailboats were racing in the Robert H. Tiedemann Memorial Regatta, in a course that went around Conanicut Island. The boats were going around a marker when the Alera reportedly nudged the Amorita into the path of the Sumurun.

Doyle said the hull of the Amorita suffered "significant damage." He said the other two boats had minor damage.

Scott Backholm, a search and rescue controller with the Coast Guard, said the call came in Saturday about 3 p.m., and the Coast Guard at Castle Hill launched a boat. He said everyone was out of the water by the time the Coast Guard arrived.

The state Department of Environmental Management is investigating the accident but was not prepared Monday to release any information, according to DEM spokeswoman Stephanie Powell.

Members of the New York Yacht Club formed the race committee for the regatta, which set the rules and procedures for the race. Michael Leavitt, communications director for the New York Yacht Club, said the club would not release information because it was an event sponsored by the Museum of Yachting.

Doyle, chairman of the Museum of Yachting, said he was concerned the accident would detract from the overall success of the regatta, which is planned as an annual event in memory of Tiedemann, a founder of the museum. Last year, the regatta was only open to 12-meter yachts, but this year it was open to other classic sailing vessels as well, he said.

Doyle said 30 boats participated and it was a successful event in terms of fundraising. He said the weather was fine and everything went well, except for this "unfortunate accident."

"There were perfectly safe conditions on a beautiful day," Doyle said.

In 1904, New York Yacht Club officers decided to contract famous yacht designer and builder Nathaniel G. Herreshoff, of Bristol, to design and build 18 one-design sailboats for club members to race against each other. During the winter and spring of 1905, the Herreshoff boatyard built the 43.5-foot sloops, including the Amorita and Alera. They are 30 feet long at the waterline, hence the name.

The New York 30s won immediate accolades and had an avid following because of their sleek lines, smooth handling, speed and strong mains.

Pearsall said he and his father, Adrian, bought the Amorita in 1981. They restored the boat according to original specifications, including reframing and installing new planks, deck, cabin, cockpit and engine. Doyle became a co-owner in the early 1990s and he and Pearsall raced the boat successfully in many regattas. Sail Magazine in January 1994 listed Amorita as one of the "100 Greatest Yachts in America."

Boothbay Harbor Shipyard bought the Alera from owners in Ontario in 2004 and totally restored it in 2005. David Stimson, a master wooden boat builder and designer, oversaw the work, and sailed to Newport with his wife and two sons during the inaugural cruise in the summer of 2005.

A. Robert Towbin has owned Sumurun, built by Wm. Fife and Sons in Scotland in 1914, for more than 25 years.

Pearsall said the three boats came together at the course marker off Beavertail, at the southern tip of Jamestown, about one-fourth of the way into the race, when the accident occurred.

Pearsall said he is confident the boat will survive this ordeal. "Boats have personalities," he said. "The Amorita has perseverance."

[bamamick]

I hope that she comes through it better than ever.

Mickey Lake

[elf]

Here's a photo of the 2 NY30s about half an hour before the accident.

http://images.instaproofs.com/710/24009/61945/black_med_5586526.jpg

(I just put up two galleries from the event on my ecommerce site.
This is not a plug for sales. It's the most sensible way for me to reach others who are the focus of possible sales.
I hope you'll forgive me and accept my disclaimer.
The pix are on the instaproofs site - Rugosa and Valora.)

[rbgarr]

An independent protest committee of certified U.S. Sailing Judges convened
to determine the circumstances of the collision, their decision resulted in
the disqualification of Sumurun, a 94', 1914 Fife ketch and the exoneration
of Alera and Amorita, both 43-5' Herreshoff- designed NY-30s.

[JBreeze]

There was a lot of activity Tuesday afternoon around 2:00 at the entrance to Dutch Harbor (about 1 mile north of beavertail, on the west side).....

Two Seatow boats, seatow land-based crew, four large pillow type floats in the water. Earlier in the morning, a different seatow vessel was hauling a large inflatable in the area....maybe all this activity had something to do with this?

(I was fishing and clamming....would have brought my camera if I had known);)

[elf]

Dutch Island is only a mile up from Beavertail? Seems so much further when I drive it...

There's a link to a video on the Sailing Anarchy site.

How were the steamers, Breeze?! Did you catch any bluefish?

