Hey Steve,

... on the fringes of least dangerous quadrant of the storm...

I can only assume they might have been banking on the storm starting to move off to the N sooner... Their reported proximity to Crooked Island makes me wonder whether they might have been attempting to run off to the Crooked Island Passage in an effort to gain the least dangerous quadrant, and the lee of Crooked and Acklins... And, who knows, they might have been fine, until the loss of power...

Fundamental rule of seamanship: Don't forget to ask yourself "What If...?", right?

I'm afraid it doesn't sound good for these guys... 40 year old ship, with open-top lifeboats, no less, instead of the encapsulated self-launching 'pods' you see on virtually all merchant ships these days... I wouldn't have thought that would even be permitted on an American registered ship, today...

best regards,

Jon