Tall Ship Astrid sunk after hitting rocks off Cork

[size4riggerboots]

I'm devastated to hear this news, Astrid was the ship I first sailed on and is responsible in a roundabout way for where I am today.

Thankfully all on board were rescued by the coastguard, it's not yet apparent why this happened.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0724/464385-tall-ship-astrid/

http://www.thejournal.ie/tall-ship-astrid-aground-1006425-Jul2013/

[bridgemonkey]

They seem to be going down like there's no tomorrow. Was one sank in the Baltic a couple of weeks ago as well

[Clanky]

Glad to hear that all safe, especially as my friend's nephew was onboard!

There does seem to have been a disturbing number of incidents with sail training vessels in recent years.

[HarmlessWeasel]

Horrible sight. It's very close to shore, any chance of a salvage operation?

[GuinnessMan]

Horrible sight. It's very close to shore, any chance of a salvage operation?

I'm free this weekend and I can get my hands on some dive kit. Anyone know if any brass is on board?

[Chiefy]

Waily Maily is reporting engine failure as the cause.

There have been quite a few incidents the past couple of months but given most of them only sail in earnest in summer and spend winter being overhauled resting etc hardly a surprise (I know not all do).

This will put the sector back into the focus of the authorities, so now we wait and see what they make of the root cause ad how to prevent these events, on the HUGE plus side it was only the ship that was lost.....I know I know heart breaking but it's a ship and (with luck) insured so it can be replaced, life on the other hand is not replaceable.

Good work all round to both the on board team, other tall ships and last but by no means least the men with their big Blue and Orange boats

[Clanky]

I can think of 3 ships lost in the last couple of years (Asgard II, Lord Rank, and now Astrid) as well as the death of a trainee on Royalist a few years back, and those are just the ones that I can remember off the top of my head.

I know that the organisations which run these ships could not afford to pay professionally qualified mariners, but it seems obvious that something needs to change.

As for the cause being engine failure, then surely the main (cloth) propulsion could have been put to some use?

[size4riggerboots]

A bit more info here... http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ireland-tal...8.html#8KfZgOG

"
Ineke de Kam owns the ship with her husband Pieter, 62. He was captaining the vessel during the incident.
"I spoke with him on the phone and he's okay," she said.
"All the people are safe and that is very important - the crew and all the trainees are safe.
"But, everything is lost. We cannot believe it.
"He was using the small motor and it would not start and then he put all the sails up, but it was too late, he was on the rocks.
"Then he called the Coast Guard and they arrived in time to help and everyone is safe.""

[Midge]

I can think of 3 ships lost in the last couple of years (Asgard II, Lord Rank, and now Astrid) as well as the death of a trainee on Royalist a few years back, and those are just the ones that I can remember off the top of my head.

I know that the organisations which run these ships could not afford to pay professionally qualified mariners, but it seems obvious that something needs to change.

As for the cause being engine failure, then surely the main (cloth) propulsion could have been put to some use?

Some do have paid staff, and they are always looking for MN officers who want to offer their services gratis too and they really value having them. Have a look at OYT for instance http://www.oytsouth.org/sea-staff.asp or help out with a refit in the winter!
I think you will find some sponsoring companies send new cadets as part of their inductions sometimes too.

[gadget123]

I can think of 3 ships lost in the last couple of years (Asgard II, Lord Rank, and now Astrid) as well as the death of a trainee on Royalist a few years back, and those are just the ones that I can remember off the top of my head.

I know that the organisations which run these ships could not afford to pay professionally qualified mariners, but it seems obvious that something needs to change.

As for the cause being engine failure, then surely the main (cloth) propulsion could have been put to some use?

Can add Concordia, Bounty and Wyvern to the list.

A lot of the problems seem to be with the actual ship rather the crew, with the crew acting very well to get everyone off when it does go wrong.

[Clanky]

Some do have paid staff, and they are always looking for MN officers who want to offer their services gratis too and they really value having them. Have a look at OYT for instance http://www.oytsouth.org/sea-staff.asp or help out with a refit in the winter!
I think you will find some sponsoring companies send new cadets as part of their inductions sometimes too.

I have previously sailed on Royalist as both bosun and engineer, while the sea cadets have paid staff onboard they (generally) have RYA yacht master quals, which while they are fine for navifational purposes do not always mean that the staff have the required level of knowledge to recognise emerging issues with hull and machinery in time to act.

I am in no way disparraginmg the staff who run these ships, I have spent a fair amount of time among the tall ship community and I have a lot of respect for them, both as people and professionals, but the sheer number of incidents means that something is wrong somewhere.

[Midge]

Valid points, maybe that's why they like having MN officers volunteering their time just as you do. I presume there is some kind of flagging system within the MCA to watch for emerging patterns of incidents?
I wonder what the stats are like against 'normal yacht' incidents, kayaks( sit on tops seem to springing up everywhere) dinghies etc.Or if its just a very unlucky blip? None the less these organisations inspire some young people to look at a career at sea, give others the opportunity to develop skills and gain self confidence, which has got to be positive, I suppose its a balance against risk.
Ignoring of course the odd lunatic like the one last week See

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/10556053.The_man_who_tried_to_sail_to_Ireland_in_a_blow_up_boat__American_sailor__very_lucky__to_be_alive/

Thankfully no one had to put themselves at risk to save him, hope the sunburn taught him a lesson.

[size4riggerboots]

"JOHN Braisher, watch officer at Portland Coastguard, said inflatable dinghies are not recommended to sail to Ireland in." - Quote of the day!!!

[Midge]

Very funny, it was the strapped on water bottles that got me - I suppose they were supplies, or maybe his fenders, and what looked like a lilo, now was that his tender I wonder. Had he been a child, you could understand it being a sea version of a Swallows and Amazon's style adventure, but he was in his 50's!
I can only assume he's not very well.

[size4riggerboots]

http://afloat.ie/sail/tall-ships/item/22655-tall-ship-astrid-sinking-investigation-underway

There's a chance they could salvage her...