Monday, July 21, 2014
Cruising the TV channels this past weekend ? and I came up on this. Abandon Ship: Sinking of the SV Concordia ? is the headline. Could you survive this?
Four years ago, a tall-ship carrying 42 Canadian students sank off the coast of Brazil because, according to reports, the crew didn’t fully understand the risk the winds posed.
On Feb. 17, 2010, the SV Concordia, a tall ship that was a part of the Nova Scotia-based private school Class Afloat, capsized 550 km southeast of Rio de Janeiro, giving its 64-person crew, including 42 Canadian high school and university students, just 18 minutes to abandon ship. Fortunately after two days at sea, in life rafts under severe conditions, everyone was rescued unharmed.
“All 64 people aboard the Concordia survived this harrowing experience,” said Jonathan Seymour, a member of the Transportation Safety Board, “but we need to make sure young people are never again put in this position.”
The board’s report concludes the crew was not sufficiently trained in stability guidance, and therefore didn’t recognize the risk of knockdown as the winds picked up.
“Consequently, appropriate action ? such as reducing sail or changing course ? was not taken before the squall hit. With doors, windows and vents left open, water flooded into the hull and the vessel capsized,” said Seymour. The TV documentary was harrowing, the comments from the students, heart-rending and how anyone survived this near tragedy, is a miracle.
Apparently, shortly before the squall came, the master handed the watch over to the second officer, without telling the officer how to maintain stability in changing weather conditions ? yikes!
The squall was no stronger than ones the 11-storey-tall ship had survived before, so the second officer didn’t perceive a threat until the boat heeled 23 degrees, at which point it was too late to steer downwind.
My elder daughter after her first year of college, joined a 60 foot square rigged tall ship for a six month voyage from Western Samoa via Australia, Hawaii and back to Victoria British Columbia. There were 23 students and 5 experienced crew members on board. It was a great trip for her but for most of her time away, I was a nervous wreck! When she finally arrived in Victoria to a cheering welcome from friends and family, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was only after we got a chance to listen to some of her experiences, I realized that there were times when things got a bit dicey on board. During a lightning storm, students climbed up the rigging to furl the sails, bouts of sea sickness due to turbulent conditions in the Tasman Sea. But for the most part the voyage, under the excellent seamanship of captain and crew, was smooth, and uneventful. Everyone came back safe and sound!
I am always fascinated by stories of adventurers who have survived great odds. It?s a bit like the adventure of life – surviving adversity, surviving illness, or challenges of all types. It takes a certain kind of person, and we only discover who that person is, when faced with a challenge.
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/29/poor-training-standards-caused-concordia-to-sink-report