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Gladefully it still don't have happened to me. But more and more container ships lost a large amount of containers at sea. They are called UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) and they are a real danger especially for sailing boats and fishing boats because even in moderate sea they are not seen or very late. Also the radar don't see them with no area above waterline. Since October 2020 and March 2021 more than 2,500 containers are lost. It is said about 12,000 containers are drifting in the oceans right now. Most of them goes to the ground when lost from the ship but others like reefer containers can float a very long time.  -- Gerhard Mueller Amel Sharki #60 Currently Kalamata, Greece
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Aras Grinius
Never would have guessed that many.
Aras Sharki #163 1988
Gladefully it still don't have happened to me. But more and more container ships lost a large amount of containers at sea. They are called UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) and they are a real danger especially for sailing boats and fishing boats because even in moderate sea they are not seen or very late. Also the radar don't see them with no area above waterline. Since October 2020 and March 2021 more than 2,500 containers are lost. It is said about 12,000 containers are drifting in the oceans right now. Most of them goes to the ground when lost from the ship but others like reefer containers can float a very long time.
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Gerhard Mueller
Amel Sharki #60
Currently Kalamata, Greece
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Hi Gerhard, you rightly say that there is little we can do about these lost containers because they float so low we cant see them, even if a good watch is being kept. The Amel bulkhead system is our friend. On the SM (which I know best) we have the collision bulkhead which seals off the anchor chain locker. The access port on mine is always closed. Then the gasketed door to the front cabin. We had a report in this last week of a SM being holed forward of this and by closing the door was able to restrict water ingress to the front cabin and make port safely. The water only rose to the level of the berths and the fore /aft trim of the boat was little affected. Another example of Henri Amels superb attention to design that matters. Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl
On 11 May 2021 at 23:23 "Gerhard Mueller via groups.io" <carcode@...> wrote:
Gladefully it still don't have happened to me. But more and more container ships lost a large amount of containers at sea. They are called UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) and they are a real danger especially for sailing boats and fishing boats because even in moderate sea they are not seen or very late. Also the radar don't see them with no area above waterline. Since October 2020 and March 2021 more than 2,500 containers are lost. It is said about 12,000 containers are drifting in the oceans right now. Most of them goes to the ground when lost from the ship but others like reefer containers can float a very long time.
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Gerhard Mueller
Amel Sharki #60
Currently Kalamata, Greece
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Danny et al,
I hear the design of new containers incorporates alt water dissolvable plugs in strategic locations on its outer walls...
If true, reduces sour risk a bunch
Cheers
Jean-Pierre Germain, Eleuthera, SM007, NZ
On 12/05/2021, at 6:39 AM, Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...> wrote:
Hi Gerhard, you rightly say that there is little we can do about these lost containers because they float so low we cant see them, even if a good watch is being kept. The Amel bulkhead system is our friend. On the SM (which I know best) we have the collision bulkhead which seals off the anchor chain locker. The access port on mine is always closed. Then the gasketed door to the front cabin. We had a report in this last week of a SM being holed forward of this and by closing the door was able to restrict water ingress to the front cabin and make port safely. The water only rose to the level of the berths and the fore /aft trim of the boat was little affected. Another example of Henri Amels superb attention to design that matters. Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 11 May 2021 at 23:23 "Gerhard Mueller via groups.io" <carcode@...> wrote:
Gladefully it still don't have happened to me. But more and more container ships lost a large amount of containers at sea. They are called UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) and they are a real danger especially for sailing boats and fishing boats because even in moderate sea they are not seen or very late. Also the radar don't see them with no area above waterline. Since October 2020 and March 2021 more than 2,500 containers are lost. It is said about 12,000 containers are drifting in the oceans right now. Most of them goes to the ground when lost from the ship but others like reefer containers can float a very long time.
<Scan.jpeg>
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Gerhard Mueller
Amel Sharki #60
Currently Kalamata, Greece
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Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim. All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But...
- In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again. It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event. I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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Martin Birkhoff
Hi Bill,
thank you for your words. I fully agree.
During my time as chairman of the German Trans-Ocean e.V. from February 2012 to November 2019 I´ve got no report of a collision with a container by one of our sailing members. (Trans-Ocean e.V. is an association of blue water sailors with some 4.500 members.)
The only reports in this period had been:
- 2 collisions with fishing vessels (no severe damage)
- 1 whale collision (no severe damage)
- 1 collision with a power line (boat lost due to fire)
During the circumnavigation we did between 2004 and 2009 we had several close encounters but no collision to
- 1 barrel
- 1 large buoy 50 miles off the Portuguese coast
- 1 blue whale surfacing just in front of the bow near the Chilean coast
- 1 fishing vessel with unconventional lights near the Brasil coast
- lots of unlighted, small fishing vessels in Indonesian and Malaysian waters
- some trees or trunks
- 2 burial rafts in Indonesian waters
Once we hit something while running the engine. But I could´nt see nothing. But for sure it was not a container.
The only real collision happened at an anchorage in Patagonia caused by a sudden storm and a slipping anchor. We unluckily hit the only sailing vessel moored in the same caleta.
It is as you say. There are much more other risks which are more dangerous than containers but we are used to deal with. And most of the risks you will find close to shore.