[JBreeze]

OK, Elf, maybe a couples of miles by water....whatever the case, it doesn't matter, unless you are billing by the mile:;)

http://www.jamestownri.net/harbor/ordinance/Harbor-Boundary-Map2.jpg

Nothing to see this morning as visibility is a couple of hundred feet in fog (no, I didn't measure).

No bluefish (fine with me!) and the large striped bass seem to be in the upper bay chasing large bait....so Tues. a.m. I went for flavor rather than sport, and as an add-on to George Jung's thread about hard-shell clams, I posted a picture:

http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/showthread.php?t=67292

At least now I know why the volunteer fire and ambulance services raced to the S. end of the Island Sat. afternoon.

If the fog clears and the boat is still around I'll try to post some pictures.

And just for precision, I'm not sure whether the tow boats were Safe Sea, Sea Tow, Sea Safe or whatever....the morning boat had yellow stripes; the afternoon boats were red.

[elf]

There's a vid of the activity yesterday on sailing anarchy. But it's completely inconclusive about what is actually going on. At one point the photographer mentions that he thought they were towing the hull submerged - all he could see from Beavertail was RIBs and inflated floats that seemed to be tethered to something submerged.

What a great pic. Makes me hungry for cherrystones! I prefer fresh blues any day, to fluke, however!

[T.A.R.]

She was to be towed submerged I had originaly heard Dutch Harbor and then was told Connanicut. I went for a drive last night and didn't see her, but I didn't go to Dutch. A friend involved promised pictures, but I haven't seen them yet.

[ewan]

why do they tow submerged? is it completely wrapped by the lifting system?

[elf]

It would be very interesting to see the pix your friend gets, if possible.

[JBreeze]

This is what I heard this morning....by 3 pm yesterday it was raised to the level of the gunnels near the end of the Ft. Getty pier in Dutch Harbor. Today, it isn't located where I saw the 4 float bags and tow boats yesterday.

One other disinterested observer told me that they wanted to bring it up east passage yesterday, but it was too rough. So they came up west passage instead. He speculated that they may bring it around the north end of the island to Conanicut Marine. Something to do with a shortage of active marine railways in the area due to EPA regulations.

Elf - for me, the best bluefish is caught and placed in a pot for lobster bait:)

[elf]

Interesting. Dutch Harbor has a marine railway. I wonder what the problem might have been with that.

Possibly occupied?

Well, if you catch a blue or two, give me a call! I love it fresh or smoked and have a nice smoker, to boot!

[T.A.R.]

They went into Dutch to secure. She got to Connanicut(s) last night around the North end. When I have the pics I'll post them.

[elf]

Long haul. That run down the West Passage always seems to go on forever when I'm doing it.

Some day maybe when the wind is out of the NW or NE the committee boat will run the 'round the island clockwise, just for variety.

Must be some reason the run is always in the West Passage.

[sneakbox33]

yep. yep she did. during the black duck regatta. first year in a while i didn't compete in it, and look what happens.

saw her today.

she's being kept safe in jamestown for the meantime. poor old girl.

[rbgarr]

ALERA is back here in Boothbay Harbor. No evident signs of damage from her involvement in the collision.

[T.A.R.]

This is SafeSeas' web site some pics the damage seen is the good side!
http://www.safesea.com/

[rbgarr]

That's a lot of damage. The whole cabin is gone.

[outofthenorm]

Looks like a big chunk of her port side is stove in. No wonder she went down so fast. Some serious shop time ahead!

[elf]

ALERA is back here in Boothbay Harbor. No evident signs of damage from her involvement in the collision.

Transom was chewed up, track ripped off boom. Perhaps David has fixed it all already?

[elf]

Looks like a big chunk of her port side is stove in. No wonder she went down so fast. Some serious shop time ahead!

Consider, now. If the port side has that big a gash, imagine the starboard side where Sumurun entered the hull...

It's a miracle there's that much of her left, in my opinion.

[Figment]

Anytime it can be phrased that one boat "entered" another, it's a miracle that anything is left!

Most impressive.

[bamamick]

Wow. There's probably not a frame or deck beam undamaged, but she's on the hard and they can start work on her. She will be rebuilt and will sail again. Amazing.

Mickey Lake

[Stu Fyfe]

I passed Sumurun coming through the Cape Cod Canal on Tuesday, July 3. She looked beautiful as always.

[rbgarr]

Talked to a crew member aboard SUMURUN this morning. He said that they got their bow pulpit caught in ALERA's boom rigging and couldn't swing off to avoid hitting AMORITA.

