Boat Sinks 7/29/2010

[chipj29]

Surprised there are no posts about this. Just came across it in the Union Leader.

Did this person really have 12 people in a 21 foot Malibu?

http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...2-b081108daa25
A dozen people made it to safety when their boat sank in Lake Winnipesaukee after a wave swamped it.
According to New Hampshire Marine Patrol, the incident happened as Sandra M. Bertha, 43, of Encinitas, Calif., was operating a 21-foot Malibu ski boat at 5 mph at 5:25 p.m. Thursday on the northeast side of Rattlesnake Island.

Rough waves of two-to-three feet, along with a strong north wind, sent a wave crashing over the bow and flooded the vessel. Bertha and her 11 passengers all made it safely to Rattlesnake Island. No one was injured.

Everyone was later taken to a Tuftonboro residence by Goodhue and Hawkins Marine which will be recovering the vessel along with Dive Winnipesaukee.

Alcohol was not a contributing factor in the incident, according to an initial on-scene investigation by marine patrol.

[Just Sold]

12 people in a 21' boat!!!! Glad everyone is OK and back on land. RG did that happen near your place???

BTW: Sandra M. Bertha is Richard Marriott's daughter. Married to Albert Bertha.

[AC2717]

hmm,
cited for saftey violation's I hope

[NoBozo]

FWIW: A 21' Malibu has maybe 12 inches of freeboard at the bow when it is EMPTY. It's designed for a driver, spotter and a skier on flat water. NB

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by NoBozo

FWIW: A 21' Malibu has maybe 12 inches of freeboard at the bow when it is EMPTY. It's designed for a driver, spotter and a skier on flat water. NB

Actually in the specs, 11 people can be handled with gear

"This wake-board boat accommodates 11 people and 11 people’s stuff with LED lit, finished and carpeted storage centers. Rear locking storage can house more than 30 cubic feet of what ever you want to put in it including boards, vests and big bags. The rear hatch door bins are specifically designed to welcome smaller items like cell phones, soap and gloves that can get lost in Malibu’s expansive storage areas"

But since common sense left the state, and one should only load it with that many people on a mill pond. Never mind do at least 15 mph to keep the bow up.. geee

[AC2717]

I retract my previous statement about the safety and number of people, but it is a 11 person boat or a certain amount of weight including the gear, whichever comes first, we all know this

I point back to my previous statement in the thred about the "life is Good Captain"

Common Sense

[ishoot308]

We were making our way out to Welch around 6:00 P.M. yesterday afternoon and it was very rough and windy at that time. With that many people in a Malibu and in those conditions is just a recipe for disaster. Glad no one was injured!

Dan

[LIforrelaxin]

Folks don't get caught up with the number of people that is the wrong thing to look at... I just generically looked at the specs for a malibu 21' boat on their website they are rated for 11 people but more importantly is the weight 1654 lbs.... now for 11 people no gear that is about 150 lbs per person... so it is indeed to have 11 people on board assuming that some where children... and actually not be over weight...

It sounds to me like the issue was the conditions... 2-3 foot waves in a ski boat are nothing to take lightly.... with a short free board.... swamping is a real possibility.... and once that water starts coming aboard... the bilge pumps have to keep up.... and with that many people aboard trying to move people around to keep further water from crashing in is not an easy task....

Now don't take me wrong I am not defending the capt. But this truely could have just been an accident... especially where it appears they where from the other side of the lake.... They may have been spending the afternoon away from home and the weather came up on them...

I don't know about anyone else, but I know, I have made trips in my boat, on to have the return trip complicated by changing weather.....Don't jump to conclusions that citations are warranted, and that the skipper purposely did things wrong....

[VtSteve]

Just so long as no thread is started spouting about catastrophic hull failure or anything about Malibus.

Not sure of the particular model, but some of those boats have very low freeboard. Probably was a bowrider version? Small boats don't do very well when loaded with weight into large waves.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by chipj29

Even after waiting all morning...after lunch, I still waited for some "easier winds" to finally get out on the water. Later in the afternoon, a kayaking neighbor and several other sailboats (a Sunfish, two Lasers, a Flying Dutchman Jr., and two Hobie-cats) convinced me the wind couldn't be all that bad.

After setting sail, the breeze gradually increased through about an hour—but at the moment I decided to call it quits—I saw a low-riding Malibu in the calm area immediately off Bill Marriott's personal residence. (In Tuftonboro).

I said to myself:

"Holy-moly, that could be mistaken for a kayak—it was so low in the water!"

Yes, Malibus sit low in the water—this one was even more remarkable!(Mebbe in New Jersey and Maine, they are also required to fly a red flag all the time).

('Didn't count heads yesterday, but today the wind is even stronger, and kept all the other sailboats at the dock!)

---------------------------------------

I note that it is being called a "wake boat": One "wake boat" I've seen was used for "wake-surfing". Wake-surfers use a 12-foot tow-rope!

I noticed one "wake boat" deliberately flooded compartments/bilge to increase the wake size. (And pile passengers astern—over the engine compartment).

It took several minutes for the pump to send their liquid ballast out from both sides of the boat! Now I'm wondering if that could've been the problem yesterday.

Anyway, I hope they don't recover this boat's loudspeakers.

[Winnipesaukee]

^^It had to be a bowrider to have a capacity of 11 people.

I'm calling catastrophic operator error on this one. Maybe I won't get flamed again for it. At the very least, he violated the USCG capacity place and overloaded his boat.

Here's a typical 21' Malibu. Edit: oops, Tige. I think Malibu's might have a bit more freeboard forward.

now for 11 people no gear that is about 150 lbs per person... so it is indeed to have 11 people on board assuming that some where children... and actually not be over weight...

"Never assume anything!"

[ApS]

Originally Posted by chipj29

http://www.unionleader.com/article.a...2-b081108daa25.

Wonderin' what Sandra M. Bertha thinks of the NHMP calling this "the incident".

[Just Sold]

Has anyone seen any activity off Rattlesnake to raise the boat yet????

I remember the Cobalt that sank in the same general area with 8 aboard in 2007 being raised. It was quite a thing to see.
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...8&limit=recent

[Rattlesnake Guy]

Originally Posted by Just Sold

Has anyone seen any activity off Rattlesnake to raise the boat yet????

I remember the Cobalt that sank in the same general area with 8 aboard in 2007 being raised. It was quite a thing to see.
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...8&limit=recent

Ken,
Our neighbor and forum member said it was done on Friday.
Paul

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

Wonderin' what Sandra M. Bertha thinks of the NHMP calling this "the incident".

I don't know. I do know that not only was it too rough for that boat, which had a load in it. They were also going way too slow for conditions. Going 5 mph into a strong wind with large waves, having little freeboard and a bowrider, is just not right.


At any rate, not a good showing.

[ApS]

1) I asked at the Marriott Compound for just one tidbit of information on this Malibu, and was told that the hull is yellow. What info should I ask about at the next opportunity?

2) Probably OK on capacity, but at least there's nobody on the foredeck!

http://www.flpowerboat.com/new/photo...A05-09-021.cfm