Any boating accident, just like any car accident, usually isn't intentional. And, when there is loss of life or injury it is a tragedy. Luckily, there was no one killed or injured. But, talk about putting a damper on things.
This is what happened:
- Hotspur was unmanned – we were out of the country.
- Hotspur was secured to a mooring ball at Santos Marina in El Salvador.
- A gale blew and Hotspur held fast to her mooring.
- The boat in front us broke off its mooring- the mooring chain (belonging to the mooring field) failed.
- The boat’s owners were on board the underway vessel, but had dis-connected their starter battery and couldn't start the engine.
- Their boat struck Hotspur.
- According to the underway vessel, they eventually got their engine started but couldn't power off Hotspur because the boats were entangled.
- Help arrived and finally separated the two boats.
- Hotspur now has a hole in her port hull that penetrated through to the deckside.
- Hotspur has numerous other damages, including 13’ ripped teak toerail, bent and broken stanchions and front pulpit, and gouges and scratches in the fiberglass and gel coat.
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| Light shining through gash on Hotspur's port side |
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| Hole on Hotspur's deck side and partial shot of broken teak toerail |
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| Some of the gouges in Hotspur's hull |
Oh Meri!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so much worse than any damage I saw from the Weather Bomb in La Cruz - sure there were stanchions/lifelines missings and toe rails gone, but not holes all the way through! Yikes. One of the first times you leave her - what horrible timing.
Laura