The former captain of a the HMS Bounty, a replica three-masted sailing ship that sank off North Carolina during Hurricane Sandy, is likely to blame for the wreck, federal investigators said Monday.
In a report released Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the Bounty’s captain made a “reckless decision to sail the vessel into the well forecasted path of Hurricane Sandy.”
The tall ship went down roughly 100 miles south of Cape Hatteras during the monstrous October 2012 storm.
One member of the 16-person crew died — and the captain, Robin Walbridge, was never found. Three other crew members were injured.
In its report, the NTSB said Walbridge’s decision to sail the 180-foot ship into storm-ravaged waters on Oct. 29, 2012 “subjected the aging vessel and the inexperienced crew to conditions from which the vessel could not recover.”
The agency added that the vessel organization, the HMS Bounty Organization, LLC, did not offer sufficient safety oversight.
Telephone numbers listed for the organization appeared to be in inactive Monday. The authors of the NTSB report noted that the organization had listed the vessel for sale in 2010 and was still trying to sell the vessel when it sank. The estimated value of the ship was $4 million, the NTSB said.
The ship, a replica of the original 18th-century British Admiralty vessel of the same name, was constructed for MGM’s 1962 film “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlon Brando. The picture was a remake of the 1935 classic. More recently, the ship appeared in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
Nonetheless , late Saturday morning, October 27, the captain changed course to the southwest to have the Bounty pass ahead of and to the west of Sandy. No crewmember testified being privy to why he did so. Some of them believed that taking the course to the southwest
was the captain’s intention all along. In an email to the director of shoreside operations the day before, the captain had stated, “Thanks for the [weather] update, because of it I feel okay about trying to sneak to the west of Sandy, new course 225T. It looks like it will stay offshore enough [for] us to squeak by. Thx.” It is possible that the captain may have focused too narrowly on the position of the storm’s eye instead of on Sandy’s total expanse (winds associated with the storm spanned more than 1,000 miles in diameter, and the area into which the Bounty was heading was already under tropical storm warnings, with conditions forecasted to worsen) Still, the captain seemed to believe that he could outrace the storm.
Yeah, but now the family of Ms Christian, the OS (was she?) who perished- and the survivors- can go after the owners for whatever farthings they can glean. The NTSB report is the ammo they need. I don’t expect that much will be gained. I would rather see some stricter regulations regarding the crewing and operation of “dockside attractions” in the future so that we don’t have to sit with clenched sphincter as another such “dockside attraction” is smashed to pieces between a storm and a well-known rocky coast.
[QUOTE=z-drive;130495]Value of 4 million!! Really now. I ought to invest in replica sailing vessels.[/QUOTE]
Turn the frigging thing into a bar and restaurant…oh wait, that was done in Philly with the Moshulu…and hoo boy you can make some serious shekels. Make sure you add some hotties.
Just don’t actually sail the damn thing, then you’ll need a for-real P&I club.
[QUOTE=z-drive;130495]Value of 4 million!! Really now. I ought to invest in replica sailing vessels.[/QUOTE]
that’s why I say the whole debacle was one great insurance scam to sink the vessel and collect huge $$$…Robin Leech Walbridge was probably promised a very tidy sum to do the dirty deed and sell the BOUNTY to the underwriters only he did it too damned well and killed himself and an innocent girl in the process and nearly the rest of the crew as well.
Face it, the man had devoted his professional life to one old rotten unseaworthy attraction ship and there was no future for him to escape and retire. He was likely close to broke and desperate to make a new start in Central America but needed a bankroll from someone…in walks Hansen with a plan and the rest, as they say, is history!
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[QUOTE=catherder;130497]Turn the frigging thing into a bar and restaurant…oh wait, that was done in Philly with the Moshulu…and hoo boy you can make some serious shekels. Make sure you add some hotties. [/QUOTE]
I thought the MOSHULU was bankrupt and boarded up? Besides, there’s no way in HELL any hot women would ever come within ten miles of the smelly rustbucket? Their stiletto heels go right through the rotten decks!
