Schooner No. 5 Elbe Sunk in Collision

[Lake Schooner]

Just came across this bit of unfortunate news:

English coverage

German Coverage

 

[longy]

Damn! that's the boat 'Commodore' Thompkins was born on.  She was named "Wanderbird" in those years. Spent many years in San Francisco.

 

[Autonomous]

Damn! Just after a refit too.

Somebody's got some 'splainin' to do.

 

[Fiji Bitter]

Do also click on the German Coverage link for 2 videos and more pictures.

  https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Havarie-auf-der-Elbe-No-5-Elbe-gesunken-,lotsenschoner140.html

One person badly injured, the sailboat rescued the last remaining passengers.

 

[Lake Schooner]

Someone on the WoodenBoat Forum just posted this screen shot of historical AIS data. Looks like the Elbe chose a pretty inopportune time to bang a left. 

 

[IMR]

Bummer - she was tied up and the end of the harbor I grew up sailing out of.  Sad to see this. 

 

[Miffy]

Silver lining is wood seasoned properly can be refloated and restored properly if the ppl are quick about it. 

 

[Chasm]

Best part about this is that rescue services were already in the area and saw it happen.
They got called for a sailboat else that did not need to be rescued after all. (Just more water un der the keel, waiting for the flood to free the boat.)

 

[PaulK]

Seems she got stuck in irons while trying to tack? Really sad. 

 

[billy backstay]

Seems she got stuck in irons while trying to tack? Really sad. 

Schooners, especially gaff rigged ones do not go well to weather.  I remember bringing one back from races in Nova Scotia, and we were making zero progress towards home, until the wind changed from dead on the nose..

 

[ProaSailor]

On no!  How terrible.  'Wander Bird' is a ship full of history, including the decades she spent docked in Sausalito.

I recently rediscovered 53 files totaling ~300 Mbytes of scanned documents I found aboard 'Wander Bird' in the late 90s, when she was berthed in Sausalito, CA, where I was living at the time.  After returning the documents to the ship, I gave a copy of these files to Commodore Warwick Tompkins at the time.

I hope someone will take the time to read them, and that other papers I saw then but didn't scan got saved somehow too.  I've received no reply to repeated attempts to contact this organization with my treasure trove of documents found aboard this wonderful vessel.

https://www.lotsenschoner.de/das-schiff.html

I was astounded to find these papers casually stuffed somewhere aboard (near the chart table?), after decades of "wild life" at the dock in Sausalito.  

Here is an example of one letter from Warwick Tompkins senior to his mother, reduced in size from the scanned 2550 X 3300 pixels to 1024 pixels wide and compressed further by color indexing.

 

[Grande Mastere Dreade]

and extra sadly  it was a $2mil  restoration..     imagine having worked on that restoration for years and then have some yahoo at the back of the bus not look over their shoulder before making their move..

 

[AJ Oliver]

More information from Latitude 38 

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/the-sinking-of-wander-bird/?utm_source=l38_campaigner&utm_campaign=Monday_January_14_2019&cmp=1&utm_medium=email

 

[yllek]

From the article in Latitude 38 :

"Maritime law puts the burden on smaller vessels to keep clear of large ones, but we d ..."

Aside from what's smart, practical, prudent, whatever, is that statement true? Is there maritime law that says that (based only on size)? I'm not aware of any and would gladly be educated. I don't think COLREGS says that. No, I'm not interested in exercising any rights. I'd just like to know.

 

[jesposito]

I guess if 5 gallons of gas or a can of carpenter ants don't work, run it across a cargo freighter.

More believable by the insurance company 

 

[Miffy]

From the article in Latitude 38 :

"Maritime law puts the burden on smaller vessels to keep clear of large ones, but we d ..."

Aside from what's smart, practical, prudent, whatever, is that statement true? Is there maritime law that says that (based only on size)? I'm not aware of any and would gladly be educated. I don't think COLREGS says that. No, I'm not interested in exercising any rights. I'd just like to know.

Colregs don't apply on inland navigation. Diff regional sets of rules. German rivers and canals are usually very well regulated and well trafficked. 

Functionally with a ship of that size on the Elbe, looking at the AIS track posted above, the ship isn't going to be able to avoid the Elbe #5 without either risking grounding. 

 

[jack_sparrow]

Colregs don't apply on inland navigation. Diff regional sets of rules. German rivers and canals are usually very well regulated and well trafficked. 

Functionally with a ship of that size on the Elbe, looking at the AIS track posted above, the ship isn't going to be able to avoid the Elbe #5 without either risking grounding. 

Toss your normal rule book out the window when on most European inland waterways. The "Code Européen des Voies de la Navigation Intérieure" (CEVNI) or European Code for Navigation on Inland Waterways is the rule book for everything from markings, rules of the road, radio transmissions etc. A few EU countries don't use the code like UK which is not unexpected.

This include a system called "blue boarding" which is a sign that is about 60cm square for small vessels, larger for commercial and a flashing white light when sign is activated.

It is to allow upstream vessels to signal passing on the starboard side not port side. This is to allow vessels going downstream to elect to move to one side to stay out of the current to maintain manoeuvrability. "Inland AIS" system is also mandatory and the status of the "blue sign" is automatically transmitted with vessel particulars.

Looks to be a bend there with Elbe #5 on inside so this incident might be a case of "blue boarding" gone wrong. 

 

[Chasm]

Inland and close to shore nations can set their own rules. Most of them do.
At the accident site the "German Traffic Regulations for Navigable Maritime Waterways" apply. [EN pdf]

Stuff like:

Part four
Sailing rules

[....]
§ 25 Right of way of ships in a fairway 
(1) In derogation of the provisions of Rules 9(b) to (d), 15, and 18(a) to (c) of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended, the regulations contained in the following paragraphs shall apply to vessels navigating in a fairway. 
(2) A vessel proceeding along the course of the fairway channel, irrespective of whether or not she can safely navigate only within the fairway channel, shall have the right of way over vessels 
1. entering that fairway, 
2. crossing that fairway, 
3. making turns in that fairway, 
4. leaving their anchoring or mooring grounds. 
(4) [....]

The collision is between two professional crewed ships. So there will be an official accident report in a while.

 

[ProaSailor]

More information from Latitude 38 

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/the-sinking-of-wander-bird/?utm_source=l38_campaigner&utm_campaign=Monday_January_14_2019&cmp=1&utm_medium=email

Good article.  Great ship, 136 years old!