FEBRUARY 4, 2020
MARINE DISASTERS OF
MONTEREY BAY
CAPTAIN JOSEPH
RODGERS
ABOUT: Capt.
Joseph W. Rodgers is a licensed U.S. Coast Guard merchant marine officer, who
from 1978 to present has been professionally involved as a Certified Marine Surveyor,
(CMS) with the National Association of Marine Surveyors and appointed by major insurance companies, financial
institutions, yacht brokers, law firms, corporations, and individuals needing
comprehensive appraisals on ships, yachts and private vessels of all sizes and
types. His firm of Rodgers & Associates represents American and
London Institute of Marine Underwriters. Capt. Rodgers is a senior member of
the American Society of Appraisers, Machinery and Equipment section, holding a
degree in Technical Valuation of yachts and ships. He is also a American
Sailing Association instructor who has sailed small craft around the world. His life on the water has given him some
insights few have enjoyed.
Capt. Joseph W. Rodgers CMS ASA
PO Box 5306
Santa Cruz, California 95063 – 5306
(831) 475-4468
(Office)
jrodgers@rodgersandassociates.com
Joseph has been a marine surveyer
in Santa Cruz since 1978 and has reported his share of marine disasters. He presented photos and talked about the
many marine disasters that have occurred in the area since the late 1800s to
present.
I found it interesting that the combination of fog and wind
which are prominent in this area has lead to the demise of many boats. In fact, many coastal points have been named
after boats that went aground at that location.
It only makes sense in the age of celestial navigation, if you can’t get
a sight on celestial bodies for a long period of time the only way to navigate
would be dead reckoning. In unknown
coastlines and waters, navigating by dead reckoning can lead to dead ends.
Where navigating errors was the cause of many marine
disasters in the early days of sailing on this coast, the age of GPS should
help decrease this problem. On my GPS I
have a waypoint set for about 300 feet off the entrance to the harbor, then
another waypoint set for the center of the entrance to use if the fog gets
intense. Joseph showed multiple photos
of boats that were beached on our harbor beach because they missed the harbor
entrance.
From Joseph’s presentation, it seems like most of the recent
marine disasters have involved mechanical failures, fires, anchors dragging and
still some navigation errors. With the
advent of autopilots, it is too easy to set the autopilot and tend to other
chores. Joseph emphasized the importance
of always having someone on watch and to always avoid collisions, even if you
think you have right of way.
Most of the fires seem to be caused by using gasoline which
is much more combustible than Diesel. When using gasoline, it is critical to be
more diligent with regards to fuel leaks and always use the blower to clear any
fumes before starting your engine. Fires and
fiberglass are not a good mixture since fiberglass is even more flammable than
wood. Another cause of fires
(explosions) is propane use and leaks. When using propane for stove use, it is
important to turn the stove off by turning the solenoid off to clear the lines.
Don’t turn the stove off at the stove like you would at home. It is also good to install and use a propane
sensor alarm. Propane is heavier than
air so will settle to the lowest parts of the cabin and will not dissipate like
lighter gasses will.
Mechanical failures usually involve failed thru-hulls or
stuffing boxes. It is important to inspect
thru-hulls for signs of failure or corrosion.
If a thru-hull is not being used, it should be fiberglassed and never capped with a threaded cap since these can fail from
corrosion. It is important to always use
ball cock valves rather than faucet type valves that are made for land use.
From the presentation, it seems that many boats end up going
aground because of anchors dragging.
This can happen when the wind changes direction or from mechanical
failure such as a rusty chain rode. I
was surprised how many anchors drag in Stillwater cove with its rocky
bottom. My impression was that most of
these anchor failures were due to a south wind dragging the anchor. I learned how important it is when anchored
there to be diligent when there is a change in wind direction.
Thank you Joe for an enthralling presentation.
Next Tuesday we will have Brent Ruhne talk about crewing and
racing on a 140 foot sailboat. The presentation will be upstairs next week on 2/11 and the side bar will be open so no BYOB. The presentation will start at 6pm.
Barry Keeler
Sailing Pair A Dice
No comments:
Post a Comment