That's going to be an interesting conversation with his insurance company. So, you took your boat off the dock, knowing you had no steering? Ok, let's talk about your claim.
Hmmm... what is a yellow-flagged boat doing there? I cannot think of a route from the USVI to the BVI that might include that destination, and even leaving the BVI that is unlikely, as most boats don't yellow-flag until they reach USVI waters. That sailcover looks familiar for a charter company, perhaps Dream Yacht Charter.
On FB: We saw it two days ago. It is on the back side of Norman at Money Bay on the reef to the west side. It is a private boat but couldn’t get the name. Hulls have holes in them and water is coming in over the stern. Rudders are gone. Rigging and sails were still in tack. US registered and flying a Q flag—so I am guessing it came from down island. Dinghy with chaps and nice outboard was tied to shore. Found a floating life raft in its canister along with boat cushions that we put near the dinghy. Told people at bar who had not heard anything from anyone. Yesterday, the dinghy and life raft were gone but boat still on reef. Don’t know how it got there. Haven’t been there today
Wandering Hillbilly posted this update and says a video is coming out soon...they were on a mooring ball that failed, no one was aboard. Curious to hear where they were moored. Charts show some private moorings off the beach at Mountain Trunk Bay. I don't know how big the swell was, but that easily could have been at play here with the added strain on the mooring.
Unfortunately, after publicizing the indefensible decision to leave the dock, it doesn't really matter if the grounding had anything to do with the rudder problems.
The owner's outrage at being unfairly judged is almost comical if the whole thing weren't so tragic.
Those balls at Mountain Trunk are private. There was big swell. Another forum member communicated with me yesterday enroute to N Sound that the swell was BIG with huge breakers off Savannah Bay. Can’t imagine sea conditions were great in the Mountain Trunk area.
The Wandering Hillbilly’s poor decisions were probably, at least in part, driven by his YouTube persona. He had to put up some interesting content. Having guests and not wanting to delay their fun was likely another factor. Ego projected over the internet while on a boat can be a bad recipe. Although the WH knows his boat and handles it well, seamanship encompasses much more than that. His decision to leave the dock without steering (except to go short distance for repairs) is not just poor seamanship, it was potentially dangerous for everyone onboard. He can try to justify it anyway he wants, but it shines a bright light on his lack of judgement a a captain. Regardless of the fact the beaching may have been the direct result of a faulty mooring, the WH was a poor captain overall.
Private moorings are constructed by the owner to meet their needs, for example to hold a small motorboat or day cruiser. One problem with squatting is putting a boat much larger than the mooring was designed for. I hope this culprit intends to pay to repair the mooring.
The 3 moorings in Nail bay were setup for club members to moor small center console boats. I don’t know if he was on one of those but if so his 54.000 lb boat was a bit over the limit.
One evening we were at our community beach, where a neighbor had a private mooring for his 23' motorboat. All the Marina Cay moorings were taken. In comes this 50+' Moorings cat. The captain, looking oh-so-pleased with himself, heads straight for the small mooring not far from the shore and our community dock. We all started waving and making a big show of taking photos. He finally got the message and took his boat elsewhere.
The Wandering Hillbilly’s poor decisions were probably, at least in part, driven by his YouTube persona. He had to put up some interesting content. Having guests and not wanting to delay their fun was likely another factor. Ego projected over the internet while on a boat can be a bad recipe. Although the WH knows his boat and handles it well, seamanship encompasses much more than that. His decision to leave the dock without steering (except to go short distance for repairs) is not just poor seamanship, it was potentially dangerous for everyone onboard. He can try to justify it anyway he wants, but it shines a bright light on his lack of judgement a a captain. Regardless of the fact the beaching may have been the direct result of a faulty mooring, the WH was a poor captain overall.
well said...his celebrity trumped being a good captain and all the experience in the world doesnt make up for arrogance and recklessness
The 3 moorings in Nail bay were setup for club members to moor small center console boats. I don’t know if he was on one of those but if so his 54.000 lb boat was a bit over the limit.
I believe that idea was squashed by Kellner after he bought it. His goal was to keep Nail Bay quiet and as private as possible. There had been a few remaining parcels of land for sale and after he became owner he took them off market. He didn't want more construction. I am told he was the only one in his family that really loved coming to VG and he had to put in as many amenities to his own properties as he could to entice them to come. After his death they aren't involved much and I would guess that his entity that now runs both Nail Bay and Saba have no interest in pursuing a past owners brainchild.
