One that haunts me is the boat was recently launched after an extensive rebuild and 10 years on the hard. Who knows what sleeping dogs may have awakened suddenly in the conditions, the first I presume since launching. 11 year old fuel tanks as we know are a wild card but I imagine many other systems on that boat or any one recently launched giving sudden problems. It's hard to know them all so quickly after launch.

Not the first boat to head south on pressure from winter looming not far behind. Many of us have felt that.

One thing I can't stop thinking about is the boats rudder. I know that rudders design intimately and I know the owner did work on it. The construction is wood and bronze with large drifts holding it together. They last for many decades but the bronze drifts wear and eventually even break inside(I removed all of mine, one was broken, little was left of the others). This rudder appeared well enough to not require a rebuild. Rudders are the dog of all sleeping dogs.

In those conditions down wind, the forces could have loosened it making steering difficult or even made it inoperable. I see no mention of mechanical problems in the distress, but, in those situations, things can be hard to figure out. Throw in seasickness or other crew dynamics and things can become complicated.

Maybe it wasn't modern electronics luring them in but the old machinery breaking down and putting them on the breakwater.
Hard to know, if ever, what's going on in these cases. They sort of just fade away.

As a group, I find sailors don't like to talk about this stuff after it's happened, preferring just to forget it! I can't blame anyone for that.