[rbgarr]

And this from a guy who works at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, relating what an ALERA crew member (a co-worker) told him. I'm not absolutely sure he (or I) got it right but this is what I understand happened.:

All three boats on a fast approach to windward mark, port tack (starboard rounding). AMORITA to windward and overlapped ahead of ALERA with SUMURUN closing fast to get an inside overlap on the latter. SUMURUN caught ALERA's boom with the bow pulpit. ALERA was rounded up head to wind as AMORITA crossed her bow on the way in to make her rounding. SUMURUN broke free and t-boned AMORITA and the mark.

SUMURUN sports a huge Danforth anchor in her hawsehole on the starboard side. Crunch, crunch.

[elf]

Ah, but where is Amorita?

[mike hanyi]

they raised her with airbags
I heard from one guy that the only thing holding the front and back together is the lead keel but I dont believe that description,

anybody got post collision pictures?

there is a small vid clip of it full of airbags from the salvage company.

they WILL put her back together.

[elf]

http://www.safesea.com/

Pix of her on the water being towed.

From the looks of it the only thing holding her together was the keel.

[rbgarr]

ALERA is back here in Boothbay Harbor. No evident signs of damage from her involvement in the collision.

Wrong. Nat Wilson's sail loft was open for visitors to pester him with questions during today's Boothbay Boat Builders Festival. He described the damage done to ALERA's mainsail. SUMURUN's bow pulpit caught the leech of the gaff main above the second (?!) reef cringle and ripped the sail all the way to the luff. He's just finishing a replacement sail. ALERA's taffrail and aft deck were 'altered downward - significantly', but the yard has had the damage covered by tarps. Nat mentioned that a crew member on AMORITA was caught in the rigging as the boat sank... until the chainplates ripped out of the hull and allowed him to get free.

Scary stuff.

[Thad]

Little by little the story gets out. Very lucky.

[Hwyl]

It's in the courts now

http://knox.villagesoup.com/Government/story.cfm?storyID=110993

[elf]

Hope that's enough to fix her.

[rbgarr]

Pearsall and Doyle are seeking judgment against Sumurun, which they are asking to have arrested, condemned and sold to satisfy the damages incurred.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Well, they would do; that's the normal form of a pleading in an Admiralty action in rem.

Sumurun's insurers will normally post security in the form of a bail bond.

[Ben Fuller]

What, of course, is even more interesting that once you get into collisions, salvage and potential loss of life you move out of RRS and into Admiralty court and COLREGs land. There the penalties are stiffer than being tossed out of a race. I suspect that Sumarun's insurance company( which is really going to pay) is not real happy, and that the lawsuit will act as a wakeup.

[Spyderman]

What, of course, is even more interesting that once you get into collisions, salvage and potential loss of life you move out of RRS and into Admiralty court and COLREGs land. There the penalties are stiffer than being tossed out of a race. I suspect that Sumarun's insurance company( which is really going to pay) is not real happy, and that the lawsuit will act as a wakeup.

Been doing some investigating in this matter and wrote a post about it on my blog. I was particularly interested in the rules involved.
And tried to answer why this went to court. Please have a look at HEAR YEE, HEAR YEE, ... AMORITA vs SUMURUN (http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2008/03/hear-yee-hear-yee-amorita-vs-sumurun_7760.html)and tell me your opinion.

[Tylerdurden]

I was struck by the fact that the vessel sunk was cut loose when it was very possible she would have remained afloat if not.
I understand why it was done but its a question if both could have stayed afloat under the circumstances.

[elf]

I was struck by the fact that the vessel sunk was cut loose when it was very possible she would have remained afloat if not.


Remained afloat??? With a 12' gash above her keel on one side and a 4' gash on the other? And a lead keel???

Amorita was broadsided, Mark. She went down in less than 20 seconds. She wasn't going to float, nohow.

[Tylerdurden]

Remained afloat??? With a 12' gash above her keel on one side and a 4' gash on the other? And a lead keel???

Amorita was broadsided, Mark. She went down in less than 20 seconds. She wasn't going to float, nohow.

Can you read? Thats the second time you have come after me without a clue in as many days.

Here from the above article.

Sumurun didn’t regard her speed,
Sumurun didn’t hail the other boats,
Sumurun didn’t heed warnings from her own crew,
Sumurun caused extensive damage,
Sumurun failed to navigate so as to avoid striking a vessel,
Sumurun didn’t help people in danger,
Sumurun cut the Amorita loose when the rigging came entangled, sinking her without a line to mark her position,

[elf]

OK. Let's try being verbally more precise.

