53' Monohull On The Reef At ONB

This happened on Sunday, 3.17. Very tough day on the water for the family onboard.

They were trying to come into Eustatia Sound through the ONB deep water channel. Unfortunately they missed it and got strung up and spun around high and dry on Eustatia Reef.

Many local boats came out to try and assist (at one point they had 3 center consoles with 10 total outboards and over 3500HP trying to pull her off unsuccessfully).

Eventually Husky came up with two boats and was able to get her off.

Apparently she ended up with an ~3 foot hole in the side and they towed her to Nanny w/ multiple diesel pumps running to haul her out and assess the damage before she sunk.

Photos attached

Good to see folks jumping in to help and not critisize a mistake. Hoping someone bought the family a round of drinks to pick them up a little ...

This make me literally want to vomit thinking about these poor people! My heart hurts for the boat , the reef and the skipper and crew. Husky has rescued many including once when Reef Song broke from her mooring at Leverick and landed on her side on a beach. Thankfully no damage to her unlike these folks. Sad day .

I sure hope so! No drink will fill or mend the whole in their heart tho !

...or the hole in their boat!

Agree! Holes in general suck

Oh man, this is sad - and gives me the heebies. I was considering trying to anchor off Eustaia but wasn't quite sure how risky it would be getting in there (or even if The Moorings would even let me).

I don't really have a feel for where this boat went aground. I see there is a marked channel from Saba Rock to ONB and also a channel through the reef that goes out of the sound right by ONB. Any sense of where this guy was and what mistake he made?

I think this is the spot. The entrance was well marked a year ago.[img]http://[/img]

That's a pretty scary channel. Good view of it from the hills of ONB. I can't imagine it carries much more than 6'.

tmsxmsails:

Getting into Eustatia Sound under most conditions is not particularly challenging. The entrance channel at Saba Rock is well marked and sufficiently deep for virtually any catamaran and I would think for most monohulls. I have found my charts, C-Map and Navionics, to be accurate. When entering in good sunlight, the reefs are clearly visible. The Oil Nut Bay reef entrance (where the monohull went aground) is challenging.

If conditions are right the anchorage on the east side (some may consider it the NE side) of Prickly, closer to Prickly, but between Prickly and Eustatia, is a great spot. Beautiful water, good holding, and usually not too crowded. One can enter from the north of Prickly, after rounding Opuntia Point directly into the anchorage. The entrance is very wide, easy to navigate, and there’s plenty of water for most sailboats. The main obstacle is a reef to port upon entering after rounding Opuntia Point. Again, well charted, visible in good conditions, and the reef is at least 250 - 300 yards off to port.

Many charter companies redline this area as well. Owners have more flexibility.

During my trip to the BVI some years ago I made a point of watching the depth sounder.....