A tragic coincidence
When it comes to coincidences, I think yesterday’s ranks up there pretty highly. My last post, written first thing yesterday morning, dealt with the latest little bit of kit to go bad on our boat, our propane solenoid. As I mentioned at the end of that post, propane is one of the most potentially dangerous things on our boat and we certainly wouldn’t want to have a fire or explosion on board because of it. Imagine my surprise when, less than an hour after I wrote that, we heard over the radio net that a large sailing yacht anchored a mere 10-15 minutes away from us burned down to its bare hull. A fire on board is the most dangerous thing that can occur on a ship, especially one that gets out of control as happened in this case. Very few of the details to this incredible tragedy have been made public, except that no one was injured in the blaze. Truly very sad.
The photos below are courtesy of Mark on s/v Sea Life. For those who are interested, there are a number of other pics available on his site.
Oh my! That is so sad 🙁
Glad no one was hurt. Really brings home the point how dangerous fire is on a boat. Have you checked your fire extinguishers lately or thought about fire drills?
I ALWAYS play the “what if” game. And I also frequently check the fire extinguishers. They are very easy to see and accessible.
Bummer really. No home. Wonder if it was a candle or oil lamp.
On a boat like that, I seriously doubt it.
That is the saddest series of photos I’ve seen in a long time. Heart breaking stuff. Honey, did you make this month’s insurance payment? Oh oh.
I had a fire recently that,fortunately, I was able to control. The key switch locked in the start position, causing excessive heat at the battery rotary switch. The plastic melted, the wood it was mounted in blazed up. There are, imo – two thoughts you NEVER want to have on a boat: is this fire extinguisher big enough to deal with this, and two, No, it isn’t.
I’ve now experienced the first thought and my new extinguishers (note the plural) are much larger than the legally mandated minimum.
Thanks for the story – essential reading for ALL cruisers and boaters.
We recently installed a fire blanket in our galley which I also think is an important piece of kit.
Also sad to hear about David Mott. What a stellar individual…
[…] Zero to Cruising – A Tragic Coincidence – Warning! Heartbreaking pictures ahead, fire on board is one of my biggest fears and a sad reality for the owners of this boat. […]
Word on the Grenada Cruisers’ page was that it may have been an electrical fire started in the main breaker panel. While a fuse at the batteries won’t prevent all electrical fires, they help. And it pays to take a look behind your panel about once a month or so to see if there’s any visible sign of arcing. Consult a professional right away if anything looks suspicious!
While the boat’s electrical system may very well turn out to be the culprit, people on that group are just speculating. I do agree about checking your boat’s systems on a regular basis though.
This is so sad to see. The owners must be devastated. I hope they had good insurance. A very sobering thing to have happen so close to where you are. 🙁
Good insurance… let’s hope.
Oh my God! That was terrifying but it’s amazing that no one got injured! I wonder what the cause of the fire was?
I’m sure the cause will be revealed in time.
Did anyone ever find out the root cause of the fire? With a modern electrical panel, that would supprise me, but I am not used to dealing with the effects of salt water, so maybe I am naive. Most of my life on water has been on the great lakes.
I don’t know.