Greetings,

I spoke with our friend yesterday after receiving a message from her. This incident happened back in November, we only heard about it yesterday. I know the captain. He is well credintialed and many many thousands of sea miles behind him, including extensive ocean crossings and exotic destinations. He had been the captain for well over a year on this particular boat.

Fist, we're talking about a Beneteau Sense 50. Also, the device, or system that is in question is the *Dock & Go* by ZA Marine. My friend only called me yesterday about this, but the event happened in November near Thanksgiving.

Here is a News Sniipet from the Florida Rag: ****Officer Irwin responded to the call of a vessel in distress at the Fort Pierce Inlet, north jetty. The caller advised that a sail boat had struck the jetty rocks puncturing the hull. He was also advised that the U.S. Coast Guard had responded and was on scene and they were assisting with dewatering. A local tow boat company also responded and proceeded to tow the vessel to a marina. Officer Irwin responded by water and assisted with escorting the sailboat safely to the marina. While waiting for a lift operator to haul the vessel out of the water, a third pump was brought aboard to continue dewatering procedures. Once out of the water, it was revealed that the boat hull had multiple holes on the port side. The port side rudder was also damaged. The investigation revealed that the engine system lost power causing positive steering to fail and the vessel drifted into the jetty. The case is currently closed and no charges are pending.****

This event happened 400 meters from the entrance to the jetty. They were heading out to continue south for the winter. From what I understand the computer failed, and attempts to reboot were not successful. Sail was deployed , but immediately taken in because it was not helping and even hurting a bit. They attempted to deploy the anchor but could not - from what I understand. The current was swift at the time.

The Owner/friend never liked the Dock & Go system. This is the primary suspect so far of why all this happened. The insurance company IS in fact investigating further to find the culprit with a forensics team. The boat was considered a total loss and she is to be compensated for the loss.

That's my understanding of what happened. I'm sure there are important details that I'm not aware of. I will eventually find them out - over time. I do feel bad for the captain, whom Dan and I are acquainted with. I'll bet, our captain friend will stay away from Bene's and Dock&Go's for a while, or at least for the time being.

Cheers,

Reylyn