Fair winds
Martin
Mago del Sur 54#40
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eric freedman <kimberlite@...>
While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl
On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:
While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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Peter Killen <peterkillen@...>
Hi All,
Some years ago we were en route from SW Ireland to the Azores. Conditions were not great, with a fairly big sea running and very misty. We were about 600 miles from our destination and didn’t see the container, which had only one corner awash, and covered in seaweed, poking up out of the sea, until we were about 50 metres abeam of it. A nasty surprise!
We sailed approximately 80k miles in Pure Magic, and many more miles in other boats, but never had a similar incident before or since.
Peter
Previous owner of SM Pure Magic 433
On 13 May 2021, at 20:31, Danny and Yvonne SIMMS <simms@...> wrote:
Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:
While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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eric freedman <kimberlite@...>
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Danny and Yvonne SIMMS Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:31 PM To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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Hi Eric. Is that a typo or is it a saying Im not familiar with. Regards Danny
On 14 May 2021 at 09:29 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:
Can’t Hoit !! From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 3:31 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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"Can't Hurt" Bit of a Long Island? Boston? accent.
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eric freedman <kimberlite@...>
Its just New York slang pronounced cant hoit, cant hurt
From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Danny and Yvonne SIMMS Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 11:49 PM To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Hi Eric. Is that a typo or is it a saying Im not familiar with. Regards Danny On 14 May 2021 at 09:29 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: Can’t Hoit !! Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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eric freedman <kimberlite@...>
This note is from one of my crewmembers who is a 2nd mate on a container ship. It is worthwhile reading. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 I’m currently in Canada, up the Saguenay River with 590 feet of dynamite on board.. I might be going up to northern Greenland (76 deg North) for a cargo next month. There is no device on any containers that I have ever seen that sinks containers, they will only sink if water is able to get in, either through a hole in the steel or through the doors. That’s one of those things you can’t really prevent, if a container is there, you’re not gonna see it unless it’s calm seas.
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Git it. Thanks Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl
On 15 May 2021 at 01:06 rossirossix4 <rossidesigngroup@...> wrote:
"Can't Hurt" Bit of a Long Island? Boston? accent.
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Thanks Eric, got it now Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl
On 15 May 2021 at 06:40 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:
Its just New York slang pronounced cant hoit, cant hurt From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Danny and Yvonne SIMMS
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2021 11:49 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Hi Eric. Is that a typo or is it a saying Im not familiar with. Regards Danny On 14 May 2021 at 09:29 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: Can’t Hoit !! Hi Eric, that impact would have sunk a lesser boat. I have no idea if it is sensible but I run my forward looking sonar at sea, not expecting to see a whale ahead but that the sonar may warn a whale of my approach. Foolish? Don' know but I've never hit a whale Danny SM 299 Ocean Pearl On 14 May 2021 at 03:54 eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote: While Sailing West of Africa towards the Caribbean we were surfing down the waves in the Trade Winds using our gennaker one day we averaged 10 knots. At first, I did not see it, But I hit a whale in the middle of its body. It stopped us dead and I heard it hit the boat twice. I assume it first hit the bow and then the keel, The stop was so sudden that one crewmember flew from the saloon to the forward berth without injury. I started the engine to warn any other whales. We were checking the bilges but based upon the configuration that would be of little help. As the whale went by it was much bigger than Kimberlite. I looked it in the eye, and it seemed to give me a dirty look, I also think he flipped me the flipper. The seas were large so I could not dive at that time. 2 days later I dove on the boat and everything was where it was supposed to be and now after 15 years everything is still AOK. Fair Winds Eric Kimberlite Amel Super Maramu #376 From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io On Behalf Of Bill Kinney
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 1:59 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Warning about "UFOs" Just a word of reassurance. This topic is one that comes up all the time, and is passed around the sailing world and it seems to grow larger and more panicked with each telling. It's is a great boogy-man story because it has the evil, greedy shipping companies as the villains and the poor smallboat sailor as the helpless victim.
All I can do is give my personnel take on the topic as someone who has been intimately connected with the sailing world for several decades. Ignoring press stories, and scuttlebutt that starts with "I heard about a guy...", and staying with things I know first hand. Your experience might be different, so, here goes: I HAVE seen many things floating on the ocean that I would NOT want to hit, most of them large trees, or pieces of lumber. But... - In 10's of thousands of ocean miles sailing I have NEVER seen a container in the ocean.
- NEVER have I seen one wash up on a beach. If there were a significant number of them floating in the ocean surely this would happen?
- NEVER have I talked to anyone who has actually, first hand, seen a container floating in the ocean or washed up on a beach.
- NEVER have I heard from someone who actually can confirm they hit a floating container.
- I know of just one boat that hit an unidentified floating object, at night in the middle of the ocean but what it hit was just that, unidentified.
- Never have I hit a container at sea.
On the other hand, I know personally of two boats that sunk after hitting whales, and two others that were disabled after whale strikes. I have been on a boat that hit a whale, thankfully without consequences. By my reckoning, whales are at least 50 times more dangerous to small boats than shipping containers, and the risk of boats hitting reefs are at least 50 times higher again.
It is human nature to feel that risks we have no control over are much higher than those things were we think we can control. This is why many people have a fear of flying, but not of driving a car, even though the risk presented in an automobile is many times higher. We, quite rightly, feel that there is very little or nothing we can do ourselves to mitigate the risk of a collision with a container at sea. This lack of control of the risk causes us to greatly inflate the relative risk of the event.
I am not saying that hitting a container is impossible, but the risks are WAY WAY down on the list of things we deal with at sea. The risk does not deserve the number of words written about it over the years. (Even though I just added to them!)
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