"Sumurun cut the Amorita loose when the rigging came entangled - so that she sank without anything to mark her position."

Keep in mind, also, that there were a number of other boats on the course yet to come up upon the mark. Had Amorita been tied, somehow, to Sumurun while her deck was 3 feet under water she would have constituted a considerable obstacle to navigation.

Sadly, it was probably better for Amorita to sink at that point.

[rbgarr]

Been doing some investigating in this matter and wrote a post about it on my blog. I was particularly interested in the rules involved.
And tried to answer why this went to court. Please have a look at HEAR YEE, HEAR YEE, ... AMORITA vs SUMURUN (http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2008/03/hear-yee-hear-yee-amorita-vs-sumurun_7760.html)and tell me your opinion.

I agree with the responses you've already received on your blog. What do you think of those comments? Do they help you understand why the issue ended up in the courts?

[Spyderman]

I agree with the responses you've already received on your blog. What do you think of those comments? Do they help you understand why the issue ended up in the courts?

Apart from the money issue, which I hadn't considered in this magnitude, my original presumption is still the one I think is right.
It will be interesting to see what the response to the court from Sumurun will be.

[rbgarr]

Not sure I understand your answer: Was your original presumption that the insurance companies involved should have simply paid off after the event's Protest Committee ruled, or that Sumurun didn't actually carry the required insurance? Or something else?

[Dan McCosh]

Can you read? Thats the second time you have come after me without a clue in as many days.

Here from the above article.

Sumurun didn’t regard her speed,
Sumurun didn’t hail the other boats,
Sumurun didn’t heed warnings from her own crew,
Sumurun caused extensive damage,
Sumurun failed to navigate so as to avoid striking a vessel,
Sumurun didn’t help people in danger,
Sumurun cut the Amorita loose when the rigging came entangled, sinking her without a line to mark her position,


FWIW, hanging some four tons from a snarl of rigging wire on another boat would call for cutting it loose ASAP.

[elf]

Now that the matter is in the courts, I think it would be best if we not speculate about it.

[Figment]

Why? Will the legal process really be impacted at all by what a gaggle of clowns on an internet forum think?

fwiw, I'm with Dan. I'm sorry I just ran down your boat and all, but I'm not going to endanger my own vessel and crew just to prevent it from sinking the rest of the way to the bottom. Cut. Immediately.

[Spyderman]

Not sure I understand your answer: Was your original presumption that the insurance companies involved should have simply paid off after the event's Protest Committee ruled, or that Sumurun didn't actually carry the required insurance? Or something else?

I have doubts about Sumurun's coverage. If that is the case, what will the judge/jury do with the requirement in the NOR? And if Amorita will not be able to collect the awarded amount, will they try to make the RC or OA liable for it. The latter would have impact on how to conduct checks on entries in any regatta.
When you go sailing - assuming that you own a boat - do you bring your insurance policy with you?

fwiw, I'm with Dan. I'm sorry I just ran down your boat and all, but I'm not going to endanger my own vessel and crew just to prevent it from sinking the rest of the way to the bottom. Cut. Immediately.

You would need a cool head and presence of mind to attach a line to her marking her position. But that is what should have been done. Cutting agreed, but not without making sure all crew were accounted for....

[Tom Hunter]

Interesting question

My liability policy goes to $500k if memory serves. But my boat is much smaller than Sumrun, does anyone know if the liability requirements go up with the size of the yacht?

[rbgarr]

I'm guessing that the owner(s) of Sumurun have substantial assets aside from the yacht, and thus sizable umbrella policies in case of liability suits.

[Spyderman]

Interesting question

My liability policy goes to $500k if memory serves. But my boat is much smaller than Sumrun, does anyone know if the liability requirements go up with the size of the yacht?

The specific requirement is usually stated in the SI of the regatta.
After that you, have no difference between bigger of smaller yachts.
In my part of the word it's 500.000 Euro for everybody who sails on sheltered waters in a race. (it's in the standard SI)

[elf]

You would need a cool head and presence of mind to attach a line to her marking her position. But that is what should have been done. Cutting agreed, but not without making sure all crew were accounted for....

hard to have a cool head and presence of mind when you don't even have anyone on the bow.