Monday, October 15, 2007

The alleged collision

While Reid Stow claims that during the 14th night of their voyage; the bowsprit of his boat was damaged in a collision with the 1000 foot container ship Maersk Dundin, it has become clear that this is untrue. Using entries from their own web site and contacts with the marine industry, the users of www.sailinganarchy.com have definitively proved that they collision could not have happened:

Prior to the collision the the bowsprit of Reid's ship Anne had a figurehead lashed to the bow pulpit. If there had been a collision between the 70 ton Anne and a 1000 foot container ship, clearly the wooden figurehead would have damaged if not destroyed. From the photos in this blog post it is clear that the figurehead is undamaged. Figurehead Recovery Photos

The pipe that the bowsprit was fabricated from has been identified from Reid Stow's photos... It is clearly inadequate and the mode of failure has been identified.

There is no insurance claim or official Coast Guard investigation... Contacts in the marine industry have contacted the owners of the container ship and commented on the lack of an insurance claim or investigation.

It would have been impossible for the damage to have been caused by a collision with small ship let alone a 1000 foot long container ship traveling at 20kts... In such a circumstance there is no such thing as a glancing blow! If there had been an actual collision there would have been lots of collateral damage to the boat. If the Anne had been close enough to hit the ship with her sprit, the displacement from the ship would have "sucked" the Anne in and there would have been several more points of contact. As well, the masts of the Anne would have been crushed against the side the ship.

The most likely scenario here is simply the failure of an untested part of Reid Stows rig due to inadequate design. As well, if Reid was close enough to read the name of the ship; The wake from such a large vessel traveling at speed would be roughly 2 meters high. High enough to hit Reid's sprit from the side, causing the damage that we see here.

The big question is why would Reid lie about it... There are several theories why he would do that

NO collision. Enough said!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why are meaningful comments deleted?

Again, if the boats did not hit at a 180 degrees the type of damage is perfectly explicable, and it is unlikely they did hit at 180 degrees.

Sailflat said...

You posted 4 comments on 3 different subjects that essentially say the same thing. That is an excellent example of spam that will be deleted.

This issue has been examined from all angles by dozens of experts and I have only posted what can easily and clearly be substantiated here. No one is contending that a collision had to happen dead on. If you can come up with something that you think we have neglected to consider please feel free to write it up and send it in. As long as it is literate and well thought out we will post it as an opposing view.

Me, not you said...

You pics seem to show the figurehead entangled in the lines - a very likely scenario after the collision. Also, how does this pic from a long way away show "no damage."

Sailflat said...

Fred... I can understand your confusion so I will clear that up for you. If you click on the photo it will enlarge so that you can see it better. The end of the figurehead the is opposite the arrow was at the top in it's normal position. It was tied at several places to the bow pulpit(the railing structure) but not to the bowsprit(pole) itself. As well, in the normal position it stuck out forward beyond the end of the pole. If the pole struck a large flat surface a Reid Stowe claims, clearly it would have been broken off. Clearly in the photo one can see the undamaged front end of the figurehead opposite the arrow. I hope that cleared up any confusion.

Finally, as you have been told before...
Dozens of experts on the subject have considered the situation... But, if you have something that we haven't though of please send it in and we will be happy to consider and post it. Otherwise, unless you have something new to offer, debate is closed on the subject.

Kay9 said...

Im a 1600 Ton master. Im also ex CG. Thier IIR (incident Investigation Report) is giveing me a hard time.

I cant see to be able to look it up. No mater if I use thier IIR Number, case number, name of thier vessel or of the Maersk vessel. Even if I do a manual search through the whole year of 2007 no report.

http://cgmix.uscg.mil/IIR/IIRSearch.aspx

You guys give it a try.

Kay9 said...
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Kay9 said...
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Kay9 said...

Ops I found her.
Here she is on May 11:
http://www.maersksealand.com.tw/MSL/SCHED/MEA.pdf

Do a search for her and you will find that 05/11 She was pulling into Taiwan. Wow thats a fast ship. East Coast US to Taiwan in what 6 days.

Kay9 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

Vandalism and Fair Use

It seems that some energetic fans of Mr. Stowe have discovered this site and have a problem with it's content; All posts are welcome here whether you agree with this blog or not; however, nonsensical posts will be deleted.

We suggest you research the following terms: public figure, parody, and fair use.....and lighten up a bit, hey?