Hey Dan,

...was if I was delivering a Sense 50, and somehow royally screwed up and put it onto the rocks, that would be my story, and I'd be sticking to it... (grin)

I'm not suggesting any such thing, of course... Having suffered a minor collision on a boat I was delivering when sitting at a fuel dock, when a powerboat maneuvering alongside had his joystick docking go haywire, I've long suspected it was just a matter of time before something more 'dramatic' occurred... I've also seen a Hinckley Talaria powerboat under the command of a professional captain destroy it's swim platform and transom, due to a malfunction of a joystick docking system... So, that sort of stuff scares the hell out of me...

Sounds like the crew was incredibly unlucky, why does this sort of stuff so often happen in an inlet? I can only imagine the panic mode, especially if the current was really ripping thru there, as it certainly can... Still, I've got to wonder about a couple of details...

I've never seen a small diesel that couldn't be shut down manually, it's simply a matter of finding the electric shut down solenoid, and pulling the plunger/lever by hand... Whenever I get on a boat for the first time, that's one of the first things I check out on the engine, no need to ask why I might want to know how to do it in the dark (grin)...

The inability to drop the anchor is also perplexing... One of the things I really don't like about many of the windlasses on the market these days - particularly many of the vertical self-stowing types - is the difficulty I can imagine having freeing the chain from the gypsy in the event of a switch failure, and simply letting the rode run free... Pictured below is the anchor setup on a Sense 50, the very sort of arrangement I absolutely detest... Give me a horizontal windlass any day, that's mounted above deck, where the clutch can be eased in an instant, and the chain simply permitted to run free, or even lifted clear of the gypsy if necessary, and fed out of the hawse pipe by hand... This episode points to the value of having a stern anchor at the ready, as well...

but that might not have made any difference, anyway... As you well know, that inlet is pretty deep, by the time you got the hook down, you could still easily be on the rocks... One thing that surprises me, especially with the weather being as benign as it was down there today, there's usually a bunch of small center consoles and whatnot fishing in the inlet, sometimes transiting Ft Pierce can almost be like running a gauntlet thru those guys milling about... It's a bit surprising they weren't able to get someone to assist them before they went into the rocks... But again, it's not too difficult to picture this entire episode transpiring VERY quickly, from beginning to end...

Really sad story, but a little birdie of our mutual acquaintance tells me he's heard of a LOT of issues with these boats...

Please keep us posted, this is a fascinating story...

best regards,

Jon