The Wandering Hillbilly posted another video. Kind of hard to watch and I genuinely feel sorry for him and what happened. However, his apparent inability to recognize ANY of his errors is a head-scratcher. He rejects any suggestion that his decision making as Captain was anything less than exemplary. "I have nothing to defend", and "As a Hollywood producer... I eliminate ALL points of failure. I'm a live Holllywood director, I cannot fail."
There's footage of the damage and it could very well be a total loss.
I feel terrible for him. Maybe he made a mistake - who among us hasn't? Hard to count the number of times I've lucked out after a bad decision or some stupid mess up and thought "Wow, that could have gone very badly..."
Whatever the cause, I'm not going to castigate him for it. I'm going to learn from it and sympathize with him, and wish him luck on getting back on the water.
Hopefully he will also learn from it when his boat is fixed. So far however he does not suggest he has anything to learn. A few points he might consider. 1. Don’t operate with failed steering other than moving the boat to a safe location. 2. Avoid Lee shores with large swells running. 3. Avoid private moorings unless you have permission from the owner and have verified the mooring is sized for your boat weight.
I watched the latest video and I feel bad for anyone who loses a boat. I’ve been there, losing my boat during Irma. The best thing that happened was that she was quickly declared a CTL. That would probably be best for the WH.
The WH’s statement that he “eliminates all points of failure” is perplexing when he posted a video just a week or so ago literally bragging that his twin screw yacht could be operated with “no problem” without steering (as though he was operating her on a mill pond). He was creating points of failure! The sea does not sit idly by and wait for mistakes, at times she will force them upon any mariner. Either he doesn’t understand that the sea will potentially create points of failure every time one leaves the dock or he chooses to ignore it. I just don’t think he gets it.
Agree that his comment about eliminating points of failure was a bit odd. I THINK he was trying to defend himself against accusations of just going out and winging it but yeah, I think it was phrased poorly.
I actually didn't watch the full video where he lost steering and was using only his engines to steer. Was this (the grounding) the same trip and he was out there still with no rudder?
He did say he did have permission from the owner to use the ball when he stayed there without incident the previous week. It's unclear whether the owner knew the size of the boat but I would think, if the ball was only safe for smaller boats, the owner would ask what size he was. I don't know the where the restaurant is in relation to the ball - can the owner see the balls and what size boat is on them?
This incident really does drive home a dilemma (for me anyway) - pick up a ball or anchor. Some places (like Cooper I think?) you have no choice as no anchoring is allowed. Sounds like it's challenging at Norman because of the depth maybe? But, it also seems like it might be safer in general to anchor rather than take a ball. I know in St. Martin, on our last few charters there (pre storm), The Moorings started advising use to NOT use the balls because they are so poorly maintained.
Here's a question: When you do pick up a ball, do you back down on it like you do when testing your anchor set? Seems like WH might have avoided his grounding if he had tested the tackle.
@tmxmsails - Cooper discourages anchoring because of the sea grass and turtles. I anchor at Norman all the time, but the 50+ foot depth outside of the mooring field means few, if any, charter boats can anchor there. Great Harbour on JVD has such terrible holding that I'd take a mooring there. I've picked up a drifting catamaran, still attached to the mooring, in less than 5 knots of wind at Norman. When I do take a mooring, I will snorkel it and check as much of the line as I can. Recently I took a mooring in Grenada where it looked substantial from the surface but was only a thin polypro line holding me. But other places such as Leverick I can't understand why one would take a mooring - less than 20 feet depth and great holding in sand.
Despite WH's comments, if he'd eliminated all points of failure, he'd still have his boat.
In the video he said the previous week he called Sugarcane restaurant, said he wanted to come to lunch, asked if he could put his boat on a mooring and was told he could. He did not know to whom he spoke, and he didn't mention discussing the size of his boat. Does the restaurant own the moorings? He doesn't mention requesting permission on his next visit to use a different mooring. At the end of the video he says he has been in contact with the owner of the mooring, but does not elaborate on that conversation.
Sounds like he decided to moor on a Lee shore. He mentioned they decided to swim in because it was too rough to beach the dingy. I can only imagine the pressure of those swells on that mooring. It was loose before he even made it to shore.
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