[QUOTE=c.captain;130502]that’s why I say the whole debacle was one great insurance scam to sink the vessel and collect huge $$$…Robin Leech Walbridge was probably promised a very tidy sum to do the dirty deed and sell the BOUNTY to the underwriters only he did it too damned well and killed himself and an innocent girl in the process and nearly the rest of the crew as well.
Face it, the man had devoted his professional life to one old rotten unseaworthy attraction ship and there was no future for him to escape and retire. He was likely close to broke and desperate to make a new start in Central America but needed a bankroll from someone…in walks Hansen with a plan and the rest, as they say, is history!
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I thought the MOSHULU was bankrupt and boarded up? Besides, there’s no way in HELL any hot women would ever come within ten miles of the smelly rustbucket? Their stiletto heels go right through the rotten decks![/QUOTE]
Nah…she’s still there. Maybe thinking of Gazela?
Anyway, here’s the menu. I’m on a Denny’s budget, so I can’t partake.
[QUOTE=z-drive;130495]Value of 4 million!! Really now. I ought to invest in replica sailing vessels.[/QUOTE]
I don’t know how it works with maritime insurance, but in real-estate insurance companies often use “reconstruction” value i.e. if the house burns to the ground, how much would it cost to rebuild a new identical one.
$4 million to build a brand-new Bounty replica up to current sailing norms is probably not too far fetched.
[QUOTE=c.captain;130502]that’s why I say the whole debacle was one great insurance scam to sink the vessel and collect huge $$$…Robin Leech Walbridge was probably promised a very tidy sum to do the dirty deed and sell the BOUNTY to the underwriters ,
[/QUOTE]
If that was the case he would have gotten off as soon as the pumps were not keeping up. If there is 100% chance of sinking better to get off early.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;130520]If that was the case he would have gotten off as soon as the pumps were not keeping up. If there is 100% chance of sinking better to get off early.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=catherder;130488]Yeah, but now the family of Ms Christian, the OS (was she?) who perished- and the survivors- can go after the owners for whatever farthings they can glean. The NTSB report is the ammo they need. I don’t expect that much will be gained. I would rather see some stricter regulations regarding the crewing and operation of “dockside attractions” in the future so that we don’t have to sit with clenched sphincter as another such “dockside attraction” is smashed to pieces between a storm and a well-known rocky coast.[/QUOTE]
Believe me the USCG already has stepped it up on several vessels that work primarily as dockside attractions. That knee has already jerked
[QUOTE=catherder;130504]Nah…she’s still there. Maybe thinking of Gazela?
Anyway, here’s the menu. I’m on a Denny’s budget, so I can’t partake.[/QUOTE]
WHAT THE FUCK? Went to the website and just about swallowed my teeth when I read the menu prices! I though Philly has a dying city? Where do all the rich fuckers hide? Is it like in “Trading Places” there and didn’t Jamie Lee Curtiss have the most awesome balloons in that movie before she got all old and into having a clean colon?
anyway not one pic of the exterior of the ship…just photos of fancy pancy uncooked fish and pretty tables. Like I said…WHAT THE FUCK?
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[QUOTE=valvanuz;130509]I don’t know how it works with maritime insurance, but in real-estate insurance companies often use “reconstruction” value i.e. if the house burns to the ground, how much would it cost to rebuild a new identical one.
$4 million to build a brand-new Bounty replica up to current sailing norms is probably not too far fetched.[/QUOTE]
maybe if you pay extra for such a policy, but all those I know will pay off if damages exceed the “current market value” as established by valuation survey.
It is possible that the captain may have focused too narrowly on the position of the storm’s eye instead of on Sandy’s total expanse
The error of focus on the center seems plausible.If true it was a serious mistake. The strongest winds were SW of the eye. Which is where the Bounty was.
From the NHC on the 28th.
THE MOST RECENT AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT MISSION DID NOT
FIND WINDS OF HURRICANE FORCE NEAR THE CENTER OF SANDY.
HOWEVER…EARLIER DROPSONDE DATA INDICATED THAT WINDS TO HURRICANE
STRENGTH WERE OCCURRING WELL TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF THE
CENTER.
The so-called navigable semi-circle (had it still been a hurricane) was the area with the highest winds because the interaction with another system and Sandy’s transition to extra-tropical.
